The 1967 animated Disney smash hit The Jungle Book is a timeless classic. I think there is simply no denying that. So when I received word of a "live action" movie in the works, forgive me if I met this news with a good measure of scepticism. "Why on earth mess with a film beloved by so many and in no dire need of any sort of revisionism whatsoever?", I thought to myself. The critics were going to have a field day and my only concern was the severity of their harshness against this cursed project. I suppose the only positive news I had heard was the great Jon Favreau was the director at the helm. But was this enough to produce an effort that was, at the very least, half decent under the scrutinous eyes of the demanding general public?
The story should be a familiar one to most. Our young protagonist Mowgli (played by newcomer Neet Sethi) is already a fully-fledged member of his "wolf clan" headed up by pack leader Akela (voiced by Giancarlo Esposito). Though trouble brews within the jungle as the formidable Shere Khan (voiced by Idris Elba) is hellbent on killing the petite "man-cub". A black panther by the name of Bagheera (voiced by Ben Kingsley) who actually found Mowgli as a baby and brought him to the pack, attempted to remove the threat of danger by helping lead Mowgli back to the village where humans dwell and therefore return him to his own kind. But with the relentless presence of Shere Khan in hot pursuit of his target and holding some mysterious vendetta yet to fulfil, will young Mowgli have time to escape his vengeful clutches in time?
I actually missed the cinematic run of this movie, opting to wait until a chance arose as to when I could get the time to sit down and watch it. Such was my cynicism towards this movie. Well, a few months later (and after a spate of furious nagging from my wife), we both finally got around to checking it out. Well, I was stunned. Always one to learn the hard way, as my mother often quoted. This movie was gorgeous beyond reason. Although released more than a year and a half ago, the technical achievements this movie attains are, to date, the best I have ever seen. The Jungle Book will leave you speechless. I was already privy to the fact that the entire jungle setting was created using advanced state of the art CGI techniques, but nothing could have prepared me for what I saw. This being further evidenced by my wife being whole-heartedly convinced the backgrounds were all real. Presumably filmed within the deepest, most exotic regions of Africa or some such place in the world. They were utterly astounding. But the star attractions of the production were, in fact, the animals themselves. Without a shadow of a doubt.
The expressiveness of their facial gestures, the ultra-realistic fur on their bodies, the wide spectrum of strong emotions portrayed through the ingenious use of technology at the team's disposal. It all culminated to an experience unlike anything I've ever witnessed. This is definitely one of Disney Studios finest hours. And another very important aspect. One I had the most fears about. They managed to stay true to the roots of the original whilst giving the movie itself a modern day makeover. To such a high degree that I absolutely concur with most of the reviews online. It was an effort worthy of the phenomenal end result. Sure, many of us grew up with the original having captured an irreplaceable piece of our childhood and innocent hearts. But Favreau's vision is "his" own, make no mistake about it. Different and dynamic enough to warrant its relevance and updated formula. Kids and adults alike will love it. In the case of any faults with this movie, I believe it firmly lies with their choice of Mowgli. In terms of looks and appearance, he seems to have all that you would expect for our main two-legged hero. But something didn't quite sit with me. Maybe it was his slightly wooden on-screen theatrics or possibly the way his eyes always appeared too "fixated" to certain spots on numerous occasions. I don't know. I wasn't sold. However, with everything else smashing that ball straight outta the park, I found that after a while I could gloss over it and enjoy the film for the masterpiece that it is. Such was the hypnotic nature of all that gorgeous eye-candy The Jungle Book delivers.
Well, I obviously loved this film, in case you hadn't noticed. It had a great pacing to it, tons of heart and raw emotion as well as the best visuals of any movie, bar none. The only issue being Mowgli himself whom I think could have been better cast. Still, the good firmly outweigh the bad here and I have no hesitation at all in recommending this movie very highly indeed for anyone in need of a good, wholesome family adventure movie. Pure brilliance, Disney. After all these years, you've still got it!
My Verdict: (8.5/10)
