Disney Movie Challenge Bonus: The Jungle Book (2016)

 Disney Movie Challenge Bonus

The Jungle Book (2016)

Every time I watch a Disney Live Action remake I say the same thing "It's not fair to compare it to the original" but it's always hard when you watch them close together. Of course I made it that much more difficult on myself because I watched this one the same day as I watched the original.  So expect some unfair comparisons.  

I feel like this movie set the bar for the live action remakes.  It was a huge hit and got some great reviews so went in with some high hopes.  Maybe it was because I watched the original on the same day that I left feeling disappointed but this movie just didn't have the same magic the original had.  The story unfolds a bit differently then the animated version. Since I haven't read any of the books I can't say if it follows the original Kipling story more closely.  In this one Mowgli is still found by Bagheera but this time we learn that it was Shere Khan that killed Mowgli's father and the Mowgli's dad the one that burned Khan. Bagheera then takes Mowgli to the wolves where he is raised as one of their own.  Shere Khan the tiger returns to the jungle during a water truce that allows anyone to drink from the water hole without fear from predators.  When Khan finds that there is a Man Cub there he vows that he will kill it one day but will not do anything during the water truce.  The wolves know that once the truce is over they will have to do something about Khan so they decide the best thing to do is have Mowgli leave with Bagheera and return to the man village.  Once on their journey they meet a cast of characters including Ka the snake, King Louie a gigantopithecus (a change from orangutan from the original) and of course Baloo the bear.  Khan on the other hand is waiting with the wolves and keeping the wolves in constant fear knowing that Mowgli will eventually return.  When Mowgli finds out that the wolf pack is in danger he goes and gets fire from the man village and returns to the wolves to scare off Khan.  But while he is running through the jungle he accidentally sets a big forest fire.  He does have a confrontation with Khan and must outwit him to win.

The movie has an amazing cast of voice talent including Ben Kingsley as Bagheera, Idreis Elba as Shere Khan, Scarlett Johansson as Kaa, Bill Murray as Baloo, and Christopher Walken as King Louie, Unfortunately their talents don't do much to elevate the characters.  Kingsley and Elba are the ones that stand out.  I think Johansson is actually a better Kaa than Sterling Holloway but she isn't given much to do.  As much as I like Bill Murray I just feel he was kind of miscast as Baloo.  While he seems like he would be a great person to play the aloof bear it just didn't work.  And you never get that feeling that he has a great friendship with Mowgli.  

The movie did have some great cinematography and visual effects.  The jungle really looked amazing and the animals fighting each other looked realistic.  I do wish we got more of Shere Khan vs. Bagheera as the two cats were fun to watch fight.  While some of the fast moving shots felt off overall it was a great looking film.  

Again maybe watching it back to back with the original gives it unfair standards to live up to, but it just felt the story wasn't as compelling.  Did we need a backstory about why Khan hates man? Or that Khan killed Mowgli's father? Also one of the highlights of the original is the fun banter between Baloo and Bagheera and that was sorely missing in this one.  Being more realistic made the songs feel out of place.  Christopher Walken singing "I Wan'na Be Like You" was pretty disappointing. Then all we got was Baloo humming "The Bare Necessities".  Either commit to the music or ignore it.  That just sets you up for comparison that you know isn't going to end well for the film.  

Overall:  There is  amazing cinematography and great visual effects but the story just feels like something is missing.  As far as the music goes I wish they would make up their minds, either keep the songs or get rid of them all.  

Random Facts

Not the first live action remake of the Jungle Book there was one in 1994. The film starred Jason Scott Lee, Cary Elwes, Sam Neill, Lena Headey, and John Cleese.  

Garry Shandling voiced a porcupine.  It was his last role before passing away from a pulmonary embolism prior to the film being released.