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.  

Disney Movie Challenge: The Jungle Book (1967)

 

DISNEY MOVIE CHALLENGE

The Jungle BOok

WHAT IS THE DISNEY MOVIE CHALLENGE: With Disney+ making available almost all of their films from the vault I thought it was a good time to watch all the theatrically released feature length Disney Studio Animated films. That’s a lot of qualifications so what does it all mean? It must be a film developed and released under the Walt Disney Animation Studios (so no PIXAR or Tim Burton stop motion films). Must have been released in theaters (no direct to video releases). And feature length (no shorts that played prior to the features). Currently there are 58 films. Starting with Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in 1937 going to Frozen II in 2020. 

First I want to say this review has taken me a while to write as there has been a lot going on and it is also the longest time from watching a film to writing a review luckily the movie is pretty memorable so it wasn't that hard to write.

After a number of Eurocentric films Disney took a trip to the Indian Jungle’s (although it is based on a book by an Englishman) to tell the story of Mowgli, a boy abandoned in the jungle and raised by wolves.  After being mostly hands off with 101 Dalmatians and The Sword in the Stone Disney was fully invested in this film.  Insisting on so many script changes that the original writer Bill Peet eventually left the Disney Company all together.  Peet was also the one who suggested The Jungle Book be the next Disney Film.  Peet’s original story was more faithful to the books but Disney wanted it to be more family friendly and straightforward as the books were darker and more episodic.   

The movie follows Mogwli who is found abandoned in the woods by Baghreera, a Panther.   Baghreera decides to save the boy and brings him to a pack of wolves who raise him as one of their own.  But as the Mogwli grows his existence threatens the wolves when Shere Khan the Tiger returns to the jungle.  Khan hates humans and would not hesitate to kill everyone to get to the boy.  It is decided that the best thing to do is have Baghreera bring the boy back to the man village (and that's just in the first 10 minutes). Mogwli doesn’t want to leave the jungle and give Bughera trouble the whole time.  Along the way they meet a series of characters, some good like Baloo the bear who wants to adopt Mowgli, and some bad like King Louie the orangutan who just wants Mowgli to teach him how to make fire.  Eventually there is a confrontation with Shere Khan and Mowgli must decide what he wants.  

The Jungle Book is one of those classics that I have never seen and wasn’t sure if it would live up to the classic status it has, but it actually does.  The biggest thing the film has going for it is the voice cast.  Everyone in the cast is excellent and really brought the characters to life.  The second thing the film has going for it is the music.  While the Sherman Brothers songs were lackluster in The Sword in the Stone in The Jungle Book they were all fun and catchy.  Oddly enough one of the best known songs from The Jungle Book “The Bare Necessities” was written by Terry Gilkyson. One of the things that makes the music work is the songs tell a story and move the plot along.  We learn everything about King Louis’s plot from the song “I Wanna Be Like You”.  

The most surprising thing I enjoyed about the film was the friendship that develops between Baloo and Baghreera.  They hate each other in the beginning but slowly become friends as they both try to take care and protect Mowgli.  It’s truly an odd couple scenario.  Baghreera is the neat and straightforward one and Baloo is the laid back aloof character.  Their banter throughout the film gives the film fun and heart (On a side note, this is what is missing from the 2016 live action version of the film).  At the end of the film I expected them to turn to each other and say “I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship”.  

 

Overall: A fun filled film. Great music and great cast.  It's a step up in animation from The Sword in the Stone and shows the true genius of Disney because wanting to make a “family friendly straightforward film” really worked. The movie also movies quickly. We learn all the exposition in the first 10 minutes and then get on with the adventure.  The relationship between Baghreera and Baloo give the film it's heart. The ending felt a little abrupt but still works.  

Random Facts:

Walt Disney died during productions of this film and is considered the last film in the “Silver Age” of Disney animations.  The next film The Aristocats  is considered the first film in the “Dark Age” of Disney Animation.