The Jungle Book is the latest in a long line of cinematic adaptations of the Rudyard Kipling literary work. Is it the best? Well, no, but there is a lot to live up to and for the most part director Jon Favreau does a great job living up to the expectations set by the beloved Disney animated feature.
First it should be noted The Jungle Book is a collection of stories that are not just about Mowgli, but about a variety of characters. The story Rikki-Tikki-Tavi is part of The Jungle Book collection, but not part of what we think of as being part of it when looking at the movie adaptation which focuses solely on the Mowgli timeline.
Largely following the timeline seen in the 1967 animated feature, this version sees a few notable omissions, such as an almost complete omission regarding the elephants. Chances are you are already familiar with the storyline about the man cub, so I won’t retread that. What I do want to mention is this isn’t a film version of the literary works, but instead more of a modern adaptation of that earlier animated film. This is neither good nor bad, just a matter of fact to set expectations.
I should mention the voice cast, which is star-studded and is all fantastically done. Bill Murray as Baloo is a highlight, sure, but personally I think Ben Kingsley’s Bagheera is perfect as it is commanding but not overwhelming. Even Christopher Walken’s turn as King Louie is very well done and appropriate.
What I did not realize while watching the film was how much was actually animated – the film uses computer graphics not just extensively, but throughout the whole of the film. The Jungle Book was filmed on a studio backlot in Los Angeles, about as far away from any sort of jungle as you could imagine. There are some practical sets, sure, but everything gets fleshed out with computer graphics.
One of the things I liked about this adaptation was how Sher Khan was an active if not routine part of the lives of all involved from the wolves to Baloo and even King Louie. The balance of power isn’t the issue, but this version of The Jungle Book with its use of Sher Khan doesn’t ignore the intricacies of interconnectedness – fine, I’ll say it, the circle of life.
The story is good, but for a movie such as this it would mean nothing if the visuals did not match up, and fortunately they do. The level of computer graphic imagery is astounding. I remember watching Jurassic Park when it was released and being “wowed” by the visuals. The Jungle Book shows just how far we have come with so many little details that hold up under close scrutiny.
Those visual effects are looked at in part with the special features, most notably in the three minute King Louie Temple Layer By Layer which, as you might surmise by the title, looks at how this iconic location is digitally assembled. There is half-hour behind the scenes featurette looking at a number of aspects of the production, ranging from script to technical challenges. Another much shorter featurette focuses on the casting of Neel Sethi as Mowgli. Finally there is a great audio commentary by director Jon Favreau which is a “must listen” for those who, like me, grew up loving the 1967 animated film as well as the original literary works.
Unfortunately this is not a perfect movie or Blu-ray release. There is a lack in the special features in some things that should be present but are not. A picture in picture with rough footage before the visual effects and animation running the whole course of the film should have been included. Also missing is a look at the history of the story itself and how it has been adapted several times – including a previous live action version by Disney (with voice acting by a different Murray in the Baloo role). As for the movie, I think it would have been better to completely leave out the singing. Only a couple of songs from the 1967 animated film are present and while they are good, particularly with regards to “I Wanna Be Like You” it would have been more effective to have the lyrics simply spoken. Then there is the tone of the film which shifts wildly at times from the overly comedic (the honey sequence) to the fearfully dramatic (anytime Sher Khan talks to the wolves). While nothing in this regard is bad, it should be noted that younger viewers, say, 5 or so, might get frightened.
Despite the problems of the film and Blu-ray release I still recommend picking this one up.