Newest Disney film claws its way into modern filmmaking
Mowgli (Neel Sethi) and Baloo (Bill Murray) float down the river singing the “Bare Necessities.” Regardless of slight changes to the story, the song ties together some of the similarities between the cartoon and the new live-action film.
April 27, 2016
Many people recall the original adventurous and playful animated story of “The Jungle Book,” led by the well-known “man cub” Mowgli. Teens vividly remember watching and singing along to the exciting musical and constantly rewinding their VCR tape during their childhood.
Many Disney-lovers have seen their favorite movies come and go, clinging to what is left of cherished childhood films. Recently, some of Disney’s most popular films have been restored. Movies like “Maleficent” and “Cinderella” have been recreated into live-action films that take the original storyline and intensify the message.
[A]nimals jump abruptly into frame, startling the audience out of their seats.
— Brianna Payne
Disney’s most recent reboot, “The Jungle Book,” explores the slightly altered story of Mowgli’s unforgettable adventures in the jungle. Abandoned as an infant in the jungle, Mowgli (Neel Sethi) is found by the black panther Bagheera (Ben Kingsley) who takes the orphaned child under his paw. Bagheera takes Mowgli to a wolf pack, where he is raised with wolf cubs and receives the nickname “man cub.”
Being a wolf means everything to Mowgli until the vicious Shere Khan (Idris Elba) comes to “Peace Rock” and makes a deal with Akela (Giancarlo Esposito), the wolf pack leader. Shere Khan promises that once Peace Rock is covered at the end of the dry spell, he will no longer keep his distance from Mowgli. The jungle animals realize that the jungle is no longer safe for Mowgli, so Bagheera leads him on the adventure to the man village that meets many obstacles on the way.
Along the way Mowgli meets Baloo (Bill Murray), the brown bear that loves honey and teaches the iconic song “Bare Necessities.” While the movie progresses, Mowgli is closely followed by Shere Khan, who takes over the jungle until he finds the man cub. The film constantly features new animals at every turn, each one looking more realistic than the last.
The CGI effects throughout “The Jungle Book” makes every second of dialogue captivating to the audience. The realistic appearances of the wild jungle animals are almost unbelievable as animals jump abruptly into frame, startling the audience out of their seats. The technology used to create the intense surroundings during this film is ground-breaking, and it is incredibly hard to spot the difference from a real jungle animal.
The CGI effects seem extremely surreal at intense moments during the film, while characters like Shere Khan and Baloo jump out at the audience. With it’s own modern-day, action-packed twist, “The Jungle Book” is exciting to watch, while being an excellently timed film.
The new Disney film does an excellent job at capturing the exciting and unforgettable events from the original child-oriented film. However, the newest interpretation feels darker and seems to be geared toward the mature audience that initially grew up watching the original cartoon.
There are two songs during the film, “The Bare Necessities” and “I Wanna be like You,” although they are not large musical numbers like any other Disney cartoon. Families should not go into this movie expecting a real life Disney musical, because small children will be scared by many of the life-like animals.
“The Jungle Book” has an excellent spin and certain accuracy to the original cartoon musical. Although it is a remake of the original, “The Jungle Book” is an exceptional movie standing alone. With its own distinct mark on one of Disney’s most beloved movies, “The Jungle Book” certainly meets the expectations made by the kids that grew up watching the film.
