While I'm already a tad burned out on Disney's recent trend of remaking all of their animated classics with live-action casts, I must say that John Favreau's The Jungle Book grabbed my attention from the first second I saw it. I don't hold much nostalgia for the 1967 original (I love The Bare Necessities as much as anyone, but I definitely watched Mulan and Beauty and the Beast a lot more as a child), and the idea of a new adaptation of Rudyard Kipling's novel just seemed to make sense; unlike the more cut-and-dry Disney movies that didn't necessarily need remakes (such as Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella), The Jungle Book felt like it had potential to do something new, both visually, tonally, and thematically from the original. Factor in the amazing cast (I'll watch just about anything with Christopher Walken, and adding Bill Murray on top of that is practically cheating), and I was sold on giving it a watch. What I didn't expect was to see not only one of the better live-action Disney movies I've ever seen, not only one of the better John Favreau movies I've ever seen, but arguably one of the best films of the year.
The story is as simple and easy-to-follow as they come; found in the jungles of India as a baby, a young boy named Mowgli (newcomer Neel Sethi in his first role) was taken in by a pack of wolves, raised by the maternal mother wolf, Raksha (Lupita Nyong'o) and watched over by the stalwart panther, Bagheera (Ben Kingsley). This arrangement angers Shere Khan (Idris Elba), a fierce tiger with a burning hatred for humans and their ilk. With Shere Khan promising not to rest until the man-cub is dead, Mowgli's pack decides that the safest thing to do is to send him to live with his own kind, in the man-village. What follows is a treacherous journey through the depths of the wild jungle, as Mowgli tries to find where he truly belongs.
The first thing I have to mention is the visuals; I'm normally not the biggest fan of CGI in live-action, but The Jungle Book manages to make everything appear homogenous. There's no garish special effects to be found here, everything fits the same visual style. As such, even when it's obvious that an animal or environment was made in a computer, the film still manages to be one of the most gorgeous things I've ever seen. I honestly regret not seeing this in IMAX when I had the chance. While I know I'll enjoy watching it at home, I'm truly glad I managed to experience this on the big screen first.
As I mentioned before, one of the main things that piqued my interest with this project was the cast, and good lord was my faith ever not misplaced. Everyone here gives incredible performances, which is even more impressive considering the vast majority of the cast is hidden behind computer-generated animals. Sethi does a great job as Mowgli, bringing a great deal of physicality to the role. This is a protagonist who, despite filming a great deal of the movie on a green-screened soundstage, still ends up battered, bruised, scarred, and dirty by the time things are over. His chemistry with Kingsley's Bagheera and Murray's Baloo is utterly adorable and there are seldom scenes where he falls into the child actor pitfall of being annoyingly precocious. Considering this is Sethi's first role, he does a really impressive job.
Bill Murray was a stellar choice for Baloo, and really brings a surprising amount of emotion to the part. "Smart-aleck conman with a heart of gold" seems to be the ideal Bill Murray role, and Baloo fits the bill perfectly. Kingsley acts as a great foil, exuding pride and nobility as Bagheera, and Scarlett Johansson manages to be unsettling and almost seductive as Kaa, the giant snake. I also thoroughly enjoyed Christopher Walken as King Louie, now a gigantopithicus rather than orangutan, who manages to be unexpectedly sinister and threatening (yet still gives 110% when it comes time for his big song). Everyone was perfectly cast and gave a magnificent performance, but for me, the one who stole the show was Idris Elba as Shere Khan. This is a villain who commands attention whenever he's on screen; he's cunning and ruthless, but also unpredictable. He always looks like he's coiled back, ready to pounce at the drop of a hat. The chemistry he has with every single creature of the jungle (but Mowgli in particular) is just superb, and the majority of his scenes ended up being some of my favorite in the entire film.
The Jungle Book is honestly close to what I would call a perfect movie. It drags a little around the second act after Baloo is introduced, but the high points here greatly outweigh the flaws. The score and music (care of longtime Favreau collaborator, John Debney) sent chills down my spine; combined with the breathtaking visuals, I found myself completely immersed in this movie's world. This is a film I forsee being a go-to comfort watch, the kind of movie I can put on after a long day and just disappear into. It's cute, scary, funny, tense, sad, and majestic all at once and I really can't stress enough how worth it it is to see this on a big screen with a good sound system. In a world of remakes that all appear to be trying to mimick Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland (while painfully mediocre, there's no question as to whether or not it was profitable), The Jungle Book stands out. It's a good story with great characters and gorgeous visuals; a movie that leaves the viewer wanting for very little. Future directors of Disney remakes take note, this is how it should be done.
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