Film Review: Disney’s Beautiful “Jungle Book” is Exciting, Visually Stunning

Disney’s The Jungle Book is visually stunning and filled with enough excitement to keep viewers both young and old planted firmly on the edge of their seats – as well as being one of the best films that director Jon Favreau (from the Iron Man and Avengers franchise fame) has ever made. The seamless mesh of 3D, digital and physical environments makes for one of the most realistic, fully immersive cinematic experiences put on screen since James Cameron’s Avatar.

I usually avoid seeing the 3D version of films – as with many (most) of them, the 3D effects feel like an afterthought and nothing more than a gimmick to facilitate a studio-mandated premium price for an experience that neither elevates, or enriches the movie-going event. The Jungle Book is a welcome exception. The animals look real – but incredibly they are not; and the benchmark visuals are to be applauded. Much of the technology used to create the environments also emulates Ang Lee’s groundbreaking Life of Pi – except this movie takes the CGI experience even further; and it’s fun to get lost in the richness of it all.

You know the story: After being permanently scarred in an encounter with a human and his “red flower,” Shere Khan (voiced with an imposing, sinister grace by Idras Elba) makes it his mission to kill the man-cub Mowgli, though he can’t because of a peace pact among the animals of the jungle in times of drought. This gives the boy an opportunity to escape, and Bagheera (Sir Ben Kingsley) – the panther who rescued Mowgli after the death of his father and brought him to be raised by the pack of wolves – agrees to take the boy to the man-village where he will be safe from the tiger’s wrath.

Along the way, we’re introduced to many loveable characters like the honey-addicted Baloo the Bear (Bill Murray), and some not-so-loveable – like the terrifyingly colossal python Kaa (voiced perfectly by the hypnotic Scarlett Johansson). This sets in motion a series of events that leads up to a final epic confrontation between man, beast, and even scarier beast. Much of the strength of the film does fall on the voice actors and on newcomer Neel Sethi, who plays our young hero Mowgli with bright enthusiasm. Heck, he even looks exactly like the animated character upon which he is based.

Exciting – apart from its episodic feel (a carryover from the source material – the original animated film and not the book) – The Jungle Book rarely misses a beat. The pacing only falters, oddly enough, whenever the film tries to be more like the animated film, rather than a stand-alone adaptation. While I really enjoyed the rendition of the “Bear Neccesities”, King Louie’s “Like You” song (sung with as much gusto as Christopher Walken can muster) inevitably felt forced and fell flat. Frankly, the songs could have been cut altogether and the film would not have suffered.

But, despite a very hard-PG rating (some of the animal violence is actually quite intense), we never forget that this is a kid’s movie – and the credit falls to the director for this. Favreau does a remarkable job juggling all of the aspects of the story, giving the audience a faithful, kid & adult-friendly experience. Minor quibbles include some pacing issues and story snafus, but all of that is easily forgotten.

Because of the initial (and well-deserved) positive reaction to the film, a sequel has already been announced. And I’m actually looking forward to it.

The Jungle Book

Run Time: 111 minutes

Rated PG for some sequences of scary action and peril

Starring: Neel Sethi, Idras Elba, Lupita Nyong’o, Sir Ben Kingsley, Bill Murray, Scarlett Johansson, Christopher Walken, Garry Shandling, Giancarlo Esposito

Director: Jon Favreau

Writers: Justin Marks (screenplay), Rudyard Kipling (book)