The Jungle Book Review

With the craze of adapting fairy tales as realistic movies it is no surprise that Disney followed suit with that trend. Their idea is to remake their animated films and update them for the 21^st century. Disney’s live action remakes are often hit and miss, financially successful but mixed with their audiences. Some changes work but for the most part failed to capture what made their animated counterparts iconic. Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland (2010) felt more like Alice in Narnia, Maleficent (2014) tried to convince the audience that the original Sleeping Beauty (1959) was a lie the whole time, and Cinderella (2015) was polarizing where most of the updates work but the remake turned the main character into a more sexist caricature in a film that is SUPPOSED to be a modern update. Because of those problems I groan every time Disney announces a new remake based off of one of their own animated features, and with The Jungle Book (2016) given the same treatment I was skeptical. However, upon watching the film my worries were put to rest.

The film works the same as the original 1967 film, Mowgli, played by Neel Sethi, is raised by wolves but word gets out that the tiger Shere Khan, played by Idris Elba, is after Mowgli because of his hate for humans. So the panther Bagherra, played by Ben Kingsley offers to take Mowgli back to the man village but Mowgli doesn’t want to go as he feels the jungle is his home. Along the way they come across Baloo the bear, played by Bill Murray, who promises to let Mowgli stay in the jungle until he learns about Shere Khan so he tries to take Mowgli back as well. Along the way they encounter Kaa the snake, played by Scarlett Johansson, King Louie of the monkeys played by Christopher Walken, and eventually have the battle against Shere Khan in the end that would determine Mowgli's fate.

The remake’s narrative is almost exactly the same as the animated film. The basic plot points are there but the movie extends them while keeping true to the original and makes references to the Rudyard Kipling story. Improving some moments that does not insult the animated film like Maleficent did. The characters feel the same but some changes fit the darker tone and even get some expansion. Mowgli for example doesn’t come off as impulsive and hot headed as the original, he’s still determined to stay in the jungle but you feel his pain that he does not want to leave his only family that he’s ever known. In addition, the film has Mowgli invent gadgets and tricks to help him gather food, showing how Mowgli is learning to fend for himself when we didn’t see much from him in the animated film. For Neel Sethi’s first major lead, his portrayal as Mowgli its commendable. In addition, the wolves actually get more screentime considering that they play a big part in the actual story, Mowgli’s Brothers from the original Jungle Book.

The other characters stay the same but the changes to the villains are very noticeable. Kaa is actually more intimidating compared to the original who was more comedic. King Louie is still comedic but is much more villainous compared to the animated Louie. More threatening but is still entertaining thanks to Christopher Walken’s performance. On a side note, when Walken started to sing “I Wanna Be Like You” I literally had to hold my hold my breath to avoid laughing out loud in the theater, it was THAT hilarious! Its not bad by any means but Walken is known for coming off so awkward in his performances that it makes it entertaining whether he intended it or not. Either way it was the funniest moment of the entire movie to me. Finally the big character difference is with main villain himself, Shere Khan. The original was very calm and dignified but can be intimidating since almost all of the animals fear the strength he possesses. While the remake’s Shere Khan is not as charming but he makes up for it with how frightening he can be. After Mowgli’s departure to the village, Shere Khan kills the leader of the wolf pack and holds them hostage unless they bring Mowgli to him. So while many may miss the charming tiger of the animated film, those looking for a more aggressive and frightening villain will certainly get what they want here.

With all that it sounds like the film is a superior remake right? Well…yes and no. Compared to the other live action remakes, The Jungle Book is a much better film but there are some changes that may not make everyone happy. To have more character interactions than before, others were either cut back or removed. While the elephants are in the remake they don’t have any lines at all but they are much more respected by the other animals compared to the original. In addition the vultures were cut entirely so anyone who loved the Beatles inspired buzzards from the original will be disappointed. Another flaw I found was with its ending, which doesn’t ruin the film but for those wanting the exact same ending may be in for a surprise. Honestly I thought it was a cop out at first, but after learning that its already getting a sequel with the same director on board, I hope that they can expand on Mowgli’s story similar to how his continued in the original book. So this nitpick is very minor.

The other flaw is something that will be unavoidable when talking about the remake is that how Disney once again failed to make a true adaptation of Kipling’s story. Though I wouldn’t call it flaw exactly since the animated film intentionally didn’t follow the original story, as its focus was to make the movie entertaining for western audiences. Its just there are two groups of people when it comes to adaptations of famous stories: those who love different interpretations and those who wants a 100% retelling. People who love the original story may be disappointed with this movie but for those that love the original film or accept that this is not a 100% adaptation will still be entertained. If anyone wants an adaptation that stays true to the original story, the 1976 Chuck Jones animated short is so far the most faithful adaptation of The Jungle Book in regards to Mowgli’s story.

After the disappointment of the last remakes, I can safely say that Disney’s The Jungle Book is a must see for those who love the original or are seeing this story for the first time. It is very rare that a remake not only updates the last film properly but also compliments the original without insulting it. A modern remake like this doesn’t come around everyday that respect its audience, see it while you can!