Quick Movie Review: The Jungle Book (2016)

For those of you who haven't seen Walt Disney's animated version of The Jungle Book--or haven't seen it in awhile, anyway--I'm sure you still know the famous songs, and perhaps even some classic scenes. But what you may not realize is that the version we're most familiar with does have some issues of its own.

Not to say that Disney's 1967 adaptation is anything to scoff at. It will definitely slap a smile on your face. But with a runtime that could have used a few more minutes, there's always been some things missing.

Definitely an improvement on the original, 2016's The Jungle Book fills out the classic story in a much more complete way.

With this one, we get answers to a lot of characters' motives, as well as more realistic responses to drastic life changes.

There's backstory provided for why Shere Khan wants to kill Mowgli, along with a more heartfelt goodbye as Mowgli leaves his wolf pack at the beginning of the film.

Neel Sethi, who plays Mowgli, passes the cute test. Almost so cute and precocious that he fails to give us the realistic performance we desire. Instead, it's more of what you would see in a Disney Channel show. He's oozing with "my parents made me audition for this." Granted, he does alright considering he's essentially acting with no other humans. And while director Jon Favreau gets the best performance out of him, he's just a little too much Disney and not enough realistic. Which isn't far off from original voice actor in 1967, who lacks the same kind of conviction. Compared to him, Sethi is an improvement.

But the narrative is really what drives this movie the hardest. It's captivating even before the comic relief of Baloo (Bill Murray) shows up. And it has the added benefit of not being too long.

The jungle world created by the filmmakers paints a dark and sinister universe, just as mysterious as the jungle itself. There's nothing peaceful here as long as Shere Khan is around.

King Louie, voiced by Christopher Walken, is just as wicked. He hearkens back to a Marlon Brando Godfather, living in the shadows and attempting to exploit the quid pro quo. This is also where "man's red flower" becomes more of a prominent feature in this version.

The visual effects are an accomplishment alone. Every hair, every movement, without using any live animals. I've never seen anything like it. Truly amazing.

If you romanticize the 1967 original, then you may have a problem accepting this one for all its greatness. But this one is the actuality of what we've been romanticizing. And besides the acting, it's near perfect. It's darker and even more twisted, transcending Rudyard Kipling's original source material to the maximum. It replicates the tone--but better. It's everything good from the original--but better. And even brings back the beloved songs for good measure.

Twizard Rating: 99

Quick Movie Review: The Jungle Book (1967)

The Jungle Book is one of those movies that we seem to remember in glimpses. We know the musical numbers and all the characters, but unless we've seen it as an adult, we can't quite remember exactly what happens.

But we know it's iconic. We know it's a Disney classic. However, this film may have benefitted from being a tad bit longer. There are too many characters we'd love to see more of and so many chances to build up the depths of our leads.

Although I do like this movie a great deal for nostalgia's sake, I wouldn't constitute it as one of Disney's best. The songs are top notch, and the characters are memorable, but it's missing a lot of heart compared to the studio's gems of the same era.

When Mowgli leaves his wolf family at the beginning of the film, there is no heartfelt goodbye. These are the creatures who raised him, and he barely bats an eye as Bagheera leads him on his way to the "man village" to escape the tiger, Shere Khan, who's trying to kill him. And without giving anything away, there are also a couple of key scenes towards the end that should have given us a little more sentiment.

Which leads me to the voice of Mowgli. The kid playing him has no feel or emotion. It sounds as though he's simply reading the lines (or having them read to him) straight off the paper. It's our main character, and his voice lacks any true conviction.

Granted, this was released in 1967, a year that marks, for many, the beginning of Disney's "dark period". It's still a beloved movie, and rightfully so. It's filled with some iconic scenes. The one with King Louie, for example. It's so good, you wish you had been treated with just a few more glimpses of the antihero.

It's the darker, more twisted, tone that drives this film the most between the catchy musical sequences. It encompasses the jungle-feel very precisely, and transcends through from Rudyard Kipling's original source material, despite Walt trying to prevent it. Everywhere Mowgli turns, there's someone out to kill him.

I know it sounds like I'm berating this film a lot, but I actually love The Jungle Book. It's one that I watched often as a kid and one that still makes me smile as I watch it as an adult. Luckily, this film won't face many new critics as mostly everyone has seen it by the time they are old enough to care. That's one of the beautiful things about these old epitomes of animation.

Twizard Rating: 90