Movie of the Week: The Jungle Book

Alexa: I’ve never been a fan of The Jungle Book in general – not even the beloved animated version – so kudos to John Favreau for crafting an adaptation that melted even my Jungle Book-hating heart. I could wax poetic for thousands of words about the animals alone. They were created entirely using CGI and motion capture technology, and the resulting creatures are both hyper-realistic and fantastical. They seamlessly integrate with the gorgeously rendered environments, yet the fact that they talk doesn’t look at all out of place. But beyond the stunning visuals, the structure of this particular version and the rich portrayals of the characters resonated with me unlike any other adaptation. Neel Sethi, the young lead, is utterly charming, and the voice actors are all perfectly cast. My only real complaint is the use of a select few songs from Disney’s classic animated movie. This film is not a musical but two songs still make it into the narrative, so it feels like they’re only included out of nostalgic obligation. The treatment of The Bare Necessities is a bit more natural, but I Wanna Be Like You comes across as out of place in an otherwise tense scene. The Jungle Book has plenty to offer for fans of the animated version while also forging a fresh path. If Disney’s subsequent live-action adaptations of its animated classics are this good, I’ll be there every time.

Joel: Disney seems intent on going full steam ahead with their plan to do a live-action remake of every single one of their animated movies. The Jungle Book isn't the first one in that lineup, but it feels like the first one that really got it right. This updated version of Disney's The Jungle Book honors where it came from, but at the same time isn't so scared of tainting the legacy of the original animated movie that it's too scared to make any adjustments.
This movie seems to approach the original as a very good first draft of what an adaptation of The Jungle Book could be. It follows the same basic story beats, but fleshes out the parts of the animated version that would feel weak to a modern audience. Sher Khan gets a lot more story time this time around, and a good bit of backstory that actually builds on his motivation as the main antagonist instead of him simply showing up without explanation to be the bad guy part way though the movie. The relationships between Mowgli and his two mentors (Baloo and Bagheera) have time to breath and develop as well.

But while several changes are made to the pacing and staging of the original animated version, it doesn't ignore Disney's original Jungle Book adaptation. This isn't something where Disney just happened to make a live action adaption of the same book they adapted as a cartoon once upon a time. There is clear inspiration being drawn from the 1967 animated film. If nothing else the presence of two songs from the original should tell you that. That isn't to say this movie is a musical. The animated version had several less memorable songs that didn't make the cut, but the two big numbers do make an appearance. (A third number does show up in the credits) While it might feel a little out of left field for these songs to show up when they do, they serve as a welcome example of this version of The Jungle Book taking what worked best in the original and trying to expand on it. "I Wanna Be Like You," the song sung by King Louie comes with a new verse written by Richard Sherman, one of the song's original composers.

In short this movie does exactly what a remake is supposed to do, find something that has the potential for greatness, or in many ways is already great by itself, but try to expand on that greatness in new and interesting ways. If this is the course for the future of Disney's live action remakes, it looks like they may have found the right groove here.

Chris: I'll be honest, this was a movie that I put off watching for quite a while because I knew it would be a CGI retelling of the animated classic that I've always held in such high regard. I'll agree with Alexa and say that the use of the two original songs felt out of place with the tone of the rest of the movie. There's an overall darker tone to this compared to the animated version (aside from the appreciated comical moments from Bill Murray) to the point where the nostalgic obligation felt like a square peg trying to find it's place in a world without hard edges. And as much I love Christopher Walken, I would've rather they stayed away from "I Wanna Be Like You" because nobody is gonna be able to come close to the performance of the original by the late Louis Prima. But aside from the music complaints, I enjoyed this version of the movie. It was a daunting task to take on a classic and Favreau did a great job adapting the story to a new audience. But given the choice of watching this one or the original? I will always choose the original.

Next Week's Movie: Man Up