When something old, especially something that was previously a cartoon, gets remade, I'm pretty skeptical. This 2016 live-action/CGI version of The Jungle Book was no exception; I really expected it to be either terrible and cheesy, or packed full of modern dirty humor, or extremely environmentalist/anti-human.
I was so pleased to find that it was none of those things. I'll try to keep this from getting way too long, without giving anything away...
This remake is so much more human than the cartoon so many of us grew up with; it has a lot more heart, and touches on some very real human fears.
The whole thing is cinematically beautiful, with a soaring, jungle-deep, epic-scale soundtrack to match, while still managing to pull in some of the musical themes and songs we remember from the cartoon, without making the score cheesy. The filmmakers even pulled in some of the familiar shots from the cartoon; though now they're far richer and on a larger scale.
It was also wonderful to see many unusual creatures of the tropical world that aren't commonly showcased in film populating the jungle, and it added another layer of realism to the whole colorful expanse.
Early on in the film, two statements set up what this story is all about; the ever watchful Bagheera gently tells little Mowgli, "I realize you weren't born a wolf, but could you just try to act like one?" The ever-patient panther realizes what Mowgli does not; it's only a matter of time until a danger presents itself which neither the little "man-cub" nor his wolf pack family are prepared to face.
Enter the dreaded tiger, Shere Khan.
In the past we came to know Shere Khan as a fearsome, stalking cat who held a grudge against humans, and through whatever means presented themselves, (bribing snakes, intimidating the little "man-cub", battling bears) made it his business to rid the jungle of any humans he came in contact with.
Not so with this Shere Khan. This is a true beast, who, being at the top of the food chain as he is, does not know fear. He deals with potential danger from the likes of man (and mans' ability to "summon" the hated "Red Flower" of fire) in a beastly, primal way; by snuffing it out in a furry of claws and teeth with no mercy, along with anything, anything that gets in his way. This is a far more psychologically terrifying, hate-filled Shere Khan than we've met before. And a far more formidable enemy to little Mowgli.
Here the second statement that sets up the focus of the film comes into play, once again voiced by Bagheera: "I wish I could tell you that the wolves could have protected Mowgli. But this is not that sort of a tale."
Bagheera is by far my favorite -and also the most beautiful- animal in the whole film. His gentle but firm guiding of Mowgli, and how he obviously loves the little two-legged "man-cub", really touched me. His golden panther eyes and silent prowling, and the amount of expression captured in his face were captivating.
Here I should mention an interesting note;
The elephants in the film are treated by the other animals almost like gods, and Bagheera credits them with creating the jungle. Here's where I'd expect the film to fall apart into a mess of environmental animal-worshiping. But, whether the filmmakers meant to or not, that idea's undercut by two instances later on in the film; one in which only Mowgli's ingenuity as a human is able to help an elephant, and another when the little "man-cub" is seen riding on the back of one of these huge creatures, seemingly directing the heard as they rectify a serious problem in the jungle.
Looks like a beautiful example of God's command to mankind to "take dominion" (a word that means to govern and care for) over the creatures and the earth, whether the film's creators meant it that way or not.
Throughout the film, it's clear that Mowgli is special. Different from the animals he lives among. He builds things and comes up with clever solutions to problems and obstacles. Yes, some animals make and use simple tools, but the ingenuity and genius of man is unique, along with his going out of his way in compassion and stewarding, which is very evident in little Mowgli.
The wolves and Bagheera discourage him in his "tricks", because they aren't the way the animals accomplish things. But lovable Baloo the bear doesn't mind a bit, especially when Mowgli's "tricks" can get him some of that delicious honey he can't seem to get to himself...
We'll just leave Kaa the snake as a mystery... Suffice to say everything in this Jungle Book is on a large scale, and Kaa is a reptile that should be avoided by people with a real fear of snakes...
Here I'll put a quick mention of a few things I didn't care for, though I think a couple of these may be just personal preference. ;)
--The CGI animals were very realistic, and certainly very beautiful. Their fur and eyes, especially glowing in the dark, were stunning. There was one instance that jarred me, where Shere Khan's movement looks a little animated, climbing down and later up a cliff side. It just didn't look lithe and weighted like a live tiger's movement. But the rest of the time looked flawless. Also, I couldn't decide whether some of the talking animation for a few of the wolves and background animals was a little rough, or if it might have been due to several of the lesser-used voices not really fitting the animal they were put with. They felt like they were layered on top, not animalistic enough to be resonating out of the animal that was speaking.
--I'm the only one in my family who thought this, but... The whole film felt a little dialogue heavy to me. So many things were told — the lines weren't on-the-nose obvious, but I wonder if much of what was said could have been turned into more powerful visuals instead.
--The monkey king Louie... Umm, he was beyond huge. He's definitely a crime boss... And looked like a cross between King Kong and the nasty goblin king in The Hobbit. Just not my favorite. :P
--Weight. Sometimes the filmmakers got this element really right, and sometimes they missed it. The elephants in particular; they're enormous, and I really expected them to shake the ground. Well, their sound was big and heavy, but the jungle floor didn't seem to be effected. O_o
The cinematography through the whole thing is very beautiful, and well used to help us feel and experience with Mowgli. One shot would transition to fog, and as you began to wonder where this place was, little Mowgli would appear, and his eyes were asking the same question, and we resonate with his feeling. When Mowgli first encounters the "Red Flower", we see fire in a new light, and we fear and are fascinated by its wildness all at once.
Two particular moments were so tender and beautiful, and really choked me up. I don't want to give them away, so I'll just say, the strong love of a mother, and finding the helpless toddler Mowgli.
Many times weight, power, and the fragility of life become abundantly evident. The speed and rage of Shere Khan is a formidable power against Mowgli's little life. But the weight and force of stampeding buffalo give even the furious tiger pause. Still, even that herd is no match for strong weather. And we can only begin to imagine the terrible-ness of fighting wild creatures, like formidable fighting big cats, each bent on keeping the other from his goal.
(The film was helped immensely by the fact that this little guy (Neel Sethi) is quite
a remarkable, innocent, heartfelt young actor, and very well suited to his part.)
The climax is different and similar to the cartoon, but better. It was neat to see the fire come into play in a way I didn't see coming from a million miles away, and thankfully the film never made it seem like mankind was the destroyer of all the natural world, which was a huge relief. The climax was a well-built culmination of all the themes touched on throughout this telling of the story, and the ending was satisfying, powerful, and fitting at the same time.
So yes, I really liked the film, and yes, I'm recommending you go see it while it's still in theaters while I go and buy myself the soundtrack... ;)
One last thing:
I don't usually like watching movies in 3-D. They're just not that awesome to me. If a film's supposed to be especially good in 3-D I might see it that way once, but I'm usually not really impressed. One exception was Legend of the Guardians — the wings and feathers of every owl ruffling in vivid 3-D sent awed chills down my spine, and any time I re-watch it, I'm sad I can't see it in that stunning 3-D again.
Exception #2: this Jungle Book. It was very impactful in IMAX 3-D, and added to some of the scenes in which the fragile-ness of life was already very evident. All in all, I quite liked it — it was still good without, but the IMAX 3-D was well worth experiencing. :)
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