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The Jungle Book Review

The Jungle Book is the latest animated Disney story to be remade as a live-action drama, following the likes of Snow White and Tarzan.

The Jungle Book follows the journey of a young boy named Mowgli (Neel Sethi) who is forced to flee the jungle from the tiger Shere Khan. Mowlgi is helped along the way by a panther, Bagheera (Ben Kingsley) and a bear named Baloo (Bill Murray), though meets all sorts of creatures along the way. This new adaption is a tale of self-discovery and certainly does the original film a great deal of justice.

Fortunately, the film sticks to the original 1967 script and effectively reuses some of the film’s award winning songs. The Jungle Book serves as Neel Sethi’s (Mowgli) breakout film and the young actor fulfills his role perfectly. Neel is the only actor who appears on screen and credit must be given to his ability to act alongside CGI characters who were not present throughout filming.

All the major voice actors are well cast, though Bill Murray and Christopher Walken stand out with their underrated singing ability. Although the film remains heavily computer generated, director Jon Favreau and his team keep the jungle incredibly realistic.

As for the animal characters throughout the film, the ability to make animals talk has often either been a hit or miss for many filmmakers. Merit is given to the film’s CGI specialists for their ability to create truly believable characters that are stylised enough that when they speak, it isn’t unnatural. This, combined with Neel Sethi’s ability to act on a green screen, makes the dialogue between Mowgli and the animals of the film believable.

However, the film is considerably darker than the original and is clearly not designed for the original film’s audience. With very realistic graphics, highly suspenseful scenes and dark imagery, this is not a film for the little ones. Overall, the film is a fine adaptation from the original yet satisfyingly traditional.

Experience the jungle like never before.  Disney’s The #JungleBook is now playing in theatres in 3D! Click the link in the description box to get tickets.

A photo posted by Walt Disney Studios (@disneystudios) on

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