The 1967 animated Disney smash hit The Jungle Book is a timeless classic. I think there is simply no denying that. So when I received word of a "live action" movie in the works, forgive me if I met this news with a good measure of scepticism. "Why on earth mess with a film beloved by so many and in no dire need of any sort of revisionism whatsoever?", I thought to myself. The critics were going to have a field day and my only concern was the severity of their harshness against this cursed project. I suppose the only positive news I had heard was the great Jon Favreau was the director at the helm. But was this enough to produce an effort that was, at the very least, half decent under the scrutinous eyes of the demanding general public?
The story should be a familiar one to most. Our young protagonist Mowgli (played by newcomer Neet Sethi) is already a fully-fledged member of his "wolf clan" headed up by pack leader Akela (voiced by Giancarlo Esposito). Though trouble brews within the jungle as the formidable Shere Khan (voiced by Idris Elba) is hellbent on killing the petite "man-cub". A black panther by the name of Bagheera (voiced by Ben Kingsley) who actually found Mowgli as a baby and brought him to the pack, attempted to remove the threat of danger by helping lead Mowgli back to the village where humans dwell and therefore return him to his own kind. But with the relentless presence of Shere Khan in hot pursuit of his target and holding some mysterious vendetta yet to fulfil, will young Mowgli have time to escape his vengeful clutches in time?
I actually missed the cinematic run of this movie, opting to wait until a chance arose as to when I could get the time to sit down and watch it. Such was my cynicism towards this movie. Well, a few months later (and after a spate of furious nagging from my wife), we both finally got around to checking it out. Well, I was stunned. Always one to learn the hard way, as my mother often quoted. This movie was gorgeous beyond reason. Although released more than a year and a half ago, the technical achievements this movie attains are, to date, the best I have ever seen. The Jungle Book will leave you speechless. I was already privy to the fact that the entire jungle setting was created using advanced state of the art CGI techniques, but nothing could have prepared me for what I saw. This being further evidenced by my wife being whole-heartedly convinced the backgrounds were all real. Presumably filmed within the deepest, most exotic regions of Africa or some such place in the world. They were utterly astounding. But the star attractions of the production were, in fact, the animals themselves. Without a shadow of a doubt.
The expressiveness of their facial gestures, the ultra-realistic fur on their bodies, the wide spectrum of strong emotions portrayed through the ingenious use of technology at the team's disposal. It all culminated to an experience unlike anything I've ever witnessed. This is definitely one of Disney Studios finest hours. And another very important aspect. One I had the most fears about. They managed to stay true to the roots of the original whilst giving the movie itself a modern day makeover. To such a high degree that I absolutely concur with most of the reviews online. It was an effort worthy of the phenomenal end result. Sure, many of us grew up with the original having captured an irreplaceable piece of our childhood and innocent hearts. But Favreau's vision is "his" own, make no mistake about it. Different and dynamic enough to warrant its relevance and updated formula. Kids and adults alike will love it. In the case of any faults with this movie, I believe it firmly lies with their choice of Mowgli. In terms of looks and appearance, he seems to have all that you would expect for our main two-legged hero. But something didn't quite sit with me. Maybe it was his slightly wooden on-screen theatrics or possibly the way his eyes always appeared too "fixated" to certain spots on numerous occasions. I don't know. I wasn't sold. However, with everything else smashing that ball straight outta the park, I found that after a while I could gloss over it and enjoy the film for the masterpiece that it is. Such was the hypnotic nature of all that gorgeous eye-candy The Jungle Book delivers.
Well, I obviously loved this film, in case you hadn't noticed. It had a great pacing to it, tons of heart and raw emotion as well as the best visuals of any movie, bar none. The only issue being Mowgli himself whom I think could have been better cast. Still, the good firmly outweigh the bad here and I have no hesitation at all in recommending this movie very highly indeed for anyone in need of a good, wholesome family adventure movie. Pure brilliance, Disney. After all these years, you've still got it!
My Verdict: (8.5/10)
Interesting post good job
This movie is really worth watching, great storyline. It also teaches us how is very true that animals can see and react to things they have never seen before by their own perspective view. Animals are the most incredible and smart creatures on earth.
I literally just wanted this two days ago , it’s a cute movie . I tried to show my 4 month old :D. Though I wish the ending was a tad bit better
Wow, what a coincidence, @journeyoflife! Great visuals and all taking the fantastic plot premise from the original. The perfect ingredients for a great movie. :)
I saw this one in the theater for free and was very pleased with how it all turned out. I agree, the visuals were outstanding - just imagine what they will be able to do in 20 or 30 years time!
I had no problems with the young kid. I think he did an excellent job. If he chooses to follow a career into Hollywood his experience will increase.
Hey, buddy! Yeah, it certainly does boggle the mind as to where things might be heading in a few years. 'm not quite sure what it was about Neet's performance. I felt it was quite muted and lacked the energy and drive a character like Mowgli would have. I dunno, expectations, eh? Lol, anyways, I'm glad we still came away loving this one. :)
Well I have a special memory regarding this one, as it was the first movie I went to see with my current girlfriend. It was quite funny, since she's sort of an animal nerd and she kept repeating that some of the animals were not supposed to be there, much to my amusement.
Unfortunately, I haven't had the chance of seeing the undubbed version of this movie. I avoid dubbed movies, even if translating scripts is supposed to be my job, I still can't stand not hearing from the actors themselves. Plus, Idris Elba and Giancarlo Esposito are among my favorites, so I'd really like to re-watch this one with the original voices.
At any rate, I was expecting a replica of the cartoon (much like they did with Beauty and The Beast - stuff that you have to endure when you have a girlfriend), and I was somewhat surprised at the end result, too. I agree with you that the visuals were impressive, stunning. But honestly I appreciated that they tried to give the story a different angle, rather than just trying to make money out of the audience's nostalgia.
Wow! I didn't know there was an undubbed edition? What was dubbed though? You've got me intrigued since I assumed the voice actors got overlaid onto the animal CGI models. But anyhow, yes, it was visually magnificent and not just a simple "cash grab". Favreau is already set to direct the sequel given the enormous success of the first. Can't wait for the end results...
(p.s. love the anecdote about your girlfriend, lol.)
I live in Italy, so most of the people here watch movies that are dubbed in Italian by Italian actors, rather than do as (almost) any other civilized country and watch the original version with subtitles. This means that only a handful of cinemas in the major cities will play the original version of movies, and usually only big productions (Star Wars, Marvel movies...). It is true that our dubbers are pretty good (I could say a lot about translations, but I won't), but watching a movie with someone else's voice over the original actor is in no way close to the original experience. So there's part of the population that agrees with me on this, and the other part who thinks we're snobbish and just want to brag about our English skills, or simply won't start watching subtitled movies, since they've been watching them this way since they were kids. As it often happens in this age, it's very difficult to find common grounds in any discussion, as pretty much every question is reduced to you're stupid - you're a hater.
I'm sorry I didn't explain this in the first place, it was an oversight on my part.
@ezzy I just got to tell you I was a KID in the 60's and I remember sitting in the theater watching the Original Jungle Book and I could Never relinquish what the 1967 Jungle Book mean't to me. 2015 version I can't do it, No Thank You..........
Lol, fair enough! I'm with you in that the original can never be replaced or "tampered" with. Though I understand it's more based off nostalgia that anything else. But I feel this new movie in a re-imagining for the new generation. I see them as separate entities which in my eyes gives them credibility in different ways... :)
You have a valid point and that is what is good about conversation................
I love movies when the human interact with animals with such a close aproximity. I’m definately anxious to see this movie. I hope I don’t have to learn the hard way as you mentioned in your post, but with a little bit of luck I should be able to watch the “Jungle book” soon.
Resteemed!
Yeah, I'm also a big fan of animal adventures seeing as I love animals so much, lol. I hope you end up enjoying this as much as I did, man. :)
This film is absolutely gorgeous. Besides the boy being the only real being in the film, it is soooo convincing. Great review!
I know, @bkdbkd! It was "stunning", to put it mildly. I hear the same director wit give the "modern" treatment to The Lion King next. Some lofty expectations to be had with that one then, lol! :)
I must have seen this movie at least 20 times over the past 2 months, it's my sons favorite movie! We love it! I never saw the original, but the story is timeless nonetheless. Great review!
Thanks, buddy. And yes, it is an awesome movie that I didn't expect it to be. Nice turnaround, lol! But I also urge you to see the original too. Not sure how it will hold up to today's audience but definitely worth watching seeing as it's such a global beloved classic. :)
Surprisingly I liked this movie! When I first heard that they were going to do it live action, I thought it was going to be ruined. But i liked it! One of the things I liked in Jungle Book is the music!! I would give it a 6, haha.
I also was pleasantly surprised as to how well it turned out. Now I just wish I'd seen it in the cinema too, lol.
I really liked this movie, and when I found out the the little boy who played Mowgli was a new actor, I was even more impressed.
Movie was great no doubt. The kid? Hmmm... debatable, IMHO. :)
I just feel that for a new child actor to play a leading role like this, and portray his character so well is pretty awesome. What are your thoughts on his acting role?
I think Disney is the best creator of animated movie. They did their best job.
I loved to watch Disney movie as usual this is. This one was amazing story and everything. Really Really enjoyed much. My vedrict is 8.3/10
Thanks for sharing your opinion here. You wrote well. I appreciate you. Keep posting here. Have e good day. @ezzy
Yeah, they did a pretty stellar job on this production, bud. Glad to see our verdicts are so close together. :)
great story..
good writting.
great to share...
love it.
waiting for your next blog..
@upvoted
Here are my thoughts about the movie, pal...
https://steemit.com/review/@recenzent/a-response-to-my-personal-thoughts-on-the-jungle-book-2015-by-ezzy-from-mgaft1
Good movie
But it has some moral values hidden
We should protect environment
That's the message of the film
True... Nice mention in regards to the indirect messages within this movie.
great post loved it.
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I liked your post friend and your point of view about this movie .. great contribution a greeting ..
really interesting i love it so much @ezzy thanks for shareing friend
It's really amazing and wonderful story for reading.
I really appreciate your thoughts and feelings for this book.
You have written this in very well manner. I like your style.
Thanks for sharing this beautiful story.
really great love it ....thanks for sharing @ezzy
I have not read the book but it sounds fun
great story
very good writting
great share
love it.
waiting for your next.....
Fantastic I liked your post very good work thanks for sharing friend this post has a mix of many great things very good story
I love the jungle book!
Awesome feelings from the childhood.
That was such a great movie. Thanks for giving your review of it @ezzy
Really? It was 'georgeous beyond resaon'?
Personally I found it difficult to sit through the entire two hours at one go. I mean, the effects were decent yes, but I didn't feel the story and emotions portrayed that much. Honestly, in my opinion, Jon Favreau's touch didn't shine as much as it usually does.
Perhaps I was already too biased. I had loved the animation tremendously.
Hello. It's very nice to see such a good writer.
I am always looking out for more on the way..thanks always @ezzy
This is easily the best movie of Disney on this "wave" of taking its iconic propierties and creating new movies with them.
Beauty and the Beast, Maleficent, Alice... Yeah, i wasn't into any of them.
But this one is GREAT.
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