Rudyard Kipling’s classic children stories contained in The Jungle Book was first filmed as a
cartoon by Disney in 1967, then in 1994, and finally into a more updated
animated version in 2016. Though the
latest version comes closest to capturing the spirit of the stories as Kipling
envisioned them, this still is little different from the previous films.
Disney did try to make a production out of this 2016 version
of The Jungle Book. With an estimated budget of $175 million, The Jungle Book provides a spectacular
visual viewing. (Despite the amazing
scenery depicted throughout the movie, the moviemakers apparently filmed The Jungle Book in some Los Angeles
warehouse.) Also, Disney did not hold
back on the casting. The voices of the
characters include Bill Murray, Ben Kingsley, Scarlett Johansson, Christopher
Walken, and Garry Shandling among others.
Director Jon Favreau and the producers of the film were also wise enough
to keep the movie to 106 minutes to keep the interest of young viewers. Bill Murray and Christopher Walken also
provide some good comic relief as the film may otherwise be a bit too dark for
those only familiar with the earlier Disney versions.
Mowgli (Neel Sethi – the only live actor shown on the
screen) is a young boy raised by wolves in the jungle, befriended by a bear
named Baloo (Bill Murray), and counseled by a wise panther named Bagheera (Ben
Kingsley). What otherwise would be
paradise for Mowgli is threatened by his enemy, a tiger named Shere Khan (Idris
Elba), who disdains any man entering the jungle. Attempts by Bagheera to bring Mowgli back to
a village inhabited by humans are unsuccessful.
Mowgli runs into several adventures where he is put under the spell of a
cobra (Scarlett Johansson), temporarily kidnapped by a large orangutan called
Louie (Christopher Walken), and eventually returns to his home where the wolves
live. Mowgli eventually gets Shere Khan
to follow up into a tree where a branch snaps and the tiger falls to his
death. Mowgli is then once again free to
run with the wolves.
At least two critics I’ve read stated that Disney wished to
avoid controversy by leaving out Kipling’s colonialist message. Unlike
the Kipling stories, Mowgli never returns to civilization in the film. This would likely be too complex of a twist
to be contained within such a short film – even if Disney did not give Kipling intent
in writing the stories a second thought.
In the Disney versions, the jungle is not such a terrible place for a
young boy to live. In the Kipling
version, failure to abide by the rules of the jungle, which would be almost
impossible for even a boy like Mowgli to follow, would lead to almost certain
death.
Though it is understandable leaving out Mowgli’s return to
society, since the intent of the movie is to be charming rather than
compelling, the film ultimately is little different than the cartoon version
filmed almost fifty years ago. One only
has to consider all of the sequels and remakes made today in Hollywood to
understand how moviemakers wish to bring in more dollars. And so while The Jungle Book is momentarily entertaining, we will probably
forget about the movie until Disney attempts to create another version with
even more updated visuals.
August 31, 2016
