The Jungle Book Thrills - But a Necessity...?

I was pretty skeptical about The Jungle Book. It’s pretty popular with the rated-G member of our household, and the original was the first movie I ever saw in a theater. So it was something of a “keep your paws off our beloved classic” property. But as we’d all do well to remember, a property it is, nonetheless. 

Jon Favreau is an interesting cat, who’s had a pretty great career as a director. He basically launched the Marvel Universe with Iron Man back in 2008, did the obligatory and much less beloved Iron Man 2, then really took it on the chin with Cowboys & Aliens. That kind of whiplash can give you a complex. In 2014 he took a hard left turn off the juggernaut freeway and made the delightful Chef, which served as a neat metaphor for a creative person who’s flown to close to the commercial sun getting back in touch with what fires him up creatively. Disney wisely kept his seat warm, and it’s a good thing, because The Jungle Book sees Favreau realigned in a harmonious fusion of creative glee and shrewd box office manipulation. It’s no wonder Disney loves him.

The gist of the story follows the Rudyard Kipling source as well as the 1967 animated classic. I was concerned that it would be a mistake to translate the whimsy of old school animation into this more jarringly literal realistic depiction. We’re dealing with talking animals, after all. Plus, the trailer looked maybe a little too intense. Wouldn’t it all be a messy, too vivid train wreck? Thankfully Favreau put just as much focus on retaining a sense of whimsy as he did on delivering groundbreaking special effects. 

Mowgli (a terrific Neel Sethi) is raised by wolves (Lupita Nyong'o and Giancarlo Esposito) deep in the jungle, as a “man cub” – he’s a fish out of water, but never an outcast. The wolves love him, but wise panther Bagheera (a spectacularly elegant Ben Kingsley) knows that the boy will someday become a man, and that it’s only a matter of time before their two natures will no longer be able to coexist. When the imperious tiger Shere Khan (Idris Elba) learns of the boy, he’s determined to kill him, fuel by an Ahab-like thirst for revenge at the past deeds of men. Mowgli will have to go.

On his way out of the jungle, Mowgli meets Baloo the bear (lethargically embodied by Bill Murray), who serves as Mowgli’s Falstaff. “Let’s just hang out together and eat honey and snooze and Hakuna Matata.” Murray’s terrific as and makes the bear an enormous, charming presence who lovably puts the kids at ease. Things get a little extrme and surreal in The Jungle Book, with some pretty great star turns by Scarlett Johansson as Kaa the constrictor, and a deliriously oversized Christopher Walken, complete with Apocalypse Now homage. His King Louie gets pretty dark, and small fry are apt to be a little freaked out by his King Kong menace. But then we’ve unexpectedly got singing and dancing, so if you get a little “tone whiplash,” don’t say we didn't warn you.

Young Neel Sethi is shrewdly cast to be very appealing to contemporary audiences, and he does an amazing job, considering that he likely performed the entire film in motion-capture green-screen overload. He sells every interaction with every talking animal without an iota of hesitation. 

Favreau keeps things moving and knows when to wisely remove or repurpose elements from the cartoon original. No pompous Colonel Hathi here, though the elephant troop is cleverly used very well in a different context. He also bypasses the ending of the original, leaving the cave door open for the inevitable sequel. Ultimately, director Favreau manages the same challenging trick Kenneth Branagh pulled off with Cinderella – taking a beloved animated classic and injecting fresh, three-dimensional charm into it to satisfy a new generation, while untapping new gushers of revenue for the home office. The Jungle Book is eerie, charming, and successful as hell. I only hope that as Disney continues their meteoric success at reinvention, they also spend just as much energy cultivating visions that are original - not just reimagined.