The Jungle Book

We live in a time when creativity and originality are simultaneously rewarded and stifled.  Movie studios now over-value blockbusters and the money they can make.  Smaller movies have a more difficult time succeeding because they can't compete on a financial level.  Everyone is so focused on box office results that they're forgetting how to make movies with real substance.  And some companies, including Disney, mistakenly think that the best thing to do is put out material that's already been successful, so most of the time we're getting live-action remakes of animated films, with very little original ideas.  They think it's a financially sound idea, but as far as artistry is concerned, it's extremely shallow.

Some of Disney's live-action remakes have been—to put it bluntly—wasteful.  Occasionally, though, something truly special happens, everything clicks into place, and a movie can improve on the original.  That's what I think happened with Jon Favreau's version of The Jungle Book (2016).  He and his team have taken a movie that was kind of episodic and given the story real weight.  The story now has a more natural flow, the danger seems real, and the emotions are stronger.  I always thought the original, released in 1967, was a bit boring.  This version captivated me from beginning to end.

Newcomer Neel Sethi takes on the role of Mowgli, which is more challenging than it seems.  Every interaction in the movie is between Mowgli and CGI animals.  The only real things we're seeing are Sethi and bits of set made to look like the jungle.  And the effect is seamless; the whole thing is done so well that we get caught up in the story and stop thinking about how it was made.  The CGI in this film raised the bar.

Somewhere in the wilds of India, Mowgli is an orphaned boy found by the black panther Bagheera (voice by Ben Kingsley) and taken in by a wolf pack led by Akela (voice by Giancarlo Esposito), with Raksha (voice by Lupita Nyong'o) becoming Mowgli's adoptive mother.  As a drought season sears the land, the wolf pack joins all kinds of other animals at a watering hole during a "water truce."  Mowgli's presence draws the attention of Shere Khan (voice by Idris Elba), a tiger who vows to kill the boy when the drought ends.  As the wolves debate the wisdom of allowing a human boy to remain with them, especially under threat from Shere Khan, Mowgli volunteers to leave, and Bagheera volunteers to escort him to a nearby "man-village."

The cinematography for this stretch of the movie is stunning.  We're shown breathtaking vistas and lush landscapes.  You can almost smell the locations (which, again, are mostly computer-generated creations, making the accomplishment even more impressive).  The boy and the panther are ambushed by Shere Khan and separated as Mowgli escapes with a herd of water buffalo.  Upon re-entering the jungle, Mowgli is found by Kaa (voice by Scarlet Johansson), an enormous python that hypnotizes the boy and tells him the story of how he was orphaned by none other than Shere Khan.  But before Kaa can have her way with him, Mowgli is rescued by a bear named Baloo (voice by Bill Murray).

Meanwhile, Shere Khan visits the wolf pack and kills Akela, hoping that word will reach Mowgli and cause him to return to the jungle.  In the 1967 film, Shere Khan was viewed as dangerous, but he came across as a rather stuffy English aristocrat.  In this iteration of the story, we're given a much more complex villain whose scenes are truly scary.  (This time, when characters hear the name "Shere Khan," it evokes real fear.)  Through the combination of Idris Elba's voice acting and the work of Disney animators, Khan is menacing from the start.  He doesn't want to defeat his enemies on a mere physical level but on a psychological level as well, as demonstrated by dialogue that simultaneously manipulates and denigrates.  And as the story reaches its climax, we see firsthand how physically imposing a Bengal tiger can be in a full-on display of frightening ferocity.  This Khan draws blood when he attacks.  Favreau and his team have taken an already memorable villain and elevated him to one of the greats.

Mowgli and Baloo become fast friends, with Baloo making use of Mowgli's ability to conceive of contraptions to help them acquire honey.  While Baloo's behavior is a bit manipulative, he and Mowgli genuinely enjoy their time together as they alternate between having fun, being lazy, and gathering food. Their escapades are interrupted by Bagheera, who insists that Mowgli continue with him to the man-village.  He convinces Baloo to turn Mowgli away in order to protect the boy from Shere Khan.  Just as Mowgli becomes emotionally distraught, he is kidnapped by monkeys.

The monkeys, known as the Bandar-log, take Mowgli to a mountain topped by ancient ruins.  In hot pursuit are Bagheera and Baloo, who make an amusing pair of rescuers.  Mowgli is taken before King Louie (voice by Christopher Walken), a character who did not exist in Kipling's stories.  Portrayed in other versions as an orangutan, in this version King Louie is a Gigantopithecus, and, like Shere Khan, he is more threatening than before.  He desires for Mowgli to show him how to create fire, which the animals in the story refer to as "the red flower."  (Even the use of fire in this movie carries more danger and consequence.)  Louie's similarities to a gangland mob boss are uncanny, with strong echoes of Colonel Kurtz from Apocalypse Now, and Walken's take on the character is wonderful.  (And for those who appreciate obscure pop culture references, did anybody notice the cowbell?)

And that's enough of the plot.  There are so many things worth admiring in this film, not the least of which are the voice actors, especially Kingsley, Murray, Nyong’o, Elba, Walken, and a small host of vocal cameos.  We walk away surprised at how well it all works when it could have collapsed under the weight of "living up to the original."  Did the story need to be remade?  Not necessarily, but they found a way to do it (and I'm sure glad they did!) that smoothed out the storyline and made it more convincing.  They gave us animation that is astounding, and took characters we already know and love and somehow improved them.  This time we have elephants that don't behave like silly British military stereotypes; they are presented as majestic, powerful creatures of great importance.  Those kinds of details, that pay tribute to the original and yet create an even stronger emotional resonance, are sprinkled throughout the story.

Mowgli comes to a deeper understanding of friendship and family, surrounded by animals that showcase surprisingly human sensibilities.  By the end of the movie, we've gone on a journey with the characters, encountered danger, enjoyed some laughs, sung a few songs, and learned a few lessons.  What more could you ask for?