What’s it like ? A visually brilliant CGI film re-make of the classic 1967 cartoon.
Plot: The boy Mowgli has been raised by wolves in the jungle, but Shere Khan the tiger wants revenge for a past injury. Mowgli’s friends Bagheera the panther and Baloo the bear must ensure he stays safe as they seek to return him to the local village of people. Along the way, they encounter a herd of elephants and colony of monkeys as well as a wide range of other jungle animals.
Comment: Stunning and entirely realistic scenes of the animals and jungle. Story and characters are broadly the same as the cartoon, though somewhat re-worked. The film is much more serious and ‘real-life’, whereas the cartoon was comedic with iconic depictions of the animals. There is a range of moods, however, with scenes of general jungle life, and lighter moments, mainly with Baloo the bear. The elephants are much grander figures and the monkeys are more serious, while Kaa the python is as sinister as ever.
The story is fuller than in the cartoon, and comes to a more satisfactory conclusion, with real development.
Overall, it doesn’t have the iconic kick of the cartoon and will probably never be as famous, but it is a magnificent and rich creation.
Warning: There is strong threat and scariness in the film, with some violence, mainly from Shere Khan and partly from Kaa the python. This is not for young or sensitive children (or possibly adults too !)
Cultural significance: The Jungle Book has been an iconic part of British culture, since Rudyard Kipling published the original set of stories in 1894: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Jungle_Book#Chapters
The 1967 cartoon took its popularity to the highest level, from which it has never really declined.
Interesting fact 1: Disney is currently re-working its classic cartoons in big budget film format. The others to date are: Cinderella (2015) and Beauty and the Beast (2017). All three so far have been excellent and very popular.
Interesting fact 2: The classic 1967 cartoon doesn’t actually have very much story. It’s because it’s based on just three short stories in the Kipling book. What makes the cartoon so memorable is the iconic portraits of the animals, the lively script and the classic songs.
Rating: 4.5/5, possibly 5/5
7 September 2019
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