JOIN USThe Jungle Book 2D
English (U/A) Director: Jon Favreau
Cast: Neel Sethi, voices of Bill Murray, Ben Kingsley, Idris Elba, Lupita Nyong’o, Scarlett Johansson, Giancarlo Esposito, Christopher Walken
Rudyard Kipling’s much loved story has seen half a dozen film adaptations, including two from the Disney stable. In these, the jungle was depicted as a romantic place, the creatures (anthropomorphic or not) were seen as tame and human-friendly.
In this latest adaptation, director Jon Favreau who has been involved with all Iron Man films, adds wild and dark elements to the animals and the forest. Favreau renders the animals and forest in CGI. The only actor Neel Sethi who plays Mowgli is a bundle of talent.
Whether it’s Mowgli’s brief encounter with Kaa (Johansson) or the climax with Shere Khan (Elba), there is no denying that The Jungle Book can be more than frightening for children. Shere Khan, the antagonist, puts to shame even Scar (The Lion King) who so far was the most evil feline in animation flicks.
Shere Khan has a good reason to hate men, for Mowgli’s father in self-defence injured him with fire or ‘Red Flower’, as the animals call it. Even when there is a truce during drought and all creatures meet at the waterhole, Shere Khan warns that when the man-cub becomes a man, he will be dangerous.
Mowgli has friends, such as Bagheera (Kingsley), who rescued him when he was very young, and Baloo (Murray) as well as Akela (Esposito), the alpha wolf. It’s the performances of Kingsley and Murray that really stand out among the animals.
Being the only dark version of a classic, The Jungle Book is worth a dekko.