The Jungle Book Movie Review
“The Jungle Book” is an all-new live-action epic adventure about Mowgli starring newcomer Neel Sethi, a man-cub who’s been raised by a family of wolves. The movie is based on Rudyard Kipling’s timeless stories and inspired by Disney ‘s 1967 classic animated film. The all-star voice cast includes Oscar®-winners Ben Kingsley (“Learning to Drive,” “The Walk”), Lupita Nyong’o (“12 Years a Slave,” “Star Wars: The Force Awakens”) and Christopher Walken (“The Deer Hunter”), as well as Bill Murray (“Lost in Translation”), Idris Elba (“Star Trek Beyond”), Scarlett Johansson (“Avengers: Age of Ultron”) and Giancarlo Esposito (“Breaking Bad’).
7 Reasons You Will Love The New Jungle Book
THE JUNGLE BOOK – (L-R) MOWGLI and BAGHEERA. ©2015 Disney Enterprises, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
1.Newcomer Neel Sethi who was selected from thousands of candidates following a worldwide search for the role of Mowgli is pitch perfect. He has the confidence of his abilities but at the same time he plays Mowgli as man-cub who just wants to belong and have a family. His facial reactions and physicality is just so real that you would never know that he is the only human in the movie playing opposite puppets in a studio. He did an amazing job. I know that kids will love him.
THE JUNGLE BOOK (Pictured) MOWGLI and BALOO. ©2016 Disney Enterprises, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
2.The free-spirited bear Baloo voiced by Bill Murray. Adults know who Bill Murray is, so we know he is perfect as the hilarious and protective Baloo but kids will just love him and how can they not when the and Mowgli are singing the Bare Necessities.
3. The state-of-the-art technology behind larger-than-life jungle creatures that join Neel Sethi’s Mowgli on screen is truly impressive. It still amazes me when I see it and I have seen the movie three times how realistic animals and the jungle are.
4. The cameo appearance of the Pangolin. What is a Pangolin you ask? I had no idea what it even looked like either before interviewing Jeffrey Flocken, the North American Regional Director for the International Fund for Animal Welfare. The Pangolin has scale-covered bodies and super long tongues. So why is the animal making an appearance? This adorable animal is a critically endangered species and the most illegally traded mammal in the world. An estimated one million pangolins were poached from the wild in the past decade to satisfy demand for their scales and meat by consumer countries including China, Vietnam, and the U.S. The Director Jon Favreau is a fan of the animal which is why this endangered species makes a hilarious appearance mid-way through the movie.
A Rare Cape Pangolin, Foraging in the bush near Otjiwarongo walks on her hind legs because her digging claws makes walking on all fours awkward. Photo Credit. Scott Hurd. www.ifaw.org
5. Integrating the Kipling’s poem The Law of the Jungle “The strength of the pack is the wolf. And the strength of the wolf is the pack” as part of the story line. I would make the case that it’s not just about the pack of the wolf but the strength of the family.
6.From the opening sequence, The Jungle Book takes us on a wild adventure integrating old music favorites like “The Bare Necessities,” humor and a heartwarming story that your kids will watch over and over again the way we did with 1967 Disney version.
7. The ending credits featuring Scarlett Johansson’s version of “Trust in Me.” The song is sung in the movie by Christopher Walken but the ending sequence features a longer version that I really liked plus the credits are just fun to watch.
Do I recommend the movie? Yes, I actually saw it three times so it’s a yes for me. You and your kids will love this new re-imagining of The Jungle Book story. I definitely recommend seeing the movie at Dolby Cinemas at AMC Prime or in 3D. It just spectacular to see.
Want to learn more about the cast, Neel Sethi, Lupito Nyong’o, Giancarlo Espositio and Director Jon Favreau interviews are quite enlightening.
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THE JUNGLE BOOK is now playing in theatres everywhere in 3D, RealD 3D, and IMAX 3D.
And in NYC Dolby Cinema (with Dolby Vision 3D available at Dolby Cinema at AMC Prime location Empire 25 in NYC)
Protect the Pangolin. Learn more about how you can help this adorable endangered specie at International Fund for Animal Welfare (www.ifaw.org.)
Disclosure: NYC Single Mom’s travel and accommodations to attend the The Jungle Book event is being covered by Disney. As always, all opinions are 100% my own.
