The Jungle Book (2016): A Review

By Vivian El-Salawy on May 1, 2016

Raised by a family of wolves, Mowgli (Neel Sethi) must leave his home of the pack with the eruption of rage by antagonist Shere Khan (Idris Elba).  The Jungle Book depicts Mowgli’s journey,  guided by many friends and setback by few enemies, which is led not only by an urgency to return to man, but also by self-discovery.

Image via Toonopedia

Originally written in 1894, The Jungle Book was a collection of stories by English author Rudyard Kipling.  The Jungle Book was also a motivational book for the Cub Scouts, a junior element of the Scouting Movement.  In 1967, Walt Disney Productions turned this spectacular story-line into a film for the very first time.  Under the director of Wolfgang Reitherman, The Jungle Book won the Jupiter Award in 1979 for “Best International Film” and “The Bare Necessities” was nominated for an Oscar under “Best Music, Original Song”.

Directed by John Favreau, the 2016 live action film creates a whole new world for both nostalgic viewers and children alike.  The 106 minute film is charged by adventure and drama does not allow a second to yawn.  The simply phenomenal graphics made it difficult at times to delineate which clips were real footage, which were animated, and which were a combination of both. This film truly pulled me out of my seat and into the jungle.

Image via Pinterest

While most people critique live action films or the modernization of previous movies to be ”different” under a negative connotation, it is undeniable that this Jungle Book is different from any other.  However, there was just enough familiarity to replicate the memories of childhood that many shared upon viewing and create a sense of nostalgia.  This was done especially well with the soundtrack.  While the movie did include two of the most iconic tunes from The Jungle Book (“The Bare Necessities” and “I Wanna Be Like You”), the beautifully subliminal themes played in the background of memorable scenes that really pulled together the bigger picture and created a sense of emotional symmetry for the film. These tunes were enough to be recognizable to old fans, bring in new and young viewers, and create a collective love and appreciation for developing relationships within the film.

Image via India Today

There were a few clever moments of factual insight that are to be truly appreciated within the film as well.  Little fun facts about what types of bees sting and which bears hibernate in the winter pushed this film to inspire viewers to learn about the jungle.  It would be a great film to bring a family to watch not only as a factor of entertainment, but to experience the magic of the jungle on the screen.

In terms of the cinematography behind The Jungle Book, elements of realism and magic juxtaposed on one screen have never been this captivating.  The techniques used within the film truly let the viewers feel the full space of the jungle – its vastness, yet its natural, inevitable limitations as well.  The scene where King Louie (Christopher Walken) chases Mowgli through the temple, the viewer truly feels as though they are experiencing the architecture and the fear of escaping from the emerging rubble firsthand.  The only technique that threw me off was the fact that you could tell when certain effects were used simply for viewers that intended to watch the film in 3-D.  For instance, in a scene where Mowgli was leaving a river or stream, water splashed on the camera likely as an effect for 3-D viewers.  However, I believe that regardless of whether or not the film is being viewed in 3-D, it took away from the realism and experience of being in the jungle – to feel as though there is a camera in an unnatural area.

Image via Screen Rant

Another inconsistency that had derailed part of the experience was the inconsistency in diction.  While the diction of each character differed in its reflection of their individual personalities and backgrounds, I still felt as though at times the language used was inappropriate for the suggested culture or time frame.  For instance, Bagheera is a very composed individual and has very straight-forward, educational diction, whereas Baloo is a free-spirited bear that has little structure and free-flowing diction – and this difference is understandable and reasonable.  However, the language used by Baloo in casual conversation with Mowgli, and even at times the language used by Mowgli was characteristic of the 21st century and did not correlate with the language used by other animals and characters within the film.

Image via NME

Perhaps one of my favorite elements incorporated into the film was the empowerment of female roles.  The decision to depict Kaa (Scarlett Johansson) as a female and develop Raksha (Lupita Nyong’o) as a stronger, more prominent character created a sense of importance to the female roles within the film.  When comparing the 2016 live action film to the original film, the only memorable female character in The Jungle Book is the girl that Mowgli comes across towards the end of the film, and even then she lures him in with her physical qualities to return to the man village.  Kaa and Raksha are more controlling, powerful figures – which I greatly appreciated.

Image via Pinterest

All in all, The Jungle Book has been a longtime love of mine – between the collection of stories, the original film, and the live action reproduction.  The nostalgic memories juxtaposed with modern technology and out of the water graphics created a fantastic wonder.  As Andrew Barker said:

“Maintaining the buoyant heartbeat beneath all the digital flash, Favreau never loses sight of the fact that he’s making an adventure story for children”.

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