When I first heard that Disney were going to be releasing a live action remake of the 1967 animated film The Jungle Book, I'm not sure my brain was fully capable of understanding the complexities of such an undertaking. 'But how will they get the animals to look like they're talking?' I asked anybody who would listen. As it turns out, I was surpassing even my own levels of idiocy; the animals and environments would actually be created entirely using computer animation, but trust me - when you see tis film, you'll sure as hell think they're real.
The adaptation follows a similar plotline to the classic story that we all know and love. Raised by a pack of wolves, ‘man cub’ Mowgli is warned to leave the jungle following threats from terrifying tiger Shere Khan, who insists that man has no place in the wild. Now, I know what you’re all thinking – Disney live action remakes aren’t always all they’re cracked up to be (I mean, did you see Cinderella?), but trust me – this one is different. For starters, it’s not entirely adapted from its animated predecessor, as director Jon Favreau picks and chooses elements from Rudyard Kipling’s classic text as well as drawing inspiration from the Disney classic. Favreau’s direction brings a set of fresh ideas to this well-loved tale, creating something new, exciting, and sometimes even dangerous. He carefully crafts a world of adventure in which the audience can lose themselves, enabling them not simply to watch Mowgli’s jungle journey, but to experience it alongside him.
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| Image credit: mediastinger.com |
Meanwhile,
newcomer Neel Sethi shines as ‘man cub’ Mowgli, the only character that is
actually real. I can hardly fathom the challenges of filming such immense
scenes solely in a Los Angeles warehouse, but Sethi pulls it off with
the ease and grace of a seasoned pro. You’d never know that he was actually
acting with puppets and blue screens, and I love to imagine his reaction
watching the film for the first time: seeing himself floating along rivers,
swinging through treetops and even riding a baby elephant. Sethi brings a
beautiful sense of innocence to the role as well as maturity well beyond his
years and was never outshone by the huge Hollywood names starring alongside
him; this kid is one to watch.
There’s
no other way to conclude this review than by saying that you absolutely must see this film. From chase sequences
and stampedes to wolf cubs and a singing bear, there’s something for everyone.
Revolutionary technology used in Avatar and
Gravity enables Favreau to put a
contemporary twist on a beloved classic, creating a visual masterpiece that
will no doubt stand the test of time.
Just
don’t ask me specifics about how they achieved such a feat – I’ll probably end
up telling you how they trained the animals to talk.
Originally published in Exeposé.
Originally published in Exeposé.
