The Jungle Book: Head for this jungle please

Cast: Neel Sethi, voices of Bill Murray, Ben Kingsley, Idris Elba, Lupita Nyong’o, Scarlett Johansson

Rated: 9/10

This one is perfect to a fault, only there is no fault in the ageold Kipling classic in its newest Disney version. Entirely CGI other than Neel Sethi and his delightful interaction with the camera, this version of The Jungle Book is so real in the artificial world that you forget the animals, the insects, the reptiles and even the jungle is entirely make-believe.

From 1967, when Disney wowed the world by screen-testing Rudyard Kipling’s endearing and eternal tale of a man-cub (Mowgli) being raised by wolves (Akela and Raksha), to now when technology has given it the Sher Khan kind of muscle, it’s been not just a leap in time but also in excellence.

Director Jon Favreau and his special effects team have done more than a commendable job to give such an enthralling reality hug to studio graphics. Be it the menacing and resentful Sher Khan, the deceptive Kaa, the rolly-polly Baloo or for that matter the wolf couple of Akela and Raksha — they are more real than real can be. Add to that the green jungle that has been created to house the tale, and Oscars could just be the homage to this resurrected work.

Neel Sethi, a dapper New Yorker, chosen over thousands of auditions of children from as far away as Canada England and New Zealand, to play Mowgli, completely merges into Kipling’s boy and adds that last piece of the jigsaw puzzle so to say, to the animal kingdom.

In short, it is a stunning movie which will appeal to all age groups so the u/a certification kind of sucks.

The long line of perfection, music and voiceovers that come up there, are  are so appropriate. Idris Elba as Sher Khan may give the actual animal a complex in anger portrayal, the same way as the hissy and deceptive Scarlett Johansson scores as the python Kaa and Bill Murray as Baloo. The stately Ben Kingsley who gives Bagheera his voice lends more class to the proceedings.

It is a film for everyone, hand and body over the rest of the lot. 

Source: Sunday Pioneer, 10 April, 2016