The Jungle Book (2016, PG)

At first, I wasn’t quite sure about this movie.  Realistic-looking CGI animals that talk rarely come off that well, and I didn’t remember enough of the original movie (other than the famous songs and the freaky snake) to recall if the story was that much to write home about.  In the end, though, the effects looked so impressive and the voice cast was so enticing that I had to see it.  And I’m glad I did!

The jungle holds the only life Mowgli has ever known.  Raised by wolves since infancy, this “man cub” loves his world and the animals who inhabit it, even as he feels the weight of not quite fitting in.  When his life is threatened by the tiger Shere Khan, who thinks that Mowgli, as a human, is their natural enemy, the boy is led on a journey toward the “man village,” where his friends believe he’ll be safe.  Along the way, he has a number of adventures as he travels to leave his home and contemplates where he really belongs.

At some point, I probably ought to stop being impressed by what visual effects can do, but I doubt that day will come any time soon.  After all, I’m still amazed by how well multiple versions of Tatiana Maslany are placed and interact in the same shot on Orphan Black, and that’s a BBC America production.  This, on the other hand, is Disney we’re talking about, and you know they know what they’re doing.  The CGI animals look astoundingly lifelike (and their moving lips when they talk stop feeling weird within the first few minutes of the film,) and the CGI jungle is as gorgeous as it is unbelievable.

But while awesome effects can blow me away, that’s not what I ultimately go to movies for.  I’m in it for the story, and the film delivers awfully well on that front too, more than I was expecting.  Like I said, it’s been far too long since I’ve seen the animated movie to remember much about it, but I’m pretty sure that the two stories are fairly different.  From what I recall of the original, this one is a lot more sophisticated, with interesting themes that I’ll go into more on another day.  The plot is straightforward but well done, a nice rendering of a coming-of-age/journey story.  Likewise, none of the characters are especially complicated, but they’re used to good effect in service of the narrative, and Mowgli has a fine arc with lots of heart.

Newcomer Neel Sethi plays our lead man cub, and while his greenness is definitely felt, he carries the film laudably.  His Mowgli can be obstinate or pestery, but he’s also brave, curious, and clever, and I like watching him try to figure himself out.  As for our animal characters, the voice cast is packed with goodness:  Bill Murray as Baloo and Christopher Walken as King Louie are the biggest and most obvious “gets,” but we get terrific work from Idris Elba, Ben Kingsley, Scarlett Johansson, Lupita Nyong’o,  and Giancarlo Esposito as well.  Yes, please!

Warnings

Some big-time scary moments for kids.