Movie of the Week: Jungle Book

[jacey]

My friend H and I agreed to disagree over this version of Jungle Book. I thought it seemed over-long, dragging in the middle section - H didn't. That apart, we both agreed that it's a visual treat. The CGI and live action is seamless. Once again a Brit voices the bad guy, with Idris Elba's version of Shere Khan bringing a chilling menace to the part. Neel Sethi is the only live actor, playing Mowgli very well, though I wasn't too sure about the American accent at first, though I quickly ceased to notice it.

One oddity is the use of music from the animated (classic) Jungle book, though not in quite the same format. Homage? Re-tread? I'm not sure, but I don't think it was necessary to reintroduce I wanna Be Like You and Bear Neccessities - it just served to highlight the fact that this was Jungle Book with all the cartoon humour removed. There's no reason why a darker, more narrative Jungle Book  isn't equally valid, of course, in which case why the songs?

But song choices apart, the climax of this was gripping and really well done.

It's a long time since I've seen the original Jungle Book Movie with Sabu (right) as Mowgli. I'd like to see it again for comparison's sake. All live action, of course in 1942.