The Jungle Book (2016) [DVD]

Yes, this CG/Live Animation “re-imagining” of the sparkling 1967 classic (during which Walt Disney sadly died, aged just 65) does have many faults but its good qualities more than drown them out of existence. The story does take a little while to get going when Mowgli seems to be in a pointless limbo as Bagheera starts taking him back to his “own people”. Likewise, the jungle is often painted as dark and dreary, even though Mowgli simply regards it as one gigantic playground. On the other hand, when the excitement does begin it is often way off the charts for family viewing. Shere Khan gets really violent to the point of actually killing before our very eyes, whilst Kaa the gigantic python is truly frightening to anyone. Further still, although the Disney company claimed to have an iconic all-star cast of Hollywood greats as voice artists, I do find most of them seriously misplaced. Walt Disney famously went overboard in courting Phil Harris to voice Baloo (who then went on to voice the bear Little John in “Robin Hood” six years later) whereas we just get funny-man Bill Murray. Seriously, Bill Murray as a bear? A raccoon, perhaps, but no way a bear, for all his laid-back personality. Christopher Walken's voice, on the other hand, makes the now truly gigantic King (Kong) Louis sound like a refreshingly menacing and crazy Mafia boss. For all the movie's faults, however, its story is re-told in such an enchanting way and with such incredibly beautiful scenery that it would be an absolute crime to give it less than Five Stars. The wolves – especially Mowgli's own “mother” Raksha – are also totally adorable, being more like house-trained Alaskan huskies than wolves. There is also comedy, especially with (of course) Baloo, and a sense of déjà vu as “The Bare Necessities” and “I'm the King of the Jungle” get to be partly played and sung. But most of all is Mowgli himself, played by Neel Sethi. Mowgli is everything that you could love about a child: he is clever, resourceful, cheeky when he feels wronged but usually obedient, as well as honest and friendly with most animals. In short, I have nothing but standing ovations for this movie.

I know I shouldn't like this film as it is not for grown ups. But who wants to be grown up anyway? It would be awfully boring. For me this film is the most amazing escapism. How wonderful to live in a jungle like this one and be the only person with many different animals who all talk but not too much. I have to admit that I saw the first film in the cinema when it first came out all those years ago - the cartoon version which had a lot of music in which I know well - not so much in this film although the themes are there running through the scenes of the animals to whom they belong.. Rudyard Kipling was an amazingly original author and I love the Indian influence in the names of the animals. Well I love it all. The law of the jungle is one of my favorite Kipling poems so while watching this film I remember other Kipling poems like 'watch the wall my darling while the gentlemen go by' so I enjoy more riches from this author while enjoying Mowgli and his friends and family!!

I’ve only seen the 1967 Disney original once, so could go into this without the need to compare or worry emotionally about my childhood being ruined blah blah blah. All the better for it, because this is a magical piece of story-telling with stunning visuals, wonderful performances and a few moments that made me jump more than any recent horror film I’ve seen. This is evidently a project that wants to stay faithful to the source material, never straying too far from a simple story we all know. While director Jon Favreau adds and tweaks a few sequences here and there from a narrative point of view and to maintain a sense of “realism”, it’s familiar territory from the off. On a sense of realism, our CG animals are scarily real. They move and act like wild animals should. Only when they start to talk do we remember that they are fantastical creatures and not something in a wildlife documentary. These magnificent beats are so accurate you’ll be hard to imagine they are all CG creations because they look and move so realistically around the jungle and with young Mowgli. All the animals, big and small, are awesome to behold on the big screen and really put the scope of this in context. While we don’t have dancing elephants or bears wearing coconut bras, as I say the realism of what animals can do is kept here, they are still very entertaining, scary, emotional, powerful and loveable in their own way. The cast is also brilliant and I couldn’t hear the animals any different to what I was doing. Stand-out roles are Bill Murray as Baloo who gives his best performance in years – nothing quirky or obscure, just warmth and humour and emotion in the way Murray does best when he’s given good material – and Idris Elba as Khan, a tiger so menacing that with his deep, silky voice you never feel comfortable in his presence because you don’t know when he’s going to lash out next. Christopher Walken is too cool as King Louie, and never fails to win me over with his unique dialect and smooth voice. Scarlett Johansson is very much a fleeting role and serves only a few minutes of screen time but still embodies her python Kaa with that seductive threat she needs thanks to her voice. With Lupita Nyong’o, Ben Kingsley and Giancarlo Esposito also on fine form, the animals here and brought to life more than I expected. Kudo also to newcomer Neel Sethi, a boy acting alongside nothing but green screen animals but still manages to convey the right amount of pathos and fun needed for a boy raised in this fantastical jungle. He is a perfect screen Mowgli and really gives it his all acting-wise to make you invest in him, believe in him and really connect with his relationship with the animals he meets. A great little actor indeed for such an important role. The pace rockets along fine, and it’s made easier with such beautiful landscapes and CG locations that rival ‘Avatar’ in terms of sheer gorgeousness on screen. The jungle is sprinkled with that lush Disney magic that looks hyper-real in places, but this is fantasy, and so you let your imagination spiral with the raging waterfalls, sky-tall trees, dangerous cliff faces and sun-baked clearings. It really is a gorgeous looking film from the off and brought to life through harsh sun, fierce rain and tropical thunderstorms. I find it hard to fault this on the whole – it’s a very simple story, but nothing is hard to follow or simply enjoy. Maybe the CG will be too much for some, but because it’s never done in a tacky way, it actually works on the whole and the realism of it bowled me over. Maybe the tone is a little more scary and “real” that can put off young children; as I say there are a couple of scary moments due to Khan (then again, he IS our villain and it never lingers too long)? I’m not sure – I think parents should take their children to see this as they’ve probably seen worse, but with each scary moment the sequence is quickly diffused with action or a scene change and no violence is lingered on to frighten young viewers. It’s a magical adaptation of the current live-action Disney era, and with a rousing soundtrack and sweeping camera work that takes us below, above and through the jungle as only Disney can, this is a real winner. I can’t think fans of the original will be offended by this remake; it’s a loving remake for a new generation whilst respecting the source. And even two toe-tapping songs feature in moments that work surprisingly well to keep that sense of “realism” – Sethi, Murrary and Walken…in fact the whole cast and crew….do us proud.

Update: perhaps I was a little tough, giving only 2 stars. All I said below I stand by, but it is never the less an enjoyable film. Disney have taken the characters and some of the situations from the books and made up their own story, which is a shame, because the original Kipling stories are wonderful, exciting and have more than enough of the hard realities of life and death for an exciting, heart warming, tear jerking, blockbuster of a film. Unfortunately Disney decided they could write a better story than Rudyard Kipling. They were wrong. As another reviewer said, go and buy the books. They are wonderful and absolutely worth reading as an adult.

Jungle book dvd Rudyard kipling

Happy with item, arrived quickly. Thank you

I first saw this on 'Now TV' and at first I thought to myself 'it won't be as good as the original'. Well I was very wrong. It is great and brings the whole storyline alive. The voices were very good and made the whole film believable. I was so impressed I have watched it about 4 times which is something I never do so i thought I had better buy a copy for my dvd collection. Some of the questions asked on Amazon are is it suitable for a child to watch? I would say if you do not think it is going to be suitable then don't let them watch it. It is rated a PG which means 'parental guidance' only you know the state of your child's mind.

Has a charm of it's own. It's on a par with the original Disney version except these are realistic C.G.I.animals and are wonderfully brought to life with the well acted voice- over of some well known actors. As you watch the movie It's easy to become carried along by the perfectly cast Mowgli, [ brilliantly played by this young boy actor] who brought a charming innocence to the movie. The story is true to the original, humorous, moving and dramatic.Glad to hear some of the original tunes blended in too. A good family movie

I was specifically looking for some new (to me) 3-D Blu-rays that would be worth watching (not a fan of superhero stuff), and this seemed like a good possibility despite my not being a big fan of the animated classic. The first thing I noted once I started watching was that the 3-D largely looked natural, adding to the visuals. When it was raining, it was (almost) tempting to see if there was a wet spot in my living room carpet. :) They reserved a few over-the-top 3-D effects for the end credits. As for the movie itself, it was solid. I especially thought Bill Murray ended up being a great choice for Baloo. My only niggle is that, while the underlying story and character names were set in India, this movie seems, both landscape-wise and with the mix of animals, to be set in Africa, or maybe some hybrid location.

Alles in Ordnung, traf pünktlich ein und war ein wunderbarer Film.. Unterhaltung für jung und alt und unheimlich gut gemacht!

Its great this way. 3D

Great Movie!!

Great for family entertainment...