The Jungle Book (2016)

The Jungle Book (2016) Hats off to Disney! What they’ve done here, a George Lukas can take a leaf out of their book. Despite being almost completely animated, Mowgli still seems real. Why is that? Because they understood that a 12-year-old boy needed help with animation.

That’s why the new Star Wars films have seemed so pale and boring with lame storylines and the actors are simply placed in front of a blue or green screen, according to the motto: ‘So now act, we’ve got enough technique and special effects anyway!’

Although we know that animals can’t talk, I felt drawn into this world. It seemed natural to me that the animals would talk and you can see that the film was made with a lot of love and passion.

Actor Jon Favreau has done a magnificent job of directing here. And it’s a great pleasure to hear the voices of Bill Murray, Scarlett Johansson, Ben Kingsley, Idris Elba and Christopher Walken.

The animals have their true colours. Baloo is grey in the cartoon, but he’s really a brown bear here!

The snake is a little too huge, looking like it belongs in the dinosaur era. It’s terrifying, but Scarlett’s voice, bewitching and sensual, just as it was in Her (2013), suits it perfectly.

The ape is also a giant, slightly smaller than King Kong, but still a little too big. This doesn’t necessarily spoil the fun (nor does the fact that the effects aren’t always perfect, especially when animals like wolves run alongside Mowgli), but it does add to the spectacle for our already stunned eyes.

I’ve read a lot of positive reviews that basically say:

‘Superb transposition of the original.

• A return to childhood
• Really great remake.
• Brilliant
• Great film, but not suitable for children under 6? I think it would be better for ages 10 and up.
• Top!
• This is a must-see film. A modern version of the classic with a lot of heart, a lot of humour and a lot of fun and action. I was pleasantly surprised. Also perfect for older children.
• A sensational adventure
• Contrary to what I thought, the film was absolutely ‘gripping’, despite (or precisely because of) the film’s animated images. This magnificent film adaptation is definitely worth seeing. But be warned! This is not a film for young children because of its dark atmosphere!’

Spoiler Alert!!!

There are some truly magical and touching scenes.
The way the she-wolf treats Mowgli, like her own real son, the way she’s proud of him at the end, when he’s on the elephant he saved himself.
And the fact that all the animals throw themselves at Shere Khan, even though they don’t stand a chance.

By the way, Shere Khan is named after the Afghan emperor Sher Shah Suri!

I love the fact that the mother wolf points out to her children that not all tigers are like him.
She’s the bravest… because she’s also the weakest, but she doesn’t hesitate to brave great danger.

I’m really pleased that the wolves finally summon up their courage, because they owe it all to their leader, who was so cowardly killed.

An excellent moment!