 |
| Courtesy of Disney |
Over
the last few years, Disney has found great financial success turning its
classic animated films into live action features. Tim Burton’s Alice in
Wonderland took in more than $1 billion worldwide and Maleficent (which –
much like Wicked – retells Sleeping Beauty from the villain’s perspective)
came close. Kenneth Branagh’s take on Cinderella was a giant hit as well,
with the added bonus of being narratively engaging and gorgeous to look at.
In
other words, don’t expect this trend to go away any time soon. Not while Disney
execs are swimming in oceans of cash, Scrooge McDuck style. A quick Google
search reveals that the studio has at least 15 remakes in various stages of
development, including Beauty and the Beast, Pete’s Dragon, Dumbo and
(gasp!) Mary Poppins.
The
latest entry in this unofficial genre is The Jungle Book, which hits theaters
tomorrow. It’s a fun, visually stunning reinterpretation of Rudyard Kipling’s short
stories that kids are going to lose their minds over. Since Disney is already
working on a sequel, it would appear they think so too.
If
you’ve read Kipling’s tales or seen the 1967 cartoon, you already know the
basic plot. An orphaned child named Mowgli (newcomer Neel Sethi, in an
extraordinary performance) is discovered in the jungle by Bagheera (Ben
Kingsley), a black panther who takes pity on the “man cub.” He brings Mowgli to
live with wolves Raksha (Lupita N’yongo) and Akela (Giancarlo Esposito), who
raise the child as their own cub.
Years
pass, and the villainous tiger Shere Khan (Idris Elba) learns that man is
living among the animals. He threatens Mowgli’s life, leading Bagheera and the
wolves to decide the child must leave for his own safety.
Along
the way, the boy encounters friendly creatures like Baloo the bear (Bill
Murray, perfectly cast) and more threatening ones like hypnotic python Kaa
(Scarlett Johansson) and a giant orangutan named King Louie (Christopher
Walken). However, when he gets word that Shere Khan is threatening his wolf family,
Mowgli must decide which world he belongs in – the jungle or with man.
For
decades, one of my big cinematic pet peeves is that Hollywood doesn’t seem
interested in telling straight-up adventure stories. Instead, they always have
to contain a hyphenate, like action-adventure. For a while, based on the Indiana Jones movies and the original Jurassic Park, it seemed like Steven
Spielberg was the only guy interested in keeping the genre alive.
To
me, that’s the biggest selling point of The Jungle Book – it’s a pure,
unabashed adventure movie that manages to be family-friendly while still
containing real stakes. In fact, during a sequence in which Mowgli escapes Shere
Khan by diving into the middle of a water buffalo stampede, followed by a
plunge into a raging river, I found myself thinking, “Mowgli just can’t catch a
break. This is like The Revenant for kids.”
What’s
more, that astonishing setpiece – along with the rest of the film – was shot in
the comfort of a sound stage in downtown Los Angeles. To make this happen,
Director Jon Favreau (Iron Man) and his immensely talented visual effects
team created photorealistic animals and jungle environments using motion
capture, CGI and a ton of green screen. The only “real” element in the movie is
Sethi and some props. (Take that, Leonardo “I won an Oscar because it was cold”
DiCaprio and your pretentious director.)
The
Jungle Book is so gorgeous and imaginatively rendered that I recommend seeing
it in IMAX 3D. I know it’s not cheap, but that’s how it was screened for press
and the experience was astonishing. Most of the time 3D is a lame gimmick
studios use to inflate ticket prices, but not in this case. I spent most of the
105-minute running time with my mouth hanging open.
Fortunately,
the movie isn’t all style and no substance. True, Justin Marks’ screenplay
doesn’t really deviate radically from the animated version (aside from a more
satisfying ending). But that’s because he and Favreau realize that the emphasis
on family and friendship is just as important nearly 50 years later.
The
performances give it an additional bit of magic. Sethi is a natural, especially
when you consider he’s essentially carrying the entire film on his shoulders
and working with practically nothing but green screen. Favreau placed his trust
in the right kid. As for the voice cast, Johansson and Walken are fun in their
brief time on screen (Walken even gets to sing a hilarious version of “I Wanna
Be Like You” that sounds like every standup comedian’s impression of him).
But Murray
is the MVP – his take on Baloo is everything I hoped it would be. He’s a
smooth, laid-back schemer, but his good heart emerges when he bonds with
Mowgli. And you can rest easy; of course he sings “The Bare Necessities.”
Elba
is also incredible as the villainous Shere Khan, clearly relishing the chance
to play an iconic villain. He’s genuinely frightening in the role, which
parents of young children should keep in mind. There are some scary, intense
scenes – particularly the big final showdown – so take that PG rating
seriously.
Based
on the glowing reviews and the anticipation I’m seeing both on social media and
in the real world, Disney could have a genuine phenomenon on its hands with The Jungle Book. I honestly haven’t seen an immersive 3D environment this
convincing since Avatar. That’s the kind of experience that’ll sell tickets
in an era when most people would rather wait a few months to watch a movie on
Blu-ray or Netflix.
The
Jungle Book is rated PG for some sequences of scary action and peril.
Grade:
B+
Comments
Post a Comment