The Jungle Book

The Jungle Book, 2016

Directed by Jon Favreau, 105 minutes

Neel Sethi, Bill Murray, Ben Kingsley, Idris Elba, Lupita Nyong’o, Christopher Walken, Giancarlo Esposito, Scarlett Johansson

Review by Katherine Scheetz

Director Jon Favreau takes us into the Seoni jungle of central India, with music and camera movements evocative of the classic 1967 animation. Favreau enchants us with the verdant visuals of “man-cub” Mowgli among the vines and moss, raised to be part of the wolf pack by alpha Akela (Esposito), mother Raksha (Nyong’o) and the tough-loving black panther Bagheera (Kingsley).

With smartly integrated monsoon season weather patterns, we observe how drought affects The Law of the Jungle and that when Peace Rock emerges from beneath the river, a truce between the jungle inhabitants must be obeyed. Elba makes his terrifying debut as the Bengal tiger Shere Khan here at Peace Rock, face scarred from man’s “red flower” and thirsting for revenge. With the return of the tiger and the monsoon (thus Peace Rock disappearing) Mowgli’s life becomes forfeit, forcing him and Bagheera to leave for the man-village in search of protection.

Along the way Mowgli learns his backstory from hypnotic rock python Kaa (Johansson), Bagheera teaches him about the reverence of the elephants and a tweaked King Louie (Walken) – with an accent from Queens, NY – brings about an Indiana-Jones-worthy temple chase scene filled with thick, filtered lighting. Sloth bear Baloo, voiced by the lazily charming Murray, embraces Mowgli’s inherent talent for invention or “tricks,” using them to his own ends ie: harvesting honey and singing “about the good life” alongside a goofy cast of supporting animals.

Composed by John Debney (who has a list of credits as long as my leg packed with rom-coms and Disney channel), the score intertwines the deep, time-honored melodies with the lift a modern audience needs. “The Bare Necessities,” “I Wanna Be Like You” and “Trust In Me” get a jazzy, New Orleans revamp, that call for bowling hats, smoky dance clubs and vintage microphones.

Mowgli’s coming of age story takes a different shape in all this – it’s about embracing yourself and your own “tricks.” Newcomer Neel Sethi’s compassionate performance evolves the character of Mowgli, and when you realize the kid did all of that acting with a green screen and his imagination – well, my hat is off.

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