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The Dark Lord has risen again—only this time, we have no clue who he is. According to a report from Redanian Intelligence, HBO’s upcoming Harry Potter reboot has officially cast Voldemort. But the identity of the actor is being kept under wraps until the series premieres in 2027. Yep, that means fans might be waiting years before they get to see the snake-faced villain slither back onto the screen.

Meanwhile, Ralph Fiennes, who terrified an entire generation as You-Know-Who, won’t be returning this time. But he did leave behind some valuable advice, for whosoever it may concern. While promoting his 2025 movie, 28 Years Later, with Et, the actor urged the newcomers to master the long, dramatic robe walk.

Make sure you can handle the long flowing robes and don’t trip over them. Practice your long flowing robe walk… Also, I wore tights. Initially, they were one piece with a gusset,...

In 2010, Disney scored an unexpectedly large hit with Tim Burton's "Alice in Wonderland," a film that cost a sizable $200 million to make but which inexplicably raked in over a billion dollars worldwide. I say "inexplicably" because the film wasn't terribly well-liked by critics; it currently holds an unimpressive 51% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Although it had the same title as Disney's 1951 animated film "Alice in Wonderland," it was more of a sequel than a remake, following Alice (Mia Wasikowsa) back into Wonderland after she had already become an adult. There, she found the fantasy kingdom had been split by war and violence, leading her to don a suit of armor and take up a sword to make things right.

Disney had remade some of its animated movies before, but "Alice" ushered in a new trend for the studio. Over the 15 years that followed, Disney re-milked its own properties with pointed aggression,...

Rudyard Kipling first published his novel "The Jungle Book" in 1894, and its sequel, "The Second Jungle Book," the following year. The books followed the adventures of a boy named Mowgli, a five-year-old who becomes lost in the jungles of India and who is taken in and raised by the local wildlife. He is taught the ways of the jungle, mostly by a benevolent panther named Bagheera. He also is given some more raucous advice from a bear named Baloo, and is taught to be wary of the vicious tiger, Shere Khan. 

Most schoolchildren have read one or both of Kipling's "Jungle Book" novels, and it has been adapted to film multiple times. Director Zoltan Korda directed a rather fine 1946 Technicolor version, although more popular to today's audiences is the 1967 animated film directed by Wolfgang Reitherman. Walt Disney was credited as a producer, but he died shortly before "The Jungle Book" was released,...

Despite the controversy surrounding the seven dwarfs, the recently shuttered Mpc aimed to find the difficult sweet spot between painterly and photoreal in “Snow White,” translating them in a way that does justice to the hand-drawn aesthetic of Walt’s revolutionary debut feature from 1937. It’s shame that it’s one of the VFX studio’s last hurrahs, after working on the Oscar-winning “The Jungle Book” (2016), the Oscar-nominated “The Lion King” (2019), and the “Mufasa” (2024) prequel.

However, Mpc doesn’t stand alone. They followed Tim Burton’s “Alice in Wonderland” (2010), the first of the Disney live action remakes, which benefited from the tech achievements of Sony Pictures Imageworks, while Weta Digital created something iconic with the friendly dragon from David Lowery’s “Pete’s Dragon” (2016).

Let’s see how the dwarfs stack up against some of these other notable CG characters:

“Snow White”

For “Snow White,” Mpc applied its photoreal animation skills...

Heroes are a core part of any Disney movie. They represent the good fight against evil, although they often have some of their own learning to do along the way. There are a number of heroes who have made mistakes, going on a long journey to discover their strengths or capabilities.

Their character arcs can often be the most compelling part of a movie. The things that motivate them or their reasons to go on a quest of self-discovery keeps audiences hooked through to the end. The best character arcs from iconic Disney heroes vary from saving others to learning about what makes them heroic.

Baloo’s Heart Ruled His Head

Baloo's arc is a subtle one in The Jungle Book but it comes out of his willingness to do the right thing, no matter what his heart wants. The bear became friends with Mowgli, who was a young human...

Curated for the cinephile in your life, our 2024 holiday gift guide is ready for its close-up. Roll camera!

Wicked Movie Merch

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Visit the NBCUniversal Shop for all things Wicked, including official apparel, decor, accessories and more. You’ll be popular…

Images courtesy of NBCUniversal.

Vintage Film Review Annuals

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Own a piece of our history! The official Film Review shop includes a selection of vintage annuals. Never reissued, these annuals were only published once for the year of their release. Read more about our history.

Official Film Review 80th Anniversary Merch

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As the world's longest running film annual, Film Review published 70 volumes between 1944-2015, before moving digital in 2015. As our 80th anniversary year begins, Film Review presents limited edition merch to celebrate the occasion.

Storyboard Sticky Notes

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Specifically designed for filmmakers and creatives in mind,...

Disney heroes are some of the best characters that audiences immediately fall in love with. They take viewers on journeys to magical places, often with a mission they have to conquer, whether big or small. Many of them are full of inspiration and wisdom, but they sometimes make mistakes along the way.

On occasion, their mistakes make them more relatable. Everyone messes up at times, but it's how they choose to fix the errors that make them heroic. A few others decide to do things that viewers find a little harder to forgive. The worst things that Disney heroes have done are always part of their character arc and storyline.

Related 15 Most Underrated Female Disney Characters

As the Disney Princesses get the most love, there are several female characters who are overlooked, including Turning Red's Mei.

Baloo Made Mowgli Think He Could Stay in the Jungle

Baloo the Bear is...

1967's The Jungle Book was adapted from and loosely based on Rudyard Kipling's writings of the same name. The film was the final animation to be produced by Walt Disney before his death. The story follows a young boy named Mowgli, who lives with wolves in the Indian jungle. However, his life is in danger when the man-eating tiger, Shere Khan, searches for him. Mowgli's friends, Bagheera and Baloo, attempt to keep Mowgli safe before getting him to the man-village.

A live-action movie which depicted the same narrative came out in 2016, giving the well-known characters realistic imagery. The Jungle Book is a favorite Disney film for many because of the songs, unusual setting and intriguing characters. The dialogue keeps the story interesting, with plenty of quotes that linger in the minds of fans.

Mowgli Doesnt Want to Leave

Mowgli loved his home with the jungle animals. He'd learnt to live alongside them,...

John Goodman is a recurring actor for the 2000s era of Disney and Pixar movies, with some titles emerging as smash hits and others as mediocre installments. Goodmans recognizable voice is perfect for big and friendly characters, namely several of Disneys best animated fathers or paternal figures. The characterization provided by Goodman at least improved if it did not entirely transform the movie into something worthwhile.

After making his Disney debut in The Emperors New Groove, Goodman got the attention of Pixar, then still in its era of an uninterrupted streak of hits with a history of casting well-known actors. However, Goodman has not entirely escaped being in unnecessary Disney sequels or spinoffs, predictably resulting in lackluster installments. Goodmans Disney career of main characters and cameos, some of the best Pixar movies and the worst, illustrates how he became someone Disney loves to work with.

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Idris Elba plays Krall, a Star Trek villain with a human origin. Krall seeks vengeance using alien tech in Star Trek Beyond. Krall's impact on the Star Trek franchise falls short compared to other iconic villains.

Released in 2016, Star Trek Beyond introduces audiences to a brand-new Star Trek villain, Krall, played by Idris Elba. The third movie in J.J. Abrams' Kelvin Timeline Star Trek movies, Star Trek Beyond continues the adventure begun in 2009's Star Trek, as the crew of the USS Enterprise truly gel together. Krall serves as an opposing force to the two Starfleet teams also stranded on the planet Altamid: one consisting of Mr. Spock (Zachary Quinto) and Dr. Leonard McCoy (Karl Urban), and the other made up of Captain Kirk (Chris Pine), Montgomery Scott (Simon Pegg), and newcomer Jaylah (Sofia Boutella).

To exact revenge upon the Federation, Krall uses the technology that was left behind by Altamid's native people,...

The Jungle Book was a Disney movie with a clever and completely validated villain. Shere Khan was afraid of what humans could do. Though Shere Khan had a point, he was still a danger to the jungle and those that lived in it.

Villains are a crucially important part of Disney movies, always there to oppose the protagonist. While most of them have irrational or unforgivable evil motives, Shere Khan may have actually had a point as to why he was so against the presence of man in The Jungle Book. The film is based on Rudyard Kipling's novel and involves a collection of stories about the animals that roam the jungle. Mowgli, a young boy who was raised by a pack of wolves, had to flee the jungle after he became threatened by the man-eating tiger, Shere Khan. Mowgli is reluctant to leave the jungle and return to the man village,...

When Disney 2D animation legend Andreas Deja left the studio in 2013 after three decades — he’s best known for supervising such iconic ’90s villains as Gaston from “Beauty and the Beast,” Jafar from “Aladdin,” and Scar from “The Lion King” — he wanted to direct. Thus began a seven-year passion project to make his first short, “Mushka” (a Russian term of endearment for “sweetheart”), about a young girl who rescues the titular tiger cub in the forest and raises him.

Deja’s goal was to channel the look of the Disney films from the ’60s that he grew up with in Germany, particularly “The Jungle Book” — the first he experienced and his favorite — which made him want to become an animator.

Deja started thinking about returning to his first love — drawing animals — and the friendly dynamic between the innocent girl and the powerful tiger. It turned out to be a fitting...

Quick Links Cruella de Vil Had a Cruel Hatred Towards Dogs Family Jealousy Brought Out the Worst in Scar Frollo Developed an Evil Obsession With Esmerelda Shere Khan Despised Humans, Which Posed a Threat to Mowgli The Evil Queen's Vanity Poisoned Her Mind Captain Hook Had a Longstanding Vendetta Against Peter Pan The Queen of Hearts' Short Temper Causes Her to Regularly Resort to Murder Cinderella's Stepmother Mistreated Her When Her Father Passed Away The Coachman Was Filled With Greed and Wickedness Towards Young Boys Ratcliffe's Gluttonous Personality Intruded on and Upset the People of Virginia Disney movies have villains with cruel and dark intentions, like Cruella de Vil who kills dogs for their fur. The jealousy and bitterness of Scar from The Lion King led him to betray and kill his own brother, Mufasa. Frollo from The Hunchback of Notre Dame was driven by an evil obsession and...

New Delhi, Nov 14 (Ians) Children’s Day, which is celebrated on November 14, is all about making kids feel special and bringing a smile to their faces. And what better way to do that with some fantastic series to binge-watch and listen.

Here is a list of the most captivating and educational series that are perfect for this Children’s Day, that are not just about entertainment but they also offer valuable life lessons, encourage creativity, and inspire young minds.

From exciting adventures to heartwarming stories, there is something for every child to enjoy.

Gullak:

It is a heartwarming web series directed by Palash Vaswani and Amrit Raj Gupta. ‘Gullak’ revolves around the Mishra family, comprising Santosh, Shanti, Anand “Annu”, and Aman Mishra. In season one, Annu’s constant tiff with his mother, Shanti, over joblessness and exam results sets the stage. Season two beautifully captures stories of hope, wishes,...

New Delhi, Nov 14 (Ians) Children’s Day, which is celebrated on November 14, is all about making kids feel special and bringing a smile to their faces. And what better way to do that with some fantastic series to binge-watch and listen.

Here is a list of the most captivating and educational series that are perfect for this Children’s Day, that are not just about entertainment but they also offer valuable life lessons, encourage creativity, and inspire young minds.

From exciting adventures to heartwarming stories, there is something for every child to enjoy.

Gullak:

It is a heartwarming web series directed by Palash Vaswani and Amrit Raj Gupta. ‘Gullak’ revolves around the Mishra family, comprising Santosh, Shanti, Anand “Annu”, and Aman Mishra. In season one, Annu’s constant tiff with his mother, Shanti, over joblessness and exam results sets the stage. Season two beautifully captures stories of hope, wishes,...

Disney's villains challenge conventional archetypes, playing with the moral complexities of human nature. Characters like Cruella de Vil and Maleficent have transcended their films, inspiring adaptations and spinoffs of their own. Disney's villains, with their multifaceted personalities, captivate audiences and leave a lasting legacy in cinematic history.

Many Disney villains have left major impressions over the decades, with some even outshining the heroes in their respective films. These iconic villains demonstrate Disney’s ability to craft complex, memorable characters who challenge conventional archetypes. While Disney's best heroes touch hearts and inspire audiences, its villains play with the moral complexities of human nature. Despite their menacing behavior, these sinister characters also exude undeniable coolness, with suave personas, unmatched charisma, and a healthy dose of humor — qualities sometimes lacking in the main characters.

Notably, characters like Cruella de Vil and Maleficent have transcended their films, inspiring adaptations and spinoffs of their own.

Some of Disney's most iconic villains are featured in stunning Maleficent body paint cosplay. First appearing in the 1959 animated classic Sleeping Beauty, the conniving dark fairy was reinvented in the 2014 solo film bearing her name as a misunderstood protagonist. Maleficent proved popular with critics and audiences, spawning a sequel, Maleficent: Mistress of Evil, in 2019.

Paula Mateo recently took to Instagram to share her Maleficent body paint cosplay, which features some of Disney's biggest villains.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Paula...

Summer tentpole films can bring a windfall of money to movie theaters, but the hundreds of millions spent shooting and promoting them require them to be big hits both in the U.S. and around the world. Over the past two weeks, Universal’s “Fast X” and Disney’s “The Little Mermaid” have found success in one, but not the other.

This weekend, “The Little Mermaid” secured a successful domestic launch with a $118.6 million four-day opening, among the top five highest for Memorial Day weekend, while earning strong word of mouth from an audience driven by Black moviegoers.

But overseas, the film grossed just $68 million, less than the $86.5 million total grossed this past weekend by “Fast X.” With a $250 million budget, the film may not have the overseas legs to turn a theatrical profit, let alone reach the $1 billion mark hit by past remakes of Disney Renaissance films like “Beauty and the Beast” and “Aladdin.

Just as cultures evolve through time, the traditions and beliefs will also transform, especially when one culture merges with another. Social concepts like appreciation warmly embrace another’s customs as beautiful instead of different. While one culture will embrace one color as a sign of royalty and wealth, another may interpret that same color as a bad omen. Animators tend to rely on a Eurocentric interpretation of color. For example, the absence of light, black, is a sign of evil while the prominence of light, white, is a sign of purity.

When Walt Disney and his company released Snow White in 1937, the color animation brought those Eurocentric interpretations of black and white onto the big screen. The first Disney princess was described as pure due to her snow-white-colored skin, while her stepmother was scripted as evil, often wearing all black or black and purple. Yet, as Disney became more prominent in the field of animation,...

With Disney's live-action remake of Pinocchio bringing back classic heroes and villains, fans can't help but recall some of the most dastardly heels that Disney has ever put on screen. While all of Disney's villains are unsavory in one way or another, some are actually quite dangerous and pose a serious threat to the good guys.

From evil witches like Ursula in The Little Mermaid to cruel and violent goons like Gaston from Beauty and the Beast, Disney's gallery of rogues is packed with ne'er-do-wells of the worst kind. No matter what era they originate, Disney's most dangerous antagonists are also their most memorable fiends.

Gaston (Beauty And The Beast)

Though Beauty and the Beast doesn't really have a main antagonist, the neighborhood brute Gaston is a side character who causes big trouble for Belle. Known for his brash and egotistical mannerisms, Gaston is so self-obsessed that he often can't...

Christopher Walken is one of the most unique character actors of all time. Walken is renowned for his idiosyncratic mannerisms and has reinvented himself for audiences of many different generations. He has attracted some younger viewers with his frequent appearances on "Saturday Night Live" and Fatboy Slim's infamous "Weapon of Choice" music video.

Although Walken is largely associated with his comedic roles, he has delivered many riveting dramatic performances. At 79, Walken hasn't shown any signs that he is slowing down. He has recently found success on television with his roles as Burt Goodman on Apple TV+'s acclaimed science fiction series "Severance" and Frank Sheldon on Amazon Prime Video's crime series "The Outlaws." It was recently announced that Walken will be joining the cast of "Dune: Part Two" as Emperor Shaddam IV. It will be exciting to see Timothée Chalamet's Paul Atreides face off against the most fearsome antagonist in the "Dune" universe.

"My Father's Dragon" is a 2022 animated feature that feels like a classic. Between the charming hand-drawn aesthetic, the imaginative setting, and the myth-like narrative structure, it has that rare quality of being truly timeless; this is a film that could have come out forty years ago, and will feel as relevant generations from now as it does today.

And I worry that no-one else will like it.

Directed by Irish animator and director Nora Twomey ("The Breadwinner"), "My Father's Dragon" tells the story of a boy who finds himself on an unexpected adventure. When he and his mother lose their shop and fall on hard times, Elmer (Jacob Tremblay) runs away from home, vowing to raise the money to reopen the family business. Elmer has a knack for finding things and prides himself on being a fixer, which only makes it harder for him to accept that some problems in life don't have answers.

It’s been six long years since Idris Elba embarked on what we can only now call his “Bad Cat Trilogy.”

He ruled the jungle as the villainous Shere Khan in “The Jungle Book,” and he broke every human law as Macavity in “Cats.” But this time it’s different: In Baltasar Kormákur’s “Beast,” Elba must fight an evil cat in his own human form. It might feel like poetry if “Beast” was anything more than a competent genre exercise.

Elba stars as Dr. Nate Samuels, a doctor visiting South Africa with his two daughters, Meredith and Nora. They’re visiting the home town of Meredith and Nora’s mother who, shortly after she separated from Nate, was diagnosed with – and swiftly died of – cancer.

That’s a lot of baggage for one trip, but Nate is trying to make up for lost time by bonding over this new adventure.

Wes Anderson has signed on to direct an adaptation of Roald Dahl’s “The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar,” starring Benedict Cumberbatch, for Netflix. Sources also note Ralph Fiennes, Dev Patel and Ben Kingsley have joined the cast, with production expected to start this month in London.

Netflix had no comment on the reports.

First published in 1977, “The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Six More” is a collection of seven short stories crafted by British author Dahl for older children. Cumberbatch will play Henry Sugar, the protagonist of the titular story, which poses the question: “If you could see with your eyes closed…would you use your power for good or for personal gain?”

The new movie marks Anderson’s second outing with Dahl’s classic works after the filmmaker crafted “The Fantastic Mr. Fox” into a stop-motion film in 2009 and co-wrote the screenplay with Noah Baumbach. The best...

So, did you blow out your vocal cords when you went from house to house caroling this holiday season? Would you rather watch somebody else croon some tunes for your entertainment? And if they’re cute and fuzzy, why all the better! After you knock back some hot tea and lemon, head over to the multiplex because an encore concert is about to start. Encore? Yes, can you believe that it’s been five years and a day since a menagerie of cuddly critters warbled dozens of pop tunes and standards. Yes, that long ago! So take a break from the Christmas “crunch” and shuttle the whole family to the moves to tap your toes (but please refrain from joining vocally) along with the cartoon cast of Sing 2.

During those years it appears that all’s going well at the New Moon Theatre. The current musical revue based on “Alice in Wonderland...

Sonic the Hedgehog fans have been sent into a state of blissful shock thanks to the announcement that esteemed actor Idris Elba will join the franchise as the voice of Knuckles in the upcoming sequel, Sonic the Hedgehog 2. Well, Sonic enthusiasts have had a chance to mull over the thought of Elba's dulcet tones emanating from the mouth of the beloved echidna, and they love it.

Introduced in the Sonic the Hedgehog 3 video game back in the before times of 1994, Knuckles began his story as a non-playable antagonist before uniting with Sonic the Hedgehog and has since become one of the most popular characters in the franchise.

Much like Sonic, Knuckles has several unique abilities including gliding and climbing up walls, and is a powerful fighter with spiked hands. He serves as the guardian of the Master Emerald, a huge gemstone that controls the series' integral Chaos Emeralds, and...

Shere Khan in The Jungle Book Photo: Disney It was International Tiger Day yesterday, so we're earning our stripes this week with a Streaming Spotlight dedicated to these Asian big cats. The animals are still under global threat, with their numbers dropping by more than 95 per cent since the beginning of the 20th Century according to the WWF, although they are now, thankfully on the rise again - and if you're looking for a film charting conservation efforts, Tigerland is well worth watching, although sadly not currently available to stream. You can read more about International Tiger Day on the WWF website.

The Jungle Book, Disney+

Surely the Goat of cinematic tigers, Shere Khan first prowled his way into the hearts of a generation of children with the 1967 Disney animation - and he was given a whole new lease of silky menace by Idris Elba in this live-action remake. "Live...

The Jungle Book is a classic story that has been told in several different ways, but the Disney animation is one of the most well-known. The story follows Mowgli as he grows up within the jungle when Shere Khan learns of his presence, which leads to him trying to escape before the tiger gets hold of him.

Related: Disney: 10 Characters With The Most Realistic Problems

Along the way, Mowgli encounters countless different jungle characters, with some of them being helpful and kind, and others looking to harm the man-cub, or use him for their own benefit. There are some huge personalities within the movie, which makes the journey a lot of fun to witness. But which characters are the most likable?...

Baloo is a beloved character from The Jungle Book. He's voiced by Phil Harris in the 1967 film, and the fun-loving, easygoing, lovable bear had plenty of witty and funny quotes throughout the film. "You better believe it!" is among his favorite sayings. Baloo was ready to adopt Mowgli and raise him as his own out in the jungle, and proved to be a wonderful "papa bear."

Related: 10 Disney Characters We Almost Got (But Didn't) 

Mowgli wound up at the man village eventually, but he'll always remember his buddy, Baloo. The two made a great pair, and Baloo taught him about the "bare necessities," as well as how to fight, and was a true hero for saving young Mowgli from Shere Khan.

Having voiced the villainous tiger Shere Khan in 2016's The Jungle Book before playing a peculiar human-cat hybrid in last year's musical fantasy movie, Cats, Idris Elba is now going to cap off his bizarre cat-themed trilogy by going toe-to-toe with a man-eating lion in Universal Pictures' man-versus-nature movie, Beast.

Though wider plot details are largely unknown, Beast has been described as a thriller and will be based on an original idea by Jaime Primak-Sullivan. The movie will be in a similar vein to the 2016 thriller The Shallows, which starred Blake Lively as an unlucky surfer who ends up stranded not far from land after she is attacked by a great white shark. Only this time it's a giant killer lion.

Baltasar Kormákur, whose previous credits include the buddy action flick 2 Guns starring Denzel Washington and Mark Wahlberg, the biographical drama Adrift starring Shailene Woodley and Sam Claflin, and...

Idris Elba once played the villainous Shere Khan in Jon Favreau’s The Jungle Book, but now the actor will go toe to toe with the king of the forest in a new thriller called Beast. Elba has been cast in the lead role in the movie, which hails from Contraband and 2 Guns director Baltasar […]

The post ‘Beast’: Idris Elba Will Face Off Against a Lion in New Thriller From ‘Contraband’ Director appeared first on /Film.

With “Scoob!,” Warner Bros. Animation launches a new Hanna-Barbera cinematic universe built around the crime-fighting Mystery Inc. teenage gang and its lovable Great Dane. The plan was to release the franchise’s first CG-animated feature theatrically on May 15, but, of course, the pandemic intervened, so it’s going straight to VOD instead.

Whether or not “Scoob!” taps as large an audience as DreamWorks’ “Trolls World Tour” remains to be seen, but, according to director Tony Cervone, a veteran of the Hanna-Barbera and Looney Tunes home video franchises, it offers nostalgic comfort food for quarantined families. “Sure, I would’ve loved a theater experience, but we’re in a weird time,” he said. “It’s a bummer. But because of that, there’s families at home looking for stuff to watch, and there’s something reaffirming and warm and fuzzy and bright and colorful [about ‘Scoob!’].”

It begins with Scooby and Shaggy...

We all have our favorite Disney movies. We love the characters, their plights, or the villains themselves. In most cases, we love everything about a Disney movie, especially the classics like Aladdin and 101 Dalmatians. Disney movies are special because they're sentimental, a core ingredient that made our childhoods. All that said and done, can you imagine a mash-up of your favorite Disney heroes and villains? Switching out villains or heroes from one film to another? How about Jasmine versus Shere Khan? Ariel versus Jafar?

Related: 10 Most Heroic Things Disney Princesses Have Ever Done 

It'd make for an entirely different turnout, but it'd be interesting to see the heroes matched with different villains to test their skills and abilities, albeit in a different manner than they were originally. That said, here are 10 Disney hero/villain crossovers that we'd love to see.

The Jungle Book is one of the most beloved Disney classics of all time. Based on Rudyard Kipling’s novel and release in 1967, it chronicles the adventures of Mowgli, a boy raised by the animals in the jungles of India. With the help of his panther friend Bagheera and his bear friend Baloo, they enjoy the “bare necessities of life” while staying out of the way of Shere Khan, the tyrannical tiger who hates humans.

In 2016, Jon Favreau used the latest in CGI and motion capture technology to create a “live action” version of the Disney classic without ever having to travel to India. The entire film was done digitally, and that wasn’t the only change that existed between the two versions. A number of aspects of the narrative were changed, as well as key characters. Both films are considered classics by Disney fans, but here are the 10 biggest...

English actor Idris Elba (Pacific Rim, The Wire) has lent his voice to several animal characters in films already: a cape buffalo in Zootopia, Shere Khan the tiger in The Jungle Book, and a sea lion in Finding Dory. He’s playing a cat in Tom Hooper’s upcoming adaptation of Cats later this year, and now it […]

The post ‘Mouse Guard’ Movie Adds Idris Elba as an Obi-Wan Kenobi Type of Mouse appeared first on /Film.

As you may have heard already Idris Elba is currently in talks to replace Will Smith as the new Deadshot in James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad, and while the news only just broke yesterday evening, popular fan artist BossLogic has already offered their impression of how this casting might look.

In case it wasn’t clear enough already, the new artwork really drives home the fact that a Floyd Lawton played by Elba would carry a very different, more hard-edged vibe than the version offered by the Fresh Prince. There’s a reason why Elba played Shere Khan in Disney’s live-action Jungle Book while Smith was cast as the Genie in Aladdin.

Though a deal has yet to be made, yesterday’s THR piece strongly indicated that discussions are moving forward very quickly. According to the outlet’s sources, Elba met with Gunn on Friday, and discussions with...

Benedict Cumberbatch may be protecting our reality as Doctor Stephen Strange in the Marvel universe, but the dude’s voice and presence make him the perfect villain. He’s lent his voice and physicality to such nasty baddies as Smaug (The Hobbit trilogy) and Shere Khan (Mowgli), but now he’s playing the ultimate of baddie – the supremacy of evil –…...

From Smaug in The Hobbit to Shere Khan in Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle by way of The Grinch, Benedict Cumberbatch has lent his distinct pipes to many a devilish figure in his career. You could therefore argue that it was only a matter of time until the Doctor Strange star provided the voice of Satan himself, with Deadline reporting that Cumberbatch will do the honors in the Amazon Prime Video series Good Omens.

Author and showrunner Neil Gaiman revealed as such during a panel at the Television Critics Association, explaining the actor’s inclusion as follows:

“It’s a giant animated Satan. He turns up and we needed a performance that works. So we found a young British help that needed a lot of direction from Douglas… Benedict Cumberbatch.”

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A major hit over the recent holiday season was Illumination’s animated adaptation of Dr. Seuss’ How The Grinch Stole Christmas. The movie from the studio most known for its Despicable Me franchise was a major success as its $500+ million managed to finally knock Home Alone off the top spot to be proclaimed as the highest-grossing Christmas movie of all-time. The Grinch‘s charming, funny festive tale was probably the main draw, but it can’t have hurt that it had a big name as its lead voice in the form of the one and only Benedict Cumberbatch.

On previous occasions, the Grinch had been played by horror icon Boris Karloff and comedy legend Jim Carrey, so clearly there’s no one type of actor who can portray the green grouch. With that in mind, why did the filmmakers go for Cumberbatch for their take on the classic children’s story?...

Stars: Rohan Chand, Matthew Rhys, Freida Pinto, Christian Bale, Cate Blanchett, Benedict Cumberbatch, Naomie Harris, Andy Serkis, Peter Mullan, Jack Reynor, Eddie Marsan, Tom Hollander | Written by Callie Kloves | Directed by Andy Serkis

Andy Serkis sophomore effort, Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle, arrives two years after Jon Favreau’s monumental critically and financially successful live-action reinvention of the much-beloweved Disney classic, Shot two years previously and focusing on a darker more adult-oriented material, expanding further upon the work of author Rudyard Kipling rather than the property from Disney, Mowgli has had a rocky road to the screens of millions. A rumoured troubled and heavily set back production forced Warner Bros to draft visionary director Alfonso Cuaron into the ranks to put the property on track. Plague of issues of the comparison to Favreau’s impressive and beloved film, only furthering the pressure on release and box office standards after the...

Let’s pretend for a moment that Disney didn’t just release a “live-action” remake of its 1967 “The Jungle Book” two years ago. In a world without such competition, “Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle” might have seemed like a good idea: a darker, decidedly non-Disney approach to Rudyard Kipling’s collection of stories about a boy raised by wild animals deep in the Indian forest. It may even have excited some people to know that performance-capture prodigy Andy Serkis was tackling the project as his directorial debut — one complicated enough that his second feature, “Breathe,” actually beat it to screens.

But Disney did release “The Jungle Book,” and that movie was a big, big hit, followed by the seemingly inevitable announcement of a sequel. Now, the best that Serkis’ “Mowgli” movie can hope for is possibly being mistaken for director Jon Favreau’s still-in-development followup (he decided to make “The Lion King” first). Still,...

Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle was the original Jungle Book adaptation, but following Disney’s huge live-action triumph, the film was sold to Netflix and now prepares for its launch. While telling the same story, it’s a completely different affair, so dark in tone, as a far more faithful adaptation of the renowned Kipling prose.

To mark the release we sat down with the film’s director Andy Serkis, who also plays Baloo, as well as the title role himself, Rohan Chand. Finally we spoke to Eddie Marsan, who voices the role of Vihaan. Serkis describes the journey the film has gone on before finally making its way to our screens, and why he feels Netflix makes the perfect home for his tale to be told.

Serkis also speaks about the dark elements to the film and whether it’s child-proof, while Marsan speaks about the values and messages the film is exploring.

Andy Serkis, king of the performance capture kingdom, goes up against Disney’s The Jungle Book with his adaptation of Rudyard Kipling’s classic story Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle. Serkis directs the new film with the voices of Christian Bale, Cate Blanchett, Benedict Cumberbatch, Freida Pinto, Naomie Harris, Peter Muilan, Jack Reynor, Eddie Marsan, Tom Hollander and Matthew Rhys.

Those attending the special screening of the film at the Curzon Mayfair in London this evening along with Serkis were the boy wonder himself Rohan Chand, Eddie Marsan, Naomie Harris, Louis Ashbourne Serkis, composer Nitin Sawhney and producer Jonathan Cavendish. We spoke to them about their new take on Kipling’s much loved tale.

The film arrives on Netflix on the 7th of December, 2018. Scott Davis and David Sztypuljak were on the red carpet and conducted these interviews.

Mowgli Legend of the Jungle Red Carpet Interviews

Plot:

A human child...

“The jungle is eternal,” purrs a panther — the second most charismatic black panther to hit screens in 2018, for those of you keeping count — to his “little brother,” a boy with limpid eyes and long back hair. This large, nurturing feline is referring to the home that provides them with renewable sustenance, shelter and the occasional slithering-reptile narrator. He might also be talking about Rudyard Kipling’s durable, endlessly adaptable 1894 collection of stories revolving around blessed beasts and children: the aforementioned big brother Bagheera, the boisterous bear Baloo, the cunning python...

Andy Serkis has given life to many unreal and unnatural characters over the course of his career. But the man behind the motion-captured face of Gollum in the “Lord of the Rings” series and Caesar in various “Planet of the Apes” films may have finally met his technical match. In “Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle,” his adaptation of Rudyard Kipling’s beloved story collection “The Jungle Book,” director and co-star Serkis throws in too many new elements and, in the process, derails the plot’s familiarity and some of its charms.

As in many other versions of Kipling’s tale, Mowgli (Rohan Chand, “Bad Words”) is an orphaned boy, adopted and raised by a pack of wolves in an Indian jungle. As he grows up, Mowgli is trained by cockney-accented bear Baloo (voiced by Serkis) and pragmatic panther Bagheera (Christian Bale) to fit in among the wolves and to learn to survive.

Few Hollywood talents have done more for the art of motion-capture performance than actor and filmmaker Andy Serkis, whose work in such films as the “Planet of the Apes” series and the latest “Star Wars” efforts always beg the question: Should mo-cap get more respect? If anyone is going to smash the wall that separates traditional performance and the work done by actors tasked with effects-heavy work, it’s Serkis. Which is why it was only fitting that the long-time actor would make his directorial debut on the mo-cap-heavy “Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle,” a passion project that adds a darker touch to Rudyard Kipling’s beloved classic “The Jungle Book.”

While Serkis’ film was originally meant to open in 2016, pitting it against Jon Favreau’s own “The Jungle Book,” it was eventually pushed to 2018, allowing Serkis’ film the chance to further refine the kind of technology meant to believably...

It’s déjà vu all over again as Andy Serkis directs a darker version of the classic Jungle Book tales.

Deep Impact and Armageddon. Volcano and Dante’s Peak. Capote and Infamous. Hollywood history is sprinkled with many strange cases in which two films based on the same subject have been developed, produced and released in relatively close proximity to each other, often with one overshadowing the other at least in terms of success and awareness, if not necessarily quality. And now the tale of Mowgli, the little boy raised by wolves and living among the animals of the jungle in Rudyard Kipling’s classic Jungle Book stories, can join that club with Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle, the second movie in two years to tackle Kipling’s work.

The first was Disney’s The Jungle Book, a 2016 adaptation that also served as a live-action/CG remake of the Mouse House’s own 1967 animated version.

Paul Bradshaw Nov 22, 2018

Let’s all hope Hollywood has got this one wrong…

This article comes from Den of Geek UK.

Back in the old days, paintings, carvings and engravings of Hell were used to shock sinners into mending their ways – promising them an eternity of pain and suffering, usually at the end of a red hot poker. Most world religions have their own ideas about what Hell looks like, but filmmakers have since thrown in a lot of their own ideas too – with movie villains heading everywhere from fiery torture caves and spikey chasms to bottomless voids and empty prison cells.

Personally, we’re hoping for the one in The Good Place (because at least Ted Danson will be there), but almost anything is better than spending any time in any of the Hells on this list…

Hell’s Bells (1929)

There’s something inherently disturbing about the idea of...

It was a really light week for trailers last week (the main event, i.e. an official full trailer for True Detective‘s Season Three, did not drop until late on Friday) — then, starting last Monday, came the deluge. Prepare to catch up on: a sneak peek at the now-in-theaters, soon-to-be-streaming-on-Netflix Coen brothers Western anthology; a doc on the late, not-great-at-all Fox News head Roger Ailes; peeks at some 2019 sci-fi for both the big and the small screen; a new live-action take on The Jungle Book from Gollum himself,...

Netflix has released a new trailer for director Andy Serkis upcoming adaptation of Rudyard Kipling’s The Jungle Book. The movie is called Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle and it’s said to be a much darker take on the classic story. It actually looks like it could be a great film!

The story follows the upbringing of the human child Mowgli, raised by a wolf pack in the jungles of India. As he learns the often harsh rules of the jungle, under the tutelage of a bear named Baloo and a panther named Bagheera, Mowgli becomes accepted by the animals of the jungle as one of their own. All but one: the fearsome tiger Shere Khan. But there may be greater dangers lurking in the jungle, as Mowgli comes face to face with his human origins.

The movie also features an all-star ensemble cast that includes Christian Bale as the cunning panther,...