The Jungle Book

The Jungle Book is a live-action/CGI fantasy film that retells the story of Mowgli, an orphaned human boy who, guided by his animal guardians, sets out on a journey of self-discovery while evading the threatening Shere Khan. Neel Sethi plays the main character, Mowgli in the movie. He is the only human being on screen and as his first ever role, this kid actor is truly magnificent. He is as good as any kid actor has ever been, even favorably compared to Haley Joel Osment in The Sixth Sense. The computer generated imagery is brilliant all throughout, definitely some of the best ever and the 3D is just mind blowing. In every single scene I kept getting surprised and thrilled at just how amazing the CGI and 3D were. I think the main reason as to why this movie worked it's because it also has a very good story line that's mixed in with the amazing visuals. Also, the voice actors are all perfectly cast. Especially Idris Elba as Shere Khan, who is truly haunting in every scene he's in. That was one well made and scary villain that Mowgli had to face. Jon Favreau did a fantastic work with this movie, cause really this story has been told many times before, and yet this movie feels fresh and interesting nonetheless. I'm glad that it's doing so well in Box Office because it completely deserves it. Movies like this must be appreciated so that they can inspire more great work, and maybe one day, even erase movies like Transformers.

I've never been a fan of the original Jungle Book movie, but I did grow up watching it, and I did like it. This remake is (in my opinion) Disney's best remake so far.

The animation and the scenery is basically a new age in CGI. Not only are there CGI characters and creatures now, but locations too. The entire jungle looks absolutely real, yet it's not, and that's the great thing about it.

The characters themselves were pretty cool. I didn't care for Mowgli in the original movie, but this movie got me liking him. He's brave, not as bratty, and he's pretty inventive. Bagheera is as stern and careful as ever except that he's also got the action his book counterpart had had. And I like Baloo's character here, having a bit more of a self-serving trait his older counterparts never had but eventually becoming a nice guy. And that's the main characters. The wolves got more screen time, Kaa got a lot more dangerous (though she doesn't have as much screen time, which is my only complaint in this movie), King Louie is more sinister and less comical, and Shere Khan is a flat-out beast.

I'm also glad that they brought back three songs I enjoyed as a kid. I really liked Bare Necessities, and I've also started singing this version of I Wanna Be Like You. Trust In Me made me feel like Kaa was in a spy movie.

So on a scale from one to ten, I'd give it a perfect score: 10/10. It's an epic movie, and I highly recommend seeing this movie.

Favreau's Jungle Book is a marvel. With a Spielbergian sense of magical awe and reverent fear, it's a children's epic that not only stands-up to its legacy, but surpasses it. Giant snakeskins, intense animal battles, and daring escapes from ape kingdoms give the film a scope beyond the animated musical, all while keeping intact its persistent joy. Funny, jaw-dropping, thrilling, grand, and fun, it's an all-cylinders-go cinematic experience on every level. The story of a young man-cub raised by wolves and living amongst the animals of the jungle hasn't changed much, down to the talking beasts. Much like last year's Cinderella, they utilize nostalgia of the beloved product to dive deeper into the story without cynically dismissing it. On top of immersing us into the wilderness through meticulous attention to the smallest of details, the characters are drawn with much more depth. The bratty and paper-thin Mowgli of yesteryear is replaced by a boy with brains and motivation. Played with wide-eyed confidence by newcomer Sethi, we emotionally engage with his adventure. And he's not alone; all characters are given loving attention, specifically the foreboding presence of scary-cool bruiser Sheer Khan. The technical feat of creating photo-realistic animals that convincingly speak and emote is so impressive it feels like a benchmark in CGI. It wouldn't be an overstatement to say this is as groundbreaking and beautiful as any visual effects in years. Favreau and co. manage intense attention to accuracy without shoving it down our throats or overshadowing the story. At the end of the day, under all the computer data, there is a soulful and entertaining tale about life's bare necessity: individuality within community.

I knew the story and the characters, and was not disappointed with this current rendition of this classic Disney/Kipling.

It was always beautiful to watch the almost perfectly realistic models of the animals.

Mowgli looked the part and seemed to handle the physical side of his performance as the only live performer, but his acting at times made me think of 'Anakin from the Phantom Menace' which is not good for a comparison. It was also not a good feeling to see cuts, scrapes and scars on Mowgli as the movie progressed. This is realistic for the amount of action, but it made me uncomfortable seeing this in an almost naked kid getting abused and almost killed by half the jungle.

The two times the movie broke out into song, also didn't really fit with this version either. If it had 5 or ten songs, you wouldn't notice, but those two moments really stood out and dumbed the movie down to me.

All the voices were pretty good, except Christopher Walken who seem woefully miscast and as King Louie and Bill Murray as/and the too cartoony Baloo character I also didn't really care for either.

It was also odd/unsettling that all the main characters were intelligent, but other animals seemed retarded (hedgehog?) or just normal animals? The monkeys and elephants in particular didn't talk, and these are two of the smartest most human-like in real life so this was really weird.

On the other hand, Idris Elba was gold as Sheer Khan and Scarlett Johansson's Kaa is perfect, like her voice performance in 'Her' she was wonderful as the hypnotic snake villain.

Had me in tears at times, all in all good, honest Disney fun in the spirit of the best of them like 'Lion King', Aladdin or Toy Story.

The Jungle Book, a live-action adaptation of the classic tale, presents a mixed cinematic experience. While the film's CGI-enhanced visuals and cinematography beautifully immerse the audience in the lush jungle setting, and young Neel Sethi's performance as Mowgli is commendable, the movie falters in delivering a truly captivating narrative. The attempt to bring the animals to life with realistic visuals, while technically impressive, leaves some emotional depth lacking, and the music, despite its memorable tunes from the animated classic, doesn't quite hit the same notes. Consequently, The Jungle Book receives a 6/10 rating from me, as it falls short of recapturing the magic of its source material and struggles to leave a lasting impression.