Friday, April 8, 2016

Movie Review: The Jungle Book (2016 film)


Produced by: Walt Disney Pictures
Directed by: Jon Favreau
Based on: Rudyard Kipling's stories of The Jungle Book

Cast: Neel Sethi as Mowgli

Voice Over(English Version):
Bill Murray
Ben Kingsley
Idris Elba
Lupita Nyong'o
Scarlett Johansson
Giancarlo Esposito
Christopher Walken

Voice Over(Hindi Version):
Nana Patekar as Sher Khan
Priyanka Chopra as Kaa
Om Puri as Bagheera
Irrfan Khan as Baloo

Recommendation:

The Jungle Book is a visual treat. Jon Favreau has not only given life to all the legendary comic characters but he has brought the entire jungle to life. It is a digital masterpiece. This is definitely a must watch. Don't miss it.

Performances:

Neel Sethi is excellent as Mowgli. He is the only actor in the movie and rest all are computer generated characters/ animals. It would have been really a tough task for Neel to act in this kind of a setup but he is very convincing and natural.

Production Value, Story, Screenplay, Direction: 

Story as we know is a combination of various short stories from 'The Jungle Book' by Rudyard Kipling. Length of the movie is about 1 hour and 45 minutes which is pretty apt. There is no drag at all. First 15 minutes and last 30 minutes are exceptional, especially the sequence featuring King Louie. Screen play is brilliant and the director has given enough attention to detail. Background score and songs are good too.

Voice Over(English): Ben Kingsley and Idris Elba are top rate in the voice cast.

Voice Over(Hindi): Nana Patekar brings the old memories of The Jungle Book television series alive. He is top rate as Sher Khan. Priyanka Chopra is exceptional as Kaa. Irrfan Khan entertains as Baloo the bear. Om Puri makes Bagheera convincing in his own style.


What lessons do we learn from The Jungle Book?

  • Unity is strength. United we rule divided we fall
  • If you are a human fighting against a beast then you need to fight as a human and use your biggest strength, that is, your brain
  • In adverse circumstances, even the bitter enemies need to come together and set common ground rules for survival
  • Jungle has its own rules but friendship thrives on mutual trust. A friend in need is a friend in deed
  • It is our duty to help a friend in need
  • One must always be kind and gentle to other creatures
  • You must never trust other blindly

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