So, as soon as I heard that Andy Serkis was working on making his own Jungle Book adaptation, one that was closer to the source material in terms of tone, I immediately was excited to watch it. I was even going to see it in theaters. But then, the unthinkable happened--Disney decided they wanted to do one too. This entire thing became a race against the clock. Which Studio, Disney or Warner Bros. would finish their film first? Disney won with their 2016 Jungle Book. Which gathered critical and financial acclaim. Not wanting to have a similar movie come out so close, WB postponed theirs a year. And then, decided to forgo the advertising and theater costs all together and instead sell the property to Netflix for a streaming release. So “Jungle Book: Origins” became “Mowgli” which became “Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle”. This is a review of the film.
Now, first and foremost, I’m going to address the Indian Elephant in the room and say, yes, there will be comparisons between this film and the Disney one in this review, after all, how can there not be? Disney’s Jungle Book was an adaptation of their own animated feature. Thus it’s very family friendly and whimsical. With gorgeous graphics and very realistic looking animals. Mowgli, which is following the source material’s more adult tone, is the opposite of this. While children certainly can watch it, parents may want to accompany them and explain some of the more serious and intense scenes in the film. So I suppose viewer discretion may be advised.
The plot is fairly identical to other adaptations. Mowgli, as a young boy was orphaned by the tiger Shere Khan and raised by a pack of wolves in the jungle. He grows up as a “man cub” there and must struggle on whether he belongs in the jungle or with his own kind in the human village. All while the ferocious Shere Khan has returned to finish what he started and end Mowgli.
Mowgli himself is played (amazingly I may add) by Rohan Chand. His performance is what impressed me the most in the film and the biggest difference between this and Disney’s adaptation. While in the Disney film, Mowgli is portrayed as a carefree, somewhat naive boy, with a curious mind and love for adventure, Mowgli in the 2018 version is portrayed more realistically. He feels more like a boy who was raised in the wild. He is feral at times, acts animalistic, savage. He also has more depth with his conflict both external and internal. Yes, he has a tiger hunting him, but we see more of the internal conflict of him not belonging in the jungle with the animals. How the other wolves mock him and his own feelings of inadequacies. Disney’s Mowgli merely brings this up once as a minor annoyance, but this is a character defining moment for the new Mowgli. Add to the fact that we actually SEE the humans in this version, we can see how Mowgli identifies with his own kind and the struggle of which world he truly belongs to.
Okay, phew, that went on for a while, time to talk about the supporting cast, cause they’re pretty great too. Christian Bale as Bagheera was amazing casting. He felt less like a stern teacher and more like actual family to Mowgli. He cares for him, and wants only the best, even if it means pushing him away. Serkis himself voices Bagloo in a way you’ve never seen him before. Gone is the lazy, carefree, honey obsessed bear. This Bagloo is more of a drill sergeant, whipping the animals in shape and teaching them the laws of the jungle. He doesn’t sing, he doesn’t nap. So don’t look for any Bear Necessities. The last stand out I should bring up is Shere Khan played by Benedict Cumberbatch. He is scary, he is without mercy, but he still has a cunning about him, and Cumberbatch (as he does in most voice work) conveys this very well. Plus, the climactic battle between him and Mowgli is very intense.
Before I conclude, I suppose I should talk about the visuals, as it’s confusing some people. Many say that the animals faces are “off”, this is intentional. Rather than trying to make them look as realistic as possible, the movie chooses to incorporate the actors’ faces into those of the animals they play, thus, making them look not entirely like animals, but letting them show emotion that may otherwise be hard to convey.
So, if you haven’t guessed by now, I really liked this movie. More than the 2016 film by a wide margin. Then again, the films set out to do different things. Disney’s is more of a heartwarming action adventure while the Netflix/WB version seems to be more of a character piece, exploring Mowgli and the emotions he goes through. In the end, I highly recommend giving this movie a watch!
8/10
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