DCfnaf Movie Reviews: The Jungle Book (2016)

DCfnaf WARNING: Some viewers may disagree with this opinionated review. If you do, PLEASE respect my opinion and let me know why you have yours NICELY. Thank you. (Also: SPOILERS!!!!)

After showing us a beautiful and realistic version of Cinderella's Castle, the camera moves backwards into a huge jungle (that's apparently in front of the castle in Disney World...). We see the words "The Jungle Book" on screen, letting us know what we are about to see. As the camera moves away from the title, we take a glimpse of the setting. Once my eyelids caught the visual style of the jungle...I couldn't close them. May I just say that Disney has done it again?

When it comes to live-action remakes, they're always a gamble. Either you create a beautiful work of art, or you make a twelve foot mountain of crap. Considering most of the live-action remakes that were presented to us were actually in the latter category, I was a little worried about how this movie would turn out. Luckily, this film pleasantly surprised my anxious insides and ended up as the former.

The Jungle Book is a live-action/CGI film that tells 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 tiger Shere Khan. With said threat looming over his head, Ben Kingsley's black panther, Bagherra accompanies Mowgli en route to the human's village. However, on the way, they encounter numerous creatures and scenarios (most notably Bill Murray's grizzly bear, Baloo and Christopher Walken's orangutan, King Louie) that give them a more expansive taste of what the jungle has to offer.

The story was really great in several ways. There were tons of dramatic moments and tons of still moments, which was good. I liked that the message of the movie was to just be yourself and show off your unique skills, even if others may find them controversial. Sure, this message may have been used a lot, but it really worked with this movie since it's rare for films to have animals and humans together. I liked that they put a huge emphasis on the "Red Flower" (That would be the fancy term for fire in this universe) to highlight the Man VS Nature ordeal.

The characters in this film are very charming and likeable. While Neel Sethi's voice acting was really faulty because this movie was his acting origin, I could still believe that he was an innocent human child who was trying to fit in with the animals. The emotional arc towards the end where Mowgli finds out that Akela was murdered by Shere Khan was very believable and it set up for an amazing climax between Mowgli and all of the animals that he trusted. (Aww, come on guys! He didn't mean to burn down the forest!) Idris Elba was the perfect actor for Shere Khan in this film, as he really horrified me whenever he showed up. Every time he appeared on screen, I always asked myself if Khan was going to just intimidate everyone or cause death and tragedy. "OMG!!! He's back...oh. He seems to be talking with Akela...he's walking away...OMG HE JUST KILLED HIM!!!" Scenes like this will really surprise you and that's what made the villain so amazing. The movie also did a good job by showing his backstory and his character motivation so that way I never felt like wanting to strangle the guy. Bagheera was also a pretty good character who just wanted Mowgli to fit in with all of the animals in the jungle (the whole "No Tricks" ordeal). As the movie goes on, he learns that Mowgli's uniqueness was actually a helpful thing rather than an adversary to the jungle. Mowgli saves a baby elephant from the pit and it makes Bagheera realize that this may not be such an issue. The best character in this movie, however, is definitely Baloo. I'm not necessarily saying that because he was a sarcastic and hilarious bear, but because of what his role was in the film. He is meant to serve as a guide to our protagonist, showing him that his tricks can actually be useful and that he shouldn't worry about what everyone else thinks about said tricks. There were also a ton of great moments where Baloo and Bagheera quarreled over their opposing teaching styles and trying to find out which one was best for Mowgli. However, once Mowgli is in danger thanks to the aggravating monkeys of this film, they know they have to work together to save him. There were even some minor characters like King Louie and Kaa who impressed me with their darkness and threatening personas.

Fittingly enough, the most notable thing that people have been siting is the visual effects. These effects can be summed up in two very simple words: They're Stunning. After doing some quick research on the internet, I learned that this film was mainly realized by shooting Neel Sithi on a sound stage and using blue screen compositing and digital animation to bring everything to life. I was glad that I found out this information since the result of this is a gorgeous, luscious world that pops on screen with organic characters that look VERY convincing. If I had to pick an animal from the cast of characters that I thought was the most visually pleasing, I'd definitely pick Bagheera. He looks freaking amazing and the designers did a great job at making his fur stand out. The beautiful jungle combined with the nature sounds was perfect and it really made me believe I was legitimately in a jungle. As such, you will really feel like you are in on the action during this film.

While the music doesn't take up a huge portion of the film, I just want to address how much I loved the scene with Mowgli and Baloo swimming in the water as they sang "Bare Necessities". It's a very nice and hilarious scene. The song is catchy and the characters look like they are having a good time. Man, watching these two splash water at each others' faces never gets old in my opinion. I also really liked Scarlett Johansson's "Trust in Me" because the song was really enchanting and it fit well with her role as Kaa. Speaking of which, I can't even begin to describe how much I am starting to really adore Scarlett's musical work. First, she impressed me as Ash in Sing! and performed the song "Set It All Free" which was a very relatable song, and now she impressed me as Kaa in this film with the song "Trust in Me". Despite the fact that the song was played at the credits only rather than in the film itself, I still really like that song.

Overall, The Jungle Book is a very fun and entertaining movie made by a company that rarely fails to disappoint its viewers. With gorgeous visuals, amazing characters, and a charming and emotional story, Disney has created a live action remake that I can safely say has completely surpassed the original work in terms of quality and enjoyability. If you ask me, that's a HUGE accomplishment and Disney REALLY struck a goldmine here. This is definitely my second favorite film that Disney has made this year, with Zootopia being the only film to surpass it as my favorite. I highly recommend that you watch this movie on Netflix RIGHT NOW as it is a supreme title that is really worth watching, especially with your family.

9 -- Superb (The Jungle Book (2016) is a hallmark of excellence. There may be flaws, but they are negligible and won't cause massive damage to what is a supreme title.)

How I review Movies/Games: http://www.thetoptens.com/best-movies/48379.asp

Next Movie Review: The Lego Batman Movie

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Comments

Nice Review - VideoGamefan5 (1/31/2017)

Thanks bruh. - DCfnaf (1/31/2017)

Yeah, I thought it was a great movie. More enjoyable (and exciting) to watch than the original animated version. The kid who played Mowgli did a great job. And the CGI was amazing! - visitor (1/31/2017)

Yup. Glad you agree. I DEFINITELY think this was a great live action remake. Neel Sithi did a great job, but he was a little wonky at the emotional segments since he's inexperienced as an actor. And yes, the visual effects were stunning here. - DCfnaf (1/31/2017)

Good review! - DaisyandRosalina (2/1/2017)

Thank you pal. What'd you think of the film? Also I made a list about it. - DCfnaf (2/1/2017)

Disney made two good remakes that year. - visitor (5/30/2017)

I really like this film - visitor (7/18/2017)

I'd give it a 2 or 3 - Gangem (3/22/2018)

8/10 movie. - iliekpiez (8/24/2018)