The Jungle Book is in theaters everywhere now! My family and I were invited to see an early screening of The Jungle Book, but all thoughts about the movie are my own. Be sure to check out the Jungle Book printable activity pages that I shared a few weeks ago!
I could tell from the first trailer that I saw for The Jungle Book that it would be an exciting movie.
I was not disappointed. The Jungle Book is exciting and thrilling and emotional and so much more.
What I loved about The Jungle Book:
The details: The animation was truly outstanding. The detail in the forest was incredible. In fact, the two girls sitting next to me in the theater kept reaching out to touch the leaves and branches because the 3D effects were so realistic. The animation was beyond anything I’ve seen before, from the animals to the forest. I felt like I was there in the forest with Mowgli and his friends.
The characters: Mowgli (played by young actor Neel Sethi) did a flawless job, particularly since he was acting alongside animated characters. I can’t imagine what a challenge that must have been! The voices for all of the animals were perfectly matched with the characters we love from the classic story. I have to mention that the fact that the realistic-looking animals talked did not seem out of place or awkward at all. Again, I don’t know how Disney achieved it, but I loved it!
Check out this stellar voice cast:
Mowgli – NEEL SETHI
Baloo – BILL MURRAY
Bagheera – BEN KINGSLEY
Shere Khan – IDRIS ELBA
Raksha – LUPITA NYONG’O
Kaa – SCARLETT JOHANSSON
Akela – GIANCARLO ESPOSITO
King Louie – CHRISTOPHER WALKEN
The story: I’ve seen the animated Jungle Book dozens of times, and yet THIS time the story really resonated with me. Yes, it’s the same basic story that we all know. But there was a much deeper, more meaningful connection there for me. The following is my favorite quote from The Jungle Book:
Who should see The Jungle Book:
I highly recommend The Jungle Book as a fascinating family movie, but I would suggest that young kids stay home. There are several scary and/or intense animal fights and sequences that could be too much for younger children. My kids (10 to 16) loved the whole thing!
The Jungle Book in 3D? Is 3D worth it?
I usually tell people to save the money and skip the 3D, but in this case, I loved the IMAX 3D screening SO much that I would recommend seeing it in IMAX if at all possible. The level of reality that they achieved is beyond words and must be experienced in person.
About The Jungle Book:
“The Jungle Book” is an all-new live-action epic adventure about Mowgli, a man-cub who’s been raised by a family of wolves. But Mowgli finds he is no longer welcome in the jungle when fearsome tiger Shere Khan, who bears the scars of Man, promises to eliminate what he sees as a threat. Urged to abandon the only home he’s ever known, Mowgli embarks on a captivating journey of self-discovery, guided by panther-turned stern mentor Bagheera, and the free-spirited bear Baloo. Along the way, Mowgli encounters jungle creatures who don’t exactly have his best interests at heart, including Kaa, a python whose seductive voice and gaze hypnotizes the man-cub, and the smooth-talking King Louie, who tries to coerce Mowgli into giving up the secret to the elusive and deadly red flower: fire.
Based on Rudyard Kipling’s timeless stories, “The Jungle Book” is inspired by Disney’s classic animated film, with an approach all its own. “We embrace the mythic qualities of Kipling in the more intense tonal aspects of the film,” says director Jon Favreau, “but we left room for what we remember from the ’67 film, and sought to maintain those charming Disneyesque aspects.”
Fun Facts About The Jungle Book
SLAM DUNK – At full stretch, Baloo can reach nearly 15 feet high. The free-spirited bear is so heavy and sports so much fur, he took nearly five hours
per frame to render.
WHAT’S IN A NAME – Mother wolf Raksha is aptly named. In Hindi, Raksha means protector.
SO BIG – Artists at WETA took some creative license when it came to King Louie, borrowing a legendary character—Gigantopithecus—and exaggerating his size. King Louie stands 12 feet tall.
LOINCLOTH LOGIC – Mowgli sports a red loincloth in the film, but costume designer Laura Jean Shannon had her work cut out for her. “Mowgli’s immersed in water and mud, he gets rained on, he runs,” says Shannon. “We even rigged a hidden safety harness into the costume because Mowgli hangs on tree limbs and cliffs. Each of the loincloths—we ended up with 16 or 17—had a very specific purpose.” Shannon built a “suit of armor” from the leaves of an alocasia tree (known as elephant ear plant). The garment showcased how the intelligent man-cub would protect himself from angry bees before collecting honey for Baloo.
DETAILS, DETAILS – The team at Moving Picture Company (MPC) were responsible for animating more than 70 species, crafting 100 million leaves and simulating earth, fire and water. A team of more than 800 computer graphics artists spent more than a year on the project.
BUILDING A JUNGLE – Artists digitally built most of the jungle environment that appears in the film, creating moss, bark, rock, water, grass, trees, leaves that were all inspired by their real-life counterparts in India. The virtual environment makes up 80 percent of the film frame 100 percent of the time.
PLACES, PLEASE – Filmmakers utilized motion capture technology to help them visualize the entire film prior to live-action production kicking off. The process involves special body suits adorned with dots that translate into the computer. Even director Jon Favreau suited up for select scenes.
ME AND MY SHADOW – One of the challenges filmmakers faced by pairing a liveaction Mowgli with computer-generated animal counterparts was that the CG creatures were unable to cast shadows on real-life Mowgli. Visual effects supervisor Rob Legato developed a system that allowed filmmakers to project light and shadows onto Mowgli that represent the creatures that are moving near him.
HONEY, HONEY – Mowgli deals with a lot of honey in “The Jungle Book.” The sweet stuff proved challenging for filmmakers, who wanted it to look authentic—yet still appealing. Color and viscosity had to be considered, as well as how to make the honeycomb it comes in.
INSPIRED BY WALT – Disney’s 1967 animated film, “The Jungle Book,” was the last film that Walt Disney oversaw. He passed away in 1966, the year before the film’s release. Director Jon Favreau was inspired by more than the 1967 movie. “When I think about Disney’s legacy, I relate to Walt’s original dream,” he says. “Walt Disney’s work has influenced my work. He was considered high tech for the time. He was the first person who locked soundtrack with picture, so the characters were perfectly
choreographed to the musical score—something that absolutely blew people’s minds. Disney was on the cutting edge of technology.”
OSCAR NOM – The iconic song “The Bare Necessities,” written by Terry Gilkyson, was nominated for an Academy Award® in 1968.
STUDIO BRATS – Composer John Debney, who wrote the score for the new, liveaction film “The Jungle Book,” is the son of Louis Debney, who worked for Walt Disney. “When I was a youngster, they were making this incredible magical film called ‘The Jungle Book,’ and I was sort of a studio brat,” says Debney. “I got to know the young man Bruce Reitherman who played Mowgli. We would go on adventures around the world with his family.”
SCOUTS’ HONOR — According to actor Ben Kinglsey, author Rudyard Kipling’s characters are part of being young in the U.K. “Before a boy in the U.K. joins the Boy Scouts, he joins the Cubs,” says Kingsley. “And our Cub Chief was always called Akela. In fact, all the Scouts’ names come from Kipling’s writings.”
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THE JUNGLE BOOK opens in theatres everywhere in 3D, RealD 3D, and IMAX 3D on April 15th!
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We will be seeing this incredible movie with my son and daughter. It looks spectacular and I bet it looks great o the big screen!
I love the movie The Jungle Bok. The more I read about it the more excited I am to see it. I am going this weekend to see it. :)