Movie Review: The Jungle Book

The much awaited movie The Jungle Book hit the big screen on April 15th. The modified version gave a more accurate representation of the plot than the 1967 Disney animated production, yet a more realistic approach to the novel by Rudyard Kipling. Reviews shared nothing but positive messages regarding the movie.

Disney was at it again remastering an older film to make it fresh and exciting. Many remember The Jungle Book as a tale of an adventurous boy raised by wolves who learns to live in the wild, and the early Disney version portrayed it with dancing bears and a jazz singing orangatang. The new movie provided a lifelike spin on the story. Mowgli, (the main character played by Neel Sethi) is a young boy living in an Indian jungle. He befriends a panther (Bagheera, voiced by Ben Kingsley) and a bear (Baloo, voiced by Bill Murray) while residing in the wild. The two try desperately to convince Mowgli to return to the human civilization where he belongs. However, Mowgli doesn’t want to leave the friends he has made. Suspense rises as the villainous tiger Shere Khan (played by Idris Elba) poses threat to Mowgli ultimately making him venture further into the jungle. The plot continues as Baloo and Bagheera attempt to convince Mowgli to return home especially now that he’s on Khan’s hit list.

Opening weekend proved to be very successful for Disney’s The Jungle Book. Box office revenue hit $103.6 million dollars nationally. The film also joins the elite group of films that have brought in $1 billion dollars worldwide. Critics at Rotten Tomatoes gave the movie 95% fresh, many commenting on the family friendly refreshing view this provided. Seeing this movie is certainly a “bare necessity” to your spring movie list.