The Jungle Book
Director: Jon Favreau
Writers: Justin Marks, Rudyard Kipling
Cast: Neel Sethi, Bill Murray, Ben Kingsley, Scarlett Johansson, Idris Elba
Runtime: 111 mins
Strength: Good CGI, Great story-telling
Weakness: Lack of songs
Rating: 4/5
Plot: A boy raised by a family of wolves since birth, now must leave the only home he's ever known when a terrifying tiger threatens to kill him. Protected by a loving panther and a free-spirited bear, the young boy meets a slithery python and an eloquent ape among a group of jungle animals. The boy learns valuable life lessons as his journey leads to an adventure he would not forget.
Review: Based on Rudyard Kipling's classic story, The Jungle Book is a CGI generated movie that does justice to its predecessor from 1967. The whole movie revolves around Mowgli, the boy brought up by a pack of wolves, who races through the jungle in the company of his family and his feline guardian Bagheera, a black panther. Along his journey, Mowgli meets Baloo the Bear, who saves him from the grip of the menacingly enchanting snake Kaa. The tyrant orangutan King Louie plays a vital role in making Mowgli's journey towards self-discovery harder. But no one compares to the likes of the true antagonist in the movie; the scarred Bengal Tiger Shere Khan who will stop at nothing to kill the boy.
The movie checks every box there is: from the captivating environment made by combining spectacular images of rain forests, crumbling temples, real waterfalls, realistic birds and mammals who do so much more than just talk, joke and sing. The movie goes beyond the general visual attempt to captivate the audience by use of sounds that create a tactile environment which makes the audience feel like they are witnessing the story right inside an Indian forest. It is almost the same experience a person would have from watching the 1967 animated Disney film, but with better visual narrations.
The film creates its own ecosystem based on Kipling's original story. The movie is a success in every way. This familiar, picturesque story of a young boy raised by animals will surely keep the audience entertained from the very first to the end of the credit scene.
Reviewed by Syed Ahnaf Sadeed
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