Jungle Book 2016

Jungle Book 2016

Director: Jon Favreau

Starring: Bill Murray, Ben Kingsley, Neel Sethi, Idris Elba

  Guess what? I watched a new movie!!! Jungle Book!!! Ahhh!!!! (I think having Ahhh!!! in my review has already become a habit…they exist everywhere…) As you might know…or not…Disney is now under a series of progress of filming live-action movie based on their previous animation movie. I don’t know why…but they’re mostly great! And I think that’s what matter. We got Maleficent in 2014, Cinderella in 2015, now, we get Jungle Book in 2016!!! And…(Drum Roll please…) we are about to watch Beauty and the Beast in 2017!!!! How exciting!

  So Jungle Book is based on the novel The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling, a great book, actually…unfortunately, I haven’t read the English version…so I can’t give you the book review…maybe…next time? Soo several years ago, Disney adapted it into an animation movie…which I’ve never watched it…although I wanted to. It was about a boy name Mowgil (Starred by Neel Sethi), who was raised by the wolf pack. He was trained by Bagheera (Voiced by Ben Kinglsey), the Black Panther. Everyone expected him to act like a wolf…but he was always behind his wolf siblings. One day, during the dry season, the tiger Shere Khan (Voiced by Bill Murray) threatened Mowgil’s life. To peace the argument between pack, Mowgil decided to return to the human village. However, during the journey, Mowgil met Baloo (Voiced by Bill Murray), the bear, when he was separated from Bagheera. Baloo allowed him to use his human skill that Bagheera had never agreed and invited him to stay. And…blablabla…Mowgil nearly met his death and kidnapped by the monkey…blablabla. Finally, when he learned that Alpha Akela was died because of him, Mowgil decided to return and revenge. He brought the “red flower” with him, but accidently set the forest on fire. And in the end, he somehow used those “flowers” to kill the tiger and live in the jungle happily ever after. The movie connected both the animation movie and the original novel, but in the book, I think Mowgil went back to human…and killed the tiger…and then lived near by the forest with his mother…with frequent visited by his friends.

 

  So, the movie! The movie…hum…Grey is so cute!!! Ah!!! Who is he? He is the wolf cub! So adorable!!! My heart melts whenever I saw him… (Cough…) oh right. The movie isn’t bad…but I am not as impress as Cinderella…actually. I love how the jungle is present: the trees, the animals, and the ruin temple. The entire movie gives me a mix of reality and imaginary. The animals all look perfect, especially how their fur moves and their motion. (I wonder how they do that…) But, at the same time, the animals aren’t so…”real” that you’ll consider them as real animals. You’ll somehow know the difference…and I think that’s great. Besides animals, the jungle is also a mix of real and false. When you see the trees move and the vines, you can’t help but imagine the rainforest…yet…it’s strange…you know? I think it’s the skill of 3D filming? Both reality and imaginary contains. And Mowgil…well…he is the only real part of this movie. He must be lonely while filming! Just look at the movie! Only himself! But I think he acted perfectly, especially for a young age. He expressed the spirit of Mowgil and showed the true spirit of wolf.

 

  I don’t know if there are a lot of songs in the animation movie, but I assure you that you can her Baloo and Mowgil sing together, just like the part in the animation. And there is an extra bonus at the end of this movie, so don’t rush to leave the movie after you see the “ending.” And let’s talk about the voice starring!

  First of all, my favorite, Bagheera!!! I’ve been amazed by Ben Kinglsey’s acting after I saw the Prince of Persia. (Or whatever the name was…you know…the one with sands, dagger, prince, and princess…) It’s like his voice has a magic that can dragged the audience into the movie. Remember Alan Rickman? Our Professor Snape. He also had a voiced that seemed to have power, I stilled remember how great he was in Alice in the Wonderland. Besides voice, I’ve always love feline…and Ben Kinglsey voiced the Black Panther…so…yeah…he is definitely my favorite animal inside the movie! Next, Raksha! Mowgil’s wolf mother. (Voiced by Lupita Nyohg’o) She brought out the mother side of a wolf and the side that all mothers show when they protect their children, no matter what the consequence is. And that fur…that fur…beautiful. Besides the different side of her, she also makes a great alpha in a pack. Here, our horrible villain—Shere Khan. (Voiced by Bill Murrary) As I said Ben Kingsley was a perfect fit for Bagheera, he definitely brought out the hideous side of the tiger. And he was meant for the character. The high and low of his voice just make the audience thrilled and anticipated for the next scene.

  All in all, this is really a great movie, and I’ll give 4 stars to it. Go and watch it!!! The scene is perfect for both adults and children!