WASHINGTON 鈥� It’s become聽one of the聽most unexpected but welcome trends in Hollywood, that聽Disney would not only go on a聽major live-action kick, but that it would get better with each entry, from Angelina Jolie in Robert Stromberg’s “Maleficent” (2014) to Cate Blanchett in Kenneth Branagh’s “Cinderella” (2015).
Which brings us to its聽latest and greatest, “The Jungle Book,” a live-action take on Rudyard Kipling’s 1894 literary聽classic聽that became a 1967 animated flick聽鈥� Walt Disney’s last project before his聽death.
2016 Disney聽fans should rejoice: “Jungle Book” director Jon Favreau (“Iron Man”)聽proves聽he’s the “king of the swingers,” a fitting evolution for a聽guy who began his career writing “Swingers” (1996).
To put it in those terms, this “Jungle Book” is so money, it doesn’t even know it.
“Jungle VIP,” meet IMAX/3D.
We all know the tale by heart: “Man Cub” Mowgli is raised by wolves, who fear he’ll fall prey to tiger bully Shere Khan. Deciding the jungle is no longer safe聽for the boy,聽Bagheera the Panther leads Mowgli聽to the Man Village, crossing paths with Baloo the Bear, Kaa the Snake and King Louie the Ape.
If the “strength of the wolf is the pack,” get ready for a killer cast. Each choice is perfectly suited:聽Ben Kingsley (“Gandhi”) channels the sage wisdom of Bagheera the Panther; Lupita聽Nyong’o (“12 Years a Slave”) and Giancarlo Esposito (“Do the Right Thing”) have the acting聽ethos聽to play Mowgli’s wolf parents聽Raksha and Akela; Scarlett Johansson聽is a convincing聽seductress聽as聽Kaa the Snake; and we even get聽comic relief by the late Garry Shandling (“Larry Sanders Show”)聽as Ikki the Porcupine.聽
As for the famous singing parts of Baloo and King Louie, you can’t go wrong聽casting the聽beloved Bill Murray and Christopher Walken. Murray seems at ease converting Phil Harris’ “Bear Necessities” into a lazy-river ditty, having聽warmed up his pipes聽in聽Sofia Coppola’s “A Very Murray Christmas” (2015). Walken’s “I Wanna Be Like You” is smooth, but inevitably聽falls short of Louis Prima’s big-band jazz, instead rubbing his head in the shadows like Marlon Brando in “Apocalypse Now” (1979).
Standing out聽the most in聽this star-studded cast is the great Idris Elba (“Beasts of No Nation”) as the tiger Shere Khan. The聽1967 animated聽Khan was deliciously voiced by George Sanders, who聽won an Oscar as one of film聽history’s best nasties:聽theater critic Addison DeWitt in “All About Eve” (1950).
Now, “fasten your seat belts” for Elba, who takes Khan聽in an even more sadistic direction. One scene in particular creates a聽juicy meta showdown: If you ever wondered聽which TV villain would prevail 鈥斅燝us Fring from “Breaking Bad”聽or Stringer Bell from “The Wire” — “Jungle Book” has your answer.
This is how you build a villain in your movie, patiently stalking and prowling until the moment comes to strike, rather than arriving late in the game like Lex Luthor’s聽Doomsday.聽“Batman v. Superman” director Zack Snyder could learn from his聽“Iron Man” colleague, as Favreau聽brilliantly blends live-action stunts with CGI creatures for one of the most immersive 3D/IMAX presentations around.
Any initial skepticism upon Bagheera’s arrival will melt away as you get sucked into this聽world聽like one of Kaa’s hypnotic trances.聽By the end, you’ll forget that you’re watching digital creatures and embrace it as reality 鈥� and therein lie the magic.聽It’s truly amazing how lifelike these CGI characters have become over the years, from the tiger in “Life of Pi” (2011) to the one in “Jungle Book” (2016).
Still, all the digital effects in the world wouldn’t have mattered聽without the central live-action performance of聽Indian-American child actor聽Neel Sethi. Born in New York City, the 12-year-old is at once an adorable and commanding screen presence, offering the gullible innocence required for Baloo’s antics, before ultimately聽growing into his “baggy britches” to become a man among聽beasts.
This is the driving force behind Mowgli’s character arc: learning to embrace his humanity. At first, Bagheera and the other animals shun him for using so-called “human tricks” (i.e. tools of human ingenuity). It’s up for them 鈥� and Mowgli 鈥� to learn that their聽differences are a positive thing.
Hats off to screenwriter聽Justin Marks 鈥� who will also be co-writing the upcoming “Top Gun 2” — for layering this script with the character depth and thematic weight deserving of Kipling’s tale. Marks offers聽a fitting back story for Khan’s beef with Mowgli, which then ties into the聽animals’ overall fear of “man’s red flower,” a fiery menace that聽can reduce聽the entire animal kingdom to smoldering ash.
This fear聽provides an almost “Bambi” element to the film’s social commentary 鈥� offering a powerful message in a story that has always been filled with numerous anthropological interpretations.
Academics have long debated the 1967聽classic as a product of the ’60s with a聽Black Panther (Bagheera), beatnik hippie (Baloo), hallucinating druggie (Kaa the Snake), marching military (elephants) and singing quartet of Beatles haircuts (vultures). Even more controversial are its聽monkeys who “wanna walk like you, talk like you,” segregationist undertones that it’s important to聽“stay with your own kind,” and resolution of a聽young girl who domesticates Mowgli by singing, “I will have a handsome husband and a daughter of my own and I’ll send her to fetch the water.”
Who knows which of these claims are valid 鈥� and which are convenient conclusions by liberal arts academics 鈥斅燽ut it’s聽interesting to note which elements the 2016 “Jungle Book” has decided to change. Mowgli is no longer seduced by a girl who wants to fetch the water. In fact, he聽doesn’t even end up back in the Man Village “where he belongs.” He remains in聽the jungle, as the creatures celebrate his outsider differences. It’s Khan who’s wrong聽for suggesting Mowgli is an “evil other.”
All we viewers can do is bow down before the movie in a show of respect, like Mowgli and the animals humbly do to the film’s symbolic elephants. While so many other special effects blockbusters get lost in the woods, “Jungle Book” always聽sees the forest for the trees. You’d be surprised how many films forget the fundamentals, but Disney again proves it’s mastered the “bear necessities” — and beyond.
