The Jungle Book - Barely Necessary (But Great Nonetheless)
- Thread starter Marter
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Eeerrrggghhh... this movie was so good, which is kinda annoying as now I can't justify skipping Disney's future live action films. I haven't hated a movie as much as Maleficent in years for what it did to the cast of Sleeping Beauty, especially the "Mistress of All Evil" herself, and Cinderella was just straight up boring/pointless, added nothing, took away nothing. Jungle Book just did everything right, the characters still felt like they did before but the parts of the story that were changed were awesome/hard hitting, the animation was amazing, the VAs were on point, the kid actor was good and then there's Shere Khan. I didn't think he was very threatening in the trailers but damn that kitty was heavy in the movie.
I'll agree that King of the Swingers was a little clunky but considering it was a ape trying to convince a child to join his troop I gave it a pass. Kinda sucks Trust in Me was relegated to the credits, I wanted to see Kaa sing it. The only real problem I had was with the link the film added to Shere Khan's and Mowgli's back stories, thought that was a little pointless.
Anyways, now I have to sit through Disney's other live action films... just hope Beauty and the Beast ends up like Jungle Book and not like Maleficent... ~shudder~
I'll agree that King of the Swingers was a little clunky but considering it was a ape trying to convince a child to join his troop I gave it a pass. Kinda sucks Trust in Me was relegated to the credits, I wanted to see Kaa sing it. The only real problem I had was with the link the film added to Shere Khan's and Mowgli's back stories, thought that was a little pointless.
Anyways, now I have to sit through Disney's other live action films... just hope Beauty and the Beast ends up like Jungle Book and not like Maleficent... ~shudder~
"Kaa (Scarlett Johansson)" Wait...they made Kaa a female? That's actually a pretty interesting change, not gonna lie. It's good to hear that the movie lives up to the quality of the cast.
I looked it up, and saw nothing regarding Kaa being female in the original books. Could be wrong. Either way, I think making/reverting Kaa to female was the right move, as it adds a touch of seduction to the hypnotism scene. At least, if it is done right.P-89 Scorpion said:
Ok, what I don't get is the extent of their knowledge. They call fire "red flower" and despise Mowgli's tools, but know that forest bears hibernate.
Also I hate, in general, when the masses forget they are...masses. I guess it has a realistic parallel but its like...A pack of wolves, a panther, and a big bear can take out Shere Khan if they wanted. Let alone you bring in the Rhinos or something. And whats up with the Elephants being viewed as literally the creators of everything!?
I look forward to Cinemasins take on this movie. The movie otherwise was ok, but I never cared for The Junglebook and mostly went cause my brother really wanted to see it. Plus I just saw Zootopia a few days earlier, which I did love.
Also I hate, in general, when the masses forget they are...masses. I guess it has a realistic parallel but its like...A pack of wolves, a panther, and a big bear can take out Shere Khan if they wanted. Let alone you bring in the Rhinos or something. And whats up with the Elephants being viewed as literally the creators of everything!?
I look forward to Cinemasins take on this movie. The movie otherwise was ok, but I never cared for The Junglebook and mostly went cause my brother really wanted to see it. Plus I just saw Zootopia a few days earlier, which I did love.
...no, no they didn't. Kaa is male in the books. And also a fairly reasonable guy if you know how to stay on his good side, he aids Mowgli on a couple of occasions when they ask him toP-89 Scorpion said:
It might simply be part of the Law, it is supposed to be quite extensive. The other animals feel they can't pitch in or fight Shere Khan all at once because that not how the Law says fights are supposed to go.Saelune said:
As for the elephants, that just backstory from the books. Its just part of the animal's mythology that it was the First Elephant who created everything. Not sure if its something Kipling threw in as a reference to Ganesha or if its just because elephants are huge and strong and nobody wants to fuck with them
Pretty much agree with the entirety of this review. I think the film has a lot of pros over the Disney original - Shere Khan is a more interesting character, I like the mythology (e.g. the elephants, Law of the Jungle), and for me personally, Bagheera. He's always been my favorite JB character, so him NOT being betrayed as a stick in the mud was a plus. Also the idea of tools - I liked how the animals called them "tricks" rather than "tools," as if the idea of tools at all is an alien concept for them.
On the other hand, the songs. Bare Necessities, King Louie...they just didn't fit in with the tone, IMO. In fact, I'd say King Louie as a whole is a diversion that isn't needed. Baloo pretending to tell Mowgli to bugger off doesn't really come to anything bar setting up him being kidnapped, and the Louie encounter doesn't really amount to anything bar Mowgli learning that Khan killed Akela. Also, Kaa. I wanted more Kaa. True, no idea why it was a female Kaa, but what we got was pretty good.
So, pretty enjoyable film. Not in my top ten, not sure if it surpasses the Disney animated original, but it certainly at least matches it in quality.
On the other hand, the songs. Bare Necessities, King Louie...they just didn't fit in with the tone, IMO. In fact, I'd say King Louie as a whole is a diversion that isn't needed. Baloo pretending to tell Mowgli to bugger off doesn't really come to anything bar setting up him being kidnapped, and the Louie encounter doesn't really amount to anything bar Mowgli learning that Khan killed Akela. Also, Kaa. I wanted more Kaa. True, no idea why it was a female Kaa, but what we got was pretty good.
So, pretty enjoyable film. Not in my top ten, not sure if it surpasses the Disney animated original, but it certainly at least matches it in quality.
The best description of the movie is live-action cartoon. CGI-wise, it's a really well done movie considering the high degree of difficulty. As for the movie itself, it was handicapped by two different things. First, it was a kids' movie. Therefore, you knew that Mowgli wasn't going to get killed or seriously injured. With the CGI being so real, that really challenged my suspension of disbelief. Also, how did Mowgli and the other animals understand and speak to each other in perfect English? Second reason it failed for me. It felt episodic. If the kids got tired of watching Mowgli hanging out with wolves, now he is hanging out with water buffalos. It didn't really felt like a coherent story. It was just a series of random events that eventually ended up at the final confrontation.
I mainly watched it for the CGI and the voice acting. The child actor wasn't too annoying. He did have moments where I wished some wild animal would eat him. My favorite scene was Scarlett Johansson as Kaa. Seriously, I would love to have her voice as a ring tone. "The phone is ringing. The phone is ringing. Would you answer the phone already? It's starting to get annoying." The less you think about the seductive nature of the scene the better.
Overall, it's a quality movie for kids and anyone else nostalgic about the original cartoon. For everyone else, it's more of a video streaming movie. (I guess that's the new term for "rental")
I mainly watched it for the CGI and the voice acting. The child actor wasn't too annoying. He did have moments where I wished some wild animal would eat him. My favorite scene was Scarlett Johansson as Kaa. Seriously, I would love to have her voice as a ring tone. "The phone is ringing. The phone is ringing. Would you answer the phone already? It's starting to get annoying." The less you think about the seductive nature of the scene the better.
Overall, it's a quality movie for kids and anyone else nostalgic about the original cartoon. For everyone else, it's more of a video streaming movie. (I guess that's the new term for "rental")
The question I keep asking is why the child is even real in the first place? When nearly everything else is CG, why not just make the kid CG too? Was it just to avoid the uncanny valley?KissingSunlight said:
Either way, I'm glad it seems to have turned out well overall.
I guessing they needed one human being on the cast. So, they can call it a live-action movie. Not just a CGI-animated movie, which The Jungle Book pretty much was.shirkbot said:
