'The Jungle Book' has extraordinary effects and wonderful voice talent
'Jungle' stars Neel Sethi as the orphaned Indian boy Mowgli, who was raised by wolves and is now attempting to join his own species. The film also stars Ben Kingsley, Idris Elba, Lupita Nyong'o, and Bill Murray.
Disney
Disney鈥檚 3-D 鈥淭he Jungle Book,鈥� directed by Jon Favreau, is the聽second go-round for the studio with this material 鈥� the first was in 1967 鈥撀燼nd the state of movie technology has sure come a long way. The聽computer-generated effects are extraordinary; the jungle and its menagerie聽of beasts and critters looks positively lifelike. Rudyard Kipling鈥檚 stories,聽such as they have survived in numerous films over the years, still have a聽basic enchantment for children, and, because of the imaginative effects in聽this new film, adults may get caught up as well.聽
The saga follows the orphaned Indian boy Mowgli (Neel Sethi, limber聽but a bit over-rehearsed), who was raised by wolves and is now trekking into聽the jungle to join his own species.聽
A number of wonderfully voiced characters turn up on the journey,聽including the black panther Bagheera (Ben Kingsley), who also narrates聽the film; the villainous tiger Shere Khan (Idris Elba); Kaa (Scarlett聽Johansson), a seductive serpent; the honey-loving bear Baloo聽(unmistakably Bill Murray); and the gigantic, floppy orangutan King聽Louie (even more unmistakably Christopher Walken).聽Thankfully, the usual Disney cutesy factor is relatively low, and the聽script by Justin Marks is more literate than usual for this sort of thing.聽There are even some end credits that, for a change, are actually funny. Grade:聽B+ (Rated PG for some sequences of scary action and peril.)