Last week, I went out to lunch with some coworkers. It was a Monday, so we had just come off of a weekend, and the talk of movies came up.
My boss asked me if I had seen The Jungle Book. After I had told him yes, he quickly responded with “Wow, wasn’t that great!?”
Great? As my eyebrow raised in confusion and our conversation continued, I realized that I was the only one in the group who had seen the film that didn’t like it. After going home to check to see how other critics responded, I began to see that I was a part of a very small minority of people who didn’t like Disney’s new live action adaptation of the original 1967 cartoon.
So why didn’t I like it?
By all accounts, there is a lot to admire about the film. It has a spectacular cast, who all perform their lines admirably and are able to portray a full range of emotion through their voice acting. While I loved the originals smarmy, cool Shere Kan, played by the late George Sanders, Idris Elba knocks the performance out of the park by portrayed a truly terrifying tiger antagonist. He is mincing, he is imposing, and he is the best thing about the film for me.
My problem with this film is it doesn’t know what it wants to be. Disney, as well as most of the film industry as of late, is obsessed with retelling stories with a darker, more “adult” tone. And considering the dark nature of the original Rudyard Kipling story, this could have worked incredibly well. In fact, I was really excited when I first saw trailers for this film. While I didn’t think they would get quite up to the tone of the original work, I thought this would be a great chance to tell the story closer to the Kipling version.
Considering that The Jungle Book is based on a short story rather than a novel, the 1967 version had to be stretched in order to fit a film’s running length. Here, it is stretched even further, adding in more plot elements that make the film drag at times.
And while there certainly are moments where the film looks like it could be more adult, it doesn’t want to go all the way with it. While you have a more mincing, less cartoony protagonist, you still have orangutan Christopher Walken singing “ooby dooby doo.” And because the famous voice actor’s are so recognizable through their CGI characters, its hard not to giggle at the sheer silliness of it all.
And the CGI. Am I the only one not truly impressed by it? There was very few times that I was not aware that Mowgli wasn’t standing in front of a green screen, with all the animals having some weird plasticity to their frames that just sucked me right out of the experience. I noticed I had less problems whenever real people weren’t on the screen, so perhaps this may have something to do with it.
In the end, it is too much of a jumbled mess of tones for me to get behind. And before you argue “Well of course the animals are going to sing! It was in the original! And its a kids story why does it have to be dark?” Exactly.
Overall, I can’t get behind this film because, on the whole, it is unnecessary. Besides updating technology and taking away the cartoons, it doesn’t really feel like Disney wanted to make a different film, they just wanted to update the aesthetic of the first one to fit modern film going tastes. Sure, kids may like it fine. But you know what kids will also like? The 1967 version. At least it owns up to what it is try to be, rather than setting out to please everyone. Apparently it worked, and I guess I am the only one.
Ooby doo, I want to be like the rest of you.
I completely understand your point of view. i have not seen the movie. Let me be honest. but from what i have seen through trailers i would still say the earlier version was the best. And if this version was to be made ‘adulty’ and ‘coming of age’ then it is very unrealistic that humans are scared of animals . today, humans treat animals so cruelly that even the mighty tigers are vanishing.
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Thanks for the comment! Yes, the whole thing just felt like it wanted to be everything to everyone (for the new generation and for us who like the 60s version) and you just can’t make an effective film like that.
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I have not yet had an opportunity to see this film for myself. With that being said, I am not really very impressed overall with the constant wave of “re-imagined” movies. Are there really no new ideas for stories to be told?? I wonder why our well-loved classics are now constantly being retold and usually not very well.
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I really disliked the adult vibes. The movie picked up a lot in my eyes as soon as all the silliness of bear singing started. The first bits were just boring.
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And that is perfectly fine. But if it wanted to be more silly and light hearted, they needed to keep that vibe consistent. Thanks for the comment by the way!
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I haven’t seen the movie yet, but judging from the trailer I was really hoping for something closer to the original book. You bring up some great points though!
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I thought the movie was ok, but I had high hopes due to the trailer and was a disappointed like you. Would appreciate it if you could check out my review at https://scribblesofstageandscreen.com/2016/05/08/the-jungle-book-all-looks-no-substance/
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Sure thing! I would love to read yours and see what you thought 🙂
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I haven’t had the chance to watch this movie yet, but I love reading different opinions, I think that’s what reviews are all about, how they reflect our own experiences and how each of us interpret things differently. In any case, now I am curious to see this version of the movie and how it compares to the 1967 version.
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By all means, it isn’t a bad film. It just had a lot of waisted potential and too many problems to be a great film. My suggestion would be to check it out when it becomes available to rent. Thanks for commenting!
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I did enjoy the film if i’m honest. although i totally agree with the green screen. i was very aware the whole time that it was fake. obviously i knew that before seeing the film, but thought it would be more natural.
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I actually haven’t seen this movie but I wasn’t sure whether I wanted to when I saw the trailers because I love the Disney version so much x
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I see what you’re talking about, well kinda ! I haven’t seen the movie yet but I remember seeing Alice in wonderland and feel the same ! Thy’re trying too much to reach a bigger audience that the movies almost lose their purpose ! The fact that we know what’s going on behind the scenes, like the green screen as you said, affect the way we perceive the movie. Know I’m going to watch the movie paying attention to all the details haha
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I haven’t seen it yet but I didn’t love the Disney version that much. I loved the songs but it just wasn’t my favorite of the Disney shows. I was wondering if it was too dark for my kids to really enjoy it. I think I will see it before they will.
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I didn’t watch the film but now I am definitely going to watch it. I can understand your points and I am really curious now to see if I like it.
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I haven’t seen it. I had been considering taking the kids to it, but your article makes me glad I took them to Zootopia instead. We’ll just borrow the original from the library!
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Zootopia was a way better choice! I loved that film 🙂
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I haven’t had the chance to see this movie yet! this movie might have to wait until my hectic life slows down a bit!
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