Curtains Up on The Jungle Book

Just…wow!

Jon Favreau’s remake of Disney’s 1967 film The Jungle Book is the best film I have seen for far in 2016. It is literally an eye popping, thrilling and original piece of work that will make a fortune for its studio as well as go one to be considered a classic that I believe will surpass the original animated film in terms of popularity. It is that good.

Make no mistake — this is not a movie for the very young. It’s intense. If Shere Khan, the man hating tiger doesn’t get the under 6 crowd covering their eyes, watching a 20 foot boa constrictor wrap it’s coils around a boy before trying to eat him will.  But for older children and their parents, this is a winner. Taking cues from the animated film as well as elements from the works of Rudyard Kipling, this film can be seen as a totally original work of — wait for it — art.

The voice casting is superb. Never did I see the faces of the stars. All I saw was character. Bill Murray brings his coolness and charm to the loveable bear, Baloo. Ben Kingsley has always been the voice of reason and that fits for his portrayal of Bagheera the panther. Christopher Walken channels Marlon Brando in his version of the massive ape, King Louie and Idris Elba is terrifyingly realistic as the villain, Shere Khan.

All the digital effects work is outstanding. Never did I think this was filmed in a warehouse. But without heart, all this trickery, all the razzle-dazzle, means nothing. And here, that heart belongs to Neel Sethi as Mowgli. Having to act by himself for the entire film, he rises to the challenge and finds the right balance of warmth, power and humanity as the orphan boy raised by wolves. This is a fantastic film that must be seen in 3D. It benefits from it. On the biggest screen possible. You have never seen anything like it.