Rudyard Kipling’s late 19th century tale is exuberantly reimagined under the guidance of Director Jon Favreau in his 2016 rendition of The Jungle Book. With a number of generations – a century’s worth to be precise – growing up with such an iconic and beloved story, it was always going to be a risky decision to attempt to recreate the magic and feel-good message of its original iterations. However, in spite of this, Favreau and his cast succeed in playing upon the nostalgia of audiences across the world while having the quality in the production to really make help the film fly. The film stars young talent Neel Sethi as the iconic Mowgli raised by wolves in the midst of the Indian jungle undergrowth, while the voices of Idris Elba, Ben Kingsley, Scarlett Johanssen and Bill Murray – amongst a number of others – form an all-star supporting cast.
The plot, if you are not familiar already, centers around Mowgli – a young orphan boy who has been raised by wolves since he was a young child. The boy is hunting with his pack when they are set upon by the tyrannical Bengal tiger, Shere Khan (Elba) who proceeds to make his hatred for mankind known, showing the scars across his face and making a grim threat to Mowgli; by the end of the drought he claims he will kill the young boy in revenge for the scars his compatriots have caused him. Leaving his pack as a result of this this, the story follows Mowgli’s journey through the jungle alongside the Panther, Bagheera (Kingsley), and the happy-go-lucky bear, Bhaloo (Murray).
The Jungle Book (2016) – Wednesday 8:00pm on Sky Cinema (Family).
