Sunday, BBC1, 3:15pm
Disney's 2016 The Jungle Book, directed by Jon Favreau, was a technical and narrative marvel, reviving Rudyard Kipling's beloved tales with a blend of cutting-edge CGI and a surprising emotional depth. The film treads a fine line between Kipling's more sombre, animalistic world and Disney's iconic 1967 animated version, which we still hum along to. Yet, this iteration stands on its own as a darkly enchanting fable, largely thanks to its astonishing photorealism, solid performances, and a deftly woven score that manages to salute its predecessor while carving out something new.
Neel Sethi shines as Mowgli, holding his own against a cast of motion-captured and digitally rendered animals voiced by an all-star lineup. Idris Elba’s Shere Khan is a standout, his rich, velvety menace evoking a predator as formidable as Tolkien’s Smaug, albeit without the verbose monologues. Then there’s Bill Murray’s laid-back, honey-slurping Baloo, whose rapport with Sethi recalls a buddy-comedy dynamic more at home in Guardians of the Galaxy than Kipling’s India. And let’s not forget Scarlett Johansson’s hypnotic Kaa, a departure from the bumbling snake of Disney past—she’s pure nightmare fuel in this version. The film’s tonal balance is impressive, moving between moments of childlike wonder and stark peril, underpinned by Favreau's reverence for the source material and Disney’s legacy.
The score, by John Debney, beautifully merges the rousing orchestral gravitas of modern blockbusters with tasteful nods to the Sherman Brothers’ classic tunes. Who among us didn't grin when Baloo and Mowgli launched into a joyous, almost impromptu rendition of "The Bare Necessities"? Yet, Debney doesn’t let nostalgia do all the heavy lifting—his original compositions pulse with tension, lushness, and vitality, underscoring the emotional weight of Mowgli’s journey. It’s a testament to Debney’s skill that the music seamlessly blends with the film's lush visual palette, creating an auditory jungle as alive as the CGI-rendered wilderness. A roaring success, indeed, and proof that Disney’s live-action remakes, when done right, can be more than a cash grab—they can be art.
- Noel Chambers