There are 3 main reasons that I am super excited about the upcoming April 15 release of this film. (1) It is a Disney film based on an old animated classic, (2) It is being made be the same team that makes The Pirates of the Caribbean series and is being directed by Jon Favreau, (3) the voice cast is absolutely amazing!
After watching the trailers and reading up on some of the production info, expect this take of The Jungle Book to follow a story line similar to that of its predecessor that was released in 1967. However, you can expect this version to keep you on the edge of your seat for the entire movie in a way that the earlier classic did not. The original Jungle Book was more of a cute, funny and light movie with a friendly mood for most of the film. I expect this depiction to be very different, with some dark and action packed scenes, plot twists, and have a mood that varies from friendly to intense to sad throughout. One might even shed a tear or two. That’s not to say that there won’t be any comedy because I can guarantee that won’t be the case. Expect the Baloo/Bagheera relationship with Mowgli to have many cute and funny moments.
The team making this movie seems like it will be a great choice. The POTC series is one of my all-time favorites but bias aside, they do a great job making a movie that could easily be way to scary or intense for younger viewers in way that keeps things from getting too dark and lightens the mood with comedy whenever possible. Also, Jon Favreau has directed successful movies in both action and comedy (Iron Man, Elf) so you should expect this to be a good blend of the two.
If you don’t already know for yourself, the voice cast of this film should be borderline legendary in my opinion. Bill Murray is honestly who I’d always envisioned when I thought of who the character Baloo. Scarlett Johansson should be great because she seems like the type of person you never really know if you can trust in real life so portraying Kaa should be easy. I think Idris Elba is gonna kill it as Shere Kahn because of the boldness and power of his voice. Also, if Idris Elba were giving my lectures, I’d probably go to class a lot more often. I didn’t know what to expect from Ben Kingsley as Bagheera but he seems to fit well in the trailers. And Christopher Walken, well I mean he is just being himself while lending his voice to King Louie; and I love it.
One additional thing to look out for is the music. In addition to John Debney, who frequently writes music for Favreau, Disney has brought back Richard M. Sherman, who wrote the score for the 1967 version of the film with his late brother Robert B. Sherman and has previously written music for many Disney classics including Mary Poppins, The Aristocats, and the song from the Disney ride “It’s a Small World (After All)”. Expect to see a couple new variations of ‘The Bare Necessities’ as well as new versions of ‘Trust In Me’ and ‘I Wanna Be Like You’.
Two weeks to go till The Jungle Book hits theaters nationwide. Get Pumped!
Perry The Cinema Psycho 