Growing up, my favourite movies were always classic Disney ones. In fact, my mom still has many of my favourite movies stashed away still on VHS in the garage I’m sure. One of my all-time favourites was the original Jungle Book movie, this dated back years before I was even born but something drew me to the adventures of Mowgli, and my favourite bear Baloo.
Now you can enjoy Mowgli’s daring adventures in a brand new, live-action epic adventure – all on Disney Blue-Ray + DVD.
A man-cub raised by a family of wolves. But Mowgli finds he is no longer welcome in the jungle when fearsome tiger Shere Khan, who bears the scars of Man, promises to eliminate what he sees as a threat. Urged to abandon the only home he’s ever known, Mowgli embarks on a captivating journey of self-discovery, guided by panther-turned-stern mentor Bagheera, and the freespirited bear Baloo. Along the way, Mowgli encounters jungle creatures who don’t exactly have his best interests at heart, including Kaa, a python whose seductive voice and gaze hypnotizes the man-cub, and the smoothtalking King Louie, who tries to coerce Mowgli into giving up the secret to the elusive and deadly red flower: fire.
We tried unsuccessfully to watch The Jungle Book with A in the room, as interested as she was in learning more about Mowgli, it got a little loud and scary for her pretty quickly so we decided to keep this as an adult movie for the time being. The animals sure can roar loudly and seem scary so be mindful if you have a nervous child to maybe introduce this movie slowly!
Once she was asleep, my mother in law and I curled up on the couch to check out the movie – half expecting that we might both fall asleep in the middle of it since we were exhausted. Definitely NOT the case. This film has no shortage of action to keep you glued to the screen and on the edge of your seat. Immediately we were both blown away with Neel Sethi’s (Mowgli) incredible acting, at only 12 years old I can’t imagine the challenge he must have had standing next to people in bodysuits and not cracking up. The animation of the animals is bang on and everything looks incredibly realistic, so much so that I am pretty sure that is what spooked A the first time around – the growls sound real, the movements look real and you are instantly thrust into the jungle with Mowgli right at the start!
Immediately we were both blown away with Neel Sethi’s (Mowgli) incredible acting, at only 12 years old I can’t imagine the challenge he must have had standing next to people in bodysuits and not cracking up. The animation of the animals is bang on and everything looks incredibly realistic, so much so that I am pretty sure that is what spooked A the first time around – the growls sound real, the movements look real and you are instantly thrust into the jungle with Mowgli right at the start!
In the original, my favourite character was hands down Baloo, and I was really hoping he would be as silly and goofy as I remember as a child and the film did not disappoint – Baloo’s cunning tricks to get people to do work for him had us roaring with laughter and appreciating just how sneaky this bear was.
While we weren’t able to watch this with A, I am definitely looking forward to being able to do so. The Jungle Book touches on some topics that are definitely deep and worth a chat with your kids – the Red Flower and how damaging it can be not only to our forests but to the creatures that depend on our forests to survive. It’s the perfect chance to open up about animal conversation, forest protection and why we should do our part.
Our overall opinion of the movie is positive, while it was a re-make, it stayed true enough to itself that it didn’t feel like I was watching a movie I had already seen many times before. While A was scared of the movie I don’t foresee that lasting very long, she enjoys being spooked sometimes so we will definitely re-try to watch it again as a family in the future. Disney does one thing best, in my opinion, they have a way of making you remember your childhood and falling in love with a story all over again and they hit the nail on the head with The Jungle Book, it brought me right back to being curled up on the couch with my family growing up watching it!
I was exceptionally wow’ed by the creation of this movie, and how much time, work and special effects went in to making each and every creature come to live on the big screen. It’s very hard to watch this movie and not wonder how each and every scene was created! So be prepared to bust out in song to the Bare Necessities and immerse yourself in a remaking of a classic, well-loved Disney favourite!
