The Jungle Book

Year: 1967 (original), 2016 (remake)
Running time: 78 minutes (original), 106 minutes (remake)
Certificate: U (original), PG (remake)
Language: English
Screenplay: Larry Clemmons, Ralph Wright, Ken Anderson, Vance Gerry (original), Justin Marks (remake)
Director: Wolfgang Reitherman (original), Jon Favreau (remake)
Starring: Neel Sethi
Starring (voices): Bruce Reitherman, Phil Harris, Sebastian Cabot, George Sanders, Sterling Holloway, Louis Prima, J. Pat O'Malley, Bill Murray, Ben Kingsley, Idris Elba, Scarlett Johansson, Christopher Walken, Lupita Nyong'o, Giancarlo Esposito

Chilling with Baloo, 1967.

It seems The Jungle Book, an animated adaptation of a series of stories by Rudyard Kipling, was the last project that Walt Disney himself personally oversaw before his death (although I understand he did give a green light for the follow-up production, The Aristocats), and boy, what a swansong.

The animation is gorgeous and fluid, and pops off the screen throughout (there are some that dislike this technique of making the foreground action stand out so distinctly from the background art, but it works for me). It's jam-packed full of larger-than-life characters. Mowgli (Bruce Reitherman) is a young human, dubbed 'man cub' by the creatures around him, living in the jungle being raised by wolves under the caring eyes of the panther Bagheera (Sebastian Cabot). It transpires that the terrifying tiger Shere Khan (George Sanders, giving the villain a deliciously evil upper class feel) wants young Mowgli dead and so a desperate attempt is made to get him to a human settlement and back to his own.

Mowgli stands his ground against the dangerous Shere Khan.

It's on this road-trip through the jungle that the film takes flight and we are treated to one glorious set-piece after another; meeting characters as synonymous with the Disney name as Snow White herself (this of course, while testament to the stand out quality of the artistry on show in this and many other Disney movies, could be considered somewhat troubling as The Jungle Book, like many other Disney adaptations, runs the risk of overshadowing the original stories, folk and fairy tales they're based on).

With the introduction of each new character we're also treated to pretty much the best music of any Disney Classic. The showstoppers are brilliant – The Bear Necessities and I Wanna be like You are truly timeless, but the less well-known songs are also great – Trust in Me in particular. I also have a bit of a soft spot for the Beatles-esque vultures, who instead of sounding like The Beatles were a barbershop quartet. I read once that they were originally planned to sound like the fab four as well, but Walt thought the band were a flash in the pan and a barbershop quartet would be more timeless – guess you can’t get it right all the time.

A true classic.

Bagheera: Mowgli's noble protector and friend. Who can be a little grouchy.

In 2016 The Jungle Book received the now established live-action (obviously, considering the nature of most Disney material, 'live action' means mostly CGI) remake treatment at the hands of Jon Favreau. An adaptation that was so successful Disney later entrusted Favreau with arguably their most treasured property, The Lion King. Some Disney remakes have fared better than others. Cinderella, for one example. Remaking its classic back catalogue seems like Disney just asking for trouble, but so far it's not been the complete disaster it seems like it should be on paper, and The Jungle Book is a case in point.

Chilling with Baloo, 2016.

It was certainly risky recasting such iconic characterisations, but some utterly inspired casting meant this risk was pretty easily mitigated. There are really three characters that are more iconic than the others. I've already mentioned George Sanders as Shere Khan, but Phil Harris and Louis Prima as Baloo and King Louie are genuinely unforgettable in the 1967 original. When considering who might be right for the roles in the remake, it's pretty much impossible to think of anyone being better choices than Bill Murray and Chistopher Walken. It seems increasingly clear that Idris Elba has the range to play, literally, anything, and his Shere Khan is bristling with menace. Also notable is Scarlett Johansson as a very creepy Kaa, and Neel Sethi does an ok job as Mowgli with a difficult task of being the only human acting in a world of CGI (which is genuinely astonishingly well done).

The climactic battle with Shere Khan set against a backdrop of the burning jungle is a masterclass in creating convincing action with seamless CGI wizardry. It's difficult to overstate just how well the visuals manage to lift the film up.

It's not as memorable as the original, but Favreau made a decent fist of it (better than he made of The Lion King in the end), and along with Beauty and the Beast, is probably one of Disney's better remakes - one that, if you squint, you can almost see a point of making beyond mere profit.

A half-decent live-action remake of a true classic.

Score:
The Jungle Book (1967): 9/10
The Jungle Book (2016): 7/10

Both of these versions of Disney's adaptation are well thought of (the remake significantly more so than I was expecting), based on this review of the original from J P Roscoe at Basement Rejects and this one of the remake from Simon at Flickering Myth.