The Jungle Book is a 2016 American fantasy adventure drama film produced by Walt Disney Pictures. It is a live-action/photorealistically animated remake of Walt Disney's animated 1967 film (itself loosely based on Rudyard Kipling's story collection of the same name) and the fourth adaptation by Disney thereof. It was directed by Jon Favreau and written by Justin Marks. Neel Sethi plays Mowgli, the orphaned human boy who, guided by his animal guardians, sets out on a journey of self-discovery while evading the threatening Shere Khan. The film includes voice and motion capture performances from Bill Murray, Ben Kingsley, Idris Elba, Lupita Nyong'o, Scarlett Johansson, Giancarlo Esposito, and Christopher Walken.
Favreau, Marks, and producer Brigham Taylor developed the film's story as a balance between Disney's animated feature film adaptation and Rudyard Kipling's original works, borrowing elements from both into the film. Principal photography commenced in 2014, with filming taking place entirely in Los Angeles. The film required extensive use of computer-generated imagery to portray the other animals and settings.
The Jungle Book premiered at El Capitan Theatre on April 4, 2016, and was theatrically released in the United States on April 15. The film was a critical and commercial success, with the Rotten Tomatoes critical consensus describing it "as lovely to behold as it is engrossing to watch", and grossed $966.6 million worldwide, making it the fifth-highest-grossing film of 2016. Amongst Disney's live-action remakes, the film is the eighth-most-expensive and fifth-highest-grossing readaptation to date. The film won accolades for achievements in visual effects at the 89th Academy Awards, 22nd Critics' Choice Awards, and 70th British Academy Film Awards.
Plot In the jungles of 1890s India, an orphaned boy named Mowgli lives among a pack of wolves led by Akela. One day, during the dry season, the jungle animals gather to drink the remaining water as part of an ancient truce. The gathering is disrupted by Shere Khan, a murderous Bengal tiger who threatens to kill Mowgli at the end of the drought. After the drought ends, the wolves debate whether or not they should keep Mowgli. Mowgli decides to leave the jungle for the safety of his family, and Bagheera, a black panther, volunteers to guide him to the nearby "man-village".
Shere Khan ambushes the pair on their way to the man-village, but Mowgli manages to escape by hiding amid a buffalo stampede caused by the tiger, and later encounters a seductive Indian python named Kaa, who hypnotizes him. While under her influence, Mowgli sees a vision of his biological father being killed by Shere Khan while trying to protect him. She also explains that there is a mysterious light called the Red Flower (fire) which brings destruction to anything it touches. Kaa attempts to devour Mowgli, but he is rescued by a bear named Baloo. Mowgli retrieves honey for Baloo as repayment and agrees to stay with him until the winter season arrives. Upon learning that Mowgli has left the jungle, Shere Khan kills Akela and threatens the pack to lure Mowgli out.
Bagheera eventually finds Mowgli and Baloo and is incensed that Mowgli has not joined the humans, but Baloo calms him down and persuades both of them to sleep on it. During the night, Mowgli finds the herd of Asian elephants gathered around a ditch and uses vines to save their baby. Baloo realizes that he cannot guarantee Mowgli's safety after learning that he is being targeted by Shere Khan and reluctantly agrees to push Mowgli away to get him to continue onward to the man village.
Mowgli is kidnapped by a gang of monkeys and Hoolock gibbons known as the Bandar-log, who take him to their leader, a deranged Gigantopithecus named King Louie. Assuming that all humans can make fire, Louie offers Mowgli protection from Shere Khan in exchange for it. Baloo distracts King Louie while Bagheera tries to sneak Mowgli out, but their ruse is uncovered. Louie chases Mowgli through his temple and informs Mowgli of Akela's death by Shere Khan. Louie's rampage eventually causes his temple to collapse on top of him.
Furious that his friends neglected to tell him about Akela's death, Mowgli goes to confront Shere Khan himself. He steals a torch from the man-village and heads back to the jungle, inadvertently starting a wildfire in the process. Shere Khan claims that Mowgli has made himself the enemy by causing the fire. Seeing the wolves' fear of him, Mowgli throws the torch into a river and proclaims his name to Shere Khan. Baloo, Bagheera, and the wolf pack hold off Shere Khan when he attacks, giving Mowgli enough time to flee into the burning jungle.
Shere Khan overpowers all of them single-handedly and goes after Mowgli, who lures Shere Khan up a dead tree and onto a branch, before repeatedly antagonsing and insulting him. Enraged, Khan lunges at Mowgli, who swings to safety. Too heavy for his weight, the branch snaps, and Khan falls to his death into the fire.
Mowgli then directs the elephants to divert the river and put out the fire. In the aftermath, Mowgli decides to stay in the jungle as his real home and utilize his equipment and tricks for his own use, under the guardianship of Baloo and Bagheera.
Cast
Neel Sethi as Mowgli, a naive and stubborn 10-year-old human boy who was raised by the Seeonee wolf pack and wants to stay in the jungle despite the threat of Shere Khan. The search for casting Mowgli was extensive, with thousands of children auditioning from the United States, the United Kingdom, New Zealand, and Canada. Eventually, newcomer Neel Sethi was confirmed for the role, with casting director Rebecca Williams describing him as embodying "the heart, humor, and daring of the character. He's warm and accessible, yet also has an intelligence well beyond his years and impressed us all with his ability to hold his own in any situation." Sethi underwent parkour training in preparation for the role. Kendrick Reyes as toddler Mowgli. Ritesh Rajan as Mowgli's father.
Voice cast
Bill Murray as Baloo, a lazy and carefree bear who encounters and befriends Mowgli. Favreau had Murray in mind to voice Baloo since the beginning of the project: "He's perfect. Bill just exudes all the charm and humor that you need and expect from Baloo. He has a certain dryness and a rebellious quality." He had also always wanted to work with Murray, having been a huge fan of his work, though he was aware of how hard it is to contact him. Fortunately for Favreau, he was able to get a hold of Murray, and he agreed to come on board, with Favreau going on to comment that "once he came aboard, he was incredibly passionate. He has a very high standard." Murray said: "I just couldn't say no to playing Baloo. Jon [Favreau] is a terrific storyteller and I'm such a huge fan of the original stories. Kipling wrote a lot of amazing stuff. I read that book when I was about 22 and I've always thought that it was just extraordinary writing." Ben Kingsley as Bagheera, a wise and intelligent black panther who discovers Mowgli as a baby and later becomes his main protector. Favreau said that Kingsley "brought this elegance and refinement to the character, yet with great firmness. He's an interesting dude with crazy range." Kingsley said that Bagheera's "role in Mowgli's life is to educate, to protect and to guide." Kingsley said that Bagheera "is instantly recognizable by the way he talks, how he acts and what his ethical code is", and stated that "Rudyard Kipling's stories of Mowgli's adventures with these extraordinary, beautifully defined characters introduce many around the world to the Indian subcontinent and its culture" though he felt that both the film and the book's story was ultimately about Mowgli's search for a family: "There are many wonderful stories that are based on the struggle of an orphan to find a family—to create a family around him, which is a very poignant part of Jon Favreau's version of the film. It will have its beautiful, thrilling, exciting, joyous moments of celebration. But must also quite rightly have its darker moments, because we're dealing with a very isolated child who triumphs over enormous odds." Idris Elba as Shere Khan, a fearsome, powerfully built scarred Bengal tiger with a blinded left eye who wishes to kill Mowgli. Favreau felt that Elba's voice "wields tremendous presence in a room", and that "[Elba]'s got such gravity and brings his steely presence, a deep timbre that echoes in a larger-than-life way. He understands this scarred, imposing tiger in a way the character demands." Elba said that "Shere Khan reigns with fear. He terrorizes everyone he encounters because he comes from a place of fear." Elba was highly impressed with the film's effects, stating that "[w]hen Jon [Favreau] showed [Elba] Shere Khan's expressions and how he moves, [he] had to ask, 'Is that a real tiger?' The technology is incredible." Lupita Nyong'o as Raksha, a female Indian wolf who is Mowgli's adoptive mother. Favreau and Marks decided to give the character of Raksha a more predominant role in the film similar to Kipling's original tales. Favreau chose Nyong'o because he believed her voice imbued the emotion required for the role, commenting that "Lupita has tremendous depth of emotion in her performance. There's an emotional underpinning she brings, and a strength, and we wanted that for this surrogate mother. Much of that comes from her voice." Along with saying that she was a fan of the original Disney animated film, Nyong'o also commented: "I really enjoyed preparing for this and learning about wolves and how social they are, how they stick together. There's such an order—a hierarchy to a wolf pack. Mowgli tries to fit in with the other wolf pups. He has his challenges, but he is very much a part of the pack as far as Raksha is concerned." Scarlett Johansson as Kaa, an enormous Indian python from the jungle who attempts to eat Mowgli. Favreau decided to cast Johansson, a recurrent collaborator of Favreau's, to play Kaa, originally a male character, as he felt the original film was "a little too male-oriented". On Kaa's role in the film, Favreau said that "Mowgli is exploring different regions of the jungle—mistier, darker, more mysterious parts of the jungle. That's where Kaa lives. That's where she gets ahold of him—till Baloo rescues him and brings him back to his cave." Johansson said that "for [her], the opportunity to play Kaa as envisioned by Jon [Favreau] was so exciting", and described Kaa as "the mirror into Mowgli's past." Giancarlo Esposito as Akela, the leader of the Seeonee wolf pack who sends Mowgli to the Man-Village under Bagheera's guidance. Producer Brigham Taylor praised Esposito, claiming that "Giancarlo is an esteemed actor who absolutely embodies the nature of the character." Along with commenting that he's a fan of both the animated film and Kipling's books, Giancarlo described his character as "...a fierce patriarch of the wolf pack. He believes that the strength of the pack lies in what each and every wolf offers. He knows if they stick together, they can survive. He's a great leader, a wise teacher. I aspire to be like him."