This film bragged some of the biggest names in film world today such as Ben Kingsley, Idris Elba and Christopher Walken and yet it wasn't talked about in the same way that 'Beauty and the Beast' was. Maybe that is because the later is a magical film for any girl or woman whereas 'The Jungle Book' doesn't have that magic and it never did- it never had the 'Tale as Old as Time' dancing sequence in a fantastic dress that makes every girl want to be a woman and have that moment. Before I actually move on to the names and their performances as live action characters I will look at the scenery. A kid walking through a, well, I don't want to say jungle but river, lake or part of Africa are probably inaccurate as well. The stream running, the rocks, the flowers, there is something special in that scene but I needed more of it to really capture my attention.
As a musician the first thing that I am going to do is complain about the reduction of songs in this film. There are a few songs in this film but not as many as there were in the original film and you should never remake a Disney film and remove the music from it. I liked the music that was in the original film and even if I hadn't liked it there needs to be a constant musical presence in a film like this and there wasn't enough of one to restore the joy that was given in the original film. They remade this film from a Disney film so we are always going to compare it with the original film. So to anyone out there just about to tell me that I can't compare these films then be quiet because I can.
The feedback that I received from this film (from my sister) was that she was disappointed with the casting in that Idris Elba with his east London accent couldn't quite pull off being an evil character but I could hardly notice it and it didn't bother me because Evil doesn't have an accent but we have come to stereotype it over the years with an English accent or a gangster accent. It's not about where you are from, it's about who you are.
Bill Murray surprised me. His voice surprised me when he was singing and I really couldn't recognise his voice without actually seeing him and not a bear. Taking the time and allowing this film to go back to being any other film and to be considered 'old' has allowed me to forget who was in it and watch the film as a film, see what I see, recognise what I see and hear and not know and judge who was in it to start with. I thought that Bill Murray was finished. I thought that his cameo in Ghostbusters was signalling the end of his career because he actually was never that good to start with but he isn't- not based on this performance.
The Jungle Book is not as good as the live action 'Beauty and the Beast' and I haven't seen the live action 'Tarzan' so I can't yet include that one but they are going in the right direction. They are going in the right direction and there have definitely been worse films made in recent years without the live action but it is needed and it does help to bring the Disney movie to life more for the adults who don't want to spend all their time watching Disney animated movies because they feel like they should have moved past that point. Stop stereotyping and just allow yourself to focus on what is in front of you. This remake stays close to the original and does its best.
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