Friday, April 22, 2016

The Jungle Book: Then and Now

Rudyard Kipling's classic, The Jungle Book, is the tale of Mowgli, a human child raised by a pack of wolves.  Now that he is growing up, he must go back to the man village before Shere Khan the tiger catches up to him.  It is, of course, all a metaphor for growing up, leaving home and finding one's place in the world.  Over the past two weekends, we have watched both the 1967 and 2016 Disney interpretations of Kipling's story.

Title: The Jungle Book
Director: Wolfgang Reitherman
Original Release: 1967
My Overall Rating: 4 stars out of 5
via Wikipedia
There is still something elegant and charming in Disney's cel animated films.  The main selling point for me with Jungle Book, though, has always been the music.  I was, in fact, first introduced to the story through the soundtrack album.  The Sherman brothers of Mary Poppins fame supplied most of the songs, including "That's What Friends Are For" as performed by Liverpudlian vultures and "I Wan'na Be Like You" as performed by King Louis, the orangutan monarch.  Louis is voiced by none other than Louis Prima in one of the all-time genius casting moves.

Interestingly, the Shermans did not write the movie's most famous song.  "The Bare Necessities" was written by Terry Gilkyson.  The song has been covered by numerous artists in the years since.


Title: The Jungle Book
Director: Jon Favreau
Original Release: 2016
My Overall Rating: 4 stars out of 5
via The Disney Wiki
Favreau's movie is visually stunning.  Needless to say, the technological capabilities of animation have increased exponentially in 49 years.  The new telling is also much darker.  For what is often a sad and scary story, the 1967 version maintains a remarkably lighthearted feel.  Threats loom around every corner in Favreau's film.  The voice cast is excellent: Ben Kingsley, Bill Murray, Idris Elba, Scarlett Johansson and Christopher Walken all shine.

A few of the songs carry over, though they lose some of their impact in the darker tale.  And as amusing as it is to hear Walken sing, he's no Prima.

The two movies end very differently.  To say more would be to spoil and I won't but there's no denying that the difference changes the meaning of the story significantly.  Another discussion for another day.

15 comments:

  1. I have a soft spot for the animated film and loved the book when I was a teenager, though Rikki-Tikki-Tavi was always just a notch above it. I want to see the new movie, but it's looking doubtful.

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    1. I've never read Rikki-Tikki-Tavi but I do remember an animated version that was fun.

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    2. The animated is fun. It's why I fell in love with the story.

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  2. Of course the film I took the lids to in the mid-'70s (it was playing in the Drive-ins by then), in their pajamas, was immortalized by the voice of Louie Prima. But long before, the quieter magic of Kipling's tale was caught in the performance of Sabu. That's the 1st movie version I ever saw of "The Jungle Book".

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    1. Excuse me, I mean "kids" not "lids" --an unfortunate proximity of keys!

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    2. Figured. Though taking garbage can lids to the drive-in is an amusing image.

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  3. The Jungle Book is a favorite of mine: book, movie, re-make, I don't care. I love this story.

    This rarely happens for me, but coincidentally, I also love Kiplings book and the movie The Man Who Would Be King! Same deal.

    Cherdo
    Cherdo on the Flipside
    "Favorite Characters, Favorite Lines" on the A-to-Z Challenge 2016

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    1. I don't know The Man Who Would Be King. I'll keep an eye out for it. I do have some Kipling coming up soon on my TBR shelf.

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  4. I just took the kiddos to see the new version, in 3D, no less. And yes, the film is visually stunning - and how can you not love anything Bill Murray is involved with (Garfield excepted, of course). I too felt the newest iteration was rather dark and somewhat violent, and was surprised by the ending. Glad they kept some of the music, too.

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    1. I especially enjoyed the animation in the end credits - wonderfully playful.

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  5. I have seen the trailer for the new one, but I haven't seen it or heard anything about it yet. It sounds like an interesting version of the story. I am curious about the ending now. Thanks for sharing!
    ~Jess

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  6. Have you seen the 1994 live action film ?
    A favorite of mine.

    cheers, parsnip

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    1. I don't know the '94 film at all. I will keep it in mind.

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