Jungle Book Live Action

[Ray]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HcgJRQWxKnw

What do you guys think? Lots of animals an all star cast (Bill Murray, Idris Elba, Andy Serkis etc.) a director of big budget spectacle and family films at the helm.

This looks pretty good.

[Sachi]

I'm outraged that they picked a white actress to play a Indian snake.

In all seriousness though, this does look pretty good and the casting is amazing. I will go see this just for Bill Murray as Baloo and Christopher Walken as King Louie.

[Ray]

http://collider.com/jungle-book-jon-favreau-talks-balancing-realism-fantasy/?utm_campaign=collidersocial&utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social

Apparently everything onscreen except Mowgli is CGI even the photo realistic things.

I'm outraged that they picked a white actress to play a Indian snake

Last I checked orangutangs don't live in India. Especially not GIANT Orangutangs!

[Sachi]

Last I checked orangutangs don't live in India. Especially not GIANT Orangutangs!

Doesn't change the fact that it's where the Jungle Book is originally set.

[Logoguy]

Oh, wow! It's happening!

I loved the animated film as a kid, so I'll definitely be seeing this once it's out.

Apparently everything onscreen except Mowgli is CGI even the photo realistic things.

Well that's to be expected—as long as the CGI isn't glaringly obvious, it's all good.

[FreakyFilmFan4ever]

As far as I'm concerned, the CGI here is meant to have a fantastical aesthetic to it. It doesn't have to look real in order for this film to look impressive. Or at least, it's supposed to look about as "real" as certain paintings of exotic places are supposed to look. This looks to be a film where art is being placed before photorealism, and I like that approach to The Jungle Book.

[Ray]

I stand corrected, apparently King Louie isn't an Orangutan. He's a Gigantopithicus.

[movieartman]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4qgAaxB_pc

[Bagheera]

Man, this is gonna be fun!

[movieartman]

Anyone see it?
Opinions?

[Ray]

It's good, even in Standard Definition it's good.

All the actors in this movie are good, even the kid actors playing Mowgli and the wolf pups.

Bill Murray as Baloo is probably his best role in years, he's actually ACTING as Baloo. He's not phoning it in like he's done with a lot of his other roles recently, he has an arc made out of whole cloth. He goes from using Mowgli to get honey and fruit to actually coming to care for him as a surrogate parent.

Ben Kingsley plays it straight and proper as Bagheera, and Idris Elba is excellent as Shere Khan. Easily the most intimidating I've seen him.

But the scariest part of this movie is the part involving Chris Walken as King Louie. When you first meet Louie, you think he's a joke. He's big, he's fat, he's jokey, there's no way he can be a threat. But as the scene goes on, and he slowly realizes he's not going to get his way, he slowly boils and gets progressively more angry, before eventually turning into a violent and animal. He chases Mowgli through the ruins, crawling through a hole too small for him, Mowgli trying his best to hide in the cracks and between the pillars as Louie crawls and probes around for him, it's like a scene out of the original Alien.

and that's a huge part of what I like about this movie, is how suprisingly intense it is for a PG-rating. It's got quite a few jumpscares, and has quite a bit of blood and violence. You can get away with a lot of violence as far as animals are concerned, and it has no limits on showing how terrifying the Animal Kingdom can be.

The only problem I really have is the ending, which I won't spoil but it did kind've disappoint me.I don't know if it's more accurate to the book or not, but I do highly recommend this movie.

[TheFriskyIan]

I actually prefer the ending to that of the animated one. The animated one felt like they had to go that route whereas this one felt a bit more natural.

[Bagheera]

As an aside:

Last I checked orangutangs don't live in India. Especially not GIANT Orangutangs!

You should check again. The family to which Orangutans belong also includes the three extinct Gigantopithicus species, the largest of which was around three meters in height and did indeed range across southern Asia. Since King Louie is explicitly labeled a Gigantopithicus he's actually in the right spot.

[Reichu]

I wonder if using Gigantopithecus was actually necessary. The orangutan's "historic range extended to southern China and included most of the South East Asian mainland less than 20,000 years ago". (Source)

[Chuckman]

This twenty foot tall talking orangutang is so historically inaccurate.

[TheFriskyIan]

This twenty foot tall talking orangutang is so historically inaccurate.

Well so is a talking bear and talking animals in general, and the idea of a feral child living happily in the wild; but it's Disney so......

[Bagheera]

Well so is a talking bear and talking animals in general, and the idea of a feral child living happily in the wild; but it's Disney so......

Think that was the point, mate.

As to Gigantopithicus: I think the size was the sticking point. The fact its range was right there was just a nice bonus.