I must admit that I was not very curious about this new film, The Jungle Book, especially after growing up watching the animated series in Hindi, on Doordarshan, back in the nineties. But pleasant surprises are utmost welcome. For this one actually ended up bringing life back to nostalgia.
Take a thousand bows, Jon Favreau, for making an epic adventure children's film. And take a million bows, Disney, for the animation which is quality par excellence. Perfecto!
Panther Bagheera brings the orphaned Mowgli to the jungles of Sionee, where he is raised by the wolf-pack, mentored by Akela and Raksha. Now, the evil Bengal Tiger Shere Khan does not approve of a man in the jungle and Mowgli is forced to leave, soon.
The film is an exciting adventure with good morals and takes you through the little boy's journey and adversities against the antagonist Shere Khan, who has been waiting to prey upon him. Our hero is ably supported by his jungle friends, Bagheera and Bear Baloo. There's one more character that adds value to the story - King Louie.
I particularly enjoyed Bill Murray's voice rendering of Baloo.
And thought Scarlett Johansson's seductive voice-over for Kaa was pitch perfect and am sure would have left many men (and women - lol!) gasping for more.
King Louie's voice too was very well portrayed by Christopher Walken.
But felt that Shere Khan needed a baritone, like that of a Morgan Freeman or an Amitabh Bachchan.
Ben Kingsley, as Bagheera, seemed effortless and natural.
As for Neel Sethi, he was just about okay to me, though utmost sincere. A decent debut, for sure, and here's one more NRI in the protagonist's role in a Hollywood film, after Suraj Sharma in Ang Lee's 2012 film, Life of Pi.
John Debney's music is pretty catchy and foot-tapping. He has done well to incorporate a couple of songs from the 1967 animated original namesake, like The Bare Necessities and Trust in Me. Do stay back, when the credits roll, for Scarlett Johansson beautifully sings the latter number herself.
How often do you have a Hollywood mainstream film release first in India, before it's release in America a week later?! An ode to Rudyard Kipling, perhaps, deservedly...
I feel this is the most perfect 3D film since Avatar and Life of Pi, technology-wise. I couldn't help but have more than a twinkle in my eye, in the last reel of the film. It was an amm...maezing ride and what makes this offering even more special is the unparalleled CGI effects that Hollywood doesn't seem to compromise on...
And I'm yet to figure out how much they actually spent, as I see it's just $20 million. I doubt it! If USD 20 million can get you this level of 3-D and CGI, then our very own directors like Sankar and Rajamouli should aspire and collaborate with such technicians, for we deserve a much better (in terms of the quality) Bahubali-2 or Lingaa (remember the climax?! LOL!) . It can be a dream come true, after all...
Clearly, this is a benchmark, and please go watch this one, with your entire family. It's also playing in Hindi, here in Bengaluru.
My verdict: 4-and-a-quarter out of 5.
Take a thousand bows, Jon Favreau, for making an epic adventure children's film. And take a million bows, Disney, for the animation which is quality par excellence. Perfecto!
Panther Bagheera brings the orphaned Mowgli to the jungles of Sionee, where he is raised by the wolf-pack, mentored by Akela and Raksha. Now, the evil Bengal Tiger Shere Khan does not approve of a man in the jungle and Mowgli is forced to leave, soon.
The film is an exciting adventure with good morals and takes you through the little boy's journey and adversities against the antagonist Shere Khan, who has been waiting to prey upon him. Our hero is ably supported by his jungle friends, Bagheera and Bear Baloo. There's one more character that adds value to the story - King Louie.
I particularly enjoyed Bill Murray's voice rendering of Baloo.
And thought Scarlett Johansson's seductive voice-over for Kaa was pitch perfect and am sure would have left many men (and women - lol!) gasping for more.
King Louie's voice too was very well portrayed by Christopher Walken.
But felt that Shere Khan needed a baritone, like that of a Morgan Freeman or an Amitabh Bachchan.
Ben Kingsley, as Bagheera, seemed effortless and natural.
As for Neel Sethi, he was just about okay to me, though utmost sincere. A decent debut, for sure, and here's one more NRI in the protagonist's role in a Hollywood film, after Suraj Sharma in Ang Lee's 2012 film, Life of Pi.
John Debney's music is pretty catchy and foot-tapping. He has done well to incorporate a couple of songs from the 1967 animated original namesake, like The Bare Necessities and Trust in Me. Do stay back, when the credits roll, for Scarlett Johansson beautifully sings the latter number herself.
How often do you have a Hollywood mainstream film release first in India, before it's release in America a week later?! An ode to Rudyard Kipling, perhaps, deservedly...
I feel this is the most perfect 3D film since Avatar and Life of Pi, technology-wise. I couldn't help but have more than a twinkle in my eye, in the last reel of the film. It was an amm...maezing ride and what makes this offering even more special is the unparalleled CGI effects that Hollywood doesn't seem to compromise on...
And I'm yet to figure out how much they actually spent, as I see it's just $20 million. I doubt it! If USD 20 million can get you this level of 3-D and CGI, then our very own directors like Sankar and Rajamouli should aspire and collaborate with such technicians, for we deserve a much better (in terms of the quality) Bahubali-2 or Lingaa (remember the climax?! LOL!) . It can be a dream come true, after all...
Clearly, this is a benchmark, and please go watch this one, with your entire family. It's also playing in Hindi, here in Bengaluru.
My verdict: 4-and-a-quarter out of 5.
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