Details: Under two hours long. Stars Neel Sethi, Bill Murray, and Ben Kingsley.
I was not looking to watch this movie at all, but after coming across some positive reviews I decided to give it a chance. I’m glad I did.
This movie is almost a direct retelling of the Jungle Book movie Disney put out in 1967, with some changes which I think were good for the tone of this movie. Firstly, this movie has a more serious tone while still being funny and a children’s movie. There is less singing. The animals are all also much more imposing and definitely scarier. The effects team on this film did a great job. There are also some plot differences from the original film which actually help to move the story along and make it more believable. But at its heart, this is still the same movie.
The actors do a great job. Idris Elba and Scarlett Johansson (even though her role was small) stick out for their performances. Bill Murray, Christopher Walker, and Ben Kingsley basically play themselves as they have often done in prior films.
Visually everything looks greats. The core concept is a real actor plays the boy/protagonist and everything else is generated by computer effects. It works.
Score: 6.9/10 Entertaining film which I can safely recommend to children.
Muse Bank 