MOWGLI: LEGEND OF THE JUNGLE – Review

As the year draws to a close, the march of live-action “re-imaginings” of classic kids’ animated feature films marches on. Well, technically it’s mostly CGI (or motion-capture) mixed with a bit of “live” reality. For the last few weeks the internet has been doing somersaults over the teaser/trailer for the “live” new version of THE LION KING (again, all in the computer since no baboon is going to lift a lion cub over a cliff). Disney Studios got the ball rolling a few years ago with CINDERELLA and THE JUNGLE BOOK, though they nixed most of the songs made famous in the 1950 and 1967 cartoons. What most film fans forgot was that the Rudyard Kipling classic was first a true live action flick in 1940 making its young star Sabu a fantasy adventure film icon. Since that book has long been in the public domain it’s natural that other studios and filmmakers would want to retell the tale. Waiting two years after the Jon Favreau helmed box office smash, Warner Brothers and Netflix have decided that Andy Serkis should present his take on the lad growing up amongst the beasts. And since Serkis is a celebrated motion capture actor (Gollum in the LORD OF THE RINGS and HOBBIT trilogies along with Caesar, the super-smart chimp in the recent PLANET OF THE APES trilogy), the SFX animals would have a very distinctive look and style of movement. So, just how will these “untamed” supporting players work alongside the “real-life” human lad known as MOWGLI: LEGEND OF THE JUNGLE?

The breathy hissing of the giant immortal snake Kaa (voice of Cate Blanchett), establishes the setting of the story, deep in the jungles of India. It’s a tragic beginning as a human couple are mercilessly slaughtered by the savage tiger Shere Kahn (vo: Benedict Cumberbatch) as their infant son watches just out of sight. Luckily an ebony-hued panther named Bagheera (vo: Christian Bale) scoops up the baby and delivers him to a nearby wolf pack. The wolf mother Nisha (vo: Naomie Harris) and father Akela (vo: Peter Mullan)agree to raise the boy as one of their own. Unfortunately one of Khan’s lackeys, a hyena named Tabaqui (Tom Hollander) sniffs the “man scent” and reports to his master. Khan tells the wolf family that he will shred and devour the lad soon when he’s away from the pack. But he somehow evades the tiger and quickly matures into a young pre-teen boy, now named Mowgli (Rohan Chand) who is able to keep up with his wolf “brothers”.He’ll need to if he wishes to be part of the “hunters”. To that end, he’s trained by Bagheera and the lumbering taskmaster bear Baloo (vo: Andy Serkis). But the menace of Shere Kahn still lurks, now aided by a swarm of monkeys, though much of Mowgli’s thoughts are now occupied by the strange sight just beyond the trees and foliage, a “man village”. But even more dangers arise there, since the frightened residents, including the lovely Messua (Freida Pinto), have hired a “great white hunter” named Lockwood (Matthew Rhys) to track down and kill a “man-eating” tiger. Will Mowgli be able to hide from him while protecting his family and friends (and avoid Khan)?

Leading the main trio of “on camera” talent is the engaging expressive Chand as the “boy raised by wolves”. His take on Mowgli is more concerned with staying alive (and two steps ahead of Khan) than with frolicking with new jungle pals, although he does make a real ally with a traumatized elephant. Plus he seems more torn between his animal instincts and his human traits, wanting to keep up with the pack by racing on all fours rather than running on his two feet (which would be much faster). And much like Christopher Lambert’s take on Tarzan, he shows the price for living his “double life” with a multitude of scratches, scars and scrapes. In the film’s final act, Mowgli meets his deadly adversary in Rhys as the sinister, cold-hearted “hired gun” Lockwood who would decimate the boy’s home just for a few coins and trophies of his “skill”. Rhys is a dead-eyed menace while Pinto embodies the more caring side of humanity via her gentle kindness, tempting Mowgli to leave his pack. As for his CGI co-stars, Bale is a stern fatherly mentor as Bagheera, who won’t allow his affection for the boy to get in the way of his strict training. And, in a switch from the more famous versions of the tale, Baloo is just as tough on Mowgli (there’s no lazy river floating or singing of the “bare necessities” with this old furry fellow). Serkis makes him a grumpy old drill sergeant with no patience for the boy’s frivolity, a true master of “tough love”. That toughness is essential when Khan “comes a’ calling”. Cumberbatch makes the tiger a true sadistic thug, a feline kingpin ruling the land with tooth and oh so sharp nail, eager to avenge his old wounds (we see several shots of a closed, lame paw). It’s easy to see why so many, like the hyena and the monkeys, serve him. But he can’t intimate the serpent sublime Kaa who is sinister and seductive thanks to the subtle vocal stylings of Blanchett, who’s both playful and unpredictable with Mowgli.

Director Sekis, thanks to the screenplay from Callie Kloves, delivers a much darker take on the classic story, one better suited for the grade school crowd (maybe 10 or so) than the toddler set. There’s little time for skipping and dancing in this often deadly world (and in a big departure there’s no massive orangutan King Louie to tempt the boy with any ape antics). The tone is established early since our first images of the title hero are as a baby literally covered in his mother’s blood (and there’s more of that flowing throughout the flick). Unfortunately the lighter films do loom large over the film, though Sekis does move the story through those familiar beats with a confident pace. What often distracts is the design choice for the lad’s jungle cohorts. They’re close to the real thing until the unusual shape of their heads (perhaps to make them more expressive) and the human-like eyes, showing so much white they have an other-worldly “vibe”. Maybe the thought was to show us more emotion, but it’s off-putting along with their “bouncy’ movement that gives them a weightlessness. The look of Baloo works, with his hairless exposed forehead showing off his many “worry” wrinkles. Still, the color palette of the backdrops really works, going from lush cool green to the blazing yellows bouncing off the rocks, recalling the terrific abstract designs from 1976 “Mowgli’s Brothers” TV special from the great Chuck Jones. You won’t forget that free-wheeling 67 animated lark (reportedly the last one supervised by Walt himself), but the family (aside from the wee ones) should find lots of thrills and spills with the new spin on MOWGLI: LEGEND OF THE JUNGLE.

3.5 Out of 5

MOWGLI: LEGEND OF THE JUNGLE opens in select theatres and is now streaming on Netflix