The Jungle Book (2016)

Disney Studios are really on a roll at the moment. Having bought out both Lucasfilm and Marvel Studios, therefore guaranteeing box office gold for the next few, well forever. They are now mining the back catalogue of their own revered animation history and attempting to do live action versions of the films.

In the trailers before the films, we caught a glimpse of Pete's Dragon, and this was in the same week that the world first got a glimpse of Beauty and the Beast, starring Emma Watson and Dan Stevens. With the forthcoming release of Finding Dory by Pixar Studios, the time is now to buy into Disney stock, if you can.

I am sometimes wary of live action versions of beloved animation classics, and they do not come more beloved than the last film Walt Disney himself was working on before his death in 1966. 

The Jungle Book was released in 1967 to near universal acclaim, thanks in part to a combination of traditional Disney animation, a great adaptation of a fable - in this case Rudyard Kipling's tale of Mowgli the man cub in the sub-continental jungles; along with a memorable score by the Sherman Brothers who wrote two instant classics in The Bare Necessities and I Wanna Be Like You.

How could Disney attempt to do a live action film of that involves the two things you should not film with, animals (a lot of them) and children? Yet in the hands of Jon Favreau (Swingers, Elf) , Disney have again succeeded in crafting a film full of fare for the whole family.

Watching the live action version, something struck me as to what makes a family film successful. It needs the right blend of fun, frivolity but also a healthy dose of fear. You need those moments of peril for the young viewer to observe; in the feature length cartoon it was the sheer presence of Shere Khan (here voiced by Idris Elba) and his battle at the end with fire along with the ominous dread of vultures circling. 

In this version, the elements of fear are amped up to the nth degree with Khan being evil in a tiger skin and pouncing from out of nowhere. Favreau cleverly does not show any characters straight away, instead giving you a sense of nervous trepidation about what Mowgli could be running from or about to encounter. 

The only one we see at face value is Mowgli (winningly played by Neel Sethi); Bagheera (Ben Kingsley) catches Mowgli at the film's beginning, Baloo (Bill Murray) comes out of a bush and King Louie (Christopher Walken) is shrouded in darkness from us all in his temple.  

Even the elephants, those of the famous Dawn patrol from 1967, are given silent roles in this film; but this does not diminish their importance, as all bow towards them as the kings of the jungle. Nevertheless, they pop up out of nowhere in the forest, and their appearance bring with it a twist on the interaction they have with Mowgli, who does the most humane thing.  

This film is keen to tell young viewers that forest conservation is important, this is helped by having the most cuddly character, Baloo, say the most important line about the red flower (fire) in the film, 'The red flower is dangerous. Do not play with it'.

The film allows a brilliant in-joke for cinephile adults with the introduction of Louie, making him out to be a Marlon Brando/Colonel Kurtz doppelganger from Apocalypse Now, which actually made me laugh because I got the witty insert

Favreau - who has directed two Iron Man movies - again shows his ability in pacing and maintaining tempo throughout the film, even in moments where the brakes go on such as Mowgli getting Baloo his honey or Kaa ensnaring Mowgli; there is a real sense of vigour and adventure on display. Special and visual effect supervisors will get due credit but equal plaudits should go to Favreau and his editor, Mark Livolsi who maintain this pace and can even inject songs into the narrative without it becoming hokey or sentimental.

The film does not suffer third act problems as recent big blockbusters do, perhaps because it is true to the first adaptation and it even has a different ending which is surprising but nevertheless provides Mowgli with a justifiable character arc and desired purpose.

The voice cast is across the board brilliant, Bill Murray of course gets the best lines;

 - You hibernate?

 - No, but I sleep a lot.

yet all are good, the most pleasant surprise being Walken as Louie who delivers a real menace to a big character and shows he can even carry a tune.

This is one of the better family films I have seen in recent years and in a sold out cinema screen on a Bank Holiday Monday it maintained the attention of the young and old in attendance, hush in anticipation and gripped by enjoyment, that is all you can ask for, in spite of a power surge when we had an unplanned five minute intermission.

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Thoughts About Her

Spike Jonze's film won an Academy award for Best Original Screenplay, and while any work by the visionary Jonze is worthwhile and garners attention due to his huge back catalogue of music videos and film, this attempt at a romantic film for the digital age is at times both affirming and frustrating.

In a near-future but too familiar to be science fiction, Theodore Twombly (Joaquin Phoenix) is a writer of lonely hearts letters for family members unable to connect with their loved ones, so they ask him to write letters to sons at college, wives on the anniversary of their wedding days from tongued tied spouses.

Theodore is going through a protracted divorce from Katherine (Rooney Mara) and is becoming somewhat insular and anti-social, so he purchases an operating system that will allow him to engage again with the outside world. He chooses a female voice, she calls herself Samantha and they slowly start a relationship together culminating in a sexual one, Samantha is voiced by Scarlett Johansson.

The film is at pains to point out that the relationship between the human being and artificial intelligence is genuine and acceptable in this near future. Theodore's neighbour and friend Amy (Amy Adams) also has a relationship with her operating system and mentions others doing likewise.

Theodore has an ear piece where he can talk to Samantha, and this cuts him off from the rest of the world. He talks only to her, and although he is perceptive and observant of those around him, he does not interact face to face with them. His one attempt at a date with another female ends abruptly when she fears he will not call her back as it is only a one-night stand, something Theodore admits to.

The quest for love and companionship has fallen on deaf ears because people are too interested in their devices carrying all the information and knowledge they require, why interact with people who may well bore you - people are both alienated yet involved.

Jonze's screenplay is a nicely meditative piece on how relationships disintegrate over time due to the demands individuals place on each other in the hope for the ideal mate, and it is surprising that this viewer found the fleeting flashbacks of the maturation and eventual end of Theodore and Katherine's relationship at times more interesting that the story of this lonely individual; it may well have made for a more interesting film.

Jonze is helped though by some beautiful cinematography from Hoyte van Hoytema that makes this futuristic Los Angeles look like the most beautiful city in the world especially the final shot overlooking the cityscape with all the lights on. When it is quiet and no phones or devices are being used.

While Jonze's oeuvre can correctly be identifiable as offbeat, you hoped this film would be more conventional in its attempts at tackling romance yet Jonze's kookiness remains. This is a shame as Phoenix is exceptional as Theodore appearing in practically every shot holding our attention and gains our sympathy when he could easily have slipped into a caricature of an unloveable creep.