My 10 year-old son and I had the opportunity to see The Jungle Book earlier this week and we were both amazed and captivated. My son and I were quickly drawn into the rich, vibrant scenery, with a classic story that was incredibly well-told. This movie is based off of Rudyard Kipling’s collection of short stories and draws inspiration from the Disney 1967 animated film. Mowgli (a brilliant Neel Sethi) was a child orphaned and brought to be raised a wolf family by a panther, Bagheera (voiced by Ben Kingsley). When his wolf tribe is threatened by a tiger, Shere Khan (voiced by Idris Elba), Mowgli travels to return to the man village and encounters a fun-loving bear, Baloo (voiced by Bill Murray) who helps him to steer clear of a sneaky snake, Kaa (voiced by Scarlett Johansson) and a larger-than- life King Louie (voiced by Christopher Walken). Ultimately, Mowgli is forced to defend his pack and confront his past.
This movie was a visual delight and had some of the spunk (and two musical cameos) from the Disney animated film, with a few clean jokes aimed towards the adults. The animals and the jungle life were so incredibly life-like, I feel certain that we will be hearing about this movie again during Oscar season. This movie is definitely a must-see for most children and all adults. In my opinion, this movie is best for children 5 years and up, mostly due to mild animal violence and suspenseful scenes. There were no gruesome or bloody scenes, but there are several animal fights and a few deaths. If your child enjoys an adrenaline rush and understands the food chain, younger than 5 may enjoy this movie. Rated PG.
This post brought to you by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, but all opinions are my own.
