The Jungle Book (Film, 2016)

You might be forgiven for thinking that Rudyard Kipling’s The Jungle Book had already been done sufficiently well to make another film adaptation quite superfluous, but actually director Jon Favreau has managed to breathe new life into the story.

Disney’s 2016 update is a darker take than their previous 1967 animation:  there are only two songs used (The Bare Necessities and I Wanna Be Like You), but more importantly there are frequent moments of what the BBFC would probably term “mild peril”, along with a few very strong incidences of emotional shock. The film is 99% CGI, which is always a bit of a risky path to take, but the hyper-reality of the fictional jungle actually suits the film very well: it helps to think of it more as an animated live-action film. Neel Sethi’s Mowgli is perfect (he manages to somehow replicate the mannerisms of the 1967 animated character, which is amazing given that he had no prior acting experience), and all of the CGI animals are voiced well. My only criticisms would be that the CGI is great but not quite perfect, and Christopher Walken’s rendition of I Wanna Be Like You – delivered in his trademark staccato delivery – is pretty poor. By and large, though, the film is a very enjoyable adventure romp, and these days cinema-goers rarely get a solid two hours of pure entertainment (*cough* Batman vs Superman *cough*).

I’d probably hesitate to let a very young child watch this version of The Jungle Book due to those few intense moments, but of course that’s why the film has been classified as a PG in the UK. It’s certainly a good enough film to warrant a preliminary viewing by any cautious parents who want to ensure that it’s appropriate for their children.