My Thoughts on The Jungle Book · 1:02pm Apr 15th, 2016
Having finally seen the remake, I must say, among the many remakes of classic Disney films I have seen so far, this one really takes the entirety of the material to heart and therefore is among the best.
Worthy of note is that the Disneyland Castle ident is hand drawn before drawing back into the CGI jungle (complete with a small bit of the intro music from the 1967 film).
Though using the original Disney film as a basis, there are quite a few nods to the book. There is more interaction with the wolves (including a runty pup named Grey), including them reciting the Law of the Jungle. Shere Khan in the books and a few media is usually lamed in some way, here he has a burnt face (“Get hence, back to your starved cattle, branded beast of the jungle!” - Raksha).
Fans of the original Disney film may not like the slightly grumpy portrayal of Baloo. To be fair, he was like that in the book as well, often punishing Mowgli for not behaving.
Having finally watched the film, I am now more keen on Christopher Walken as King Louie, though changing the lyrics to “I Wanna be Like You” to suit his species (Gigantopithecus instead of an orangutan) is a bit jarring, but it’s kind of fun to hear Walken sing.
