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The Jungle Book (2016) Review - A Beautiful Reminder of the Power of Cinema


I've never been a big fan of CGI. One of my biggest problems with the last film I reviewed, X-Men: Apocalypse, was the overuse of CGI. It meant that all the action felt dreadfully weightless and nothing felt alive. So imagine my surprise when the Jungle Book, a film almost entirely made of CGI pretending to be real things, turns out to be one of the most alive, heartfelt films I've ever seen.

Everything in The Jungle Book, apart from the actor who plays Mowgli, is CGI and it is simply stunning. The jungle in which it all takes place is so incredibly detailed, you never at any point question its authenticity. Everything moves and works just like you'd expect a real jungle to and you often find yourself exploring every corner of the screen in an attempt to take it all in. The CGI never slips in quality at any point and you're always fully immersed, whether you're in wide open plains, racing along the jungle floor, being chased by a giant ape or floating down a stream deep in the gloomy heart of the jungle. There's a sense of wonder and spectacle throughout the whole film that I don’t think I've seen on a big screen before; it really reminds me what's so great about cinema.

CGI animals are obviously not a new thing, but never have they seemed so real as they do in this film. Everything an animal would do in real life, they do in Jungle Book. All of their movements, from the way they walk to the way they breathe, are totally life-like. The texture of every animal, whether it's fur or spines or armour plating, is entirely convincing and stunning to look at. Just like the environments, the CGI on the animals never falls in quality and you’re never pushed out of the film, because the animals only ever move and express in ways they would in real life. The sense of wonder is continued here, especially with King Louie, who's now a gigantopithecus (an extinct species of ape, as orangutans aren't actually from India) and is such a huge, captivating screen presence, especially during the outstanding chase sequence in which he crashes through his temple to try and get hold of Mowgli. Although not after he sings I Wan’na be Like You, one of two songs that are performed during the film, the first being Bare Necessities (although there's also a fantastic rendition of Trust In Me in the credits, performed by Scarlett Johansson and produced like a James Bond theme by Mark Ronson).

At the centre of all of this gorgeous CGI madness, however, is Neel Sethi, the actor playing Mowgli. Amazingly, this is his first ever film, but you would never know it. He plays Mowgli perfectly, constantly full of energy, often funny and always easy to get invested in. What's even more impressive is that all of the other characters he interacts with aren't really there, but you would never know it from Sethi's performance. Amidst all the gorgeous scenery and amazing set pieces, Sethi's performance as Mowgli brings the heart to the story, along with all the other perfect performances from the voice cast. Whether it’s Bill Murray as Baloo, a role he was practically born to play, Christopher Walken as King Louie, one of the most entertaining performances I've seen this year, Lupita Nyong’o’s wonderful performance as Raksha, Mowgli's wolf mother, or Idris Elba's perfectly intimidating performance as Shere Khan, everyone in this amazing cast brings so much personality and life to their animal characters. The cast are what really bring this story - a perfect blend of both the original ‘67 film and Rudyard Kipling's book - to life in a way that is always entertaining, often heartfelt and never boring.

The Jungle Book is a beautiful film. The CGI is beautiful, obviously and is easily the most impressive technical accomplishment I think I've ever seen on film. An impressive technical accomplishment is all it would be, however, if there wasn't everything else. If the story wasn't so beautiful and the characters weren't so beautiful and the performances weren't so beautiful, it would be no more than just a very cool tech demo. It is, however, so much more than that and every single beautiful element of The Jungle Book comes together to make what is my favourite film of 2016 so far.

8.4/10

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