FILM: The Jungle Book

For those who don't know the story: Mowgli is an orphan child who was found in the jungle by Bagheera, the panther, and raised by wolves (Mowgli is referred to as the 'man cub'). Shere Khan, the infamous tiger (who killed Mowgli's father) has come back to their part of the jungle looking for the 'man cub', so Mowgli must leave the wolf pack to keep them out of danger. The plan is to take him to the man village though, of course, this plan is derailed and Mowgli ends up having adventures and meeting some new animals...

This remake of Rudyard Kipling's 'The Jungle Book' is inevitably going to be compared to the famous Disney version. It stays closer to the book than the Disney version is however, for fans of the Disney version, it does reference some of the famous songs, such as Bear Necessities and I Wanna Be Like You.
The visual effects in this film are astounding and the brilliant animation of the animals really adds to the story.
Ignoring the fact that it is set in India, yet his accent is distinctly American, the part is played pretty well considering the age of Neel Sethi, and the fact that he's having to act on his own since all of the other characters are digitally made.

The film may be visually spectacular, however this seemed to dwarf the rest of the film's resources. It seemed to me to be all about showing off their visual effects, more than creating in-depth characters that we care about. For example, King Louis' sheer size seems to be his characteristic, when there is so much more to him. He's not just a giant, destructive creature, he's a vastly intelligent orangutan who idolises Mowgli because he wants to be like him.
I think they should have gone all-out with the Disney songs, rather than just referencing a few of them - it seemed like a half-arsed attempt at referencing the previous well-loved film. Either be the live action version of that film or be something entirely new - having it somewhere in between was a bit like saying "I know you all loved that version but bare with us". Additionally, Baloo the bear isn't as loveable as his cartoon version, though Bill Murray did do a pretty good job at voicing him.
It's definitely worth a watch, if not for the plot, for the incredibly cinematography and digital effects.