“The Jungle Book” ~ 2016 vs. 1967 ~ I Can’t Wait to See it!

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 I am a huge fan of Disney re-makes. Last year Cinderella made me sit up on the edge of my seat, laugh, cry and remember every tiny little bit of a great story from my youth. I’m old! There is no changing that fact. So when I think of “The Jungle Book”, I think of the 1967 animated release of “The Jungle Book”. I loved the story and the music. The story is the same, the technology is very very different!

In 1967 “The Jungle Book” was only the 19th animated feature in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series. It was released on October 18, 1967, and received much acclaim for its soundtrack, featuring five songs by the Sherman Brothers and one by Terry Gilkyson, “The Bare Necessities“. The film grossed over $73 million in the United States in its first release. If released today, that same figure based on inflation would be somewhere around $521 million.

In 2016 “The Jungle Book” will be an all-new live-action epic adventure about Mowgli (newcomer Neel Sethi, and the only human in the film) a man-cub raised in the jungle by a family of wolves, who embarks on a captivating journey of self-discovery when he’s forced to abandon the only home he’s ever known. The film will be a mix of live-action and high technology animation.

Richard M. Sherman, who wrote songs for the original 1967 film alongside his late brother Robert B. Sherman, has returned to write new songs for this film. The most famous of “The Jungle Book” songs ~  “The Bare Necessities”, originally written by Terry Gilkyson, will be included and sung by Bill Murray. 

This remake of the 1967 animated film has a great line-up of stars including Neel Sethi as Mowgli and includes the the voices of Bill Murray as Baloo, Ben Kingsley as Bagheera, Idris Elba as Shere Khan, Lupita Nyong’o as Raksha, Scarlett Johansson as Kaa, Giancarlo Esposito as Akela and Christopher Walken (I love Christopher Walken!) as King Louie. Just thinking about Christopher Walken as King Louie has me hysterical! I can’t wait to see this movie!

Scarlett Johannson‘s character Kaa was a male in the original film but Johannson was cast in the 2016 remake when the team behind the film decided the original film was “a little too male-oriented”. They also decided to change King Louie from an orangutan to a Gigantopithecus due to the fact that orangutans are not native to the area in which the story takes place.

The special effects used to craft the various animal characters will consist of motion capture techniques alongside computer animation. The film is scheduled to be released in Disney Digital 3D, RealD 3D and IMAX 3D on April 15, 2016.

The Story:

Mowgli is a boy who was raised by the Indian wolves Raksha and Akela. When the fearsome tiger Shere Khan threatens his life, Mowgli leaves his jungle home. Guided by Bagheera the black panther and Baloo the bear, he sets out on a journey of self-discovery. Along the way, Mowgli encounters jungle creatures who do not exactly have his best interests at heart including Kaa, a python whose seductive voice and gaze hypnotizes the man-cub, and the smooth-talking King Louie, a Gigantopithecus who tries to coerce Mowgli into giving up the secret to the elusive and deadly “red flower” fire.

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April 15, 2016!