From Disney animation comes the live action film, The Jungle Book, based on the classic books by Rudyard Kipling. Read KIDS FIRST! Film Critic Ryans Blu-ray review on Kidzworld!
Reviewed by Ryan R., KIDS FIRST! Film Critic, Age 12
The Jungle Book Video Review
I enjoyed watching the Blu-ray/DVD combo of The Jungle Book about Mowgli (Neel Sethi) who is the only man cub in the jungle. He wants to be a wolf, but in reality he's not. He is raised by wolves and he feels he has a nice life. Then one day Shere Khan (Idris Elba) threatens Mowgli’s life. While the wolves argue about whether or not Mowgli should leave for the safety of the pack, Mowgli decides for them and leaves. He ventures out to find the man village. On his way to the man village, he meets many enemies and friends like King Louie (Christopher Walken), Kaa (Scarlett Johansson) and Baloo (Bill Murray). What will happen next? Will he make it to the man village? Does Shere Khan catch him? You just have to watch the movie to find out.
Mowgli and Baloo floating down the riverCourtesy of Disney
What I liked about the bonus features on the Blu-ray disc is a feature called, The Jungle Book Reimagined which shows ideas for the remake of The Jungle Book and Neel Sethi’s experience while acting on the set. This shows the relationship between Neel and the director. There is also a bonus audio commentary feature from the director, Jon Favreau, which is great because you get to hear what he was thinking when making the movie. Another added bonus allows you to go to the scene selection and select the scene you want, plus there is a setup feature so you can insert your own settings. There is also a DVD version included and a download code to download a digital copy if you would prefer to use that versus the discs.
Mowgli meets KaaCourtesy of Disney
What I like about this movie are the CGIs which are so realistic that you think the sets are real because they are so incredibly detailed. The animals look realistic as well and the backgrounds are very intricate. But, as I learned in the Blu-ray feature “I am Mowgli”, it shows that it was all done on green screen, which makes this film more incredible because most of it isn’t real! The voice acting is superb. Idris Elba, Scarlett Johansson, Bill Murray, Christopher Walken and many others truly bring the animals to life with their outstanding voice over work. Speaking about Christopher Walken, another bonus feature is “King Louie’s Temple Layer by Layer”. It shows you how the “I Wan’na Be Like You” scene was created. It is very interesting to watch how the orchestra, Christopher Walken, the storyboard and green screens worked together to make that sequence. Finally, the music is superb and adds so much more energy and excitement to the movie. It just makes the scenes more interesting than they would be without such compelling music.
Mowgli is protected by panther BagheeraCourtesy of Disney
What you should know about this film is that there are many intense scenes. Even I jumped out of my seat a few times. This isn’t a movie for children below age 9 and is definitely a “know your kid” type of movie. I also didn’t like how King Louie doesn’t look as friendly as in the original movie. Aside from that, this movie is truly outstanding entertainment.
Film Critic RyanCourtesy of KIDS FIRST!
I recommend this film to kids ages 9 to 18. People who like action, adventure and comedy movies will surely enjoy this. It does have intense scenes and will make you jump but I give it 4 out of 5 stars and love all the bonus features on the DVD/Blu-ray/Digital HD which is now available!
The Jungle Book Blu-Ray Rating:
The Jungle Book Blu-rayCourtesy of Disney
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