When I think of Jon Favreau, I tend to think of his acting turns in films like Hart Bochner’s PCU and Doug Liman’s SWINGERS, followed by his directorial/acting work on smaller films like MADE (my wife and I had to seek out a theater for that one on opening weekend) or last year’s excellent CHEF. I always tend to forget that it was Favreau that helmed ELF and the first two IRON MAN movies, and then it all makes sense that Disney put him behind the lens for their live-action reimagining of THE JUNGLE BOOK. As a fan of the original animated feature (reviewed here), I didn’t really have a ton of interest in seeing it get a flesh-and-blood (and CGI) re-do, but after seeing the first teaser trailer, I’m on-board. Check this out…
Now, since BIG BAD VOODOO DADDY was featured so heavily in SWINGERs, and they did a great cover of “I Wanna Be Like You” from THE JUNGLE BOOK… I think there needs to be some sort of official union here – all these years later. End Credits, perhaps?
Disney’s THE JUNGLE BOOK:
Directed by Jon Favreau (“Iron Man”), based on Rudyard Kipling’s timeless stories and inspired by Disney’s classic animated film, “The Jungle Book” is an all-new live-action epic adventure about Mowgli (newcomer Neel Sethi), a man-cub who’s been raised by a family of wolves. But Mowgli finds he is no longer welcome in the jungle when fearsome tiger Shere Khan (voice of Idris Elba), who bears the scars of Man, promises to eliminate what he sees as a threat. Urged to abandon the only home he’s ever known, Mowgli embarks on a captivating journey of self-discovery, guided by panther-turned-stern mentor Bagheera (voice of Ben Kingsley), and the free-spirited bear Baloo (voice of Bill Murray). Along the way, Mowgli encounters jungle creatures who don’t exactly have his best interests at heart, including Kaa (voice of Scarlett Johansson), a python whose seductive voice and gaze hypnotizes the man-cub, and the smooth-talking King Louie (voice of Christopher Walken), who tries to coerce Mowgli into giving up the secret to the elusive and deadly red flower: fire.
The all-star cast also includes Lupita Nyong’o as the voice of the fiercely protective mother wolf Raksha, and Giancarlo Esposito as the voice of wolf pack’s alpha male Akela. “The Jungle Book” seamlessly blends live-action with photorealistic CGI animals and environments, using up-to-the-minute technology and storytelling techniques to immerse audiences in an enchanting and lush world. The wild adventure swings into theaters in 3D on April 15, 2016.
Learn more: https://www.facebook.com/DisneyJungleBook
