Review: ‘The Jungle Book’ is one of the best family movies of the year

Posted on April 22, 2016

By MARK VIOLA

There seems to be no end in sight to Disney’s current run of making live action adaptations of its classic animated films. So far, they’ve had mixed results–and by that I mean creatively, not at the box office–with such films as “Maleficent,” a drastically different retelling of “Sleeping Beauty,” and “Cinderella,” a mostly straight version of the original. For me, the latter was a much more successful film than the former.

And it appears Disney agrees, because it’s latest adaptation, “The Jungle Book” from director Jon Favreau (“Iron Man”), stays quite close to the original 1967 animated film, borrowing elements from the original books by Rudyard Kipling where it does make changes.

And once again, it proves to be the right decision, because this new version of “The Jungle Book” works on just about every level you could want a film like this to. In addition to being a technical marvel, it has a strong story, an excellent lead performance from newcomer Neel Sethi and a talented voice cast to give life to the many animal characters.

Aside from a few intense and scary moments that might be too much for small children, this is one of the first films of 2016 that I can wholeheartedly recommend to everyone. Simply put, this is a movie you should go see, especially in the theater.

“The Jungle Book” is an excellent film and one I would recommend to fans of the 1967 animated movie as well as fans of the books. Additionally, anyone looking for a good film to take their family to should consider this one, as well as those without children who just want to have an enjoyable two hours at the movies.

And in case you’re wondering, Disney isn’t finished mining its animated classics for live-action remakes. There are already “Beauty and the Beast” and “The Little Mermaid” projects underway.

The film is rated PG for some sequences of scary action and peril.

(This is a abbreviated version of the full review available in our printed or e-edition papers.)

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