The Jungle Book (2016 film)
The Jungle Book is a 2016 American fantasy adventure film directed and produced by Jon Favreau, written by Justin Marks and produced by Walt Disney Pictures. Based on Rudyard Kipling's eponymous collective works, the film is a live-action animated remake of Disney's 1967 animated film The Jungle Book.[1][6] Neel Sethi plays Mowgli, the orphaned human boy who, guided by his animal guardians, sets out on a journey of self-discovery while evading the threatening Shere Khan. The film includes voice and motion capture performances from Bill Murray, Ben Kingsley, Idris Elba, Lupita Nyong'o, Scarlett Johansson, Giancarlo Esposito, and Christopher Walken.
The Jungle Book
- Jon Favreau
- Brigham Taylor
- Walt Disney Pictures
- Fairview Entertainment
- April 4, 2016 (El Capitan Theatre)
- April 15, 2016 (United States)
106 minutes
United States[2]
English
$966.6 million[5]
Favreau, Marks, and producer Brigham Taylor developed the film's story as a balance between Disney's animated feature film adaptation and Rudyard Kipling's original works, borrowing elements from both into the film. Principal photography commenced in 2014, with filming taking place entirely in Los Angeles. The film required extensive use of computer-generated imagery to portray the other animals and settings.[7]
The Jungle Book was released in the United States in Disney Digital 3D, RealD 3D, IMAX 3D, D-Box, and premium large formats, on April 15, 2016. It grossed $966 million worldwide, making it the fifth-highest-grossing film of 2016. Amongst Disney's live-action remakes, the film is the eighth-most-expensive and fifth-highest-grossing readaptation to date. The film won accolades for achievements in visual effects at the 89th Academy Awards, 22nd Critics' Choice Awards, and 70th British Academy Film Awards. The Rotten Tomatoes critical consensus describes it "as lovely to behold as it is engrossing to watch". A sequel is in development, with Marks as the screenwriter, and Jon Favreau returning as director and producer.
Plot[edit]
In the jungles of 1890s India, an orphaned boy named Mowgli lives among a pack of wolves led by Akela. One day, during the dry season, the jungle animals gather to drink the remaining water as part of an ancient truce. The truce is disrupted by Shere Khan, a murderous Bengal tiger who threatens to kill Mowgli at the end of the drought. After the drought ends, the wolves debate whether or not they should keep Mowgli. Mowgli decides to leave the jungle for the safety of his family, and Bagheera, a black panther, volunteers to guide him to the nearby "man-village".
Shere Khan ambushes the pair on their way to the man-village, but Mowgli manages to escape and encounters a python Kaa, who hypnotizes him. While under her influence, Mowgli sees a vision of his father being killed by Shere Khan. Kaa attempts to devour Mowgli, but he is rescued by a brown bear named Baloo. Mowgli retrieves honey for Baloo as repayment and agrees to stay with him until the winter season arrives. Upon learning that Mowgli has left the jungle, Shere Khan kills Akela and threatens the pack to lure Mowgli out.
Bagheera eventually finds Mowgli and Baloo and is incensed that Mowgli has not joined the humans as he had agreed, but Baloo calms him down and persuades both of them to sleep on it. During the night, Mowgli finds the herd of elephants gathered around a ditch and uses vines to save their baby. Baloo realizes that he cannot guarantee Mowgli's safety after learning that he is being hunted by Shere Khan and agrees to push Mowgli away to get him to continue onward to the man village.
Mowgli is kidnapped by a gang of monkeys known as the "Bandar-log", who present him to their leader, a deranged Gigantopithecus named King Louie. Assuming that all humans can make fire, King Louie offers Mowgli protection from Shere Khan in exchange for it. Baloo distracts King Louie while Bagheera tries to sneak Mowgli out, but their ruse is uncovered. Louie chases Mowgli through his temple and informs Mowgli of Akela's death. Louie's rampage eventually causes his temple to collapse on top of him.
Furious that his friends neglected to tell him about Akela's death, Mowgli goes to confront Shere Khan. He steals a torch from the man-village and heads back to the jungle, accidentally starting a wildfire in the process. He confronts Shere Khan, who claims that Mowgli has made himself the enemy by causing the fire. Seeing the wolves' fear of him, Mowgli throws the torch into a river. Baloo, Bagheera, and the wolf pack hold off Shere Khan when he attacks, giving Mowgli enough time to flee into the burning jungle. Shere Khan overpowers all of them single-handedly and goes after Mowgli, who lures Shere Khan up a dead tree and onto a branch, which breaks under his weight, and Shere Khan falls into the fire to his death. Mowgli then directs the elephants to divert the river and put out the fire.
In the aftermath, Raksha becomes the new leader of the wolf pack. Mowgli decides to utilize his equipment and tricks for his own use, calling with Baloo, and Bagheera.
Reception[edit]
Box office[edit]
The film became a huge financial success and a sleeper hit.[47] It briefly held the record for the biggest remake of all time until the studio's own Beauty and the Beast surpassed it the following year.[48] It grossed $364M in the United States and Canada and $602.5M in other countries for a worldwide total of $966.6M, against a budget of $175M.[3] Worldwide, the film was released across 28,000 RealD 3D screens[35] and had an IMAX worldwide opening of $20.4M from 901 IMAX screens, a new record for a PG film.[49] It grossed a total of $39M in IMAX screens worldwide.[50] On May 13, it became the second film of 2016 (after the studio's own Zootopia) to pass the $800 million mark.[51][52] On June 10, it became the third film of 2016 after Zootopia and Captain America: Civil War to pass the $900M mark.[53] Deadline Hollywood calculated the net profit of the film to be $258M, when factoring together all expenses and revenues for the film, making it the sixth-most-profitable release of 2016.[54]
Sequel[edit]
Following the film's financial and critical success, the studio has begun working on a sequel. Jon Favreau and Justin Marks were in talks to return as director and writer, respectively, while Brigham Taylor was confirmed to be returning as producer.[144] Shortly after the release of the film, Favreau and Marks signed on to direct and write the sequel, and it could potentially have a release sometime in late 2019 and would have been shot back-to-back with Favreau's remake of The Lion King.[145][146][147] By March 2017, the sequel was put on hold so that Favreau would have to focus mainly on The Lion King.[148] By January 2018, Marks finished an early draft for the sequel, which he said would "go further through" Kipling's material, as well as feature elements of Bill Peet's rejected drafts for the 1967 film.[149] In October 2018, Neel Sethi confirmed that he would reprise his role as Mowgli in the sequel. As of 2023, the film is still in development and no news on it has been heard since then.[150]