TheRealYuma
Since: Feb, 2014
04/30/2016 00:00:00
The funny thing is that despite not being the book, certain characters are closer to the book versions than the cartoon versions. Also, I do believe big fans of the book can enjoy it.
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Beautifully Nostalgic
First thing that should be made absolutely clear, if you want to see the Rudyard Kipling stories, then you are not in the right place. This is based off the animated movie, not the book. I thought about when I watched Doug Walker's review (he really didn't like it), where he was always making comparisons to the book. This is not the book, not by a long shot. And considering the themes I hear Kipling believed in, I'm not sure if I want to.
That said, I actually really liked this movie. Every scene had me completely sucked in, and I got really invested in what was happening. People are telling the truth when they say that the special effects in this movie are great, because they are. Probably everything was a green screen, but there were several times where I briefly forgot that, which is helped by Neel Sethi's wonderful performance. I look forward to seeing this kid in future work, because he's really talented. The whole cast is great in this, though I do wish we got more Scarlett Johansson as Kaa. Christopher Walken may sound like a weird choice as King Louie, but he's still delightfully entertaining in this, especially when he sings that iconic song. Idris Elba is also very threatening as Shere Khan, completely dominating every scene he's in. Ben Kingsley does good as the stern parental figure, and Bill Murray is a good successor to Phil Harris. Lupita Nyongo also is really good as the loving mother, and I really bought the bond she had with her son.
Obviously, a lot of this movie is banking on the nostalgia factor, and some people criticize it for that. Well, I don't care. That's half the reason I went to see this movie, because I grew up with it. And since this was an adaptation of that movie, of course I wanted to go see it. There were times in this movie where I just got that warm feeling inside.
In summary, I really liked this movie, and if you're a fan of the animated movie, definitely check this out. But if you're a big fan of the book, I don't recommend it.