The Jungle Book (2016

*** out of ****

I think most everyone knows the story of “The Jungle Book”. A man from a local village was out in the jungle with his toddler son Mowgli, when he was attacked and killed by a vicious tiger known as Shere Khan. In the fight though he burned the tiger's face with fire, causing it to run off. The boy was found by a panther called Bagera, who brought him to a pack of wolves to be raised.

Now the boy is an adolescent, and Shere Khan has learned he lives in the jungle. The tiger will do anything to kill the boy in vengeance for his being burned, and Mowgli must escape to the “man village”. Along the way he encounters all manner of danger, including an hypnotic python and a pack of greedy orangutans, but also makes a good friend in a bear named Baloo. But when Mowgli finds that Shere Khan is destroying his wolf pack to force Mowgli to return, he decides to fight the tiger instead of run away, leading to a climactic battle.

The story has been done before in the movies, and has even been done well. Never as well as this version though, in my opinion. It's hard to believe but there are actually no real animals in the film, as all the wildlife is completely computer generated. There are a couple of scenes where the animation is a bit off (enough so you can tell it's CGI) but for the most part is flawless. There are a couple of nods to the 1967 animated version in the forms of a couple of songs, but they are fit into the story in such a way that they aren't true “musical numbers”. Having watched the older version multiple times as a kid, these little tributes were the biggest smile-inducers in the movie.

But this is by no means a light-hearted adventure. In fact, at times it's downright terrifying, as can even be seen in the trailers. Kids who scare easily will have extended periods where they are scared witless by this thing, as it maintains a real sense of danger and foreboding through most of the film. And when the danger comes front and center, there were plenty of kids in the theater hiding their faces.

The visuals are excellent and the story riveting – this really is a terrific achievement in filmmaking.  It's enough of a kid movie that I wouldn't expect many adults to venture to the theater to see it without the kids, but it has enough plot and action to keep the grown ups interested.  Well worth seeing.