The Jungle Book Blu-ray Review

Well, it seems that Jon Favreau has solved half the problem with the old Hollywood adage, “Never work with kids or animals.”  Just make everything but the kid in a computer, and in the case of Disney’s new movie, The Jungle Book, I do mean EVERYTHING.  Of course I knew while watching the movie that they certainly weren’t putting a 10yr old boy on the same set with panthers, tigers, and bears (oh my!) but it wasn’t until I sat through the exhaustive bonus features and listened to Favreau’s commentary just how much technical magic went into making this amazing movie…essentially from nothing.

I grew up with the original Jungle Book seeing it in the theater and also owning the 12” vinyl version that mixed the story and all of those now-famous songs.  When I heard the movie was getting a reboot I had assumed it would be CG, but more of an animated CG than an attempt at ultra-realism.  I have to say, that Favreau knocked this one out of the park.  From the fresh hand painted opening castle logo to the seamless transition into 21st century high-tech filmmaking to the epic closing credits, The Jungle Book doesn’t disappoint for even a second.

Naturally, the writers tweaked the story a bit so that it now resembles the Rudyard Kipling version more than Walt’s rewrite from the 60’s.  It’s also a much darker and dangerous version, often with moments that could easily frighten smaller children.  The original movie was back-to-back sing-alongs while this new version only keeps two (arguably the best two) songs, “Bear Necessities” and “I Wanna Be Like You”.  Back in 1967 the Jungle Book featured some amazing voice talent for the time and the 2016 version maintains that tradition with some star power like Bill Murray, Lupita Nyone’o, Idris Elba, Ben Kingsley, Scarlett Johansson and so many more including a cameo by the late Gary Schandling.  All of these professionals lend their voices, facial expressions, and personalities to their animal counterparts in a way that still remains a mystery to me, even after watching how they did it.

Beyond the tech and front and center is the undeniably awesome performance from newcomer, Neel Sethi who spent nine months in a green/blue room wearing a red diaper and reacting to puppets, voice cues from Favreau or simply nothing at all and somehow managed to steal the show as Mowgli the man cub.  I can only imagine what this boy will be capable of when other people are in the room. 

Despite a few small rewrites the core story remains the same.  Mowgli was found by Bagheera after being orphaned by Shere Khan, taken to the wolf pack where he was raised as one of their own until Shere Khan returns to finish off the human threat.  Rather than endanger the pack, Mowgli embarks on a journey to the nearby human village – the only place where he will be safe.  My only disconnect for the film was that it took Mowgli several days to reach the village, trekking across mountains, floating down rivers, etc., but in the final scene he was able to run back to his pack in less than ten minutes.

The recent batch of Disney movies really makes me want them to start releasing in 4K UHD, but until that glorious day you’ll have to settle for a stunning 1080p transfer that captures ever strand of hair and fur, every drop of water, every flicker of red flower fire, and some breathtaking scenery that rivals anything you’ve seen in reality.  There is never a moment where you don’t believe that is a real boy with real animals in a real jungle.   Contrast is sharp with great black levels and vibrant colors and even though this movie isn’t sourced at 4K it upconverts to 4K beautifully on my Sony HDR revealing more details in the darker scenes than you’ll see on a standard HDTV.

The DTS-HD MA 7.1 is nothing short of complete immersion as all the speakers in your home theater come to life to put you inside this virtual jungle.  Dialogue is nicely prioritized to the center and there is great LFE action in scenes like the stampede, mudslide, and the powerful footsteps of the elephants.  A full range of frequencies and effects are on display here including some impressive reverb in King Louie’s temple.  The only way this soundtrack could have been better would be with Dolby Atmos support – another reason Disney needs to move into 4k UHD.

For as fast as this movie made it to home video I was extremely impressed with the amount and quality of the bonus features starting off with a feature commentary by Jon Favreau who covers every facet of the film’s creation and even references additional bonus features for follow-up.   He even calls out scenes where Mowgli was created in CG that I never suspected, and ironically mentions a few 3D moments even though there is no 3D version available. 

When you’re finished with the feature there is a fantastic 35-minute extensive behind the scenes documentary, The Jungle Book Reimagined, followed by I Am Mowgli, an 8-minute look at Neel Sethi’s work on the film, and finally a multi-layered breakdown of the King Louie encounter appropriately titled, King Louie’s Temple: Layer by Layer.   Included in the box are a standard DVD and a digital code which looks amazing on an iPad.

After watching a boy interact with “live animals” for 100 minutes and believing every second of it, I have to wonder if I can ever trust my eyes again.  CG has been taken to the next level, but all the fancy effects in the world won’t matter without a good story and good performances.  Jon Favreau has assembled a dream team, both in voice talent and in the technical team that has taken a 60’s classic and reinvented it for a new generation.  I can only wonder how they’ll remake this in another fifty years, but until then, The Jungle Book on Disney Blu-ray is reference quality video and audio and a movie the entire family will watch over and over again.

Screenshot Gallery








Author: Mark Smith
I've been an avid gamer since I stumbled upon ZORK running in my local Radio Shack in 1980. Ten years later I was working for Sierra Online. Since then I've owned nearly every game system and most of the games to go with them. Not sure if 40+ years of gaming qualifies me to write reviews, but I do it anyway.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *