The Jungle Book (2016)

Guys this movie was good. I mean like, really dang good!

The Jungle Book, beloved animated classic with an all new interesting twist. And it is awesome! Where do I start? The casting is exquisite, everybody especially Neel Sethi in his breakthrough performance is something truly special. I mean, who are you going to pick over Bill Murray to play Baloo? I dare you no wait, I friggin' double dog dare you to pick someone better! Ben Kingsley was a great Bagheera, Idris Elba of Luther fame is a very malicious and very threatning Shere Khan. Scarlett Johansson....mmm! Giant snake or not, I'm in love. Just pure sensual yumness from a snake! Ladies and gentlemen, this is the first movie Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson have been in together since the most perfect movie ever made. Whoa. And they actually share a scene together (Hooray!) but sadly they fight (Boooo!) but the principle still stands. Oh yeah, and Christopher Walken! Isn't this exhilarating? But there is more to talk about than the cast! The special effects are outstanding, I had a very difficult time to discern what was real and what was computer graphics. That is a new standard of special effects! Most of the original songs are in this film specifically, The Bear Necessities, Trust In Me, and I Wanna Be Like You, all of which done superbly. The mythos surrounding the jungle is rather clever, to be more precise all animals of the jungle herald the elephants as gods. No joke, they state that they created the jungle and all within it. Which is clever because elephants are heralded as religious symbols in India which you can tell is where the story takes place. Speaking of which, the plot follows the animated film but not carbon copy close. The variations in this version are great, and by no means take away from the film. Oh yeah and there was this really funny easter egg when you meet King Louie, I want to see if you can spot it! But anyway, this film was pretty great, not sure which you will prefer more but I enjoyed the film and I really hope you do too. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to listen to Trust In Me again. Ohhh yes!