Must See Movie: The Jungle Book

Last Tuesday I had the opportunity to take Anika to an early screening of The Jungle Book. I saw a preview for it quite a while ago and thought that it was going to be a good movie. I settled down with a glass of wine while Anika munched down on popcorn and Dip-n-Dots. We waited patiently for the movie to begin.

As the movie started we put our 3D glasses on with anticipation. The Jungle Book is such a classic tale that even though I knew Disney would do a great job re-creating it, I still had a little question in the back of my mind whether or not it would live up to my expectations.

It did. 

If you aren’t familiar with the story here’s some history that I recently learned: The Jungle Book was originally one of the stories written by Rudyard Kipling back in 1894  – and he actually became the highest paid writer in the world by the age of 32, and in 1907 he received the Nobel Prize for literature. In 1967 Disney turned the story into the well-known animated feature.

The Jungle Book is a story about Mowgli, a man-cub raised in the jungle by a family of wolves. Mowgli finds he is no longer welcome when the fearsome tiger Shere Khan promises to “eliminate” Mowgli because he sees him as a threat. Urged to abandon the only home he’s ever known, Mowgli embarks on a journey of self-discovery, guided by panther-turned-stern mentor Bagheera, and the free-spirited bear Baloo. Along the way, Mowgli encounters jungle creatures who don’t exactly have his best interests at heart, including Kaa, a python whose seductive voice and gaze hypnotized the man-cub, and the smooth-talking King Louie, who tries to coerce Mowgli into giving up the secret to the elusive and deadly red flower: fire.

It’s amazing because the only real live character in the film is Mowgli, and every other character are computer graphics, yet sitting there I didn’t even notice a difference.

Anika also really enjoyed the movie, though there were some little ones sitting next to us in the theater who did get frightened at the real life animal fighting scenes and a few moments of surprise. I’m not sure I would take real little ones to this movie only because of the intense scenes, but older kids will love it.

If you are planning on seeing a movie soon or are just looking for something fun to do with the family I would definitely recommend going to see The Jungle Book.

If you’ve already seen it, what are your thoughts on it? Comment below or find me on Facebook and let me know! 🙂

~Melissa

Many strange tales are told of this Jungle. But none so strange as the tale of the cub we called Mowgli … –Bagheera