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Mowgli: Legend Of The Jungle Basks In The Dark Side Of The Tale

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6 years ago

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Since its release in 1967, The Jungle Book has brought joy to the hearts of children around the world. Despite some of the film’s more problematic elements it has carried on through generations thanks to its charismatic spirit and pure heart meant to instill warmth in the viewer.

The 2016 re-imagining amped up the excitement and fun as it brought the story into the modern age. Now with Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle, Netflix is looking to get in on the party, but while the film came dressed to impress it’s quickly apparent that it doesn’t know how to have fun.

Photo Courtesy of Netflix: Rohan Chand as Mowgli

Like its predecessors, Mowgli tells the story of the titular human child (Rohan Chand) who is raised by a pack of wolves after his family is slaughtered by the tiger Shere Khan (Benedict Cumberbatch). Under the guidance of the bear Baloo (Andy Serkis) and a black panther named Bagheera (Christian Bale), he attempts to adapt to the ways of the jungle. But when he is forced to confront his origins, Mowgli must decide on his place in the world.

Mowgli makes a promising first impression with its visual effects. Director Andy Serkis made his name off of his memorable motion capture performances as Gollum and Caesar in The Lord of the Rings and Planet of the Apes franchises respectively, and he utilizes his experience in the technology to produce enthralling recreations of beloved characters. Each animal conveys who they are and their motives through simple facial details and movements. Kahn commands power and distrust as he slinks through the trees, and speckles of gray highlighting Bagheera’s chin support his mentor status to Mowgli.

Photo Courtesy of Netflix: Andy Serkis as Baloo

Serkis and his team remove many of the barriers that often inhibit viewers from connecting with CGI characters. Serkis’ guidance of Chand is evident. The young actor’s interactions with his digital co-stars rarely feel like a facade. Whether looking into the eyes of a snake or being lifted by an elephant, Chand’s minute movements help the CGI feel tangible. It’s not something that you’ll actively notice on first viewing, but that’s the whole objective – it should fade into the background.

The visuals do have a dark side, however, one that the film is often too quick to indulge in. Mowgli separates itself from previous renditions of The Jungle Book with a PG-13 rating. This allows the movie to amp up the tension, and the persistent threats on Mowgli’s life are given more weight than one would expect from The Jungle Book.

Photo Courtesy of Netflix: Cate Blanchette as Kaa

It quickly begins to feel overbearing and depressing; the film is missing the heart one has come to expect from this tale.  An infant Mowgli covered in the blood of his parents is a different visual than we would expect, but is it better or even necessary? It’s a question that comes up too many times while sitting through Mowgli.

The film doesn’t deserve to get lambasted just because it took the chance on a darker aesthetic. The new directions can usually justify retellings of familiar stories, but Callie Kloves’ screenplay wasn’t updated to match the film’s visual style. The plot is told with the familiar and simplistic trappings of a common children’s film. Mowgli shares the theme of self-discovery with the previous films, and it explores it as deeply as one would expect a ten-year-old.

Bagheera and Rohan Chand as “Mowgli” in the Netflix film “Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle” Photo Courtesy of Netflix

These two clashing approaches leave one wondering who the film’s audience was meant to be. The PG-13 rating is intended to scare off younger ones from stumbling across a movie that features the taxidermy of a cute, childlike character, but the script doesn’t feature enough nuance to keep the more mature audience engaged. While Mowgli contains a little something for everyone, it ultimately feels like a film meant for no one.

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Paramount+ Reveals Official Main Title Sequence for the Upcoming Series TALES OF THE TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES

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17 hours ago

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July 26, 2024

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During the TALES OF THE TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES panel earlier today at San Diego Comic Con, Paramount+ revealed the official main title sequence for the series. The sequence is composed by EMMY® nominee, Matt Mahaffey, known for his work on Sanjay and Craig, Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Movie and much more. 

From the studios of the Mutant Mayhem film, the all-new Paramount+ original series TALES OF THE TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES explores the adventures of everyone’s favorite pizza-loving heroes as they emerge from the sewers onto the streets of NYC. Leo, Raph, Donnie and Mikey are faced with new threats and team up with old allies to survive both teenage life and villains lurking in the shadows of the Big Apple. The series is produced by Nickelodeon Animation and Point Grey Pictures.

TALES OF THE TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES is executive produced by Chris Yost (The Mandalorian, Thor: Ragnarok) and Alan Wan (Blue Eye Samurai, Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles [2012 Series]). Production is overseen for Nickelodeon by Claudia Spinelli, Senior Vice President, TV Series Animation, Nickelodeon, and Nikki Price, Director of Development and Executive in Charge of Production.

In addition to the upcoming new series, stream all things Turtles on Paramount+.

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Comic-Con 2024: Those About to Die Activation

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20 hours ago

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July 26, 2024

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DISNEY+ CASTS DANIEL DIEMER AS FAN-FAVORITE ‘TYSON’IN SEASON TWO OF “PERCY JACKSON AND THE OLYMPIANS”

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20 hours ago

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July 26, 2024

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 in Hall H at San Diego Comic-Con, Rick Riordan and Disney+ revealed that Daniel Diemer (“Under the Bridge”) will star as fan-favorite cyclops “Tyson” in the epic adventure series “Percy Jackson and the Olympians.” Diemer joins Walker Scobell (Percy Jackson), Leah Sava Jeffries (Annabeth Chase) and Aryan Simhadri (Grover Underwood) as a series regular. The Disney+ Original series from Disney Branded Television and 20th Television will start filming its second season next week in Vancouver.

Season two of “Percy Jackson and the Olympians” is based on the second installment of Disney Hyperion’s best-selling book series titled “The Sea of Monsters” by award-winning author Rick Riordan. In the new season, Percy Jackson returns to Camp Half-Blood one year later to find his world turned upside down. His friendship with Annabeth is changing, he learns he has a cyclops for a brother, Grover has gone missing, and camp is under siege from the forces of Kronos. Percy’s journey to set things right will take him off the map and into the deadly Sea of Monsters, where a secret fate awaits the son of Poseidon.

Diemer stars as Tyson – a young Cyclops who grew up all alone on the streets, and finds it difficult to survive in the human world.  Shy and awkward, with a heart almost as big as he is, Tyson soon discovers that Poseidon is his father, which means Percy Jackson is his half-brother… and that Tyson may have finally found a home. 

Diemer recently starred in the Hulu limited series “Under the Bridge” based off the critically acclaimed book of the same name and a tragic true story of a missing teen girl in Vancouver in 1997. He will next star in the indie “Thug” opposite Liam Neeson and Ron Perlman for director Hans Petter Moland. Daniel was recently seen as the lead in the indie “Supercell” opposite Alec Baldwin and Skeet Ulrich and the lead in the film “Little Brother” opposite Phil Ettinger and JK Simmons. Daniel can also be seen in the Netflix series “The Midnight Club” and recently starred as the male lead in the breakout hit Netflix feature “The Half Of It” from producer Anthony Bregman and director Alice Wu. He is a graduate of Victoria Academy of Dramatic Arts in Vancouver.

Created by Rick Riordan and Jonathan E. Steinberg, season two of “Percy Jackson and the Olympians” is executive produced by Steinberg and Dan Shotz alongside Rick Riordan, Rebecca Riordan, Craig Silverstein, The Gotham Group’s Ellen Goldsmith-Vein, Bert Salke, The Gotham Group’s Jeremy Bell and D.J. Goldberg, James Bobin, Jim Rowe, Albert Kim, Jason Ensler and Sarah Watson.

The first season of “Percy Jackson and the Olympians” is available on Disney+

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