The Jungle Book(s)

roundshort

Active member
Well my favorite music of ANY Disney animated movie, The Jungle Book is being remade. Not happy about it being live/animated blend but oh well.

I will see it no matter how horrible the CGI will be for one reason - Baloo is voiced by Bill Murray - (Ben Kingsley will be nice as well).

I hope they keep the some of the original music.. Louis....
 

Le Saboteur

Active member
Can a member of the upkeep re-title this to something more agnostic since the Andy Serkis directed, and unfortunately titled, The Jungle Book: Origins, debuts a year after Disney's adaptation of its previous work? Plus, there are a half other additions that could be talked about in one distinct location. No need to root around the site then.

Fun fact: The word "jungle" has nothing to do with the... rainforest. It's a Hindi word meaning "wilderness."


roundshort said:
I will see it no matter how horrible the CGI will be...

I don't know. Richard Parker was phenomenal. If Disney can produce that level of quality -- I have to assume they've farmed it out to ILM -- then the animals should look fantastic. I think the real concern is the voice acting. Established stars are cast for the name/voice recognition, and I dearly don't want to hear any of the announced cast "phoning in" their performance. Especially cringe worthy is the idea of a Christopher Walken-voiced King Louie.

Can you imagine how dull this would be with Murray & Walken?

Baloo-and-King-Louie-dancing.gif


Anyway, for the interested parties out there, the announced cast so far includes:

Idris Elba as Shere Khan
Scarlett Johannson as Kaa
Bill Murray as Baloo
Ben Kingsley as Bagheera
Christopher Walken as King Louie
Giancarlo Esposito as Akela (alpha wolf)
Lupita Nyong’o as Raksha (mother wolf)

Newcomer Neel Sethi will make his film debut as Mowgli. He'll also be the only humanoid to feature on the screen. So while I was hoping for something closer to the original books, it sounds like it's going to be a straight up adaptation of the animated semi-classic. And if that's the case, then Mr. Elba has large shoes to fill. George Sanders will always be Shere Khan. (Even though Tony Jay did a bang up job as well.)

<iframe width="480" height="360" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/MuFZNqI8mc8?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>



I suspect that you'll see a trailer attached to the next release in the Disneynature series.

<iframe width="853" height="480" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/d7zVOK5Wc-A?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
 

Stoo

Well-known member
Le Saboteur said:
I think the real concern is the voice acting. Established stars are cast for the name/voice recognition,...
Yeah, voice casting has become a big downer for me over the past 20 years or so. They should hire a modern-day Phil Harris, who voiced Baloo (& Abraham Delacey Giuseppe Casey Thomas O'Malley the Alley Cat) and whose face was & still is unknown to the general public. Hired for his voice, not his name.

That said, Ben Kingsley as Bagheera is intriguing! However this thing turns out, I highly doubt that it'll be superior to Disney's '67 version (nor their superb, live-action adaptation from 1994) and, despite my expectations, I will definitely see it?and the other new one! Kipling lives on?and that is good.:D

To whichever Mod: Thanks for changing the thread title as per Sabo's suggestion.:hat: Can we drop the "(s)", though?
 

Pale Horse

Moderator
Staff member
roundshort said:
Well my favorite music of ANY Disney animated movie, The Jungle Book is being remade. Not happy about it being live/animated blend but oh well.

I will see it no matter how horrible the CGI will be for one reason - Baloo is voiced by Bill Murray - (Ben Kingsley will be nice as well).

I hope they keep the some of the original music.. Louis....

This is one tall order for Disney to fill. They did a good cross over with the first Pirate film, but like you, this is my end-all Disney quintessential film.

I lost my innocence to a fumbling water jug.
 

Forbidden Eye

Well-known member
Stoo said:
Yeah, voice casting has become a big downer for me over the past 20 years or so. They should hire a modern-day Phil Harris, who voiced Baloo (& Abraham Delacey Giuseppe Casey Thomas O'Malley the Alley Cat) and whose face was & still is unknown to the general public. Hired for his voice, not his name.

Actually, from what I understand, Phil Harris was well-known in his time and was a big celebrity as a musician and a character actor. In fact, Leonard Maltin once pointed out in a documentary on The Jungle Book that critics at the time criticized The Jungle Book for "taking short cuts" by casting celebrities with Harris, George Sanders, Sebastian Cabot and Louis Prima(Prima's estate is so big they've given Disney a bit of a hard time over the years for limiting them from using King Louie as much as they'd like), it's only years later that people have forgotten who these guys were, only to have their Disney work become their biggest claim to immortality.

Granted, its fair to point out none of those actors were as legendary as Bill Murray is, but it confirms that if these celebrities give a good performance that's all that matters as these actor's "celebrity status" won't mean a thing to those in 2-4 generations from now.

The only cast member who makes me scratch my head, though, is Scarlett Johannson.
 

Attila the Professor

Moderator
Staff member
Forbidden Eye said:
Actually, from what I understand, Phil Harris was well-known in his time and was a big celebrity as a musician and a character actor. In fact, Leonard Maltin once pointed out in a documentary on The Jungle Book that critics at the time criticized The Jungle Book for "taking short cuts" by casting celebrities with Harris, George Sanders, Sebastian Cabot and Louis Prima(Prima's estate is so big they've given Disney a bit of a hard time over the years for limiting them from using King Louie as much as they'd like), it's only years later that people have forgotten who these guys were, only to have their Disney work become their biggest claim to immortality.

Indeed. It started a bit with Disney's <I>Alice in Wonderland</I>, which featured some well-known character actors and comedians (namely Ed Wynn & Jerry Colonna), but <I>The Jungle Book</I> was pretty definitively the start of that trend, even if it didn't really pick up again until the 1990s. (Though, with that said, check out the 70s and 80s work of Eva Gabor and Bob Newhart in a few different films.)
 

Stoo

Well-known member
Forbidden Eye said:
Actually, from what I understand, Phil Harris was well-known in his time and was a big celebrity as a musician and a character actor.
Well then, I stand corrected because I did not know that! Thanks for enlightening me, Forbidden Eye.:hat:

Hopefully they'll use the same music, however, it's hard to picture Bill Murray singing, "Bare Necessities".
Attila the Professor said:
(Though, with that said, check out the 70s and 80s work of Eva Gabor and Bob Newhart in a few different films.)
Totally forgot about "The Rescuers".:eek: Gabor and Newhart were both big celebrities in the '70s. You guys are right.:hat:
 

Le Saboteur

Active member
Stoo said:
To whichever Mod: Thanks for changing the thread title as per Sabo's suggestion.:hat: Can we drop the "(s)", though?

Well, that nameless Mod wasn't entirely incorrect. There were two Jungle Books. Yes, two. Kipling penned The Second Jungle Book approximately two years after the original began appearing in magazines. In fact, much of the '94 adaptation was drawn directly from The King's Ankus, one of my favorite stories from either book. It's also the closest to a traditional action-adventure yarn in the collection.

That said, I would second dropping the "(S)" as completely unnecessary if not outright confusing.

Le Saboteur said:
I suspect that you'll see a trailer attached to the next release in the Disneynature series.

Nope. No trailer attached to Monkey Kingdom. Disney moved the flick off the 2015 release schedule and it is now slated to debut on 15 April 2016, a week before Earth Day. Aside from a behind-the-scenes tweet from Favreau while the site was down, there's been very little noise coming out of the House of Mouse.

jungle-book-disney-and-warner-bros-are-each-making-one-the-jungle-book-set-pict-439365.jpg


There was this very Lion King-looking piece of concept art released a few months back as well.

the-jungle-book-disney-2016-concept-art.jpg


And now at D23, The Juggernaut of Stacking Knots Unstoppably gave the world it's first full look at the film including Murray's take on Baloo the Bear and his rendition of the classic "Bare Necessities". That rendition doesn't appear to be on-line yet, but here are a couple of brief clips.

<iframe width="853" height="480" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/OuwUK9Gg5AE" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

<iframe width="853" height="480" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/mQePVvDSqOg" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Finally, the very rad looking first poster was released!

bigger-poster.jpg


And as far as the Serkis version is concerned, they just began filming a couple of months back while Favreau and Co. are enjoying their extra six months of post-production work.
 

Stoo

Well-known member
Le Saboteur said:
Well, that nameless Mod wasn't entirely incorrect. There were two Jungle Books. Yes, two. Kipling penned The Second Jungle Book approximately two years after the original began appearing in magazines. In fact, much of the '94 adaptation was drawn directly from The King's Ankus, one of my favorite stories from either book. It's also the closest to a traditional action-adventure yarn in the collection.
Indeed. It's worth noting that a sizeable chunk of the 1942 version is also based on "The King's Ankus" story.
Le Saboteur said:
And now at D23, The Juggernaut of Stacking Knots Unstoppably gave the world it's first full look at the film including Murray's take on Baloo the Bear and his rendition of the classic "Bare Necessities". That rendition doesn't appear to be on-line yet,
While it should be fun to have Bill Murray as Baloo, he sure has a tough act to follow after Phil Harris' deep, baritone voice. (Can't get the song out of my head now!)
 

Le Saboteur

Active member
Elwood Blues said:
...there's been very little noise coming out of the House of Mouse.

Yeah, so far. That's going to change as The Mouse begins to ramp up the marketing arm. Per Jon Favreau, the flick's director, the first official trailer will debut on Monday the 14th. In the meantime, wet your beak with one of those six-second Vines Dr. Gonzo loves so much.

<blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-version="4" style=" background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:658px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px);"><div style="padding:8px;"> <div style=" background:#F8F8F8; line-height:0; margin-top:40px; padding:50.0% 0; text-align:center; width:100%;"> <div style=" background:url(data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAACwAAAAsCAMAAAApWqozAAAAGFBMVEUiIiI9PT0eHh4gIB4hIBkcHBwcHBwcHBydr+JQAAAACHRSTlMABA4YHyQsM5jtaMwAAADfSURBVDjL7ZVBEgMhCAQBAf//42xcNbpAqakcM0ftUmFAAIBE81IqBJdS3lS6zs3bIpB9WED3YYXFPmHRfT8sgyrCP1x8uEUxLMzNWElFOYCV6mHWWwMzdPEKHlhLw7NWJqkHc4uIZphavDzA2JPzUDsBZziNae2S6owH8xPmX8G7zzgKEOPUoYHvGz1TBCxMkd3kwNVbU0gKHkx+iZILf77IofhrY1nYFnB/lQPb79drWOyJVa/DAvg9B/rLB4cC+Nqgdz/TvBbBnr6GBReqn/nRmDgaQEej7WhonozjF+Y2I/fZou/qAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC); display:block; height:44px; margin:0 auto -44px; position:relative; top:-22px; width:44px;"></div></div><p style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;"><a href="https://instagram.com/p/7ihydRmxdG/" style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none;" target="_top">A video posted by Jon Favreau (@jonfavreau)</a> on <time style=" font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px;" datetime="2015-09-12T17:48:42+00:00">Sep 12, 2015 at 10:48am PDT</time></p></div></blockquote>
<script async defer src="//platform.instagram.com/en_US/embeds.js"></script>
 

Dr. Gonzo

New member
Le Saboteur said:
In the meantime, wet your beak with one of those six-second Vines Dr. Gonzo loves so much.

<blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-version="4" style=" background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:658px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px);"><div style="padding:8px;"> <div style=" background:#F8F8F8; line-height:0; margin-top:40px; padding:50.0% 0; text-align:center; width:100%;"> <div style=" background:url(data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAACwAAAAsCAMAAAApWqozAAAAGFBMVEUiIiI9PT0eHh4gIB4hIBkcHBwcHBwcHBydr+JQAAAACHRSTlMABA4YHyQsM5jtaMwAAADfSURBVDjL7ZVBEgMhCAQBAf//42xcNbpAqakcM0ftUmFAAIBE81IqBJdS3lS6zs3bIpB9WED3YYXFPmHRfT8sgyrCP1x8uEUxLMzNWElFOYCV6mHWWwMzdPEKHlhLw7NWJqkHc4uIZphavDzA2JPzUDsBZziNae2S6owH8xPmX8G7zzgKEOPUoYHvGz1TBCxMkd3kwNVbU0gKHkx+iZILf77IofhrY1nYFnB/lQPb79drWOyJVa/DAvg9B/rLB4cC+Nqgdz/TvBbBnr6GBReqn/nRmDgaQEej7WhonozjF+Y2I/fZou/qAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC); display:block; height:44px; margin:0 auto -44px; position:relative; top:-22px; width:44px;"></div></div><p style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;"><a href="https://instagram.com/p/7ihydRmxdG/" style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none;" target="_top">A video posted by Jon Favreau (@jonfavreau)</a> on <time style=" font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px;" datetime="2015-09-12T17:48:42+00:00">Sep 12, 2015 at 10:48am PDT</time></p></div></blockquote>
<script async defer src="//platform.instagram.com/en_US/embeds.js"></script>

I can dig this. My ass will be in a seat on opening night.
(Bill Murray as Baloo? This I have to see.)
 

Pale Horse

Moderator
Staff member
Dr. Gonzo said:
I can dig this. My ass will be in a seat on opening night.
(Bill Murray as Baloo? This I have to see.)


With. Christopher WALKen. As. King. LOUie. Too. BOOM!. I wannaBE. Like. You.
 

Le Saboteur

Active member
Dr. Gonzo said:
I can dig this. My ass will be in a seat on opening night.
(Bill Murray as Baloo? This I have to see.)

Mine should be. It was going to be until they changed the release date to next year when I'll actually be in Kipling country. Now I'm not sure if it will even be in theatres when I get back.

Sabby Baby said:
Per Jon Favreau, the flick's director, the first official trailer will debut on Monday the 14th

And it did. On the teevee. Jon Favreau stopped by the Access Hollywood studio to debut the trailer for the general public. The high-quality version wasn't released until earlier today.

<iframe width="853" height="480" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/HcgJRQWxKnw" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Quick thoughts: This doesn't appear to be a straight adaptation/remake/whatever of the '67 version. There are too many shots of other chapters in the Mowgli stories for it to be a genuine remake.

The animals look great. It's especially nice to have Kaa back to [sic] his true form. Still not keen on ScarJo's voicework though.

Poor Lungri.

Is Hathi going to let in the jungle?!

<iframe width="853" height="480" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/_kl0-C_AE_8" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
 

Pale Horse

Moderator
Staff member
I'm out. I sense a meandering journey of genres with unfinished character arcs. It's bigger than Jon's ever attempted and I don't know that drama is his forte. I'm sure I'll see it at some point, I just won't push for it.

Even my boy had a lackluster response. And he's the target audience.
 

Stoo

Well-known member
TheFedora said:
(Bc if you think about it, India is kinda close to the Himalyas.)
Good grief. "Kinda close"? About 20% of the Himalayas are *in* India.:rolleyes: "Think about it".:gun:
 

TheFedora

Active member
Stoo said:
Good grief. "Kinda close"? About 20% of the Himalayas are *in* India.:rolleyes: "Think about it".:gun:

Okay I kind of had that coming....:(

But yeah, my point was that this new addition does give a new element of mysteriousness and adds to the uncharted feel of the Jungle book.
 

Le Saboteur

Active member
Stoo said:
Good grief. "Kinda close"? About 20% of the Himalayas are *in* India.:rolleyes: "Think about it".:gun:

Oh man. That was high-larious! Too bad I missed it on the first go round.

New trailer!

<iframe width="853" height="480" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/C4qgAaxB_pc" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Sab the Bad said:
I think the real concern is the voice acting. Established stars are cast for the name/voice recognition, and I dearly don't want to hear any of the announced cast "phoning in" their performance. Especially cringe worthy is the idea of a Christopher Walken-voiced King Louie.


Now that we get to hear everybody speak for the first time, the voice work, as feared, didn't make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. I like all the actors involved in the picture, but those voices aren't supposed to come out of those characters mouths! Of the bunch, Sir Ben Kingsley sounds the best. Christopher Walken is wa-ay out in left field. Poor Idris Elba has impossible shoes to fill.

Though, the triptych poster the studio put out a while back was really well done. In fact, despite the fact the flick was filmed on a backlot in Burbank, it looks fantastic. A lot of care obviously went into recreating the various animals.


http://cdn3.thr.com/sites/default/files/2016/01/the_jungle_book_poster_key_art.jpg

Pale Horse said:
I'm out. I sense a meandering journey of genres with unfinished character arcs.

To be fair, only Mowgli has anything resembling a character arc. Everybody else just gets older.
 
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