Hello!

Last weekend, my boyfriend Lucas and I went on a date day to Bournemouth (and you should definitely have a look at my Instagram for some gorgeous pictures of the beach, it was a beautiful day) and amongst walking on the beach and eating fish and chips and watching the sunset, we went to see the new live action Jungle Book film too.

I’m a massive Disney fan – they were the movies of my childhood and I have vivid memories of going to world book day in reception (aged 5) dressed as Peter Pan. I also used to sit at my bedroom window hoping he would come and take me away to Neverland!

The funny part is I was envisioning the animated character coming to get me.

So I was dubious about this movie – I used to watch the Jungle Book with my dad and he was my Baloo and he knew all the words and it was a movie I really treasured as a child and I didn’t want this film to ruin it.

I was excited as Jack Howard, YouTuber and film-maker, went to the Jungle Book premier and took to twitter to say: “The Jungle Book is first of the Disney remakes they’ve got right. Very very right. It’s beautifully executed. I loved everything about it.”

He added: “Respectfully references the cartoon while being it’s own thing. The Jungle Book was the first one that felt like it wasn’t embarrassed to be the film it needs to be. SONGS!”

Jack’s opinion on films aligns very similarly to mine and these comments made me very excited to see the film myself and boy, did it follow through.

I adored this film – I felt everything from nostalgia, happiness, fear, sadness and then a whole heap of more nostalgia. The character kept to the essence of the story and had very sensible nods to the almost-childish Disney animation without copying it’s success completely. 

In a way it felt like a more grown up film, with less comic relief and more action – the songs that were included were the most famous ones from the original film but not big song and dance numbers. Mowgli and Baloo sung a chorus or two and King Louie almost spoke his iconic song. It was classy and I had tears in my eyes through most of the film, if I’m honest.

The cast is completely astonishing – every new character I was leaning over to Lucas and figuring out who it was because there are some astoundingly big names for a film that so many people were dubious about.

Whilst it’s described as a ‘live action’ film, no orangutan is proportionally that big and neither are elephants, let alone getting a tiger to cooperate with all the animals around the waterhole and learn lines.

Was that too much?

Either way it makes a point – the animation style is incredible and it payed such close attention to detail in every different animal and species that were included in the story. It’ll be interesting to see the behind the scenes of the stripped down film and the process that made it the spectacle it is.

I really did thoroughly enjoy The Jungle Book in a completely different way to the original and it’s a weird thought that to 2016’s generation of new Disney fans, this will be their Jungle Book – bringing Disney to a whole new group of people.

Thank you for reading,

Sophie xx

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