Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle

Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle (also known and stylized on screen simply as Mowgli) is a 2018 adventure drama film directed by Andy Serkis with a screenplay by Callie Kloves, based on stories collected in All the Mowgli Stories by Rudyard Kipling. The film stars Rohan Chand, Matthew Rhys, and Freida Pinto, along with voice and motion-capture performances from Christian Bale, Cate Blanchett, Benedict Cumberbatch, Naomie Harris, and Serkis. In the film, an orphaned human boy who was raised by wolves, sets out on a journey to find a human village while evading Shere Khan.
Talks of a new Jungle Book film from Warner Bros. Pictures began in 2012 and various directors, including Steve Kloves, Ron Howard, and Alejandro González Iñárritu, were approached before Serkis was confirmed in March 2014. Much of the cast signed on that August and principal photography began in March 2015. Filming took place in South Africa and at Warner Bros. Studios in Leavesden, England.
Originally scheduled to be released in October 2016 by Warner Bros. Pictures, the film was delayed numerous times to work on the visual effects and to create space between itself and the April 2016 release of Walt Disney Pictures' own Jungle Book adaptation. In July 2018, Warner Bros. Pictures sold the rights for the film to Netflix. The film was released in select theaters on 29 November 2018, followed by its subsequent digital Netflix release on 7 December 2018. It received mixed reviews from critics, who praised the cast, visual effects, and Serkis' direction, but many compared it unfavorably to the Disney film and criticized the uneven tone, calling it a "messy—if ambitious—misfire".
Plot
In the jungles of India, the gigantic Indian python seer Kaa watches as Shere Khan, a sadistic Bengal tiger, breaks "jungle law" by killing a family of humans. The panther Bagheera finds a surviving infant boy and takes him to Nisha and Vihaan's family of Indian wolves, but the child is spotted by Tabaqui, Shere Khan's hyena lackey. The "man-cub" is brought before the wolf council, where Bagheera strong-arms Baloo, a Himalayan brown bear, into serving as his fellow guardian. Shere Khan arrives to kill the child, but Akela, leader of the wolves, declares that the boy is under the pack's protection. Shere Khan warns that when Akela misses his prey, he will return to kill the boy.
The child, now known as Mowgli, is adopted by Nisha and raised with the wolves. Years pass, and Mowgli encounters Shere Khan, who has antagonized the nearby "man-village" by killing their cattle. Mowgli falls into a tiger trap set by the villagers, but is saved by Hathi, an Indian elephant missing half a tusk. Bagheera reveals to Mowgli that he is human, but Mowgli is determined to complete "the Running" – the trial to earn full membership in the pack. Bagheera urges Mowgli to leave the jungle for the village, where he will be safe from Shere Khan; watching the village from afar, Mowgli learns of the existence of fire.
During the Running, as Bagheera chases the young wolves to prove their skill, Mowgli uses his ability to climb and run upright to gain the lead. Desperate to keep him safe, Bagheera unfairly foils Mowgli and is confronted by Baloo. Mowgli is kidnapped by the Bandar-log tribe of monkeys and brought to Shere Khan, but Baloo and Bagheera arrive to save him. They are overwhelmed by the monkeys, and Mowgli is rescued by Kaa. Having failed the Running, an angry Mowgli rejects the friendship of Bhoot, the albino runt of the wolf cubs, and visits Kaa, who believes he can restore harmony to the jungle.
While hunting, the aging Akela fails to bring down his prey, leading Shere Khan to remind the pack they must now challenge Akela for the role of leader. As the wolves fight, Mowgli steals a burning branch from the village and repels Shere Khan and the challengers, but shames Akela and is exiled from the pack. A feral Mowgli is captured by the villagers and John Lockwood, a British hunter. Bagheera tells Mowgli that he must stay with the villagers and gain their trust, as Bagheera did to escape captivity himself.
Mowgli comes to enjoy life in the village, cared for by the kindly Messua and learning hunting skills from Lockwood, who is tracking Shere Khan. Mowgli's wolf-sibling Gray Brother informs him that Shere Khan has driven away the wolves loyal to Akela and continues to kill cattle, endangering all the jungle's animals, but Mowgli refuses to help. While the villagers celebrate Holi, Mowgli learns that it was Lockwood who shot off Hathi's tusk and discovers his hunting trophies, including the head of Bhoot. Returning the tusk to Hathi, Mowgli offers him the hunter in exchange for ridding the jungle of Shere Khan.
Mowgli meets with Baloo, Bagheera, and the wolf pack, who refuse to go against jungle law to help him defeat Shere Khan. Undeterred, Mowgli lures Shere Khan to the edge of the village, where the tiger is surrounded by Hathi's elephant herd. Lockwood shoots at Shere Khan but wounds Mowgli instead, and Akela sacrifices himself to save the boy, while Lockwood is killed by Hathi. The other animals come to Mowgli's aid, forcing Shere Khan to retreat, and the dying Akela names Mowgli as his successor. With Messua and the village watching, Mowgli returns to the jungle and slays the mortally wounded Shere Khan. Kaa explains that with Shere Khan and Lockwood gone, Mowgli has given the animals a voice and brought peace to the jungle.
Cast
Rohan Chand as Mowgli, a plucky and kind boy who is raised by wolves.
Matthew Rhys as John Lockwood, a colonial hunter who hunts for trophies and comes to hunt Shere Khan.
Freida Pinto as Messua, an altruistic woman who takes in Mowgli.
Voice and motion-capture
Christian Bale as Bagheera, a wise black panther who is Mowgli's protector and one of his teachers; he was born in human captivity.
Andy Serkis as Baloo, a firm but fair Himalayan brown bear who is one of Mowgli's teachers.
Benedict Cumberbatch as Shere Khan, a barbaric and sadistic Bengal tiger with a crippled front leg who is Mowgli's archenemy and the one who slew his biological parents.
Cate Blanchett as Kaa, an enormous Indian Python who is the jungle's seer, one of Mowgli's mentors, possible admirer and the narrator of the film.
Tom Hollander as Tabaqui, a deranged striped hyena who is Shere Khan's follower.
Peter Mullan as Akela, an elderly Indian wolf who is the chief and leader of his pack.
Naomie Harris as Nisha, an Indian wolf who is Mowgli's adopted mother.
Eddie Marsan as Vihaan, an Indian wolf who is Mowgli's adopted father.
Jack Reynor as Gray Brother, an Indian wolf who is the oldest and most loyal of Mowgli's adopted brothers.
Louis Ashbourne Serkis as Bhoot, an albino Indian wolf cub in Akela's pack and Mowgli's friend.
Production
A number of writers, directors, and producers were connected with the film during its development. In April 2012, Warner Bros. Pictures announced that it was developing the film with Steve Kloves in talks to write, direct, and produce it. It was reported in December 2013 that Kloves would produce the film, and Alejandro González Iñárritu was in talks to direct, from a screenplay by Kloves' daughter Callie. However, in January 2014, Iñárritu left the project due to scheduling conflicts with Birdman and The Revenant. In February 2014, it was reported that Ron Howard was in talks to direct, and would produce the film with Brian Grazer through their Imagine Entertainment company. The next month it was announced that Andy Serkis would direct and produce the film with collaborator Jonathan Cavendish of The Imaginarium, and Serkis would also perform the role of Baloo. Production designer Gary Freeman, editor Mark Sanger, and costume designer Alexandra Byrne were hired.
In August 2014, Benedict Cumberbatch joined the film to voice the villain role of Shere Khan. Christian Bale, Cate Blanchett, Naomie Harris, Tom Hollander, Eddie Marsan, Peter Mullan, and Rohan Chand were announced the following day. Jack Reynor was added to the cast in March 2015 as Mowgli's Brother Wolf. It was announced in April 2015 that Matthew Rhys was in talks to play the human role of John Lockwood. In May 2015, it was reported that Freida Pinto would be playing an unspecified live-action role along with Rhys and Chand, later confirmed to be that of Mowgli's adoptive mother.
Principal photography began on 9 March 2015. It was filmed in Durban, South Africa and at Warner Bros. Studios, Leavesden in England.
Music
Release
The film, originally titled Jungle Book: Origins, was initially set for an October 2016 release by Warner Bros. In December 2014, Warner Bros. shifted the date to October 2017, allowing more time for further work on the visual effects. In April 2016, just before the wide release of Disney's The Jungle Book, the film's release date was moved to 19 October 2018. In October 2017, Andy Serkis revealed the working title of the film to be Mowgli: Tales from the Jungle Book. In December, the official title was changed to Mowgli. Serkis stated that the film would be "darker" and more "serious" in tone than previous Jungle Book adaptations, thus closer to that of Kipling's original works. In March 2018, Serkis said first footage would be released "very soon." The first trailer and a behind-the-scenes featurette premiered on 21 May 2018.
In July 2018, it was announced that Netflix had purchased the worldwide distribution rights of the film from Warner Bros., and would set a 2019 release date, including a theatrical 3D release. At the time of the announcement, Deadline Hollywood described the film as "over-baked and over-budget" and said it allowed Warner Bros. to avoid "Pan-like box office bomb headlines" and saved them millions of dollars for not needing to promote the film. Speaking of the move, Serkis stated:
On 7 November 2018, Netflix released a new trailer for the film, announcing a new title change, Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle, as well as its limited theatrical release on 29 November 2018, and its subsequent streaming release on 7 December 2018. The film had its world premiere in Mumbai on 25 November 2018, the first time a Hollywood film premiered in India.
Reception
On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of based on reviews, with an average rating of . The website's critical consensus reads, "Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle brings impressive special effects to bear on the darker side of its classic source material, but loses track of the story's heart along the way." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 51 out of 100, based on 22 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".
Kate Erbland of IndieWire gave the film a "C+" and wrote: "Too dark for kids, too tame for adults. Stunning effects, occasionally wretched motion-capture. The technology may be there, but that doesn't mean it's been utilized to its full, feeling powers. It's a coming-of-age story unable to push forward in all the ways that really matter." Similarly, The Atlantic reviewer David Sims claimed the film suffers from weak visual effects and bland story.
Matt Zoller Seitz of RogerEbert.com awarded Mowgli two stars, criticizing the film's motion capture effects and comparing the film unfavorably to Favreau's The Jungle Book. Olly Richards of Empire gave the film 2/5 stars, writing that "for all his ambition, Serkis can't find the right tone for Mowgli and it becomes a very confused beast, neither fun enough for all ages to enjoy nor complex enough to be the visceral, grown-up thriller he nudges at." The Observer reviewer Wendy Ide awarded the film 3/5 stars, praising the film's visual and technical effects but opining that there was too much trauma and animal violence to attract family audiences.
David Fear of Rolling Stone gave the film 3/5 stars, describing Mowgli as "a harsher, darker, more CGI-heavy look at 'The Jungle Book'." While criticizing the film's CGI effects, Fear praised Christian Bale, Andy Serkis, Benedict Cumberbatch, and Cate Blanchett for their voicework as Bagheera, Baloo, Shere Khan, and Kaa. Michael Sullivan of The Washington Post awarded the film 4/5 stars, praising Andy Serkis for combining motion capture animation with live action footage while cautioning parents not to watch it with their kids due to its adult themes and violence. Additionally, Robert Abele of the Los Angeles Times praised Mowgli for incorporating the darker and more mature elements of Kipling's The Jungle Book; also favorably comparing the film to Disney's two family friendly Jungle Book iterations and describing Mowgli as "the movie equivalent of a whiskey chaser after a sugary shake."
Rohan Naahar of the Hindustan Times awarded Mowgli 4/5 stars, praising Serkis for delivering "a nuanced, visually dazzling update of the Jungle Book for Netflix." While praising the film for its technical effects and mature themes, Naahar expressed disappointment with the under-representation of Indians in the main cast apart from Freida Pinto. Collider Matt Goldberg described the film as a "blood-soak version of the Jungle Book." Goldberg criticized the film's level of violence and unsatisfactory CGI effects, giving the film a D rating.
References
External links
on Netflix
2018 films
2010s adventure drama films
American adventure drama films
British adventure drama films
Films about animals
Films about children
Films about interracial romance
Films about orphans
Films directed by Andy Serkis
Films produced by Steve Kloves
Films set in the 1850s
Films set in Asia
Films set in the British Raj
Films set in India
Films shot in Hertfordshire
Films shot in KwaZulu-Natal
Films shot in London
Films shot at Warner Bros. Studios, Leavesden
Jungle adventure films
The Jungle Book films
Films using motion capture
English-language Netflix original films
Warner Bros. films
2018 drama films
Films about tigers
Films with live action and animation
2010s English-language films
2010s American films
2010s British films