Stephen Sommers somehow lucked out, and fans of his two Disney films should be delighted. Fortunately, this is just about the perfect video presentation for the film.
But, this and the concurrently-issued disc of Adventures of Huck Finn (also directed by Stephen Sommers) were among just a handful of anamorphic widescreen releases out of the slew of catalogue DVDs rushed out by Disney over the next two years. Certainly a film which would be drastically butchered in pan-and-scan just see the 1.33:1 trailer included for proof of that.Īt the time this was released, it appeared Disney would be doing their live action catalogue right. The wide color palette is vibrantly captured and the picture remains sharp and detailed throughout. The Jungle Book is wonderfully photographed and this 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer is satisfactory in every regard.
Beautifully filmed and well-crafted, the film falls just short of the dramatic effectiveness needed to qualify it as a success. If you are able to get over that, the film works quite well as a high budget, cinematic adventure. Its depature from Kipling's book and the 1967 animated film that is more vividly in the public conciousness is not entirely welcome.
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Personally, I found the movie to be mildly entertaining but not particularly great. Boone then seeks to take advantage of Mowgli by pressuring him into revealing a highly sought lost city of treasure. He hunts for sport, and is clearly not without some faults. Though Mowgli is enamored of Kitty, she is engaged to Captain William Boone.ĭespite a strong performance from the talented Cary Elwes, Boone is only slightly more complicated than the standard villain. Leaving behind his friends from the animal kingdom, Mowgli is able to speak and act like a human being, with some schooling from his new British friends, Kitty and her father (Sam Neill). Mowgli (Jason Scott Lee) discovers a beautiful young woman who goes by Kitty (Lena Headey) and not unlike Tarzan, wants to learn more about these strangers like him. He is about to be discovered by the world which he was born into and quickly left - the human world. Mowgli, the man-cub who was raised by the wild animals of the jungle, has grown into a man. Animals may be given personality, but they are not given dialogue. This film adaptation very loosely uses the 1894 novel to create a "more realistic" and less imaginative adventure. Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book takes the characters that Disney fans are undoubtedly familiar with and tells a quite different story. Theatrical Release: Decem/ Running Time: 111 Minutes / Rating: PGĭirector: Stephen Sommers / Writers: Ronald Yanover, Mark Geldman (story & screenplay) Stephen Sommers (screenplay) Rudyard Kipling (characters from novel)Ĭast: Jason Scott Lee (Mowgli), Cary Elwes (Captain William Boone), Lena Headey (Katherine 'Kitty' Brydon), Sam Neill (Colonel Geoffrey Brydon), John Cleese (Dr.