Wild Life
Jungle Book
Review by Ross Anthony

Wow. This beautiful looking film piques your animal instincts, then draws you right into the action. Like Mowgli, you'll be welcomed into the animal kingdom. In fact, if you let yourself forget for a moment (well for almost 2 hours), that wolves tear bunnies and chickens apart, you'll really enjoy this little tale of how a man cub learns to become a man without the help of mankind.

Beautifully voiced, magnificently filmed and animated, and perfectly paced. It's fun and 100% engaging. For the first full hour you'll be saying "wow" a lot to yourself -- or perhaps out loud. And you may even get a bit choked up at the more tender moments. I enjoyed this film. It's one of the best of the year, but there still is room for improvement. I would have liked a deeper emotional arc (the arc here is all story). Mowgli transforms from a follower to a leader, and that's satisfying, but not deep. The individual relationships he forms are all sweet, but there isn't one that builds deeply. That said, yes, the film has strong emotional moments, but it just lacks a more enduring emotional undercurrent. Nonetheless, it's still wildly entertaining. And I highly recommend.

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  • Jungle Book. Copyright © 2016.
  • Starring Neel Sethi, and the voices of: Bill Murray, Ben Kingsley, Idris Elba, Lupita Nyong'o, Scarlett Johansson, Giancarlo Esposito, Christopher Walken, Garry Shandling. Directed by Jon Favreau based on the book by Rudyard Kipling. Disney.

Grade..........................A (3.5/4)


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Copyright © 1998-2023 Ross Anthony, Author - Speaker - Solo World Circumnavigator In addition to reviewing films and interviewing celebs at HollywoodReportCard.com, traveling the world, composing great music, motivational speaking, Mr. Anthony also runs his own publishing company in the Los Angeles area. While traversing the circumference of the planet writing books and shooting documentaries, Mr. Anthony has taught, presented for, worked &/or played with locals in over 30 countries & 100 cities (Nairobi to Nagasaki). He's bungee-jumped from a bridge near Victoria Falls, wrestled with lions in Zimbabwe, crashed a Vespa off a high mountain road in Taiwan, and ridden a dirt bike across the States (Washington State to Washington DC). To get signed books ("Rodney Appleseed" to "Jinshirou") or schedule Ross to speak check out: www.RossAnthony.com or call 1-800-767-7186. Go into the world and inspire the people you meet with your love, kindness, and whatever it is you're really good at. Check out books by Ross Anthony. Rand() functions, Pho chicken soup, rollerblading, and frozen yogurt (w/ blueberries) also rock! (Btw, rand is short for random. It can also stand for "Really Awkward Nutty Dinosaurs" -- which is quite rand, isn't it?) Being alive is the miracle. Special thanks to Ken Kocanda, HAL, Jodie Keszek, Don Haderlein, Mom and Pops, my family, R. Foss, and many others by Ross Anthony. Galati-FE also deserves a shout out. And thanks to all of you for your interest and optimism. Enjoy great films, read stirring novels, grow.


Last Modified: Monday, 19-Feb-2018 21:27:51 PST