This film version of The Jungle Book, made in 1994, came as a pleasant surprise to me. (I hadn't read the TV listing properly so thought I was going to be watching the cartoon version, which is my joint No.1 Animated Movie of All Time.) It wasn't what I'd been expecting then, but it was a fresh and very enjoyable adaptation of the Rudyard Kipling book. (Having never read the book – shame on me – I have no idea how authentic it is.)

As you will probably know, The Jungle Book is about the adventures of Mowgli, who is lost in the jungle as a child and is brought up by the animals, as it were. This version (also by Disney) focuses quite strongly on the romantic relationship between Mowgli (Jason Scott Lee – no relation to Bruce, though he starred as him in Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story in the previous year) and Colonel's daughter Katherine "Kitty" Brydon (Lena Headey, who most recently has been seen in The Cave and The Brothers Grimm). After meeting again after many years apart, they are prevented from coming together not only by British colonialist culture but also rival for Katherine's affections form of Captain William Boone (Carl Elwes). As tension builds to boiling point, it seems that Katherine must decide between them – or maybe Mowgli must decide between Kitty and the Jungle...

There's not too many surprises here but it's nicely done, the action scenes are well shot and obviously Lee is well up to doing them. With his mix of Hawaiian and Chinese descent, he really looks the part too. His portrayal of Mowgli carries the right mixture of strength and naivety, and is complemented well by Headey's character. (Fortunately the heroine does get to do more than just stand around looking pretty on quite a number of occasions.) Elwes plays a suitably dislikeable baddie, while Sam Neill as Colonel Brydon and John Cleese as Dr. Julien Plumford add their star weight to the film. Neill's attempt at an English accent is terrible but he's otherwise pretty good, while Cleese lends some much needed humour to the proceedings. However, it's Jason Flemyng (Dr Jekyll / Mr Hyde in The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen as Boone's aide Lt. John Wilkins who provides the most, and the best, laughs in this film.

Director Stephen Sommers shows a steady hand with one of his earlier films (his first as Director was Catch Me If You Can in 1989) and he keeps the pace going well, while the humour comes in at the right points to keep you entertained during the slower sections. His forte is evidently action films (with The Mummy / The Mummy Returns / The Scorpion King / Van Helsing now under his belt as well), and it will be interesting to see what he can make of the new Flash Gordon film planned for next year. He seems in this film to know exactly how much potential this film had, and he lived up to it without trying to overplay his hand. The scenery is gorgeous and as much as star of the film as the actors and animals, while some of the sets are quite impressive. The animal training has to be mentioned too, very impressive indeed.

It's fairly predictable stuff (well it is Disney after all!), but it's done with such verve and, like Jason Scott Lee's portrayal of Mowgli, and almost child-like innocence that stops the predictability from being a problem. It is very much light entertainment, and it's nothing like the animated version or (as far as I can remember having not seen it for many years) the old 1942 version starring Sabu. It's just escapist adventure, and to my mind it worked. The style reminded me somewhat of the Jackie Chan adventure / comedy films such as Shanghai Knights and Around the World in 80 Days, albeit not as manic. They're quite a good indicator though, if you enjoyed them, you'll probably enjoy this. If you didn't like this... well, I'd be inclined to say give this one a go anyway. It's not a classic, it's not the animated version, but all the same it's good fun and worth a viewing.

Try it... you might like it!

Other Information

Length: 111 minutes
Rating: PG (UK and USA)
This was nominated for a Saturn Award for "Best Action / Adventure / Thriller Film" by the American Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films". I guess it just squeaked into their categories as fantasy?!?


See also my Top Ten Children's Movies


Recommended:
Yes