Disney has released a new TV spot for The Jungle Book that reveals new footage from the live-action/CG update of the classic Rudyard Kipling story, and this thing continues to look spectacular. After taking an underrated turn into smaller scale territory with Chef, director Jon Favreau returns to tentpole filmmaking with this family feature that utilized cutting-edge technology to bring everything and everyone—save for Neel Sethi’s Mowgli—to life via computer. The results are stunning, and as you can see in this new footage, the characters are strikingly realistic.
My only qualm thus far is the melding of Sethi—a live-action actor—into the photoreal environments is a bit off-putting. I’m curious to see if this works better within the context of the final film or if Sethi will still feel out of place, but regardless I’m entirely onboard to experience this film on the biggest screen possible. Major kudos to Favreau and cinematographer Bill Pope.
Check out the new The Jungle Book TV spot below and click here for 20 things to know about the movie. The film features the voices of Bill Murray, Ben Kingsley, Idris Elba, Lupita Nyong’o, Scarlett Johansson, Christopher Walken, Giancarlo Esposito, and Emjay Anthony. The Jungle Book opens in 2D and 3D on April 15th.
Here’s the official synopsis forThe Jungle Book:
Directed by Jon Favreau (“Iron Man”), based on Rudyard Kipling’s timeless stories and inspired by Disney’s classic animated film, “The Jungle Book” is an all-new live-action epic adventure about Mowgli (newcomer Neel Sethi), a man-cub who’s been raised by a family of wolves. But Mowgli finds he is no longer welcome in the jungle when fearsome tiger Shere Khan (voice of Idris Elba), who bears the scars of Man, promises to eliminate what he sees as a threat. Urged to abandon the only home he’s ever known, Mowgli embarks on a captivating journey of selfdiscovery, guided by panther-turned-stern mentor Bagheera (voice of Ben Kingsley), and the free-spirited bear Baloo (voice of Bill Murray). Along the way, Mowgli encounters jungle creatures who don’t exactly have his best interests at heart, including Kaa (voice of Scarlett Johansson), a python whose seductive voice and gaze hypnotizes the man-cub, and the smooth-talking King Louie (voice of Christopher Walken), who tries to coerce Mowgli into giving up the secret to the elusive and deadly red flower: fire.
The all-star cast also includes Lupita Nyong’o as the voice of the fiercely protective mother wolf Raksha, and Giancarlo Esposito as the voice of wolf pack’s alpha male Akela. “The Jungle Book” seamlessly blends live-action with photorealistic CGI animals and environments, using up-to-the-minute technology and storytelling techniques to immerse audiences in an enchanting and lush world. The wild adventure swings into theaters in 3D on April 15, 2016.
