LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, United States (Reuters) – Disney gave “The Jungle Book” the star treatment on Monday (April 5), shutting down Hollywood Boulevard and turning the film’s red carpet premiere into an on location set straight out of the wild.
Based on Rudyard Kipling’s timeless stories and inspired by Disney’s 1967 classic animated film of the same name, “The Jungle Book” has generated positive reviews thanks in part to the graceful blending of live-action with photo-realistic CGI.
“I feel relief,” said the film’s director Jon Favreau, in talking about the pressure of re-booting a classic title. “Because we are done and I’m proud and I can’t wait to to show it to most important the actors who have not seen the finished product, most who held back and didn’t want to see it until tonight. It’s like buying a Christmas present for someone and wrapping it up and finally watching them open it.”
“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 self-discovery, guided by panther-turned-stern mentor Bagheera (voice of Ben Kingsley), and the free-spirited bear Baloo (voice of Bill Murray).
Favreau, who told Reuters that he spent close to four years working on the project, felt extraordinary pressure in creating a film who’s stunning special effects blend the reality between what is real and what is created.
“Hopefully people just watch the movie and not know how we made it,” laughed Favreau. “They just watch and say, ‘Wow this is a real jungle, these are real animals that are talking to the kid.”
“I think if you enjoy the film, and for me as a film fan I like to always hear how things are done. When we pull back the curtain and show specifically how little set there was and how everything was generated by computers and my artist, that is when you really know what went into this particular project. It was a big puzzle that was so fun to solve and I learned so much from the people that I collaborated with.”
Neither Favreau or the cast are concerned about comparisons to the earlier Disney classic.
“I think the driving force behind the book is so powerful that it has translated into the famous movie that you mentioned in the 1960’s and now into this film,” said Ben Kingsley. “The starting point is that great piece of work on the page and in the book.”
Lupita Nyong’o, who’s the voice of the fiercely protective mother wolf Raksha, believes a new chapter has been added to the iconic story.
“I hold that film very dear to my heart,” said Nyong’o, about the original film. “Because it awakens my imagination and I love just daydreaming about being in the jungle. But, it was John’s vision that is the reason why I did this film because he was interested in creating a jungle that felt immersed and was a homage to nature and having a story that was really at the core a human story.”
“The Jungle Book” also stars the voices of Scarlett Johansson and Christopher Walken.
The film opens in theaters on April 15, 2016
