The Jungle Book (2016) + Extra [w/Commentary]

Living among the wolves in the jungle, young man cub Mowgli quickly learns to live life among his wolf pack and all the animals that inhabit the jungle, but when the villainous tiger Shere Khan threatens Mowgli's life, black panther Bagheera offers to take Mowgli to a nearby man village where he will be safe from the tiger's wrath. Along the way, Mowgli gets tangled up in a series of encounters with a sly snake named Kaa, a swimmingly ruthless gigantopithecus named King Louie and a lazy bear named Baloo, who quickly becomes his guide to the 'bear necessities' of life.



Audio Commentary: Director Jon Favreau delivers a wonderful commentary track. It's well spoken and very insightful, diving into many of the broader details behind the making of the movie as well as some of the finer points of the process. Many insights repeat from the Reimagined supplement, but Favreau, with the extended breathing room granted by the film's runtime, is able to open up and elaborate much more finely here. Fans of the film (this, the original, or both), the modern filmmaking process, and Disney will certainly enjoy this listen.

Extra:
– The Jungle Book Reimagined (35:02): Producer Brigham Taylor and Visual Effects Supervisor Robert Legato are joined by Director Jon Favreau to discuss how the film got off the ground, Favreau's own love of the source material, early drafts of the new film, Favreau's pull to get the live action film closer to the original animated's style and storytelling, Disney and Kipling book easter eggs, utilizing high end technology for the film (including plenty of in-depth detail into how many of the film's key pieces were assembled) and not shying away from a technical challenge, voice casting and performances, and musical score.