Jon Favreau’s animal kingdom has swung open its mighty doors and, going off early box office figures, moviegoers have flocked to see the director’s awe-inspiring rendition of The Jungle Book.
One thing you won’t see, however, is the painstaking VFX work that went into bringing Favreau’s vision to life. Blending bleeding-edge CGI with live-action sequences – much of which were anchored by Neel Sethi as Mowgli – Disney’s modern take on The Jungle Book is arguably one of, if not the most impressive showcases of visual effects work since Ang Lee’s Life of Pi.
It’s something we championed in our own review, heaping praise on the technical masterclass that Favreau and the creative team have produced. Toss in imaginative storytelling and a pack of adorable wolf pups and you have all the makings of a modern classic.
Rubbing shoulders with Sethi in The Jungle Book are Idris Elba as the glowering Shere Khan, Bill Murray as Baloo, Scarlett Johansson as Kaa, Lupita Nyong’o as Raksha, Ben Kingsley as Bagheera, Christopher Walken as King Louie and Breaking Bad‘s Giancarlo Esposito as Akela.
The strength of the pack is the wolf; and the strength of the wolf is the pack. The Jungle Book first roared onto the silver screen towards the beginning of the month and with a $500 million box office haul already in tow, it’s little wonder why Disney is keen to push on with a sequel.
