The Jungle Book

Deep in the heart of fabled India, drought threatens the health and well-being of a community of beasts, hearty individuals cognizant of the convivial, gathering together to fragilely frisk, like the Whos in Whoville, scarcity doesn't cause them alarm, preoccupations with preponderance secondary to the cultivation of conviction, yet the fiercest of them all, who defines himself through violence, refuses to allow a human child to live amongst them, Shere Khan (Idris Elba) arrogantly proclaiming that he will hunt down and kill young Mowgli (Neel Sethi), who must immediately seek charitable human shelter.

Bagheera (Ben Kingsley) assists, yet Khan swiftly separates them, Mowgli barely able to escape, before eventually finding a friend in Baloo (Bill Murray).

Does Baloo exploit Mowgli's labour?

I suppose he does ask the child to dangerously acquire a gargantuan supply of honey, but Mowgli is also free to indiscriminately gorge himself, and, seeing how he lives in the jungle, far away from the safety of labour codes and stable food supplies, he must fend for himself to survive. If said fending also benefits someone committed to protecting him, who doesn't horde everything, I'd say that doesn't qualify as grossly exploited child labour, rather as a mutually beneficial pact, accompanied by a character building challenge, that mischievously bears fruit.

Loved Jon Favreau's The Jungle Book.

There's nimble minor character development which fluidly moves the narrative along, providing comedic depth to veer and crest and make the film more appealing to family audiences.

Baloo is in fact a sloth bear!

I thought the elephants were used remarkably well. They're given a special role within the jungle's culture which provides their peaceful endeavours with distinction and respect as it should considering their size and intelligence.

Hopefully such a role will help convince people to stop poaching them.

Their slow reproductive tendencies cannot bounce back from the current rates at which they are being cruelly slaughtered.

The climax of the film is well thought out. You have two characters dividing the community, Shere Khan overtly and Mowgli in/directly.

The animals fear humanity's red flower (fire) because when poorly monitored it burns down their forest, their home. Yet Mowgli realizes he can use the red flower to defeat Khan and then challenges him with it. When Mowgli realizes he has alienated his community and proven Khan's anti-humanistic point by accidentally starting a fire with the red flower, he suddenly douses the flame, thereby rejoining his people by sacrificing his advantage.

They then bravely and unsuccessfully attempt to protect him, so he must use his mental agility rather than a weapon to challenge Khan.

Mowgli is like the ultimate environmentalist, constantly finding ways to establish a harmonious balance with nature through the art of lusciously landscaping, symbiotically swashbuckling his natural gifts in the same way that Baloo, Bagheera, and the other denizens use theirs.

I thought Kaa (Scarlett Johansson) would have had more screen time but her cameo does provide crucial insights into Mowgli's past.

I found it odd that Shere Khan stopped hunting Mowgli and decided to terrorize his wolf pack instead, thereby hoping to force him to return.

Why didn't he just keep hunting?

I suppose that may have made the film too dark.

Too dark for young families.

Also loved the Monkey Kingdom.

Need to see this again.