Originally scheduled to be released in October 2016 by Warner Bros. Pictures, the film was delayed numerous times to work on the visual effects and to create space between itself and the April 2016 release of Walt Disney Pictures' own Jungle Book adaptation. In July 2018, Warner Bros. Pictures sold the rights for the film to Netflix. The film was released in select theaters on 29 November, followed by its subsequent digital Netflix release on 7 December of the same year. It received mixed reviews from critics, who praised the cast, visual effects, and Serkis' direction, but many compared it unfavorably to the Disney film and criticized the uneven tone, calling it a "messy—if ambitious—misfire".[2]
Plot
In the jungles of India, the gigantic Indian python seer Kaa watches as Shere Khan, a sadistic Bengal tiger, breaks "jungle law" by killing a family of humans. The pantherBagheera finds a surviving infant boy and takes him to Nisha and Vihaan's family of Indian wolves, but the child is spotted by Tabaqui, Shere Khan's hyena lackey. The "man-cub" is brought before the wolf council, where Bagheera strong-arms Baloo, a Himalayan brown bear, into serving as his fellow guardian. Shere Khan arrives to kill the child, but Akela, leader of the wolves, declares that the boy is under the pack's protection. Shere Khan warns that when Akela misses his prey, he will return to kill the boy.
The child, now known as Mowgli, is adopted by Nisha and raised with the wolves. Years pass, and Mowgli encounters Shere Khan, who has antagonized the nearby "man-village" by killing their cattle. Mowgli falls into a tiger trap set by the villagers, but is saved by Hathi, an Indian elephant missing half a tusk. Bagheera reveals to Mowgli that he is human, but Mowgli is determined to complete "the Running" – the trial to earn full membership in the pack. Bagheera urges Mowgli to leave the jungle for the village, where he will be safe from Shere Khan; watching the village from afar, Mowgli learns of the existence of fire.
During the Running, as Bagheera chases the young wolves to prove their skill, Mowgli uses his ability to climb and run upright to gain the lead. Desperate to keep him safe, Bagheera unfairly foils Mowgli and is confronted by Baloo. Mowgli is kidnapped by the Bandar-log tribe of monkeys and brought to Shere Khan, but Baloo and Bagheera arrive to save him. They are overwhelmed by the monkeys, and Mowgli is rescued by Kaa. Having failed the Running, an angry Mowgli rejects the friendship of Bhoot, the albino runt of the wolf cubs, and visits Kaa, who believes he can restore harmony to the jungle.
While hunting, the aging Akela fails to bring down his prey, leading Shere Khan to remind the pack they must now challenge Akela for the role of leader. As the wolves fight, Mowgli steals a burning branch from the village and repels Shere Khan and the challengers, but shames Akela and is exiled from the pack. A feral Mowgli is captured by the villagers and John Lockwood, a British hunter. Bagheera tells Mowgli that he must stay with the villagers and gain their trust, as Bagheera did to escape captivity himself.
Mowgli comes to enjoy life in the village, cared for by the kindly Messua and learning hunting skills from Lockwood, who is tracking Shere Khan. Mowgli's wolf-sibling Gray Brother informs him that Shere Khan has driven away the wolves loyal to Akela and continues to kill cattle, endangering all the jungle's animals, but Mowgli refuses to help. While the villagers celebrate Holi, Mowgli learns that it was Lockwood who shot off Hathi's tusk and discovers his hunting trophies, including the head of Bhoot. Returning the tusk to Hathi, Mowgli offers him the hunter in exchange for ridding the jungle of Shere Khan.
Mowgli meets with Baloo, Bagheera, and the wolf pack, who refuse to go against jungle law to help him defeat Shere Khan. Undeterred, Mowgli lures Shere Khan to the edge of the village, where the tiger is surrounded by Hathi's elephant herd. Lockwood shoots at Shere Khan but wounds Mowgli instead, and Akela sacrifices himself to save the boy, while Lockwood is killed by Hathi. The other animals come to Mowgli's aid, forcing Shere Khan to retreat, and the dying Akela names Mowgli as his successor. With Messua and the village watching, Mowgli returns to the jungle and slays the mortally wounded Shere Khan. Kaa explains that with Shere Khan and Lockwood gone, Mowgli has given the animals a voice and brought peace to the jungle.
Benedict Cumberbatch as Shere Khan, a barbaric and sadistic Bengal tiger with a crippled front leg who is Mowgli's archenemy and the one who slew his biological parents.
Cate Blanchett as Kaa, an enormous Indian Python who is the jungle's seer, one of Mowgli's mentors, possible admirer and the narrator of the film.
A number of writers, directors, and producers were connected with the film during its development. By April 2012, Warner Bros. Pictures was developing the film with Steve Kloves in talks to write, direct, and produce it.[3] By December 2013 Kloves was attached to produce and Alejandro González Iñárritu was in talks to direct, from a screenplay by Kloves' daughter Callie.[4] Iñárritu left the project in the following month due to scheduling conflicts with Birdman and The Revenant.[5][6] By February 2014, Ron Howard was in talks to direct, with Brian Grazer as producer through their Imagine Entertainment company.[6] The next month Andy Serkis was hired to direct and produce the film with collaborator Jonathan Cavendish of The Imaginarium, and Serkis was also cast in the role of Baloo.[7] Production designer Gary Freeman, editor Mark Sanger, and costume designer Alexandra Byrne were hired.[8]
The film, originally titled Jungle Book: Origins, was initially set for an October 2016 release by Warner Bros.[1] Warner Bros. later shifted the date to October 2017, allowing more time for further work on the visual effects.[15] In April 2016, just before the wide release of Disney's The Jungle Book, the film's release date was moved to 19 October 2018.[16] The working title of the film was Mowgli: Tales from the Jungle Book,[17] which was later changed to Mowgli.[18] Serkis stated that the film is "darker" and more "serious" in tone than previous Jungle Book adaptations, thus closer to that of Kipling's original works.[19][20] The first trailer and a behind-the-scenes featurette premiered on 21 May 2018.[21][22]
By July 2018, Netflix purchased the worldwide distribution rights of the film from Warner Bros., who originally set the film for a 2019 release date, including a theatrical 3D release.[23] At the time of the announcement, Deadline Hollywood described the film as "over-baked and over-budget" and said it allowed Warner Bros. to avoid "Pan-like box office bomb headlines" and saved them millions of dollars for not needing to promote the film.[24] Speaking of the move, Serkis commented:
"I'm really excited about Netflix for Mowgli. Now, we avoid comparisons to the other movie and it's a relief not to have the pressure. I've seen the 3D version, and it's exceptional, a different view from the 2D version, really lush and with great depth, and there will be some kind of theatrical component for that. What excites me most is the forward thinking at Netflix in how to present this, and the message of the movie. They understand this is a darker telling that doesn't fit it into a four quadrant slot. It's really not meant for young kids, though I think it's possible that 10 or above can watch it. It was always meant to be PG-13, and this allows us to go deeper, with darker themes, to be scary and frightening in moments. The violence between animals is not gratuitous, but it's definitely there. This way of going allows us to get the film out without compromise".[23]
The title was changed to Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle, and the film had limited theatrical release on 29 November 2018, followed by its subsequent streaming release on 7 December.[25] The film had its world premiere in Mumbai on 25 November of the same year, the first time a Hollywood film premiered in India.[26]
Reception
On review aggregatorRotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 52% based on 107 reviews, with an average rating of 5.5/10. The website's critical consensus reads: "Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle brings impressive special effects to bear on the darker side of its classic source material, but loses track of the story's heart along the way".[27] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 51 out of 100, based on 22 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[28]
Kate Erbland of IndieWire gave the film a "C+" and wrote: "Too dark for kids, too tame for adults. Stunning effects, occasionally wretched motion-capture. The technology may be there, but that doesn't mean it's been utilized to its full, feeling powers. It's a coming-of-age story unable to push forward in all the ways that really matter".[29] Similarly, The Atlantic's reviewer David Sims claimed the film suffers from weak visual effects and bland story.[30]
Matt Zoller Seitz of RogerEbert.com awarded Mowgli two stars, criticizing the film's motion capture effects and comparing the film unfavorably to Favreau's The Jungle Book.[31] Olly Richards of Empire gave the film 2/5 stars, writing that "for all his ambition, Serkis can't find the right tone for Mowgli and it becomes a very confused beast, neither fun enough for all ages to enjoy nor complex enough to be the visceral, grown-up thriller he nudges at".[32]The Observer's reviewer Wendy Ide awarded the film 3/5 stars, praising the film's visual and technical effects but opining that there was too much trauma and animal violence to attract family audiences.[33]
David Fear of Rolling Stone gave the film 3/5 stars, describing Mowgli as "a harsher, darker, more CGI-heavy look at 'The Jungle Book'". While criticizing the film's CGI effects, Fear praised Christian Bale, Andy Serkis, Benedict Cumberbatch, and Cate Blanchett for their voicework as Bagheera, Baloo, Shere Khan, and Kaa.[34] Michael Sullivan of The Washington Post awarded the film 4/5 stars, praising Andy Serkis for combining motion capture animation with live action footage while cautioning parents not to watch it with their kids due to its adult themes and violence.[35] Additionally, Robert Abele of the Los Angeles Times praised Mowgli for incorporating the darker and more mature elements of Kipling's The Jungle Book, also favorably comparing the film to Disney's two family friendly Jungle Book iterations and describing Mowgli as "the movie equivalent of a whiskey chaser after a sugary shake".[36]
Rohan Naahar of the Hindustan Times awarded Mowgli 4/5 stars, praising Serkis for delivering "a nuanced, visually dazzling update of the Jungle Book for Netflix". While praising the film for its technical effects and mature themes, Naahar expressed disappointment with the under-representation of Indians in the main cast apart from Freida Pinto.[37]Collider's Matt Goldberg described the film as a "blood-soak" version of the Jungle Book, and criticized the film's level of violence and unsatisfactory CGI effects, giving the film a D rating.[38]
