Although the film comes a bit dark, fans are not robbed of iconic songs such as 'The Bare Necessities', 'I Wanna Be Like You,' and a jovial musical scoring for the film (thanks to John Debney). It's a sweet moment, a reminder that the there's a seed of humanity in each of us. A magical scene in the film (and my favorite!): an infant Mowgli and Bagheera's innocently touches Bagheera's face. Of course, this is owed in large part to Jon Favreau's direction's too. Considering that he is basically working within the confines of his imagination and a green screen room for the entire film, he manages to make everything believable: the beauty and danger of the jungle, his kinetic and charismatic character, and his deep connection with the animals. In his first feature appearance, Neel Sethi as young Mowgli is tasked with selling the wonder and portraying the humanity of this tale. Even the lesser animals (porcupine, pygmy hog, squirrel, etc.) manage to steal the show as sources of comic relief. Bill Murray as the manipulative sloth bear Baloo is a crowd favorite as he blurs the line between being annoying and adorable. Christopher Walken as the mafia-king orangutan waiting for extinction is an oddly delightful sight, especially when he starts to sing. Giancarlo Eposito's Akela and Lupita Nyong'o's Raksha supply the fierce patriarch and protective maternal vibes needed by their characters. In her short sequence as the python Kaa, Scarlett Johansson delivers the film's backstory with a magnetic voice. Ben Kingsley brings nobility and wisdom in the sleek jungle cat Bagheera. Idris Elba as Shere Kahn is chillingly formidable with his guttural threats. With an excellent voice cast, The Jungle Book presents a colorful array of memorable characters. Complete with splendid sound design and flabbergasting CGI wizardry, director Favreau, with cinematographer Bill Pope, deftly crafts this spectacle not only to dazzle viewers but also to enhance its dramatic agenda. To those who still hold any degree of skepticism for Jon Favreau's The Jungle Book-Disney's live-action adaptation of the Rudyard Kiplingclassic-I say just sing along to 'Forget about your worries and your strifeВ…' That's a guaranteed earworm from this really good film.

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