Written by Sowmya Gopi
It’s Jungle Book time again!
Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle is a Netflix Original directed by Andy Serkis and it is yet another take on Mowgli and his friends. The new film features a star-studded voice cast and motion capture performances that bring the jungle alive.
This Netflix edition of Jungle Book will be released on December 7th 2018, although a limited theatrical run of this movie will be shown on November 29th 2018. Netflix’s Mowgli comes two years after the 2016 film for Disney, a live-action retelling of the beloved animated version from 1967. The Netflix version is said to follow more closely the original 1894 Rudyard Kipling collection of stories titled The Jungle Book.
According to official plot synopsis, the story follows the upbringing of the human child, Mowgli raised by a pack of wolves in the jungles of India. He later on learns the harsh rules of the jungle, under the guidance of his friends, the bear named Baloo and a black panther named Bagheera. Mowgli soon is accepted by the animals of the jungle as one of their own, except for one; the fearsome and ferocious tiger, Shere Khan. But there may be greater dangers lurking in the jungle, as Mowgli comes face to face with his human origins. To know how the story unfolds from there, you ought to wait for the movie to release!
As for our star-studded cast, the man-cub himself is played by breakout star Rohan Chand. Matthew Rhys will be seen portraying, John Lockwood – an explorer and hunter. Freida Pinto plays Messua, the human woman who takes Mowgli in when he leaves the jungle. Christian Bale lends his voice to Bagheera, the Panther. The director Andy Serkis also voices Baloo, the Bear. Cate Blanchett voices Kaa the Python, with Naomie Harris as Nisha the Wolf. The wolf pack is voiced by Peter Mullan as Akela the Wolf, Jack Reynor as Brother Wolf, and Eddie Marsan as Vihaan the Wolf. Tom Hollander, voices Tabaqui the Hyena. And lastly, Benedict Cumberbatch voices Shere Khan the Tiger, who many will remember as the main antagonist of the 1967 Disney adaptation.
The official trailer released early November, and many became instantly intrigued. This is the first time Netflix has used this strategy of releasing a movie in limited number of theatres first, before its official release in the streaming platform and expanding to further theatres after that.
