Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle Dvd

Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle (also known and stylized on screen simply as Mowgli) is a 2018 adventure drama film directed by Andy Serkis with a screenplay by Callie Kloves, based on stories collected in All the Mowgli Stories by Rudyard Kipling. The film stars Rohan Chand, Matthew Rhys, and Freida Pinto, along with voice and motion capture performances from Christian Bale, Cate Blanchett, Benedict Cumberbatch, Naomie Harris, and Serkis.

Talks of a new Jungle Book film from Warner Bros. Pictures began in 2012 and various directors, including Steve Kloves, Ron Howard, and Alejandro González Iñárritu, were approached before Serkis was confirmed in March 2014. Much of the cast signed on that August and principal photography began in March 2015. Filming took place in South Africa and at Warner Bros. Studios in Leavesden, England.

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 2018, followed by its subsequent digital Netflix release on 7 December 2018. 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”.

Plot

In the Indian jungle, the gigantic Indian python seer Kaa watches as Shere Khan, a sadistic Bengal tiger, breaks ‘jungle-law’ by killing a family of humans. Bagheera, a panther, finds a surviving infant boy and takes him to Nisha and Vihaan’s family of Indian wolves. Tabaqui, Shere Khan’s hyena lackey, spots the boy before being chased away. The ‘man-cub’ is brought before the wolf council, where Bagheera buys the boy’s life with a kill and 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 wolf pack, declares that the boy is under the pack’s protection. Shere Khan warns that when Akela misses his prey, the tiger will return to kill the boy.

The child, 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 village, 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, Mowgli uses his ability to climb and run upright to gain the lead. Desperate to keep him safe, Bagheera sabotages Mowgli and is confronted by Baloo. Mowgli angrily rejects the friendship of Bhoot, the runt of the wolf cubs, and is kidnapped by the Bandar-log tribe of monkeys and brought to Shere Khan. Before the tiger can kill the boy, Baloo and Bagheera arrive but are overwhelmed by the monkeys. Mowgli is rescued by Kaa, who scares away the monkeys. After Baloo heals him, Mowgli confronts her at her lair on why she saved him. As she slithers around him, Kaa explains she 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 challenge Akela for the role of leader. As the wolves fight, Mowgli steals fire from the village and repels Shere Khan and the challengers, but shames himself in Akela’s eyes and is banished. The feral Mowgli is captured by the villagers and John Lockwood, a British colonial hunter. Bagheera visits Mowgli to tell him that he must stay with the villagers and gain their trust, as Bagheera did to escape captivity when he was young.

Mowgli slowly 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, which threatens all the jungle’s animals with the village’s wrath, but Mowgli refuses to help. While the village celebrates Holi, Mowgli learns that it was Lockwood who shot off Hathi’s tusk and discovers his hunting trophies, including the head of Bhoot. Preparing to kill Lockwood, Mowgli instead returns the tusk to Hathi, offering 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 defeat Shere Khan. Unafraid, Mowgli lures Shere Khan to the edge of the village, where the tiger is surrounded by Hathi’s elephant herd. Alerted by the sounds of the battle, Mowgli’s family and friends, ashamed for how they’ve treated him, rush to his aide. Lockwood shoots at Shere Khan but wounds Mowgli instead, and Akela sacrifices himself to save Mowgli, while Lockwood is killed by Hathi. The other animals come to Mowgli’s aide just in time, 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 for good, Mowgli gave the animals a voice and brought peace to the jungle.

Cast

Main article: List of The Jungle Book characters
Rohan Chand as Mowgli, a feral boy who is raised by wolves.
Matthew Rhys as John Lockwood, a colonial hunter who hunts for trophies and comes to hunt Shere Khan.
Freida Pinto as Messua, a woman who takes in Mowgli.
Voice and motion-capture
Christian Bale as Bagheera, a black panther who is Mowgli’s protector, one of his teachers and was born in human custody.
Andy Serkis as Baloo, a strict Himalayan brown bear who is one of Mowgli’s teachers.
Benedict Cumberbatch as Shere Khan, a violent, sadistic, and ruthless Bengal tiger with a crippled front leg who is Mowgli’s enemy.
Cate Blanchett as Kaa, an enormous female Indian Python who is the jungle’s seer, one of Mowgli’s mentors, possible admirer and the narrator of the film.
Tom Hollander as Tabaqui, a deranged striped hyena who is Shere Khan’s servant.
Peter Mullan as Akela, an Indian wolf who is the chief and leader of his pack.
Naomie Harris as Nisha, an Indian wolf who is Mowgli’s adopted mother.
Eddie Marsan as Vihaan, an Indian wolf who is Mowgli’s adopted father.
Jack Reynor as Gray Brother, an Indian wolf who is the oldest and most loyal of Mowgli’s adopted brothers.
Louis Ashbourne Serkis as Bhoot, an albino Indian wolf cub in Akela’s pack and Mowgli’s friend.