Rudyard Kipling’s The Jungle Book (1994)
72%RT Audience Score: 55%
Awards & Nominations: NA
Rudyard Kipling’s The Jungle Book may not hew as closely to the book as its title suggests, but it still offers an entertaining live-action take on a story best known in animated form
Rudyard Kipling’s The Jungle Book has been adapted into a live-action film that’s a mix of contemporary and traditional elements. Critics are divided on whether it’s a worthy successor to the classic cartoon version, but one thing’s for sure – it’s good old-fashioned Saturday-matinee fun. The acting is great, with Lee bringing both childlike trust and manliness to his role as Mowgli. And while the film may lack the songs and magic of the Disney cartoon, it’s closer to Kipling’s original tale. So if you’re looking for a wild adventure in the jungle, grab some popcorn and settle in for a rumble-in-the-jungle with Mowgli and his animal friends.
Production Company(ies)
Distributor
NA
Release Type
Filming Location(s)
MPAA / Certificate
Year of Release
1994
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby
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Aspect ratio:NA
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Runtime:NA
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Language(s):
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Streaming): Mar 22, 2016
Genre(s)
Adventure/Romance
Keyword(s)
starring Jason Scott Lee, Cary Elwes, Lena Headey, Sam Neill, John Cleese, Jason Flemyng, directed by Stephen Sommers, written by Stephen Sommers, produced by Edward S Feldman, Raju Patel, Adventure, Romance, PG, box office performance, $43.2M, reviewed by David Kronke, Jay Boyar, Ian Nathan, John Hartl, Steven Rea, Gene Siskel, Mike Massie, Malcolm Johnson, Melinda Miller, Chauncey Mabe, Dennis King, Tom Hutchinson, sound mix, surround, jungle, animals, orphan, bracelet, childhood friend, Monkey City, treasures, civilization, unscrupulous suitor, imperiled
Worldwide gross: NA
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): NA
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): NA
US/Canada gross: NA
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada opening weekend:
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): NA
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): NA
Production budget ranking: NA
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
ROI to date (est.): NA
ROI ranking: NA
Cary Elwes – Captain William Boone
Lena Headey – Katherine “Kitty” Brydon
Sam Neill – Colonel Geofferey Brydon
John Cleese – Dr. Julien Plumford
Jason Flemyng – Lt. John Wilkins
Director(s)
Stephen Sommers
Writer(s)
NA
Producer(s)
Edward S. Feldman, Raju Patel
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
NA
Academy Awards
All Critics (41) | Top Critics (16) | Fresh (33) | Rotten (8)
Jungle Book entertains in a way both contemporary and traditional.
April 15, 2016
David Kronke
Los Angeles Times
TOP CRITIC
The new attempt – a live-action adaptation – is unlikely to supplant the cartoon version in anyone’s affections.
April 15, 2016
Jay Boyar
Orlando Sentinel
TOP CRITIC
The acting troupe are great fun: Lee looks fit, Headey is sweet enough in a narrow role, Cleese fine-tunes his predictable Fawlty bit and Elwes stiff-upper lips to excess.
April 15, 2016 | Rating: 3/5
Ian Nathan
Empire Magazine
TOP CRITIC
That’s the biggest problem with this Jungle Book. Sommers is so busy spinning his camera, crowding the soundtrack with animal noises and piling on the cheesy visual effects that he can’t stop for a reflective moment or a character-revealing touch.
April 15, 2016 | Rating: 2.5/4
John Hartl
Seattle Times
TOP CRITIC
This Jungle Book, however, is more remindful of Disney’s classic wildlife adventure pics than it is of a cartoon, and it is most remindful of that other jungle classic, Tarzan.
April 15, 2016 | Rating: 3/4
Steven Rea
Philadelphia Inquirer
TOP CRITIC
Rent the animated film instead.
April 14, 2016 | Rating: 1/4
Gene Siskel
Chicago Tribune
TOP CRITIC
Despite all the obvious derivations from other productions, the harder edge and the continual excitement contribute to a consistently high entertainment value.
September 14, 2020 | Rating: 8/10
Mike Massie
Gone With The Twins
It isn’t Kipling, but it is good old-fashioned Saturday-matinee fun.
June 17, 2020
Malcolm Johnson
Hartford Courant
Lee manages to convey both childlike trust and manliness, handsomely demonstrating that goodness and strength can share the same form.
June 17, 2020 | Rating: 3.5/4
Melinda Miller
Buffalo News
Anyone familiar with Rudyard Kipling’s stories will be forgiven for spending the first half of Rudyard Kipling’s Jungle Book squirming with outrage and confusion.
April 15, 2016
Chauncey Mabe
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
In the end, Rudyard’s Kipling’s The Jungle Book gains very little from this newest incarnation. As live-action fare, it has nothing on the 1942 version of the story that starred the Indian actor Sabu as Kipling’s wild child.
April 15, 2016 | Rating: 2/4
Dennis King
Tulsa World
This live-action rumble-in-the-jungle version of the story of Mowgli, the boy brought up to adulthood by wolves, may lack the songs and magic of the classic Disney feature-length cartoon, but it is closer to Kipling’s original tale.
April 15, 2016 | Rating: 3/5
Tom Hutchinson
Radio Times…
Plot
After being raised by animals in the jungle, Mowgli must navigate the dangers of civilization when he is reunited with his childhood friend Kitty and must protect the jungle from her unscrupulous suitor, Captain Boone, in Rudyard Kipling’s The Jungle Book.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Jason Scott Lee plays Mowgli in Rudyard Kipling’s The Jungle Book.
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