The Jungle Book Movie Activity Pages + Review (2016)

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This post was written by Julie

I previewed the new Disney movie, The Jungle Book, with my eight-year-old daughter. It has been quite a while since I last read a short version of The Jungle Book to the kids, so I did not know what to expect. I was not aware, but when we arrived at the theater for the preview, I found out that our experience would be in 3-D. I have to say I was disappointed to hear this as I am not a big fan of 3-D films, but I did not want this to spoil the experience.

As the movie started, I was excited to see that it was not a typical animated movie with cartoon characters. Instead, all of the animals were very convincing in appearance, and their human voices were quite enjoyable. I thought that Baloo (Bill Murray’s voice) and King Louie (Christopher Walken’s voice) fit the characters to a tee. The animals themselves were very lifelike, yet it still had a Disney feel to the experience.

Mowgli, played by Neel Sethi, was a great choice for the main character in this movie, and he did an excellent job of living The Jungle Book story that I remember reading to my kids when they were younger. His interactions and encounters with all of his animal counterparts during his journey were seamless and made the characters come to life.

The villains whom Mowgli encounters in his adventure are Shere Khan (Idris Elba’s voice), Kaa (Scarlett Johansson’s voice), and King Louie (Christopher Walken’s voice). Each of these encounters was a story in itself. The main confrontation is with Shere Khan throughout the story and ends with Mowgli overcoming this mighty and feared beast. The other adventures with Kaa and King Louie were very well done but short in duration. I am a fan of long movies that keep the viewer interested. It would have been worth it to have lengthened these encounters and developed these characters more.

Baloo (Bill Murray’s voice) was a fun and great companion for Mowgli. This matchup made the movie a fun adventure for all. He was funny and also rose to the challenge of helping Mowgli face the evil Shere Khan.

Overall, I would highly recommend The Jungle Book to viewers of all ages. While it is fun for kids, parents can enjoy a Disney film in a new way. The realistic animation is exciting and done to perfection. With that said, there are some moments in this movie where young viewers may jump from their seats a little, so prepare for that. Also, as I stated at the start of my review, I am not a big fan of 3-D movies, and I stand by that. This movie did not need the 3-D effects as it can stand on its own with spectacular and realistic animation. As a result, I am looking forward to watching this movie again with the rest of my kids in standard movie format.