The Jungle Book 2016



Production

The Jungle Book (2016) was produced by Walt Disney Pictures, directed and co-produced by Jon Favreau, and written by Justin Marks. It was partly based on Disney's original version but also drew more on Kipling's original books, giving a rather darker tone. In some ways it is part of Disney's on-going policy to create live action versions of its earlier animated classics. The largest part of what is seen on screen was produced using CGI. Favreau wanted the film to be part homage to the classic Disney films of the 1930s and 1940s. 

All the animals and landscapes were created on computers, mostly by the British digital effects house MPC. 'The animals were deliberately created with a realistic look, and not in a cute and cuddly cartoon style as with the original in order to target older movie-goers. In terms of structuring narrative, Favreau said 'We went back to the structure of it and saw what Kipling did because he offered a lot. We kind of picked between the two'. 
Compared to the original Favreau decided to recreate the characters by having KA-A the snake voiced by Scarlet Johansen. As well as this, multi-pane shots were used with homage to Bambi and the original music of the film. Celebrity actors were also used to voice characters similarly to the original however the actors were chosen to represent the social circumstance.
Realism was heavily enforced with uses of Indian jungles being sourced to create a realistic representation. The crew working on the film were much greater in numbers than the 1967 production. The film included some of the original music from the 1967 version partly in order to compete with the Warner Brothers. Disney already had the upper hand in this sense due to their extensive archives and connections. When Favreau wanted additional lyrics for 'I Wanna Be Like You' in the Jungle Book, he simply asked the original songwriter Richard Sherman. 

Ownership, marketing and distribution 

‘Disney leads the world in the production and distribution of popular culture. What’s more they can use their incredible back catalogue of production and re-present it for new audiences: To have this incredible vault of content that they can go back to and re imagine, retool and recreate for today’s audiences just gives them a depth and breadth of films that
is almost unparalleled.'
The Jungle Book was planned by Walt Disney studios chairman, Alan Horn, as one of a series of remakes of their classic properties: ‘Hollywood makes lots of films for kids, but the Disney reboots may be one of the few safe bets. They revive classic characters for a new generation of kids, and their already smitten parents may be especially willing to shell out for related merchandise.’ With DVD sales declining and digital downloads on the rise, studios can’t just reissue old films in new packaging, says Robert Levin, a former Disney marketing executive: ‘There used to be a re-release of a classic film every seven years..Now re-imagining them is what’s hot.’ 






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