Netflix Mini-Review - Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle (12A)

The man-cub is mine. I have already tasted its mother's blood!

The Gist: It's Kipling, folks, but not as Disney-lovers know him. Mowgli steers much closer to Rudyard K's collection of short stories than either Mouse version of The Jungle Book did, with sometimes disturbing consequences. We meet the 'man-cub' as a baby who has lost his parents to the vicious tiger claws of Shere Kahn. Discovered in the heart of the Indian jungle by noteworthily empathetic black panther Bagheera (voiced by Christian Bale), Mowgli is ultimately raised among a family of wolves. Kahn has carnivorous designs on him, however, and many animals - wolf or otherwise - believe that he has no place among them, and that his presence will only serve to draw the deadly human species closer. As a coming-of-age the boy must therefore prove himself as a true member of the pack, or leave his adoptive home forever. 

The Juice: Originally slated as the first release from Andy Serkis' Imaginarium company, Mowgli suffered the misfortune of running up against Disney's life-action Jungle Book remake in 2016. So it was pushed back to 2018 and a Netflix release, along with a limited theatrical one. A significantly darker retelling of the stories, it has no songs and little in the way of comic relief. Mowgli is all about the brutal law of the jungle and the sometimes even more ruthless actions of Man. Serkis is the motion-capture king (see the recent Apes trilogy if you need proof) and under his guidance the human-animal performances are superb; they look more photo-realistic under some light settings than others however. The voice work is also impressive - Benedict Cumberbatch and Cate Blanchett stand out as Kahn and the ancient python Kaa respectively, although Serkis himself is good value as a sergeant-major style Balloo the bear. And the most striking turn is that of young Rohan Chand as Mowgli himself - wide-eyed innocence turning into hard-bitten experience that's at points quite shocking. And that, perhaps, is the problem. While touching at points, this story takes its mission statement of truthfulness to unflinchingly grim places - beyond the comfort-zone of any family audience.

The Judgement: 7/10. Technically solid and full of top-flight performers at their best, this is an interesting and sombre take on the Kipling jungle tales - with interesting subtext on the experience of adoption and living between two cultures. The story's victories are won at a heavy price, however. With all cuteness undercut quite savagely, it's one to be admired (even admired quite deeply) rather than loved.