7 Years Ago, Netflix Released An Underrated Disney Rival You Probably Missed

Rarely does Disney face a direct challenge, but one Netflix movie boldly took on the House of Mouse in 2018. Disney has been the summit of cinematic animation for decades, but over the past 15 years, Mickey and friends have been busy taking those animated classics and translating them into live-action – the likes of Aladdin, The Lion King, and The Little Mermaid.

The experiment has yielded mixed results in both commercial and critical terms, but especially the latter. Arguably the best live-action Disney remake came in 2016 with Jon Favreau’s The Jungle Book. Featuring a massive ensemble cast, ambitious motion capture, and all the classic songs, The Jungle Book broadly captured the spirit of the original while delivering a tree-topped spectacle worthy of the live-action medium.

Strangely, however, Favreau’s remake wasn’t the only game in the jungle.

Netflix Released Its Own Live-Action Jungle Book Movie 2 Years After Disney

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the idea of using modern motion-capture technology for a realistic retelling of Rudyard Kipling’s The Jungle Book didn’t only pop into Disney’s mind. Warner Bros. had a similar notion, and eventually settled on hiring the mo-cap expertise of The Lord of the Rings and King Kong star Andy Serkis as the film’s director.

Originally billed as an origin story (presumably centered on the animals rather than Mowgli, since it’s difficult to tell an origin story for a child), the project eventually morphed into a more conventional adaptation of Kipling’s book called Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle. In another change, Netflix purchased the movie from Warner Bros. and the release date was changed to 2018, avoiding a direct clash with Disney’s version.

Like Disney’s live-action remake, Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle featured an enviable cast composed of Serkis himself alongside Cate Blanchett, Benedict Cumberbatch, Christian Bale, and Naomie Harris. Unlike Disney’s version, this Mowgli wasn’t pulling any punches.

How Mowgli: Legend Of The Jungle Differed To Disney’s Version

Favreau wasn’t the first director to make a live-action The Jungle Book, but it’s still odd that he and Serkis both released adaptations within the space of two years. Fortunately, the two films could not have been more different.

2016’s The Jungle Book kept to the traditional Disney tone, blending fun and frolics with just the tiniest slither of menace to “give the kids a scare.” Rudyard Kipling’s book was much less chipper, and Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle adopted a tone considerably closer to its source material, with genuine menace, unflinching violence between animals, and a mature commentary on the man vs. nature struggle at the heart of The Jungle Book‘s story.

By moving to Netflix, Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle avoided a direct comparison to Disney in terms of box office – probably a good thing after 2016’s The Jungle Book grossed around $1 billion. On the critical side of the equation, reviews certainly favored Disney’s attempt. On Rotten Tomatoes, The Jungle Book stands at 94% with critics and 86% with audiences, whereas Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle has only 52% and 51%, respectively.

That may seem fairly conclusive, but the divide in quality isn’t as straightforward as those aggregates suggest.

Why Mowgli: Legend Of The Jungle Is Underrated

There’s little doubt that Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle lacks the narrative polish of Disney’s bombastic extravaganza, but that’s almost the point. What it lacks in traditional mainstream storytelling, Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle makes up for with atmosphere and spirit. Young Rohan Chand gives a more vulnerable performance as the titular Mowgli, and that immediately accentuates the dangers and darkness of Serkis’ jungle.

The environment itself becomes a character, both impressive and intimidating, and that vibe is helped along hugely by the soundtrack from Nitin Sawhney. Authentic, lush, primal, powerful – it may not be all-singing and all-dancing, but Sawhney’s musical accompaniment does more than the bare necessities to transport viewers into a world of towering trees and fierce fauna.

2016’s The Jungle Book is certainly the film to choose if you have under-10s in the room, but Jon Favreau’s live-action remake largely played a safe hand, and the soul within it is Disney’s, not Kipling’s. While not every risk pays off, Netflix‘s Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle offers more ambition, and when that vision really gets swinging, the audience gets a Jungle Book experience with far more meaning and punch.

Release Date

December 7, 2018

Writers

Callie Kloves