Mowgli: Legend Of The Jungle !!BETTER!!
For the jungle environment, Framestore used an extensive plant library created in house, with the FX team developing the interactive elements needed to bring the plants to life. Along with shot plates, there were several full-CG sets required, with the team building environments that could be used in different ways, re-working sections in the lighting stage to make the most of out of the sets.
Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle
Mowgli begins with the ruthless tiger, Shere Kahn (Benedict Cumberbatch) slaughtering humans in the jungle. As he devours a woman, her infant is left crying in the woods. The panther, Bagheera (Christian Bale), rescues the man cub by taking it to the wolf pack. The child is adopted by Nisha (Naomie Harris), who raises Mowgli as one of her own. The ancient python, Kaa (Cate Blanchett), keeper of the jungle's history, watches the man cub with great interest.
Rohan Chand stars as Mowgli the boy. Long-haired and dirt-covered, Nisha always licks him clean after a day running with the pack. He and the other cubs are under the strict tutelage of the bear, Baloo (Andy Serkis). They must prove their worth as hunters to remain with the pack. The jungle is under threat. Shere Kahn has returned and is killing cattle. The human villagers are encroaching further every day. They hire a hunter (Matthew Rhys) to kill the vicious tiger. Mowgli faces a stark decision. Stay with his adopted family and face death, or join the humans, turning his back on the jungle forever.
Mowgli's opening scene gets you ready for a darker version of The Jungle Book. As Shere Kahn kills and leaves the blood covered baby, Disney's happy-go-lucky "Bare Necessities" vanishes from your brain. This is the merciless jungle. Mowgli, who runs on all fours until Baloo teaches him to climb, struggles daily to survive. He's nicked, bloodied, and bruised constantly. His scrawny body covered in the scars of jungle life. But he is not unhappy. Mowgli's relationships with the pack, Baloo, and Bagheera are fulfilling. He doesn't see himself as a man.
Mowgli's return to the human village is shocking. He is a feral creature, dirty, and terrified. Andy Serkis does a great job portraying the lives of the Indian villagers. Their Hindu culture and customs are omnipresent. The film is not whitewashed. Mowgli's understanding of man grows with wonder and anger. No creature in the jungle kills for sport. He is horrified by the hunter's trophies. Mowgli finally realizes the true danger of man. The script by Callie Kloves is loaded with character growth. Mowgli's search for acceptance is not a black and white choice. He must have a foot in both worlds. The character arc is brilliantly executed.
Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle was a big-budget production from Warner Bros., slated for worldwide theatrical release. The studio sold the film to Netflix, making it the biggest acquisition yet for the streaming service. Netflix will release Mowgli in theaters on November 29th for a limited run, then online globally on December 7th. The visual effects, action scenes, and incredible storytelling warrant a trip to the theaters. See this film in 3D and experience a thrilling jungle adventure.
In the jungle, Kaa, an enormous Indian python seer, watches as Shere Khan, a Bengal tiger with a crippled leg, breaks jungle law by hunting down a family of humans, with only a child escaping. She witnesses Bagheera, a panther drawn to the scene, rescues the man-cub, Mowgli, and takes him to a family of Indian wolves being raised by Nisha and Vihaan, only for Tabaqui, Shere Khan's hyena lieutenant, to find the boy before he is chased off. They take the infant Mowgli before the wolf council and Akela, the leader of the pack, to decide his destiny with Bagheera buying his life with a kill and Baloo, A Brown bear, strong-armed into agreeing. Shere Khan arrives to kill Mowgli, but Akela stops him, saying the boy is now under the protection of the pack and forces Shere Khan to leave. Shere Khan swears he would return.
However, Mowgli's attitude towards Lockwood changes when he sees that Lockwood hunts for sport and has killed Bhoot, an albino wolf cub friend of Mowgli. He also learns that Shere Khan has driven the wolves loyal to Akela to the edge of the jungle after being informed by Gray Brother. Mowgli meets with Baloo, Bagheera, and the wolf pack, declaring that Shere Khan must die. The animals feel obligated to remain out of the conflict as it would break jungle law to fight Shere Khan. Regardless, Mowgli proceeds with his plan and lures Shere Khan to the edge of the village, where with the help of the bull elephants, he mortally wounds the tiger while Tabaqui flees. However, Lockwood accidentally injures Mowgli with a bullet while trying to kill the tiger and shoots Akela when the wolf saves Mowgli from Shere Khan. Lockwood is stopped and wounded by the broken-tusked elephant before he can do more harm and the other animals rally to Mowgli upon seeing his resolve.
Akela gives Mowgli his blessing to lead the jungle's creatures and the wolf pack before he dies peacefully. Mowgli decides to leave the village behind and returns to the jungle, where Kaa watches as he stabs the wounded Shere Khan, finally killing the tiger and ending his reign of terror. Mowgli is re-accepted as a member of the jungle. Kaa goes on to say that with Shere Khan and Lockwood gone, Mowgli gave the jungle a voice. As long as Mowgli lived and watched over it, there was peace in the jungle.
Messua is played by Freida Pinto. Messua is the woman who cleans and clothes Mowgli when he leaves the jungle. Freida Pinto is known for her role as Latika in 'Slumdog Millionaire', Vera in 'The Path', and Caroline in 'Rise of The Planet of the Apes'. [Photo via Netflix/AFP - Getty]
In both films, the infant christened Mowgli (played here with great emotional intensity by Rohan Chand) is adopted by the wolf pack led by Akela (voiced by Peter Mullan) and Nisha, a.k.a. Raksha (Naomie Harris) and trained to live among them as a wolf cub. He is also mentored and tutored in the ways of the jungle by a black panther named Bagheera (Christian Bale) and a bear named Baloo (Serkis). But his integration into the realm of the animals is opposed by the vicious Bengal tiger Shere Khan (Benedict Cumberbatch), resulting in a series of actions that may lead Mowgli back to the human world whether he likes it or not.
The elongated post-production time seems to have paid off: with a handful of exceptions in some early scenes, the CG work here is spectacular. Bagheera, the wolves and Baloo are rendered extremely well, and there are scenes involving all the other animals in the jungle that are quite striking. The mix of location and setbound shooting also works seamlessly, although some scenes come across as almost too dark (the otherwise lovely cinematography is by Michael Seresin, who also shot large numbers of CG animals in Dawn of the Planet of the Apes and War for the Planet of the Apes).
But like many other adaptations, the story follows the orphan Mowgli who is raised by a Wolfpack living in the jungle. As he grows he is taught the rules and hardships of Jungle life by the Black Panther Bagheera and Baloo the Bear. The animals welcome him into the jungle as a member of the animal kingdom except for the fearsome tiger Shere Khan and the hyena Tabaqui. As the dangers of the Jungle threatens the life of Mowgli, to find safety he will have to face his origins as a human and seek shelter with the humans.
When Bagheera a black Panther finds a small baby man cub he takes it to the wolves in hopes that they will take it in and raise it as one of their own in order to protect it from Shere Khan, the menacing tiger that killed the childs parents and disobeys the rules of the jungle by hunting for sport and his own personal pleasure.
Netflix snapped up the rights to Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle, a film that had been in the works for some time, earlier this year, and now it has a release date and a new trailer. In the trailer, you see the familiar Jungle Book story -- a young boy is taken in and raised by jungle animals, but as he grows up, he grapples with the fact that he doesn't really belong with them or with his fellow humans. Of course this version has director (and Baloo voice actor) Andy Serkis' own spin.
Deadline exclusively broke the news that Netflix acquired the worldwide rights to the pic from Warner Bros. in July. The new trailer shows a taste of the adventurous CGI-meets-live-action pic directed by and starring Andy Serkis. Joining him is Rohan Chand as the titular Mowgli, a boy who is torn between two worlds that accepts his destiny and becomes a legend. The story follows Mowgli as he tries to find his place in the world: the wilds of the jungle or the civilized world of man. Now he must navigate the inherent dangers of each on a journey to discover where he truly belongs.
Shere Khan's return to the jungle is signified when he leaves a slaughtered bull just outside the pack's home. In killing humans and their cattle, Shere Khan violates the sacred law of the jungle that no one is to be killed for sport. Bagheera explains to Mowgli that while hunting is essential, the hunter should always respect the soul of its prey and watch them die so that the prey does not die alone. Akeela states that with Shere Khan threatening the pack due to their protection of Mowgli, it is essential that Mowgli pass the rite of passage (which no wolf has ever failed).
Baloo gives additional training to Mowgli, and has Mowgli embrace his human traits (such as Mowgli's ability to swing through trees). While running through the jungle, Mowgli falls into a pit trap set by a hunter. An ancient elephant with a broken tusk helps Mowgli out of the pit. Meanwhile, the villagers living next to the forest hire a hunter named Lockwood (Matthew Rhys) to find and kill Shere Khan who continues to attack them and their crops. Baloo and Bagheera also argue over whether it is right to keep Mowgli in the jungle. Baloo argues the jungle is Mowgli's home, while Bagheera says that the jungle is far too dangerous for Mowgli. Meanwhile, Mowgli observes Tabaqui get burned by fire at the nearby village and realizes all animals fear man's fire. 041b061a72