Do you know what it means? I'm not sure what you wanted exactly from a kid portraying Mowgli, but I thought Sethi did an acceptable job. His emotional scene where he leaves Raksha and the wolves and his bonding with Baloo and Bagheera were fine. I much preferred him over the cartoon Mowgli who was mostly an annoying brat with little development.
No, he wasn't even remotely good. Even Brandon Baker did a better job and he still sucked, but at least he wasn't as wooden and annoying as Neel Sethi. His face was so obviously forced when he left Raksha.
While I agree that the cartoon Mowgli was an annoying brat, at least he brought some heart to the audience. Not to mention the fact that his singing voice didn't make people cringe and want to cover their ears like Sethi's singing voice did. And Mowgli in the cartoon was also SUPPOSED to be a brat, which is common for boys at that age. Even Bagheera was so fed up with him at one point that he had to leave him for a time in order to cool off.
If you accepted the cartoon Mowgli being able to figure out how to use fire and wield a burning branch to defeat Shere Khan, then how hard is it to accept him being adept enough to build contraptions to help out his animal friends? Even cavemen figured out how to build weapons and clothing! It's got nothing to do with masters degrees in engineering!
Are you honestly comparing the instinctual ability to grab a branch (something which all primates are able to do) to the ability to create and manipulate tools and contraptions better than the average human without any engineering education or life in civilization? It would have been acceptable if Mowgli had only used basic tools like rocks to break things or that broken skull he used to get water with. But not complex machinery like he did in the movie. So no, the only acceptable things were that Mowgli was walking on two legs (because it's easier for him), the need to wear a loincloth (because nudity would not be acceptable for a family-friendly movie) and to use basic primate traits (like grabbing and manipulating objects he finds).
Yes, the caveman did figure it out. But unlike Mowgli, they lived together with their own kind and were able to teach each other those skills. But a mere child raised by wolves can't do those things. So yes, what Mowgli did was pretty much like having a masters degree in engineering.
The remake was trying a different route than the cartoon. The remake explored the themes of growing up and individuality by showing how Mowgli learned from his experiences with the various animal creatures. He succeeds in unifying the jungle and while he doesn't return to the jungle (which he doesn't feel suited for), he has earned the respect of the creatures and has wisened up by the film's end
Unifying the jungle? The jungle didn't seem to be out of balance and harmony before. The only thing he did was to motivate the animals to fight Shere Khan.
And while I respect the remake for taking some liberties, they should have done a better job executing their ideas due to the rushed storytelling. And Mowgli didn't really learn anything from the other creatures. From the beginning of the movie, he was convinced that the jungle was his home despite not being that faithful to the wolf ways. He hadn't changed at all in the end. In the end of the cartoon, at least he did change as he was able to realize his errors and that the man village might not be so bad after all. Wisened up? If you want a wise Mowgli, look for the Mowgli from the books, the Sabu Dastagir Mowgli and the Soviet Mowgli.
Are you joking? Louis Prima (who voiced King Louie) was a well-known jazz singer and Phil Harris (Baloo) was a popular comedian. Even back then, Disney was casting popular names for their animated features.
No. Phil Harris was a minor celebrity and a local radio host. Louis Prima wasn't well known outside of New Orleans. George Sanders, however, was a critically acclaimed and Academy Award-winning actor and was already known for several successful films.
But I don't have time for further debates. I never expected this to go so far. So if you liked the remake, then good for you.
Good day.
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jmarkoff2
7 years ago
Louis Prima was known for iconic songs like When You're Smiling, Jump Jive Wail, and Sing Sing Sing (although Goodman performed the last).
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