Great news for all of my movie lovers – Disney’s live-action epic adventure “The Jungle Book,” gets released on Blu-ray today! I got my copy of the Blu-ray Combo pack the other day which includes the Digital HD version and Disney Movies Anywhere service which lets you watch movies anywhere (tablet, phone, etc.) with your own digital code.
“The Jungle Book” is a live-action epic adventure based on Rudyard Kipling’s timeless stories, inspired by Disney’s classic 1967 animated film and centered on Mowgli (Neel Sethi), a man-cub who’s been raised by a family of wolves. But Mowgli finds he is no longer welcome in the jungle when fearsome tiger Shere Khan (voice of Idris Elba), who bears the scars of Man, promises to eliminate what he sees as a threat.
The film is incredibly mesmerizing to watch, as you one sole human character amidst an entire set of lifelike animals. The effects were amazing and it’s clear that the entire production team – from the visual effects, to sound and music were all on one accord to bring the film to life.
While the movie is designed for movie goes of all, there are some pretty suspenseful scenes that may be a little scary for younger audiences. With that said, it’s a great choice for a family movie night or even an in-home date night with your significant other.
The all-star cast includes Bill Murray (“Lost in Translation”) as the voice of Baloo, Sir Ben Kingsley (“Learning to Drive,” “The Walk”) as Bagheera and Lupita Nyong’o (“12 Years a Slave,” “Star Wars: The Force Awakens”) as the voice of mother wolf Raksha. Scarlett Johansson (“Avengers: Age of Ultron”) gives life to Kaa, Giancarlo Esposito (“Breaking Bad”) provides the voice of alpha-male wolf Akela, Idris Elba (“Beast of No Nation”) roars as the voice of Shere Khan, and Christopher Walken (“The Deer Hunter”) lends his iconic voice to King Louie.
Last week, I shared some of the incredible behind the scenes things that went into the making of The Jungle Book. Jungle Book Producer, Brigham Taylor and Visual Effect Supervisor Rob Legato gave us us an exclusive look into how they were able to put together those incredible effects we get to see on screen as the final product. The Blu-ray Combo pack further allows viewers to venture behind the scenes with in-depth bonus features that reveal the innovative filmmaking technology used to create the richly immersive jungle world and characters.
Some of the bonus highlights you’ll find include:
• “The Jungle Book” Reimagined – Director Jon Favreau sits down with producer Brigham Taylor and visual effects supervisor Robert Legato to discuss “The Jungle Book” and reflect on the years they devoted to the reimagining of this timeless tale. Discover how Rudyard Kipling’s original stories and the classic animated film influenced their unique approach, witness the technical wizardry that enabled the team to create a believable and thrilling movie-going experience, and learn how they borrowed a page from Walt Disney’s innovation playbook to make it all happen. Lastly, meet the all-star voice cast who help bring the film’s colorful characters to life, as well as the musicians who accent the adventure with a majestic music score.
• King Louie’s Temple: Layer by Layer – So, exactly how do you create a musical number featuring one man-cub, a massive, legendary ape and an army of wild and wily monkeys in the Seeonee jungle? Get rare and unique access to the development of the “I Wan’na Be Like You” sequence in which King Louie attempts to coerce Mowgli into giving up Man’s deadly “red flower” (fire). A fast-moving musical progression reel showcases storyboards, animatics, Christopher Walken’s recording session and visual effects layers, which ultimately merge to form one of the film’s most memorable scenes.
• Audio Commentary – Favreau delivers his scene-by-scene perspective on the live-action adventure “The Jungle Book” with all the candor and humor you’d expect from this multi-talented actor-writer-director-producer.
• I Am Mowgli – Follow the extraordinary journey of 12-year-old Neel Sethi, who was selected from thousands of hopefuls worldwide to play Mowgli “alongside” some of today’s biggest movie stars. Get a glimpse of Neel’s life before Hollywood came calling, check out his audition that sealed the deal, and see how a close-working relationship with Favreau brought out his best. Plus, Neel shares how filming “The Jungle Book” was one wild ride, from working alongside imaginary animals to performing some super-fun stunts.
Follow The Jungle Book on Social Media:
Website: http://www.Movies.Disney.com/the-jungle-book-2016
Twitter: http://www.Twitter.com/TheJungleBook
Instagram: http://www.Instagram.com/disneythejunglebook
Facebook: http://www.Facebook.com/DisneyJungleBook
About Disney Movies Anywhere (DMA)
Disney Movies Anywhere (DMA) is an engaging and family-friendly cloud-based digital movie service that makes it simple to buy your favorite Disney, Pixar, Marvel and Star Wars movies once and watch them anywhere. With DMA you can explore Disney’s library of over 450 eligible digital movies, discover hours of new and exclusive short-form content, and watch your digital movies from the comfort of the living room or across multiple mobile devices. You can add the free DMA app to a multitude of devices including iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch, Android mobile phones and tablets, Android TV, Amazon’s Fire tablets, Fire TV and Fire TV Stick, Roku, and Xbox 360. Then, connect your DMA account with participating providers including iTunes, Amazon Video, VUDU, Google Play, and Microsoft Movies & TV and your eligible movies will be shared across all your connected platforms. In addition, you can redeem Digital Copy codes found in Disney, Pixar and Marvel Blu-rays and DVDs, as well as earn Disney Movie Rewards points with every digital purchase.
[…] us yet another song we can’t get out of our heads. If you’ve gotten your copy of The Jungle Book on Blu-ray and Digital HD, you can see for yourself. There’s a scene with Mowgli and Baloo where we get to hear […]