Film Review: Disney’s The Jungle Book

Left in the jungle as a baby, raised by wolves, befriended by a panther and a bear, Mowgli’s life is now threatened by the return of Shere Khan, the tiger, and king of the jungle. Don’t worry; this movie has very little violence for it is a classic story based on Rudyard Kipling’s story about a boy who is raised by wolves. Rating: 8/10.

Mowgli's animal family refers to him as the “man cub” and he is happy living in the jungles of India, but once the tiger Shere Khan finds out he is there, he will no longer be safe. Bagheera, the wise old panther, decides to take Mowgli to the nearest man village, even though the boy doesn’t want to leave. Throughout their journey, they encounter Kaa, a hypnotic snake, and an army of elephants, and Baloo the bear, who is widely popular for his “Bare Necessities” song. Mowgli is tempted by Baloo’s lovable, laid-back way of life, but when Mowgli decides he likes being a bear and the two ditch Bagheera, the pair run into trouble.

Some crazy orangutans kidnap Mowgli and take him to their king, Louis Prima, who then tempts him with an offer he can’t refuse. Shere Khan finds out there is a “man cub” in his jungle and is hot on his trail. Somehow, Baloo and Bagheera find a way to team up to protect the boy.

Once the unlikely duo rescue Mowgli from the orangutans, Baloo angers him by mentioning they must take him to a man village and he runs off. He eventually encounters the barbershop singer group made up of vultures and they cheer him up. Danger strikes when Shere Khan appears and attempts to capture Mowgli. Baloo comes to his rescue by distracting the tiger so he can get away, but the tiger attacks Baloo and knocks him unconscious. Bagheera then ties a branch engulfed with fire to the tigers tail and he runs off.

Once Shere Khan is defeated in the film and Baloo recovers, the trio treks on and only by chance does Mowgli leave the jungle. At the bittersweet ending, Mowgli is lured by his human instincts when he sees a girl for the first time and follows her into the village.

The Jungle Book is filled with songs you can’t help but sing along to and with jungle animals you can’t help but fall in love with, even Shere Khan’s voice is charming. Enjoyed by children and adults alike, this charming film is Disney’s 17th animated feature and the last film Walt supervised before his death.

I enjoy this movie every time I watch it, especially now because it reminds me how much I loved it when I was a kid. Every character is appealing to viewers in some way because they are all so diverse and in it’s own way, the film does teach children even though it wasn’t necessarily created for educational purposes. Children can learn that even if someone may look or act differently from them, they can still get along. By the end of the movie, Bagheera manages to loosen up enough to give in to Baloo’s care-free way of life. They can also learn about teamwork through Baloo and Bagheera and that it’s not okay to kill someone even if you don’t like them.

I would certainly recommend this film to children, parents and even teachers. Teachers may find the new edition very useful for educational purposes because it is interactive. Parents and children may also find the interactive aspect a plus because kids can then interact with their favorite characters through games. The 40th Anniversary Platinum Edition just came out this fall, with many special features such as music videos, deleted scenes and songs, long lost characters, backstage features, games, and more.

Film Review: Save the Last Dance

Having watched this film for what seems like a million times, it has become one of my favorite films, yet at the same there is so much to pick apart about it. Save the Last Dance involves a plot centered on a white girl, Sara (Julia Stiles), who moves to a predominantly black neighborhood in Chicago’s South Side to live with her estranged father after her mother suddenly dies. She comes from a small white suburban town, barely accustomed to the lingo and culture of her new city home.

Sara feels out of place until she is befriended by a black classmate, Chenille (Kerry Washington) and her handsome brother Derek (Sean Patrick Thomas). The friendships blossom and sparks fly between Sara and Derek as they learn they have a shared interest in dance, leading them to a romantic relationship that creates opposition from family and friends. Having an interracial relationship, Derek and Sara must confront one of the biggest challenges of their young lives—to stay true to their dreams…and to themselves.

Throughout the film, the couple continuously runs into barriers trying to prevent them from having the kind of relationship that means something to them. Her father thinks Derek is responsible for Sara for getting into a fight at school with Nikki, Derek’s old flame. Nikki and Malakai, Derek’s best friend, conspire to pit Derek and Sara against each other and break up. Through every angle, every aspect of the relationship, the couple realizes they must make difficult decisions in order for their romance to survive.

Throughout the film though, the actors appear to be more like best friends than boyfriend and girlfriend. Only through a couple scenes do they show true compassion and emotion for each other.

Sara’s relationship with her father improves when he reveals her refurnished bedroom to her. It finally comes to light that she doesn’t hate him, she misses her mother. Strong emotions fly, beginning a new relationship between father and daughter. This seems to be the only realistic relationship portrayed throughout the entire film, or maybe the only one I can relate to on some level.

The acting wasn’t all that great—revealing what they were actually doing—acting, not making the story seem realistic like it should have been portrayed.

There was a great idea for a story line, yet the actors failed to make it seem realistic, unless it was the intention of the director to make the film formalistic, which was a bad choice because the story is far from being formalistic. Stories like these do happen and they need to be portrayed as realistically as possible.

One thing that was done well had to do with editing and it happened twice during the film, once in the introductory scenes and once toward the end. In the beginning of the film, Sara is shown riding on a train, destination unknown to the audience at the time. She is staring out the window and flashbacks are revealed to explain why she is on the train—the flashbacks are of her pressuring her mother to come watch her audition at Julliard. Even though her mother was busy she still rushed to see her daughter audition, but on the way there she is involved in an accident, changing lives forever. Editing was done well with cutting from the mother rushing to Sara dancing and cutting from the accident happening to Sara falling.

The same sort of editing was used later in the film as well in correspondence with Sara’s dancing. She worked hard enough and gained enough self-confidence to audition again at Julliard even though her mother wouldn’t be there. Shots were cut between her dancing and situations taking place in the city—revealing decisions made based on experiences throughout the movie.

The storyline and editing are what made the movie, not the acting. The shots told the story.

Film Review: Take the Lead

I have always enjoyed watching films that involve a plot that centers around dancing so I had a preconceived idea of what to expect of Take the Lead—I expected it to be well done, keeping me yearning for more. Yet there was something missing that left me with an empty feeling. The movie was good, but far from what I expected it to be. I hadn’t realized that Take the Lead was based on a true story of a dance teacher named Pierre Dulain.

The film describes the struggle Dulain endures to give a group of problem kids a second chance by searching for their dance skills. One night Dulain is shocked to see one of the students, Rock, destroy his principal’s car. The following day, Dulain goes to the school to ask for a job as a dance teacher. She has little faith in him and his idea to reform detention kids through ballroom dancing, yet she lets him oversee the detention anyway. The kids don’t see his objective as a great idea. They don’t see how ballroom dancing could help city kids like themselves who are much more interested in dancing to hip-hop and rap. Despite criticism from his formal dance academy, parents, teachers and students alike, Dulain is determined to make a difference. He catches their attention through a tango session with one of his students from his formal dance academy.

Throughout his efforts, he eventually finds out that the kids just need guidance in the right direction; they need inspiration and leadership. Once the students overcome their skepticism, they compete in a dance contest and along with Mr. Dulain, they realize that the important thing isn’t winning, but making a difference. A lesson they learn is to take the lead and never follow.
My attention was grasped at the beginning of the film when the director chose to cut between different shots of the characters who would be involved with the story of Take the Lead. Each shot tells a little bit of the history of each character, leading the viewer to believe that the story begins with the competition. Cut to a hip-hop dance party and the viewer realizes that the story is just beginning, affectively sucking them into finding out what happens next and what those beginning scenes were all about in relation to the rest of the movie.

Throughout the film, the focus is on Mr. Dulain struggles to prove to all his critics that what he is doing has a purpose and will work in the end. There is a constant battle between Dulain and the students and once the students begin to accept his offer to learn ballroom dancing, he teaches them ballroom dancing. In the end he teaches them more than just how to dance, he teaches them self-respect and that they can do whatever they put their minds to and most of all, that they can make a difference. Watching him teach them of all this, I was hoping that he would get more involved and actually dance. It is disappointing that Pierre Dulain (Antonio Banderas) didn’t dance so much in this film, though it is interesting to see the way he was portrayed as a teacher.

The different shots revealed him as the watchful coach with a critical yet firm eye. He was influential and creative, perceptive and resourceful. He watched from the sidelines, stepping in only when he was needed. Dulain connected with his students on a level that touched their lives forever, giving them a perspective on a life they never dreamed possible. The director did an excellent job portraying Pierre Dulain as a determined and successful person who started out with a dream and succeeded with determination, knowledge, and the skill to Take The Lead.