Review of The Jungle Book

If anything, Jungle Book is one of my least favourite Jetlag animations(which I do enjoy on the whole) along with Alice in Wonderland, disappointing considering how much I love Magic Gift of the Snowman, Heidi and Little Red Riding Hood. However, I don't think Jungle Book is as bad as I heard it was. It does suffer from some major flaws, such as the rather flat animation quality, some draggy pacing, corny dialogue that also focuses on killing(which I think may upset those of a younger audience and voice acting that lacks dynamics and would have been more at home elsewhere. On the other hand, the story is more faithful overall than the Disney film(which was one of my favourites as a child and still is), darker in tone, perhaps not quite as episodic and mostly captivating even with the moments that drag. The characters are a suitably colourful lot, Baloo is not as cool as in the Disney film but quite fun all the same, Mowgli is likable enough and Shere Kahn has a certain demeanour about him. The music score is also quite nice, not Jetlag's most original but appropriately intense and whimsical in spots. But the best asset about Jetlag's Jungle Book is the songs, ranging from catchy(The Wild Life in the Jungle) to touching(Where Do I Belong). Overall, could've been better but not bad considering that I'd heard more often than not that it was an abortion, a cheap knock-off and inappropriate. I can understand the disappointment, but some of the dislike verges on disturbingly vehement for my tastes. 6/10 Bethany Cox