Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle

In the jungle, Kaa, a gigantic Indian python seer, watches as Shere Khan, a violent crippled Bengal tiger, breaks jungle-law by hunting down and killing a family of humans for sport, with only a surviving child escaping. Bagheera, a panther drawn to the scene, finds and rescues the man-cub known as Mowgli, and takes him to a family of Indian wolves, where he is adopted by Nisha and Vihaan. However, Tabaqui, Shere Khan's hyena lackey, finds the boy before he is chased off.

They take the infant Mowgli before the wolf council and Akela, the chief and leader of the pack, to decide his destiny with Bagheera buying his life with a kill and a Himalayan brown bear named Baloo strong-armed into agreeing. Shere Khan arrives to kill Mowgli, but Akela stops him, saying the boy is now safe while he is under the protection of the pack and allows Shere Khan to leave. Before leaving, Shere Khan gives Akela a warning that when he misses his prey, he will return to find and kill Mowgli.

For many years after, Mowgli lives as a new member amongst the wolf pack. One day, as Mowgli goes swimming alone, he suddenly encounters Shere Khan. He manages to escape the tiger, but then falls into a pit. He is saved by Hathi, an Indian elephant with moss growing on his skin and missing half a tusk. Bagheera eventually finds Mowgli and takes him home. Although Bagheera reveals to Mowgli that he is a human and he will be safe if he goes to the Man-Village, Mowgli declares that he wishes to stay as a wolf. He further declares that he will only go if he fails the pack's trial, which would determine if he can become a full member of the pack.

During the trial, Bagheera, acting as a predator to chase the young wolves and test their strength, continually chases Mowgli and causes him to fail when he would have come in first. As Baloo scolds Bagheera for being too aggressive, Mowgli is kidnapped by the Bandar-log, a tribe of violent and mischievous monkeys, on Tabaqui's orders for Shere Khan. Shere Khan, upon recognizing Mowgli, attempts to kill him while he is unconscious, but is confronted by Baloo and Bagheera. During their battle with Shere Khan's monkey henchmen, they are overwhelmed, only for Kaa herself to appear and save Mowgli's life.

Mowgli learns that Kaa has been watching him the whole time and that she believes that he has the power to restore harmony to the jungle by ending the wrath of mankind which Shere Khan has brought upon the jungle by killing man's cattle. She then directs him to face Shere Khan, who is again challenging Akela for Mowgli when he finally missed his prey. Mowgli stops the tiger and Akela's challengers with fire stolen from the Man-Village, but shames himself in Akela's eyes and is forced to leave the pack.

At the Man-Village, Mowgli is captured by the villagers until a British colonial hunter named John Lockwood knocks him out. Bagheera later visits Mowgli and sadly tells him to stay, encouraging the boy to gain their trust, as Bagheera once did to escape captivity when he was young. Mowgli slowly comes to enjoy human and village life, being raised by the kindly Messua and learning hunting skills from Lockwood.

However, Mowgli's attitude towards Lockwood changes when he sees that Lockwood hunts animals for sport and has killed and decapitated Bhoot, an albinoid 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 his adoptive older wolf brother Gray Brother. Mowgli was able to steal the shot-off tusk from Lockwood and returns it to Hathi, who agrees to help him kill Shere Khan in exchange for revenge against Lockwood. Mowgli then meets with Baloo, Bagheera, and the wolf pack for his help, declaring that Shere Khan must die tomorrow. The animals however refuse as they 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 on the next day, he lures Shere Khan to the edge of the village by calling out to him for a battle. With the help of Hathi and his elephant herd, Mowgli fights the tiger and severely wounds him while Tabaqui cowardly retreats. However, Lockwood accidentally injures Mowgli with a bullet while he is trying to kill Shere Khan and shoots Akela when he sacrifices his own life to save Mowgli from the tiger. Lockwood is then killed by Hathi before he can do any more harm while the other animals come to Mowgli's aid upon seeing his resolve. As he dies peacefully, Akela gives Mowgli his blessing to lead the jungle's creatures and the wolf-pack. Mowgli decides to leave the village behind and returns to the jungle where he slays the mortally wounded Shere Khan, ending his reign of terror and avenging Mowgli's parents. Mowgli is then re-accepted as a member of the jungle.

Kaa goes on to say that with Shere Khan and Lockwood both gone for good, Mowgli gave the jungle a voice. As long as Mowgli lived and watched over it, the jungle is finally able to have peace at last.

• Rohan Chand as Mowgli, a feral boy who is raised by wolves.
• Matthew Rhys as John Lockwood, a colonial hunter who hunts for trophies and comes to hunt Shere Khan.
• Freida Pinto as Messua, a woman who takes in Mowgli.

A number of writers, directors, and producers were connected with the film during its development. In April 2012, Warner Bros. Pictures announced that it was developing the film with Steve Kloves in talks to write, direct, and produce it.[3] It was reported in December 2013 that Kloves would produce the film, and Alejandro González Iñárritu was in talks to direct, from a screenplay by Kloves' daughter Callie.[4] However, in January 2014, Iñárritu left the project due to scheduling conflicts with Birdman and The Revenant.[5][6] In February 2014, it was reported that Ron Howard was in talks to direct, and would produce the film with Brian Grazer through their Imagine Entertainment company.[6] The next month it was announced that Andy Serkis would direct and produce the film with collaborator Jonathan Cavendish of The Imaginarium, and Serkis would also perform the role of Baloo.[7] Production designer Gary Freeman, editor Mark Sanger, and costume designer Alexandra Byrne were hired.[8]

In August 2014, Benedict Cumberbatch joined the film to voice the villain role of Shere Khan.[9] Christian Bale, Cate Blanchett, Naomie Harris, Tom Hollander, Eddie Marsan, Peter Mullan, and Rohan Chand were announced the following day.[10] Jack Reynor was added to the cast in March 2015 as Mowgli's Brother Wolf.[8] It was announced in April 2015 that Matthew Rhys was in talks to play the human role of John Lockwood.[11] In May 2015, it was reported that Freida Pinto would be playing an unspecified live-action role along with Rhys and Chand,[12] later confirmed to be Mowgli's adoptive mother.[13]

Principal photography began on 9 March 2015.[8] It was filmed in South Africa and at Warner Bros. Studios, Leavesden in England.[14]

The film, originally titled Jungle Book: Origins, was initially set for an October 2016 release by Warner Bros.[1] In December 2014, Warner Bros. shifted the date to October 2017, allowing more time for further work on the visual effects.[15] In April 2016, just before the wide release of Disney's The Jungle Book, the film's release date was moved to 19 October 2018.[16] In October 2017, Andy Serkis revealed the working title of the film to be Mowgli: Tales from the Jungle Book.[17] In December, the official title was changed to Mowgli.[18] Serkis stated that the film would be "darker" and more "serious" in tone than previous Jungle Book adaptations, thus closer to that of Kipling's original works.[19] In March 2018, Serkis said first footage would be released "very soon."[20] The first trailer and a behind-the-scenes featurette premiered on 21 May 2018.[21][22]

In July 2018, it was announced that Netflix had purchased the worldwide distribution rights of the film from Warner Bros., and would set a 2019 release date, including a theatrical 3D release.[23] At the time of the announcement, Deadline Hollywood described the film as "over-baked and over-budget" and said it allowed Warner Bros. to avoid "Pan-like box office bomb headlines" and saved them millions of dollars for not needing to promote the film.[24] Speaking of the move, Serkis stated:

"I'm really excited about Netflix for Mowgli. Now, we avoid comparisons to the other movie and it's a relief not to have the pressure. I've seen the 3D version, and it's exceptional, a different view from the 2D version, really lush and with great depth, and there will be some kind of theatrical component for that. What excites me most is the forward thinking at Netflix in how to present this, and the message of the movie. They understand this is a darker telling that doesn't fit it into a four quadrant slot. It's really not meant for young kids, though I think it's possible that 10 or above can watch it. It was always meant to be PG-13, and this allows us to go deeper, with darker themes, to be scary and frightening in moments. The violence between animals is not gratuitous, but it's definitely there. This way of going allows us to get the film out without compromise."[23]

On 7 November 2018, Netflix released a new trailer for the film, announcing a new title change, Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle, as well as its limited theatrical release on 29 November 2018, and its subsequent streaming release on 7 December 2018.[25] The film had its world premiere in Mumbai on 25 November 2018, the first time a Hollywood film premiered in India.[26]

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 52% based on 93 reviews, with an average rating of 5.5/10. The website's critical consenses reads, "Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle brings impressive special effects to bear on the darker side of its classic source material, but loses track of the story's heart along the way."[27] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 51 out of 100, based on 22 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[28]

Kate Erbland of IndieWire gave the film a "C+" and wrote: "Too dark for kids, too tame for adults. Stunning effects, occasionally wretched motion-capture. The technology may be there, but that doesn't mean it's been utilized to its full, feeling powers. It's a coming-of-age story unable to push forward in all the ways that really matter."[29] Similarly, The Atlantic's reviewer David Sims claimed the film suffers from weak visual effects and bland story.[30]

Matt Zoller Seitz of RogerEbert.com awarded Mowgli two stars, criticizing the film's motion capture effects and comparing the film unfavorably to Favreau's The Jungle Book.[31] Olly Richards of Empire gave the film 2/5 stars, writing that "for all his ambition, Serkis can't find the right tone for Mowgli and it becomes a very confused beast, neither fun enough for all ages to enjoy nor complex enough to be the visceral, grown-up thriller he nudges at."[32] The Observer's reviewer Wendy Ide awarded the film 3/5 stars, praising the film's visual and technical effects but opining that there was too much trauma and animal violence to attract family audiences.[33]

David Fear of Rolling Stone gave the film 3/5 stars, describing Mowgli as "a harsher, darker, more CGI-heavy look at 'The Jungle Book'." While criticizing the film's CGI effects, Fear praised Christian Bale, Andy Serkis, Benedict Cumberbatch, and Cate Blanchett for their voicework as Bagheera, Baloo, Shere Khan, and Kaa.[34] Michael Sullivan of The Washington Post awarded the film 4/5 stars, praising Andy Serkis for combining motion capture animation with live action footage while cautioning parents not to watch it with their kids due to its adult themes and violence.[35] Additionally, Robert Abele of the Los Angeles Times praised Mowgli for incorporating the darker and more mature elements of Kipling's The Jungle Book; also favorably comparing the film to Disney's two family friendly Jungle Book iterations and describing Mowgli as "the movie equivalent of a whiskey chaser after a sugary shake."[36]

Rohan Naahar of the Hindustan Times awarded Mowgli 4/5 stars, praising Serkis for delivering "a nuanced, visually dazzling update of the Jungle Book for Netflix." While praising the film for its technical effects and mature themes, Naahar expressed disappointment with the under-representation of Indians in the main cast apart from Freida Pinto.[37] Collider's Matt Goldberg described the film as a "blood-soak version of the Jungle Book." Goldberg criticized the film's level of violence and unsatisfactory CGI effects, giving the film a D rating.[38]

• Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle on Netflix
• Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle on IMDb
• Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle at Box Office Mojo