Sunday, April 17, 2016

When I FINALLY got to see "The Jungle Book"!

I know it's not like me to go all the way to Blue Bell campus on Friday, you know, one of my days OFF. Still I had some real editing to do with my video project for class, and needed to get there early so I could get a good portion of it done and catch the 1pm shuttle back to Pottstown. From there my plan was to go to the Pottsgrove Carmike Cinemas, straight from West Campus, in time for my mom and I to see the 2:15 showing of The Jungle Book. (convenient too 'cause I was editing my own two-minute adaptation of one of the old Kipling stories)

It's almost one o' clock, I wait and I wait and I wait, and so do the half dozen other students sitting around outside.
For some reason that shuttle didn't arrive at Blue Bell campus till about 1:18, and I was getting antsy and worried about how bad traffic might be. While waiting for it to come I kept running through just about every scenario I could think of; "if we make it late [such-and-such a time] then we can see the 4pm show. If we make it to the theatre before 2:30, the trailers will still be playing..." all that kind of stuff. it was pretty nerve-wracking. I kept praying we'd make it in time so I wouldn't have to miss anything.
Hey, I'd been looking forward to this Jungle Book movie for I-lost-count-of-how-many months, and was NOT planning on skipping it today. If I did then I'd probably have to wait another week.
The shuttle arrived at West Campus at about 2:15, and no sooner did the doors open than I sprinted off the shuttle to the car. I'd already bought candy at the school bookstore, so there didn't have to be any more delays.
We went right in, got our tickets with no line, and got two seats in the Big-D theatre with ten minutes to spare.


THE JUNGLE BOOK
All right, now onto the movie itself; no secret to say I just LOVED it!
So many references to the old animated film through the music (beginning, Kaa's theme, Bare Necessities, some like that), a few character's lines were just like the old film, and still throughout this one I noticed so much stuff from the original book; the song of the wolf pack, the Water Truce, Shere Khan confronting the wolves to get to Mowgli... and a few other things that I probably shouldn't say 'cause that would mean giving away HUGE spoilers for those who haven't see the movie yet or read the book.

- Baloo's hilarious!
"Baloo" Clip - Disney's The Jungle Book
He has the best laid-back attitude "you're doing great!" while Mowgli's getting him honey and getting stung by bees in the process ("You said they didn't sting." -Mowgli)

"King Louie" Clip - Disney's The Jungle Book
- The newer version of "I Wanna Be Like You" was better than I expected it to be, frankly. King Louie as a Gigantopithecus is pretty cool, definitely intimidating when he first introduces himself and when he's chasing Mowgli through the ruined city (aka The Cold Lairs as they're called in the book).
(this soundtrack version plays in the credits but it's not as long in the movie scene) Christopher Walken - I Wanna Be Like You (2016) (From "The Jungle Book"

- Shere Khan the tiger... oh my god!
"Intro to Shere Khan" clip
Let's just say there were several moments throughout the film where my mindset was just "Ok I'm actually getting scared right now..."

- The credits in this movie are fun to watch 'cause it has a big book opening with animals moving around and interacting with it in some comedic ways. Good thing I was curious and felt like sticking around for that.


I definitely recommend The Jungle Book for those who love the old Disney classics as well as the new stuff (and the original text) 'cause it has just the right combination of both. It's very funny, also intense, suspenseful, emotional, enjoyable, and overall a fun movie to see.
Before you start asking the age-old question, YES it WAS worth the wait. And I do plan on seeing it again soon. Very soon.