Ahead of the upcoming release of The Jungle Book (2016), Disney has created and released a series of new character images to show some of the the stars of the film with their CGI movie incarnations. The first of these is above with Idris Elba (Star Trek Beyond) sitting next to the scarred face of Shere Kahn, who he plays in the film. It’s a pretty epic mix of CGI and green room special effects, especially with his hand resting on the front paw of the huge Bengal tiger.
They’ve definitely opted for more oversized versions of the characters, which makes them look and feel much more imposing than they would be if they were life-size. However, the most impressive element is the sheer detail in the CGI rendering, making the animals look as real as possible and leading in to a very cool looking film, which you can also see in the latest trailer below.
The shots have also been treated as high-end studio portraits and look pretty impressive with the same lighting treatment for both the actor and their computer animated alter egos. It’s a shame Bill Murray (The Grand Budapest Hotel) – the voice of Baloo in the film – hasn’t been included in the collection of new images, but the rest of the core animal cast have been given the crossover treatment.
Our favourite of all the new images is Christopher Walken (Eddie The Eagle) sat in front of a very imposing ten-foot-tall King Louie, who has morphed from an orangutan in the 1967 Disney hand-drawn cartoon to the massive Gigantopithecus in the 2016 film.
Lupita Nyong’o has been brilliant in every film she’s been in, whether it’s the sheer trauma of Twelve Years A Slave or the excitement of Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens, so we’re expecting her to be a strong addition to the cast for The Jungle Book (2016). She plays Rakaha, Mowgli’s wolf pack mother and she’s accompanied by Giancarlo Esposito as Akela, the alpha male of the pack.
Scarlett Johannson (Captain America Civil War) looks very stylish lounging on the back of Kaa, the huge and deadly python, marking the first time Kaa has been voiced as being female. In the original books, Kaa is one of Mowgli’s mentors; it was only in the cartoon movie that he became a threat to the little man cub and it looks like the snake will be just as nefarious this time around too.
Last, but by no means least is Ben Kingsley (Night At The Museum: Secret Of The Tomb), looking pretty intense next to the sharp gaze of his character form, Bagheera. He’ll be taking on the more serious portion of Mowgli’s care, tag-teaming with Baloo, who will shoulder the easy-living, bare necessities side of the little guy’s jungle education.
You can see all of the characters in action in the second trailer from the film below, which also gives young Neel Sethi a chance to shine as Mowgli. All of the cast sound great in their roles and while the story is one we all know and love it’s going to be impressive to see it all come together on the big screen.
