One of Disney's Best Films Got a Live-Action Remake 22 Years Before the One You Remember (2024)

Long before Disney's recent trend of adapting its animated films to live-action began in 2015, The Jungle Book was one of the first movies to get the full treatment. Two years later, Disney would release another live-action version of one of its 1960s animated movies: 101 Dalmatians. Still, the company didn't go all out to produce more of the same, save for the follow-up (102 Dalmatians) in 2000. Although Dalmatians hasn't exactly received a repeat treatment (2021's Cruella served as an origin story for the film's villainess), The Jungle Book was given another live-action adaptation in 2016. This time, it was directed by veteran filmmaker Jon Favreau.

Created in part to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Rudyard Kipling's novel, The Jungle Book, the 1994 Disney film was fairly different from its 1967 animated counterpart. However, even with all the changes, it proved to be a moderate success at the box office. And the fact that the story earned itself two different live-action versions from Disney 22 years apart speaks to the enduring ability of Kipling's tale to speak to audiences.

The Mummy Director, Stephen Sommers, Wrote and Directed 1994’s The Jungle Book

Disney's 1994 The Jungle Book remake didn't start as the studio's idea. Indian producer Raju Patel was the first one to come up with the concept of creating a new version to commemorate the centennial of Kipling's 1894 collection of stories. In 1993, then studio chairmen and future DreamWorks co-founder Jeffrey Katzenberg helped to seal the deal and secure the rights for Disney. Touchstone/Walt Disney Pictures president David Hoberman said that the studio did keep in mind whether the live-action and animated versions would conflict -- the animated classic had been re-released in 1990 -- but Hoberman was optimistic. In reality, The Jungle Book was a good choice for an adaptation, especially since it was so recently re-introduced into the cultural zeitgeist.

The movie would feature almost an entirely new storyline, written partially by the film's director, Stephen Sommers. Known later for his work on The Mummy films starring Brenden Fraser, Sommers said he wanted to create something apart from the original animated movie. He also didn't want to repeat the mistakes of 1942 The Jungle Book by trying to craft an entire thorough narrative out of Kipling's short stories. True to form, Sommers crafted what he deemed a "romantic adventure movie." As a result, the movie would get a disclaimer at the beginning that it was only "Based on the characters created by Rudyard Kipling."

The changes Sommers implemented made the film fairly distinct from its earlier and later iterations. Mowgli, played by Jason Scott Lee, who would later appear in Mulan (2020), was aged up from his child status and the animals weren't presented as animated or speaking characters. There's also a romantic interest introduced (Kitty played by Lena Heady) along with her brutish fiancé, Captain Willaim Boone (Cary Elwes). The main conflict of the movie is Shere Khan's displeasure with the humans for poaching animals and breaking "jungle law." This results in a very different ending in which Mowgli stands up to Shere Khan and is ultimately accepted by him as one of the creatures of the jungle.

The movie was a moderate success for Disney, having made back its budget and then some. The critics' consensus on Rotton Tomatoes states that it "may not hew as closely to the book as its title suggests, but it still offers an entertaining live-action take on a story best known in animated form." And while some looked on Sommer's direction as a fresh new take, not everyone agreed. Upon the film's release, critic Roger Ebert stated in his review, "The credits say it is 'based on characters' from the Kipling stories. It would be more honest to say the characters have 'names from the Kipling stories' since that is the only connection." Ebert didn't like the fact that he felt Mowgli's journey felt more like "an 'Indiana Jones' clone, an action thriller." Still, there was a solid creative rationale in Sommer's decision to change so much of the source material.

Disney’s 2016 The Jungle Book More Closely Resembles 1967 Animated Film

• Jim Henson's Creature Shop was brought in to create physical versions of the animals in The Jungle Book for Mowgli's actor, Neel Sethi, to perform against.
• King Louie was changed from an orangutan to a now-extinct species of ape called Gigantopithecus.

Audiences looking for a live-action version of The Jungle Book that looks a lot more like the animated film would appreciate Favreau's 2016 version. Unlike Sommer's, the animals are almost completely CGI, making 2016's take on Kipling's text not entirely live-action. Some of the memorable songs from the animated version are also included. In addition, characters such as Kaa (Scarlett Johansson) were gender swapped to diversify the cast more for modern audiences. Favreau also makes a cameo as the voice of Fred, a pygmy hog and neighbor of Baloo -- a new character created for the film.

Even though Favreau's version bears a closer resemblance to its animated counterpart, other major changes were still made. For example, King Louie (Christopher Walken) was changed from being an orangutan -- a species not native to the jungles of India -- to a now-extinct species of ape called Gigantopithecus. The ending of the film also changed in a big way. Instead of the animals relinquishing their relationship with Mowgli to his fellow humans for his own safety, Mowgli stays in the jungle. Shere Khan also gets a more absolute ending when he falls into a wildfire from a broken tree branch, as opposed to running off with a burning torch tied to his tail.

Even with all the visual effects in The Jungle Book, Favreau wanted to be creative with the rendering of the animal characters. No actual live animals were used in the making of the movie -- a stark contrast to the 1994 version -- ultimately, they were fabricated and then overlayed with CGI. Jim Henson's Creature Shop was hired to create physical figures that actor Neel Sethi (Mowgli) could act against. During the scene in which Mowgli and Baloo float down the river singing "Bare Necessities," Favreau actually got into the water tank with Sethi and sang Baloo's part. Sethi was sitting atop a styrofoam version of Baloo covered in faux fur. The result is a unique combination of old and new Hollywood movie-making techniques.

Jon Favreau’s The Jungle Book Was a Sleeper Hit for Disney

• Screenwriter Justin Marks said he plans to use some of former Disney animator Bill Peet's scrapped ideas from the 1967 The Jungle Book movie for the planned live-action sequel.

Originally set to be released in 2015, The Jungle Book's delay didn't dampen enthusiasm for the film. It had its world premiere at the El Capitan Theatre in Los Angeles, California on April 4, 2016, with Favreau and its main cast in attendance. Producer Bringham Taylor said of the film:

"It felt like it could live like a companion piece, that every parent should show their child the 1967 movie and then you can watch this movie and find them complementary to each other. I felt like we weren’t attempting to replace or erase anything, but to add to the legend of this universal story that every generation should probably have retold for them."

In truth, the newer version does feel like it sends the message of mankind and nature living in harmony as opposed to against each other. Similar to the updated ending of Pinocchio (2022) in which the wooden puppet doesn't turn into a real boy, but accepts himself as he is.

The movie had a financial gross far beyond Disney's expectations. In total, it made $967,724,775 worldwide against a $177 million dollar budget. It went on to become the 6th most profitable movie of 2016 and won an Oscar for Best Visual Effects. The film is even slated for a sequel, which plans to revive some of former Disney animator Bill Peet's scrapped ideas from the 1967 script. Screenwriter Justin Marks has stated:

"If you look back to Bill Peet's work on the original film, some of which was thrown out by Walt Disney, Jon [Favreau] and I really dove deep into the Disney archives to see some of the ideas. We were like, 'Wait, that's a great idea. We really need that in the film.' So we've built it out like that.

The climate for Disney's live-action remakes certainly has changed with some audiences, as the quality of the movies tends to waiver. Still, they've continued to be major box office draws and Disney shows no signs of slowing down. If either the 1994 or 2016 remakes of The Jungle Book can teach viewers anything, it's that Disney has the ability to recreate its own brand of magic time and time again.

The Jungle Book (1967)

The story of a boy adopted by wolves in the forest, following their adventures on the way to the human village, alongside the bear Baloo and the panther Baghera, who are being hunted by the dangerous tiger Shere Khan.

Director

Wolfgang Reitherman

Release Date

October 18, 1967

Cast

Phil Harris , Sebastian Cabot , Louis Prima , George Sanders , Sterling Holloway , J. Pat O'Malley , Bruce Reitherman

Runtime

78 Minutes