The Jungle Book

I’m sure you have all heard Disney’s The Jungle Book opened last weekend. It was huge success! #1 at the box office and I can proudly say we were one of those families that took in the wildly popular movie this past weekend. My family LOVES The Jungle Book. We’ve read the book, seen the dvd and been to see it live. Now here was a chance to see a version with a real little boy playing Mowgli. We just had to make time to see it opening weekend! Since it was opening weekend we were also treated to a virtual reality experience before the show. Through Mowgli’s Eyes was an experience.

I had never done a virtual reality experience before so I wasn’t sure what to expect and because of that I went first. I was not sure if this was something Peyton would be able to handle. And it was a good thing I went first. When the headset was on I could not see anything around me, I was immersed in Mowgli’s world. As I walked around it was as if I was walking through the jungle just like Mowgli does. Then Kaa comes slithering through the trees! It is so life like. I felt as if I was alone in the jungle with Kaa. And then…..Kaa pounced! That was it. The experience lasted about 90 seconds and I thought the whole time was phenomenal.  But I knew Peyton would not be able to handle the last 15 seconds. So when it was her turn we just let her do it up till the birds were flying through the jungle. Honestly, that was what she really wanted to see. Peyton was even trying to reach out and touch the birds as they flew right in front of her. It really makes you feel like you are right there, in that moment, in the jungle.

Once we finished up with Through Mowgli’s Eyes we headed off to the theater to find a good seat to take in the show. Of course Peyton picked the very back row. So we hiked up there with our provisions and settled in. Within the first five minutes of the show I was blown away by the realistic appearance of all these animals. I knew they were computer generated images and only Mowgli was real. But you couldn’t tell. It was flawless. When Mowgli is running through the jungle and Bugara is chasing him you would think Mowgli was doing it all with a black panther in pursuit. Neel Sethi did a superb job playing Mowgli and making the audience feel like everything was happening in the wild with real animals.

Throughout the whole movie I was repeatedly impressed with the quality. You would never know these animals were not real, well besides them talking. Each scene was full of intricate details, each animal created to emulate a live animal and Mowgli interacted with each flawlessly. One of the most incredible scenes in The Jungle Book was when Shere Khan and Mowgli battle. Mowgli had heard what Shere Khan had done to the wolf pack and he was going to end it. Once and for all Shere Khan was never going to hurt another animal. The fight was intense! Too intense for Peyton. She thought Mowgli was actually fighting a lion and feared for his life. She ended up crawling in my lap and burrowing her head in my chest until the fight was over.

Disney did a phenomenal job with bringing The Jungle Book to life.  Even though we are huge fans of The Jungle Book we were still sitting on the edge of our seats through the movie. Disney did a wonderful job making us all feel like we were watching Mowgli experience life in the jungle.

The Jungle Book is currently showing at theaters nationwide. Check you local theater listings for times.