Mowgli

Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle (Netflix) - 4/5

This is what Disney’s The Jungle Book (2016) should have been: much more thoughtully constructed, more emotive facial animation on the animals, and an all-around more engaging story. The voice acting is so good I couldn’t tell who anyone was (except Cate Blanchett), and was astonished to see the cast list in the end credits. In Disney’s version Mowgli looks like he has never been outisde before and timidly walks around fallen logs. In this version Mowgli is running on all fours and diving off treebranches. This is a microcosm of the difference in quality between these two movies. Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle is a bit darker than its Disney counterpart, and even though it’s still a family-weight film some parts may be frightening to young children.

Closest comparison: It’s a better version of Disney’s The Jungle Book (2016)