While big budget films based on original movie premises might be costing Disney an arm and a leg, live action films based on their animated originals might actually reverse that trend for the house of mouse. Alice in Wonderland made a billion bucks for the studio, and following on that success they’ve begun to look at what else they can put the flesh and blood spin on.
Sleeping Beauty is getting that treatment with Maleficent, while Kenneth Branagh is bringing Cinderella to reality as well. And next up, it’s the man cub himself in a live action Jungle Book adaptation.
Based on the 1894 Rudyard Kipling book, Disney made the animated flick all the way back in 1967, telling the tale of how young Mowgli grew up in the jungle, raised by wolves and hunted by the dangerous tiger Shere Kahn. It’s still a classic film, minus the apparently racist segments with the singing orangutans. It’s not the first time that Disney has had a hand in a live-action version though. Back in 1994 Jason Scott Lee starred in Rudyard Kipling’s The Jungle Book, while 1998 saw the release of The Jungle Book: Mowgli’s Story. Hell, even Warner Bros is attempting their own spin on the book.
Thank marketing for such things as public domain property. Right now, it’s still early days for the project and the only named attached to it is Justin “Street Fighter: The legend of Chun-Li” Marks who is penning the screenplay. Oh shoobie doo, I got no faith in this film, doobie doo wah wah…
Last Updated: July 10, 2013
