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Dumbo – Celebrating Our Flaws

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Dumbo is the latest Disney animated classic to be remade as a live action film. The original, a 64-minute feature film from 1941, can be visually identified by most people, but I wonder how many have actually seen it in its brief entirety. Now the story comes back to life in an expanded adaptation under the direction of Tim Burton—a master in telling stories about outsiders. And outsiders abound in this new version.

Like the original, the plot revolves around a baby elephant with amazingly large ears that enable it to fly with the help of a feather. And as in the original, the baby’s mother is locked away as a “mad elephant” after protecting her child, leaving the baby alone in the world. Unlike the original, there are no talking animals in this retelling. No crows (which in the original were something of a black-face minstrel show) or Timothy Q. Mouse, Dumbo’s mentor.

Instead, the remake builds a human story around Dumbo. The story is set in 1919, right after the end of World War I. A run-down circus, presided over by Max Medici (Danny DeVito) is setting off on a new season. Two children, Milly and Joe Farrier (Nico Parker and Finley Hobbins) have lost their mother to the flu. When their father Holt (Collin Farrell) returns from the war, he has lost an arm. He can no longer do the riding and roping that was his act. He is relegated to caring for the animals, which brings him into contact with Dumbo. (Actually, the animal’s name is Jumbo Jr., but because of his freakish ears, people yell Dumbo instead of Jumbo.) When another trainer is cruel to Mrs. Jumbo, Dumbo’s mother, she attacks him and ends up (as in the original) locked away. Meanwhile, Milly and Joe take care of the baby and discover that his ears give him the ability to fly.

Already we can see that the film is about families struggling with brokenness. Mrs. Jumbo and Dumbo are separated. (The film includes its version of the sorrowful nighttime visit of Dumbo to his mother with the song “Baby Mine” from the original.) The Farrier family is without a mother, and Holt is without an arm. And the circus as a whole serves as a family, but one going through very hard economic times. Each version of family is in need of healing, acceptance, and a future.

When word of a flying elephant gets out, it attracts the attention of V.A. Vandevere (Michael Keaton) a slick promoter with arm decoration Collette Marchant (Eva Green) who swoops in to buy up the circus. He offers Max the vision of the big time, and the chance to take care of all his people—his family. He plans to bring Dumbo and the others to his new extravaganza park, Dreamland, where he will use the act to leverage new loans from banker J. Griffin Remington (Alan Arkin).

I found the vision of Dreamland interestingly similar to Disneyland, which seems like a small nip at the hand that feeds, given that Dreamland turns into a nightmare for everyone we care about in the film.

Getting back to the common Tim Burton theme of outsiders, each of the main characters fits such a category. Dumbo with his grotesque ears, Holt as a rider/roper with only one arm, Milly, a girl who wants to be a scientist, Joe, who loves the circus but is talentless, the whole range of strange circus performers, and Collette, a talented aerialist, who Vandevere treats as a toy. By making the physical or emotional flaws of each character so obvious, it ironically allows us to get beyond the surface to emotionally bond with each as they struggle for acceptance and search for happiness. That is one of the gifts that Burton brings to many of his films. He reminds us that humanity is not about perfection, but about the way all those flaws are what make us human.

I’ve been critical of Disney’s remaking animated classics as live action films. As with any endeavor, some will be better than others. My first reaction to the news that Dumbo was being remade was negative. After all, those animated classics were beloved because they told human stories in ways that touched us. However, Burton, screenwriter Ehren Kruger, and everyone else involved created a new depth to the story and all its emotional touch points. It becomes more than a story of separation and reunion. It is a story about the healing and enabling power of family. It is not about overcoming our flaws, but about making those flaws work for us and allowing us to soar.

Photos courtesy of Walt Disney Studios

Dumbo Filmmakers Meet the Press

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The filmmakers and actors from Disney’s upcoming live action Dumbo recently met with the press in a press conference format. This report is some gleanings from the two press conferences. The first included Grae Drake (Moderator), Derek Frey (Producer). Katterli Frauenfelder (Producer), Rick Heinrichs (Production Designer), Colleen Atwood (Costume Designer), Danny Elfman (Music by), Ehren Kruger (Screenplay & Producer), Justin Springer (Producer). The second session included Grae Drake (Moderator), Tim Burton (Director & Executive Producer), Colin Farrell (Holt Farrier), Nico Parker (Milly Farrier), Finley Hobbins (Joe Farrier), Eva Green (Colette Marchant), Danny DeVito (Max Medici), Michael Keaton (V. A. Vandevere).

Among the questions dealt with in a variety of ways: why do a retelling of the classic Disney animated film now?

DEREK FREY: In terms of the time, so much time has gone by since the original. And it’s a simple story. It’s a beautiful story. And I think a lot of the themes in the story that Ehren created, they’re universal things. It’s about family. It’s about believing in yourself. It’s about overcoming judgment and people looking at you in a certain way. Dumbo is kind of a bullied character. I know that’s something that we’re dealing with socially right now.

TIM BURTON: I just liked, it was just the idea of it. The idea of a flying elephant and the character that doesn’t quite fit into the world and how somebody with a disadvantage makes it an advantage. So it just felt very close to the way I felt about things. It was just a very pure simple image. Like all the old Disney fables had that kind of simple symbolism for real emotions.

In a somewhat related question, the second panel was asked similarities between Dumbo and his mother and the situation of children separated from parents at the border with Mexico.

TIM BURTON:  I think any family situation, but every family is different. I’m different. For me, I wish I had been separated from my parents. But that’s a different story. [Laughter]. But you know, most people would go yeah. You don’t want to separate anybody from your parents. Except me. But that’s fine. So I don’t think about. I think about things more in a spiritual simple way. There is news. I listen to the news and everything. But I always take things from a more like, I try to anyway, a human point of view that way. And because it’s like a fable. And all great fables tap into things that are true about today in human nature and other things. But it’s not literal. And all these people, it’s a period movie, it’s a fable. It touches on all of these things. But we try not to make it like ripped from today’s headlines, you know.

DANNY DEVITO:  The movie was made in 1941. And in 1941, if you remember the movie, 63 minute Disney movie masterpiece from that era, the baby was separated from his mom. So I don’t think it has anything to do with this unfortunate, horrifying thing that’s going on in our current news.

MICHAEL KEATON:  Two separate things. But I’m just going to say this. Thanks for bringing it up. Keep it in the consciousness. Because it’s criminal, it’s cruel, and I don’t think it borders on child abuse. I think it does. It is. [Applause].

BEVERLY HILLS, CA – MARCH 10: (L-R) Director/executive producer Tim Burton, actors Colin Farrell, Nico Parker, Finley Hobbins, Eva Green, Danny DeVito and Michael Keaton speak onstage during the “Dumbo” Global Press Conference at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on March 10, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for Disney)

There were also some questions about the changes made to the story, what was kept, and what was added.

EHREN KRUGER:  Yeah. I wanted to be a part of this movie for I think the same reasons that I hope an audience wants to see the movie that for me is a very personal experience of wish fulfillment. Dumbo is not just a Disney character. He’s a mythological character. And I wish he were real. I wish I could have been in the audience of that circus in the golden age of the circus and observe his story. And then to take the next step, not just observe his story, but imagine what it’s like to be Dumbo. And that leads you to a place where you say what would Dumbo want and is the end of the 1941 film truly a satisfying end for Dumbo of that story? And so that just organically led to expanding the story past where the animated film ends.

We made the decision that we wanted to transport an audience to a circus world, to Dumbo’s circus world. And they go and enter the circus. And that meant that it needed to feel real. So early on, we made a decision to not feature talking animals. And that the most important characters in the animated film, Dumbo, doesn’t speak. Mrs. Jumbo I think has one or two lines and that’s it. So that felt organic to the story to let Dumbo be a classic Charlie Chaplin Buster Keaton-esque expressive silent film performer. And make the circus around him feel real. So there are moments when we thought well, wouldn’t it be nice to have Timothy Q Mouse talk? He’s so cute. And we just don’t want to break the spell of where we were asking the audience to go to time travel with us to.

TIM BURTON:  I just like the fact that it’s obviously a very simple fable, very simple story. And it’s heart, about family. And what I liked about it was the human parallel story. This character Holy who comes back from a war. He doesn’t have an arm. He doesn’t have a wife. He doesn’t have a job. Doesn’t have a you know. He’s trying to find his place in the world. And all of the characters actually are in that way. Nico’s character. They wanted to be something. She wants to be something else. Every character in it. Eva is not… everybody is trying to find their place in the world. Like Dumbo. And using disadvantage to advantage. So lots of nice themes. But in a very simple framework.

There was also discussion of incorporating various images and ideas from the original film.

EHREN KRUGER:  Yeah. I just thought about things that I associated so strongly with the story. Pink Elephants, Casey Jr., Firefighting Clowns. And these were all things without going back and watching the 1941 film.

DANNY ELFMAN:  We all have firefighting clowns in our past somewhere. If we look at our own lives. I find.

EHREN KRUGER:  In your band. Yes. Yes. You had firefighting clowns. Just the things that I remember. It’s kind of like Danny talks about. Zeitgeist memories or things in the back of your head. I remember that moment. I remember that image. And of course, in writing the film, I went back and revisited the animated movie a number of times. But I really tried to get to that place of what are the core things that I associate with this? What are the simple things I associate with this story? And those have to be there?

JUSTIN SPRINGER:  Yeah. I think that kind of covers it. It’s not as if you sit down and make a list of all the things that we feel like we’re beholden to include. It’s really just you start from your own fandom and your own respect from the original and you just start to derive a story out of the stuff that feels like it’s in the essence of the movie. And those can be set pieces or visual imagery or fun little Easter eggs even or ways that music might eventually get used if you just put it on the page now and there’s lots of people who will take those ideas that are on the page and turn it into beautiful sets or costumes or music. Those things. But also just in the story, what’s in the DNA of that core story that feels like it’s allowed it to have this lasting impact for 80 years. If you have that foundation, then you can take the story in all sorts of directions. We can expand out and tell a broader human story. We can see where Dumbo goes after, he flies and what the impact on the world ultimately becomes. But it all kind of comes back to what are those original elements both visual but also in the story and then the themes that feel like are core to the original movie.

EHREN KRUGER:  And really quickly. I like to feel like you can, like these movies run on parallel train tracks. So that you can imagine that Dumbo’s conversations with Timothy Mouse are happening off screen in between scenes of this movie. Just wanted to honor the original.

BEVERLY HILLS, CA – MARCH 10: (L-R) Moderator Grae Drake, producers Derek Frey, Katterli Frauenfelder, production designer Rick Heinrichs, costume designer Colleen Atwood, composer Danny Elfman, screenwriter/producer Ehren Kruger and producer Justin Springer onstage during the “Dumbo” Global Press Conference at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on March 10, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for Disney)

A question was brought up about what they wanted children to take away from this film.

COLIN FARRELL:  The same thing adults take away from the importance of not just accepting the inherent difference that people have from each other in relation to each other but celebrating it. I think just as Tim was saying, there are simple messages that are very complex it seems to live in as we go through our lives. And those messages are messages of kindness and inclusion and all those kind of things. So that will be cool. Or else if they’re just entertained for a couple of hours and take that as well.

TIM BURTON:  But also with just like the Disney movies. For me, the reason I wanted to do it was like the old Disney movies had all these elements. They had joy. They had humor. They had… [Laughter.] Okay. Let’s go nine rounds. So what was I talking about?

GRAE DRAKE:  Joy.

TIM BURTON:  Well, death. You know. Everything. Stuff that are taboo subjects.

COLIN FARRELL:  You skipped so deftly from joy and humor to death.

TIM BURTON:  Did I emphasize that one too much?

GRAE DRAKE:  Two sides of the same coin.

TIM BURTON:  But we always had the mixture of those things. So like Colin was just saying. We tried to present these things without overdoing it. And in a fable like way. But then let it present itself and not just sort of dictate it and just show these people for what they’re going through and who they are.

 

5.09 Is MARY POPPINS RETURNS Practically Perfect?

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After 60 years, Mary Poppins Returns! With Emily Blunt stepping into the legacy (and Oscar-winning) legacy of Julie Andrews, Poppins automatically has massive expectations to live up to the charm of the original Disney classic. But, is the result practically perfect? Or does the sequel ‘go fly a kite’? In a supercalifragilisticexpialidocious conversation, I’m joined by Seeing and Believing co-host, Kevin McLenithan to discuss whether or not this film ’steps in time’ to the original, power of perspective, and—in a special segment—our Top 3 Movie Moments of 2018.

You can also stream the episode above on podomatic, SoundCloud or on Spotify! Or, you can download the ep on Apple Podcasts, Google Play or more!

5.09 Mary Poppins Returns

Want to continue to conversation at home?  Click the link below to download ‘Fishing for More’ — some small group questions for you to bring to those in your area.

Thanks Kevin for joining us!

Papillon – From Savagery to Resurrection

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“It’s not rehabilitation—we know that’s worthless—so we do our best to break you.”

Papillon is inspired by semi-autobiographical bestselling books (Papillon and Banco) and the 1973 film with Steve McQueen and Dustin Hoffman (with a screenplay by Dalton Trumbo).  Returning to such a classic film is challenging, but director Michael Noer has brought new life and a gritty vision to this new version.

Henri “Papillon” Charrière (Charlie Hunnam) is a small-time crook in 1931 Paris. When he runs afoul of a crime boss, he is framed for a murder and sentenced to life in the French penal colony in French Guyana. But Charrière is determined to escape and return for vengeance. On the transport to the penal colony he befriends Louis Dega (Rami Malek) a meek counterfeiter rumored to have a stash of money. Charrière makes a deal with Dega to provide him with protection in exchange for Dega funding his eventual escape.

Life in the penal system is difficult and violent. On arriving in French Guyana, the prisoners hear the rules. If you try to escape, we’ll shoot you. If we miss, the jungle or the sharks will get you. If you get caught, you will spend two years in solitary the first time, five years the second, then transferred to the notorious Devil’s Island. If you commit murder, you go to the guillotine. The prisoners are assigned hard labor and failure will result in severe punishment.

The partnership between Charrière and Dega creates a bond between them that becomes not just about business, but about friendship. After Charrière’s first escape attempt (and his two years in solitary), Dega has now moved into a position of trust—keeping the books for the warden. This provides a chance for another try at escape, this time with Dega going with him and two others.

Charrière refuses to be broken, even by failure, even by years of solitary, even by beatings, even when taken to Devil’s Island. Dega, on the other hand, abandoned hope early on and hardened himself for the life in the prison system. He continues though to think that perhaps Charrière will be able to make things better.

Contrary to the warden’s words at the top of this review, there is a kind of rehabilitation for Charrière. He continues to have a hope of escape and a new life. That gives new meaning to his nickname, Papillon (butterfly). The butterfly is often seen as a symbol of resurrection and new life. As the years pass, it is a new life that Charrière seems intent on finding—not the revenge that he sought at first. He tells Dega at one point after years in the prison colony, “If I ever get out of here I’m going to lead a different life.”

Perhaps that is why when he finally found that new life and wrote his autobiographical books, they became bestsellers and prompted film adaptations. The riveting story of the absolute savagery and inhumanity within that prison setting eventually shifts to a story to hope and fulfillment. It is surely not an easy transformation. But the very fact that Charrière not only maintained his humanity, but even grew in positive ways makes this a story worth celebrating.

Photo credit Jose Haro / Bleecker Street

Beauty and the Beast – Now the Live Action Version

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“Tale as old as time/ Tune as old as song”

Yes, this is a story that has been told before. Beauty and the Beast is a live action remake of Disney’s 1991 animated (and much beloved) version of the French fairy tale that dates back to at least the 18th Century La Belle et Le Bête. Disney has also presented this as a stage musical. Is it time to tell it again? Does the new format make it a better telling of the story?

In case this oft told story has eluded you, it is a story of discovering the beauty where others only see ugliness. The Prince (Dan Stevens) leads an extravagant life full of parties and expensive trappings, One night an old woman shows up during a party asking for shelter and food, offering only a rose as payment. He ridicules her and turns her out, not knowing she is really an enchantress who places a curse on him and his castle. He is transformed into a hideous beast and his servants transformed into household objects. Unless he can give and receive love before the final petal falls from the enchanted rose, they will stay like this forever.

In town Belle (Emma Watson) has grown up with her widowed father (Kevin Kline). She longs for something more than can be found in her village. She is wooed (in spite of her clear rejection) by the vain and pompous Gaston (Luke Evans). When her father gets lost in the woods and comes across the Beast’s castle, he makes the mistake of picking a single rose to take to Beauty. The Beast locks him up as a thief. When Belle finds him, she takes his place in the cell. The Beast is rude and angry, but over time (and with the help of the talking household objects), the two discover in each other something more than either expected.

This is a film that showcases Disney’s strengths—wonderful production design and CGI effects, plus the music that has served the story well in the previous incarnations (plus three new songs by Alan Menken and Tim Rice). The humor is right for young viewers with just enough more mature comedy for adults to enjoy. The production numbers often involve crowds of people all singing and dancing. This is clearly designed to move to a new level from the stage version. Director Bill Condon wanted to create a musical worthy of the Golden Age of musicals, and also tell the well-loved story with a bit more depth to the characters.

The film’s key message is found in the love story between Belle and the Beast. It teaches that love is found when we are open to one another as Belle and the Beast eventually open themselves to know and be known. But there is also the whole theme of how do we welcome those who are different from us. Failure to do so is what led to the Prince being transformed into the Beast in the first place. For the Prince at the beginning of the film and for Gaston throughout, self-centeredness and failure to see others as something other than to be possessed is the root of the ills of the world. In that, this story could speak to us of how we relate to the world around us that is filled with people who are different from us. Do you judge their value by what that can provide to make us happy—or by the inherent value that all people have in their diversity?

Given that this story is so similar to the earlier film and the stage version, it is worth asking if this really adds to the story. I suspect that is going to be a matter of taste. Some will like all the production values of this version. They’ll love the sets and costumes. They’ll like the CGI characters. But it is also a bit darker and heavier at several places than the animation version. Others may think that this story is much better dealt with through animation. It should be noted that the animated version was seen as ground breaking at the time. It was the first animated film to be nominated for Best Picture. Personally, for all the beauty and splendor of this version, the darker tone that comes into play seems a bit much. I think the animated version is the better approach to this story.

Photos courtesy of Walt Disney Studios

3.1 Serving Justice with the MAGNIFICENT SEVEN

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To kick off Season 3, Steve ponies up to the saloon with Pastor James Harleman (Cinemagogue.com) to chat about Antoine Fuqua’s Magnificent Seven!  Does the western still matter today?  What’s the line between righteousness and justice?  All this and more as the guys showdown at high noon…

Want to continue to conversation at home?  Click the link below to download ‘Fishing for More’ — some small group questions for you to bring to those in your area.

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A very special thanks to Pastor James Harleman for joining us again this week!  If you’d like to connect with him, you can do so through his ministry, Cinemagogue.com

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The Magnificent Seven – Righteousness or Revenge?

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“I seek righteousness, as should we all, but I’ll take revenge.”

The Magnificent Seven is a search for both righteousness and revenge even as it considers whether or not the two can coexist. Of course this is not the first version of the story. This is a remake (or really reimagining) of the 1960 John Sturges classic, which in turn was a reimagining of Akira Kurosawa’s 1954 masterpiece Seven Samurai. (We could even trace all of these back to the prototype Western, Shane.) But while this is not a new story, this incarnation of Mag 7 has more modern sensibilities and concerns. And while in some ways this is a classic Western, there is more to this film than the gunfights (which, by the way, are really well done).

The little farming community of Rose Creek is being oppressed by Bartholomew Bogue (Peter Sarsgaard), the owner of a nearby mine. He has brought in mercenary security people to harass the town folk so they will sell their land for a pittance. After a deadly demonstration of their indifference to the people, newly widowed Emma Cullen (Haley Bennett), sets off to find someone to help. When she sees bounty hunter Sam Chisolm (Denzel Washington) dispatch a wanted man (and a few of his friends), she tries to hire him to come help her town. When he hears who is doing this, he agrees.

Along the way back he gathers a group—some he knew already and some new hangers on: gambler Josh Faraday (Chris Platt); former Confederate sharpshooter Goodnight Robicheaux (Ethan Hawke) and his current partner Billy Rocks (Byung-Hun Lee); a master of knives, Vasquez, Mexican outlaw (Manuel Garcia-Rulfo) whom Chisolm recruits by saying he won’t take him in; mountain man and trapper Jack Horne (Vincent D’Onofrio); and Red Harvest, a Comanche warrior (Martin Sensmeier) who has been told he really doesn’t fit with his tribe. When they get to Rose Creek, they make quick work of the various villains in Bogue’s employ. But they know that in a week’s time Bogue will be able to hire an army to come and squash the town. The seven have that much time to get the town folk ready for the big battle.

One of the more modern perspectives deals with who the villains are in this story. They are not outlaws, rather they operate within the law to terrorize the town. Bogue dresses and acts like a businessman. In the beginning of the story, as the town holds a meeting of how to deal with Bogue, Bogue (and his team of private security) walk into the church where the townspeople are meeting. He proceeds to paint a picture of the gospel of capitalism. It is the idolatrous desire for riches that he sees as driving the American ideal. To stand in the way of such capitalism is to deny the true American god. So unlike previous versions of this story, this reflects a class struggle between working class and the corporate world.

Yet the seven fighters themselves are in neither world. They are wanderers who are not part of a community. They may live by violence and sometimes deceit like Bogue and his men, but they do not prey on the helpless. There is a certain sense of honor, albeit sometimes twisted, that guides them. Where the film comes up short is in the development of the group dynamics. These seven men have varied backgrounds, and sometimes should be at odds with each other. For example, Chisolm fought with the Union, Robicheaux with the Confederacy; one of them had a grandfather killed at the Alamo, Vasquez had a grandfather who fought there with Santa Anna. Yet, the group never seems to have the internal quarrels that we would expect. They are just a bit too harmonious.

It is of interest that the church has an important place within the story. (Although it is not overtly about the church.) The opening scene takes place within the church, but then Bogue’s men set it afire. Through the rest of the story, what remains of the burned church are the most recognizable thing in the town and often tight in the center of the frame. But even though mostly destroyed by Bogue’s men, it still functions strongly. Before the big battle, the townspeople gather in front of the church to pray. The remains of the steeple serve as a key spot for snipers. Some go into the church to reflect on what is about to happen. And the inevitable climactic one-on-one between Chisolm and Bogue takes place on the steps of the chancel.

The presence of the church throughout the story points us to the consideration of righteousness in the midst of a story about revenge. In this story about a battle against evil, we may not be sure there is a place for righteousness at all. Certainly the seven mercenaries don’t really qualify as righteous. (I don’t think its accidental that none of them wears a white hat.) They are killers who operate on both sides of the law (and often in the gray areas between). They are men who live by violence. They have come—some for money, some out of friendship to Chisolm, some for adventure, some for their own personal sense of revenge—to fight a fight that is not really theirs. Yet the righteousness is to be found in the offer of self to save another from injustice and violence.

The church’s place in the film also asks us to consider whether this is a story of redemption. Do the acts of courage and sacrifice made by the seven counteract the less virtuous lives they have led to this point? Are we willing to forgive what they have done before because of what they do now? Or is redemption something else in this story? Should we perhaps not look to the seven as the redeemed, but as the redeemers who set the town free from the oppression of evil? And can redemption come through violence?

Like the other iterations of this story, this film also makes a point that the cost for any such redemption can be very high. Let’s just say that not all the seven ride away at the end of the story. Also, the population of the town is considerably smaller. This may be a victory, but it is not one to be celebrated because there is so much to mourn. Just as the church stands in ruins throughout the film, those left at the end may be mere shells of what they were at the beginning of the movie. It is a reminder that even when winning such battles, it is ultimately a great loss.

Photos courtesy of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and Columbia Pictures

Podcast: Believing in GHOSTBUSTERS + COMIC CON!

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This week on the show, Steve Norton and Chris Utley prove they ain’t afraid of no ghosts as they discuss Paul Feig’s controversial remake of GHOSTBUSTERS! Plus, in What’s Biting, Arnaldo Reyes gives us a report on the excitement of this year’s Comic Con!

Want to continue to conversation at home?  Click the link below to download ‘Fishing for More’ — some small group questions for you to bring to those in your area.

2.20 Ghostbusters (2016)

The Jungle Book – Updating a Classic of a Classic

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“Now this is the Law of the Jungle — as old and as true as the sky;
And the Wolf that shall keep it may prosper, but the Wolf that shall break it must die.

As the creeper that girdles the tree-trunk the Law runneth forward and back —
For the strength of the Pack is the Wolf, and the strength of the Wolf is the Pack.”

The Jungle Book is Disney’s new high-tech, live-action (sort of) remake of their 1967 animated film based on Rudyard Kipling’s 1894 book. The new version tries to find a middle path between the more light-hearted earlier film, and the darker, more mythic Kipling story. Director Jon Favreau purposely wanted to keep some of the elements of the earlier film that he loved as a child. But rather than produce a straight remake, he has created something much more enticing with much greater depth.

Because the film is mostly CG animation (assisted at various points of production with puppetry and motion capture), it has an amazingly realistic look to it. These are not cartoon tigers, wolves, and bears. They look real, even though they talk. That in itself makes the film a bit darker and scarier (especially for younger children). The action/adventure element can be intense at times, but that just adds to the enjoyment of the film.

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The film is part coming of age story and part hero’s journey. This is the story of Mowgli (Neel Sethi, the only actual onscreen performer), a man-cub discovered alone in the jungle as an infant by the panther Bagheera (voiced by Ben Kingsley). Knowing that Mowgli would need “a people” to raise him, he was left with the wolf pack lead by Akela and Raksha (Giancarlo Esposito and Lupita Nyong’o). This is the only home and family that Mowgli has known. When the tiger Shere Khan (Idris Elba) discovers there is a man-cub in the jungle, he vows to kill it and anyone who stands in his way.

It is decided that Mowgli must leave the jungle for the realm of men. He and Bagheera start off on a journey to the human village. Along the way there are adventures—some fun, others quite dangerous—in which Mowgli must learn to make wise choices. He also must use his resourcefulness (a part of his human nature) as he makes his way. Among those he meets on the way are Kaa (Scarlett Johansson) a massive and seductive python, Baloo (Bill Murray) a slothful but lovable bear, and King Louie (Christopher Walken), a huge Gigantopithicus (a cross between an orangutan and a yeti) who wants Mowgli to give him the secret of man’s red flower (fire) so he can rule the jungle.

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There are several themes in the story worth exploring. The first is what it means to be human and what it means that humans are animals. Mowgli, having been raised by the jungle animals, really thinks like them. He has had no contact with humans so he doesn’t know what they are like. Yet, he is also different from the animals. He has “tricks”. He creates and uses tools. He makes complicated plans to achieve an end. But Mowgli, even though he has certain skills as a part of his nature, is never seen as above the other animals. He feels he belongs to the jungle, and most of the animals accept him as he is.

Mowgli also must choose between two approaches to life. Bagheera, his primary mentor, and the wolf pack live by order and rules. The pack regularly recites the Law of the Jungle (taken from a Kipling poem). Bagheera (as played by Kingsley) has a military swagger. But when Mowgli meets Baloo, he is exposed to a much different understanding. Baloo lives for ease and pleasure. At first look, this may come across as the kind of difference between wisdom and folly found in the biblical book of Proverbs. But Mowgli learns that each way of living has its own rewards. It is not so much that he must choose between them as he must learn to balance them. Bagheera and Baloo also learn of the need to balance.

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But the key value that The Jungle Book puts forward is that of community. Mowgli alone may be resourceful and creative, but he is no match for the dangers in the jungle. That is why Bagheera gave him to the wolf pack to raise. Much of the film is built around the idea of community: Mowgli and the Pack, Mowgli and Bagheera’s relationship, and Mowgli’s working and playing with Baloo are all about the importance of being tied to one another. And when Mowgli and Shere Kahn must settle scores, as we know they must, it is the Law of the Jungle—“For the strength of the Pack is the Wolf, and the strength of the Wolf is the Pack”—that sets the stage for the outcome. In Ecclesiastes it says,

“Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up the other; but woe to one who is alone and falls and does not have another to help. Again, if two lie together, they keep warm; but how can one keep warm alone? And though one might prevail against another, two will withstand one. A threefold cord is not quickly broken.”

The importance of helping each other and living in peace with others is at the core of The Jungle Book.

Photos courtesy of Walt Disney Studios

Point Break (2015): Like, Whoa!

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POINT BREAK

I’m not a huge fan of remakes. I know I was in the minority, but we didn’t need a secondary version of True Grit, and quite frankly, I never needed Andrew Garfield to reprise the role of Peter Parker. But I literally laughed out loud when I saw the news that Point Break (1991) was being remade. “Seriously?!” I asked. “How are they going to top Keanu Reeves and Patrick Swayze?”

pb2The truth is that they never could top them. While they did make more ($131 million) than their budget ($105 million), the film wasn’t well received by fans of the original or critics. Unfortunately, writer Kurt Wimmer (remember the Colin Farrell remake of Total Recall) turned in a plot that ultimately hopes to dazzle us with director Ericson Core’s focus on amazing stunts and scenic views. Sure, Ray Winstone gets to play a Feebie, and Teresa Palmer shows up in the role Lori Petty nailed. But c’mon, are we blown away?

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Not exactly. There’s some eco-warrior mumbo jumbo about revering nature and doing good to liberate people from their financial constraints and material cravings. It’s a loose plot point that allows the stunts – and visuals – to shine, but we’re never quite pulled in to the bromance between Bodhi (Edgar Ramirez) and FBI agent Johnny Utah (Luke Bracey). So, yes, it looks good, but no, it’s not the mind-blowing entertainment that the producers certainly hoped it would be. Still… there are four behind-the-scenes stunt shows. It took snowboarders, surfers, wing suit flyers, and more to capture everything on camera. It’s just too bad that the stunts might be the best part of the film, so you’ll have to decide if that’s the way you’re willing to roll.