Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle Trailer (2018)

Trailer for Mowgli, starring Benedict Cumberbatch, Cate Blanchett, Andy Serkis, Christian Bale and Peter Mullan.

Motion capture and live action are blended for Mowgli, a new, big-screen, 3D adaptation of Rudyard Kipling's classic The Jungle Book. The film features an impressive roster of stars under the direction of Andy Serkis.

The story follows the upbringing of the human child Mowgli, raised by a wolf pack in the jungles of India. As he learns the often harsh rules of the jungle, under the tutelage of a bear named Baloo and a panther named Bagheera, Mowgli becomes accepted by the animals of the jungle as one of their own. All but one: the fearsome tiger Shere Khan. But there may be greater dangers lurking in the jungle, as Mowgli comes face to face with his human origins.

If this story sounds familiar, that's because it is. Just in case you forgot, Jon Favreau represented a big step forward in CG animation with the release of The Jungle Book back in 2016 for Walt Disney Pictures. The timing was unfortunate for Andy Serkis and Warner Bros, who originally intended to release Mowgli the same year. This darker take on the popular adventure was therefore pushed back a couple years, with the hopes that audiences would forget about the first go.

The adaptation will be Andy Serkis's second time behind the camera -- for a full feature. The actor has tons of experience with CG and stop-motion thanks to roles like King Kong and Gollum, so it should be interesting to see how he applies all that knowledge here. He also couldn't help getting into character as well, with Serkis taking on the role of Baloo.

When you have a second Jungle Book movie that takes advantage of heavy CG animation, it better look better than the one that came ( a couple years ) before it. Sometimes this is the case, sometimes it is not. I love the opening black panther sequence, but some of the other animals look very ummm, animated.

What I do like is the darker take, and of course the voice talent here is beyond impressive. Which is another letdown of the trailer, as it seems to hold back on allowing audiences to hear the array of recognizable voices.

It's the first Mowgli trailer, so I don't want to judge too harshly. But, considering that The Jungle Book set the bar, a lot of people will immediately start making harsh comparisons.