Dick
Senior HTF Member
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- May 22, 1999
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- Rick
The critics (although not the general public, who seemed to love it) kind of pasted this release. I did not see this in a theater, because it was not playing in 3D nearby, and I decided to wait for the almost certain UK 3D Blu-ray release, which did happen, thankfully. When I saw that Jon Favreau had directed it, I had a lot of hope. I thought his take on THE JUNGLE BOOK (2016) was awesome and his use of 3D laudatory. Whereas TJB was a native-3D production, probably due to its live action Mowgli, TLK (2019) was post-converted and, once again, I have to say that post-conversions can look as good if not often better than their counterparts.
First, the imagery on this Blu-ray is breathtaking. I can't imagine watching this in 2D now. While there may not be a lot of "pop out," which is a priority for some collectors of the format, there is some cool forward projection, and the sense of depth is absolutely faultless. How far CGI has come over the past decade...the landscapes and animals are completely photorealistic, right down to the eyes, which have usually been a dead giveaway. However, there is a price to pay. While the eyes and fur and movements of the characters here are lifelike as hell, the faces are generally expressionless, except when the eyes widen with fear. The mouths move when they talk, but emotions are pretty much reliant upon the vocal performances. The cell-animated original features more facial movement than this, although not what it would be in real life. It's a trade-off.
As far as the voices go, it's nice to have James Earl Jones back to repeat his Mufasa character, but the rest are a very mixed bag. I truly miss Jeremy Iron's frightening Scar performance, here replaced by Chiwetel Ejiofor's rather unmemorable one. Personally I much prefer Seth Rogen's Pumbaa to Nathan Lane's, but full disclosure: I just can't stomach Nathan Lane. Still could do without the juvenile fart jokes, but I get that kids find them hilarious. John Oliver is, to my mind, one of our political commentary heroes and funny as hell to boot, so his Zazu is just fine. But Donald Glover and Beyonce just sound bland to me.
Favreau introduces some new scenes to the mix that I feel are awesome. In particular, there is a free-floating tuft of Simba's mane that lands in various places and is consumed, then spat out by several animals before becoming ingested, then pooped out, by a giraffe, only to be utilized by a hard-working dung beetle. That sequence I think further emphasizes the Circle Of Life motif. For the most part, this is a scene-for-scene remark of the 1994 movie. Which is better? My jury's still out, but the look of this film is superior IMO.
There is great visual beauty throughout this film. I could perhaps enjoy this (in fact, I may) even more, by turning off the soundtrack and playing a CD of wordless orchestral music. I just don't think the dialog has the sophisticated edge of better-written animated films, even Disney ones. But, looking at it strictly in visual terms, I would rate this A+, as I do THE JUNGLE BOOK.
I do not have a 7.1 Atmos system, but the 5.1 I do have produced an engaging and immersive aural experience.
Until ordering from UK becomes possible again, there are multitudes of eBay sellers pricing this out at an average of $26 or so with free shipping, which to my mind is a bargain.
First, the imagery on this Blu-ray is breathtaking. I can't imagine watching this in 2D now. While there may not be a lot of "pop out," which is a priority for some collectors of the format, there is some cool forward projection, and the sense of depth is absolutely faultless. How far CGI has come over the past decade...the landscapes and animals are completely photorealistic, right down to the eyes, which have usually been a dead giveaway. However, there is a price to pay. While the eyes and fur and movements of the characters here are lifelike as hell, the faces are generally expressionless, except when the eyes widen with fear. The mouths move when they talk, but emotions are pretty much reliant upon the vocal performances. The cell-animated original features more facial movement than this, although not what it would be in real life. It's a trade-off.
As far as the voices go, it's nice to have James Earl Jones back to repeat his Mufasa character, but the rest are a very mixed bag. I truly miss Jeremy Iron's frightening Scar performance, here replaced by Chiwetel Ejiofor's rather unmemorable one. Personally I much prefer Seth Rogen's Pumbaa to Nathan Lane's, but full disclosure: I just can't stomach Nathan Lane. Still could do without the juvenile fart jokes, but I get that kids find them hilarious. John Oliver is, to my mind, one of our political commentary heroes and funny as hell to boot, so his Zazu is just fine. But Donald Glover and Beyonce just sound bland to me.
Favreau introduces some new scenes to the mix that I feel are awesome. In particular, there is a free-floating tuft of Simba's mane that lands in various places and is consumed, then spat out by several animals before becoming ingested, then pooped out, by a giraffe, only to be utilized by a hard-working dung beetle. That sequence I think further emphasizes the Circle Of Life motif. For the most part, this is a scene-for-scene remark of the 1994 movie. Which is better? My jury's still out, but the look of this film is superior IMO.
There is great visual beauty throughout this film. I could perhaps enjoy this (in fact, I may) even more, by turning off the soundtrack and playing a CD of wordless orchestral music. I just don't think the dialog has the sophisticated edge of better-written animated films, even Disney ones. But, looking at it strictly in visual terms, I would rate this A+, as I do THE JUNGLE BOOK.
I do not have a 7.1 Atmos system, but the 5.1 I do have produced an engaging and immersive aural experience.
Until ordering from UK becomes possible again, there are multitudes of eBay sellers pricing this out at an average of $26 or so with free shipping, which to my mind is a bargain.
