Book and Film Comparison of Jungle Book
Novel and film have different kinds of work and are enjoyed at different levels. A novel in enjoyed through the form, of reading while a film is enjoyed through watching. The primary difference between a novel and a film is how the images directly stimulate our perceptions through movement, sound, color, and language. Moreover, a novel is often controlled by one person, who is the author, while a film is produced by a collaboration of different people. Additionally, a film is limited because the story has to be compressed in two hours while a novel has no time constraint.
Literary works that are adapted into the film are from classic literary works. Classic literary works are the best source for film production because the authors have completed the hardest task of inventing characters, plot, and worlds. The filmmakers might add and remove some selection, the might end up manipulating the film in the end. Therefore, one of the famous classic literary works that have been adapted into Disney film is the novel, “The Jungle book.” The original book was written in 1894 by Rudyard Kipling, who is an Indian. The Jungle Book has been adapted into film several times, in 1967, 1994, 2003, and 2016. This paper aims to explore the comparison between the original book in 1967 and the Disney film adaptation in 2016 of The Jungle Book.
The book and the film narrate the story and the adventures of Mowgli, who is a human child and the protagonist of the story. Mowgli is raised by a pack of wolfs in the Seeonee hills, as stated in the book. Therefore, in the film, Mowgli is portrayed as a curious and skilled child, that creates tools and new inventions to make him survive in the jungle (Favreau & Taylor 2016). Hus friends and families don’t appreciate him for his skills but he still protects them in times of danger. In the book, Mowgli is described as more of a wild child than in the movie counterpart. Mowgli, having raised by wolves in the jungle, enables him to run and climb than most men of his age. Additionally, in the book, he is described as cunning and proud, which gives him the potential of fighting his rivals creatively.
Also, from the book, among the closest friends pf Mowgli that shares with him the better part of his adventures are black panther, the Bagheera, and the sloth bear (Baloo). They both act as close friends and teachers to him, however, their roles are reversed. Hence, in the book, Bagheera is born in captive before escaping into the jungle, and also, he is most familiar with humans that his jungle folks. He loves Mowgli so much and always refers to him as his little brother and has a relaxed and personality (Rudyard Kipling). He killed a bull for the wolves as a way of helping Mowgli to be initiated into the wolf pack. In contrast, in the film, Bagheera is represented as an old and proud soldier that discovers Mowgli as an infant, who eventually takes him to the wolf pack. He is always looked after Mowgli, always acting as his chief teacher and he is frustrated by the fact that Mowgli cannot give up on his human tricks. To sum, from the film perspective, they’re a little bit of reverse and twist of characters when adapting the book into Disney film. This is to make the story interesting by inventing meaningful character as outlined in the book.
The most drastic change in the film is represented by Kaa, the rock python. In the book, he is depicted as a male and also as a male character and a friend to Mowgli. Their friendship is demonstrated when Baloo and Bagheera recruit Kaa to rescue Mowgli, who had been kidnapped by the Bandar-log monkeys (Kipling 1895). After this, Kaa and Mowgli become great friends and Kaa learns to appreciate Mowgli and he shares with him his wisdom about the jungle story. In contrast, in the film, Kaa is only present in one scene, where she speaks and acts like a temptress. He hypnotizes Mowgli and attempts to show him the vision of how he got lost his human family members and thereafter, attempts to eat him. Eventually, she disappears and never seen in the film. Therefore, from above, it is evident that when adapting a book into a film, there is a change of personality of the characters. In the book, Kaa is a male feature and also friendly, while in the film she is represented and also dangerous. Additionally, the image and action in the film look much scary than in the book, where is represented as polite.
Additionally, the book does not reflect more on the background of Mowgli but the Disney film produced in 2016 does. We are given more details on Mowgli’s background, specifically from the hypnosis performed by Kaa (Favreau and Taylor 2016). The films reveal to us that Mowgli’s father was killed by Shere Khan, the tiger while protecting him. Also, Shere Khan’s fear of fire s revealed through flashbacks, which happens to also be the cause of his scarred face and white eyes. Therefore, the 2016 films give more details of the story that makes it more understandable to kids. The children can learn and understand the reason why Mowgli ended up living in the jungle with wolves. Moreover, we understand why the tiger (Shere Khan) has a scarred face and white eyes. To sum, while adapting a book into a film, there is an addition of more information, which makes it more interesting.
In the book, ever animal lives by the law of the Jungle while in the film, the animals live under the law created by Disney, which states that human beings can exist with nature, provided nature is not too wild (Favreau and Taylor 2016). The film presents the cuddle domination of nature by humans because the generations have grown up to love and respect animals, because of the peaceful kingdom presented by Disney. Furthermore, the images of wild animals presented in the film are real, which enhances children to relate with the real-life wild animals. In contrast, in the book, the images are presented as cartoons, which makes them appear as a joke. To conclude, in the film, the laws of the jungle are broken and Disney creates their own, which makes it even more interesting. For instance, Disney presents that wild animals and human beings can coexist in the same natural environment.
In conclusion, the film adaptation of the Jungle book by John Favreau was able to maintain its theme of heroism. Both in the book and the film, Mowgli’s character in the end is presented as a hero. The Disney film production was successful through additional detailed information and twisting character roles to make the film more interesting and appealing to the eyes of children. Though the meaning was maintained in the film, I prefer the book to the film. This is because, the book has simple language, colors, and images of animals, which are easier to understand for children. In contrast, the film has a complicated language, more realistic images, which might appear scary to children. The film appeals more to older children from the age of 12 and above because they are more mature and can understand the language and relate to it. To sum, I prefer the book because it appeals to younger kids and is also teachable because it has simple English. The film is more of entertainment and it appeals more to children of 12 years and above.
Works Cited
John Favreau & Brigham Taylor. “The Jungle book 2016 film”, Disney Film Media Productions, 2016 https://youtu.be/MeiKKlJy-8A
Kipling, Rudyard. The jungle book. The second jungle book. Vol. 5. Doubleday, Page, 1895.
https://core.ac.uk/reader/157583664
http://screenprism.com/insights/article/how-does-the-tone-style-and-structure-of-the-jungle-book-2016-differ
http://www.stevencapuzzi.com/blog/7-differences-between-the-jungle-book-films-1967-vs.-2016
https://carminerodi.blog/2016/07/31/the-jungle-book-a-comparison-between-versions-1967-2016/
https://www.gradesaver.com/the-jungle-book/study-guide/summary