Category Archives: Disney

The Jungle Book : Movie Review | #JungleBook

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The Jungle Book

By Erin

THE JUNGLE BOOK - (L-R) MOWGLI and BAGHEERA. ©2015 Disney Enterprises, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

THE JUNGLE BOOK – (L-R) MOWGLI and BAGHEERA. ©2015 Disney Enterprises, Inc.

Visually stunning and adrenaline pumping, “The Jungle Book” is Disney’s newest live-action movie and it is amazing. You will leave the theater humming or singing some old favorite songs that have been redone for this new version of the film. In this re-told classic epic adventure, we follow Mowgli(newcomer Neel Sethi), a man-cub who’s been raised by a family of wolves, and now finds he is no longer welcome in the jungle. The Fearsome tiger Shere Khan(voice of Idris Elba), who bears the scars of Man, promises to eliminate what he sees as a threat. Man does not belong in the jungle, and Shere Khan wants to take his revenge out on Mowgli. Forced to abandon the only home he’s ever known, Mowgli embarks on a captivating journey of self-discovery, guided by his panther mentor Bagheera (voice of Ben Kingsley), and the free-spirited bear Baloo (voice of Bill Murray), who will have you laughing with his antics. On this thrilling journey, Mowgli meets jungle creatures who don’t exactly have his best interests at heart, like Kaa (voice of Scarlett Johansson), a python whose voice and gaze hypnotizes the man-cub. Then you have other creatures like King Louie (voice of Christopher Walken), who tries to talk Mowgli into sharing the deadly secret on how to create the red flower: fire, which only man knows how to do. “The Jungle Book” is based off of Rudyard Kipling’s timeless stories and inspired by Disney’s beloved classic animated film. “We embrace the mythic qualities of Kipling in the more intense tonal aspects of the film,” says director Jon Favreau, “but we left room for what we remember from the ’67 film, and sought to maintain those charming Disneyesque aspects.” Only the latest technology was used to tell the story in a fresh, contemporary and immersive way, combining live-action performances with stunning CG environments and extraordinary photo-real animal characters that artists stylized to elevate the storytelling.

THE JUNGLE BOOK - (Pictured) MOWGLI and BALOO. ©2015 Disney Enterprises, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

THE JUNGLE BOOK – (Pictured) MOWGLI and BALOO. ©2015 Disney Enterprises, Inc.

“‘The Jungle Book” is a universal coming-of-age story that everyone can relate to,” says producer Brigham Taylor. “Walt told the story through traditional cell animation and now we have the technology to actually bring these characters to life, make them photo-real and put a real kid into the environment in a seamless, believable way. The opportunity to be able to show that with today’s technology was irresistible.” According to Favreau, story is king. “I think films have to offer an emotional experience for the audience,” says the director. “The spectacle won’t mean anything if they’re not engaged emotionally with the characters. Every story needs humanity, emotion and 2 character development, as well as humor—presented in a way that doesn’t betray the stakes of the film. There are white-knuckle moments in the movie when you wonder, ‘what’s going to happen to this kid?'”

THE JUNGLE BOOK - (Pictured) MOWGLI and KING LOUIE ©2015 Disney Enterprises, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

THE JUNGLE BOOK – (Pictured) MOWGLI and KING LOUIE ©2015 Disney Enterprises, Inc.

Full of the latest in CGI spectacle, “The Jungle Book” has a special charm and playful manner about it. The film can go to some dark places at times and can get a bit intense. Without giving anything away, there are some scenes with Shere Khan, Kaa, and King Louie that can get a little hairy, leaving Mowgli in some sticky situations and might be a little scary for some of the younger ones. Neel Sethi makes for the perfect Mowgli, and he truly makes the fantasy come alive and seem so real.

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Meet the Cast of The Jungle Book: Roaring Into Theaters April 15th! #JungleBook @TheJungleBook

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Meet the Cast of  The Jungle Book!

By Erin

*I was invited as a guest of Disney to the press junket for purposes of this post. All thoughts & Opinions remain my own*

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“Many strange tales are told of this Jungle. But none so strange as the tale of the cub we called Mowgli …” ~ Bagheera

Can you believe that it has already been 100 years since the original book and 50 years from the first movie being produced? That’s how classic and lovable this movie is and soon you will be able to experience this hit story in a whole new way! A little more than a week ago, Disney held the press junket for Jungle Book, which is the latest soon-to-be-released live action movie. In attendance were the cast, director and producer who joined us to answer questions and to let us in on what it was like to be a part of Disney’s remake of the original animated movie. An entire world and all the animal characters were created entirely as CGI. None of the jungle or the animals you see in this film are real. No matter how hard that may be to believe, it’s true. So what did we learn at the junket? Here’s who was there:

·         Jon Favreau (Director)  

·         Neel Sethi (“Mowgli”)

·         Sir Ben Kingsley (voice of “Bagheera”)

·         Lupita Nyong’o (voice of “Raksha”)

·         Giancarlo Esposito (voice of “Akela”)

·         Brigham Taylor (Producer)

Jungle-Book-Cast-Directors

As everyone stepped onto the stage, Lupita’s dress stole everyone’s attention. Look at the snake, those sparkles and the shoes to match! So unique and just perfect for the Jungle Book. Here are some of the fun facts that were discussed during this press conference.

*This was Lupita’s first voice over roll and she was attracted to it because Raksha is the eternal mother and she chooses to take care of this creature who is not one of her own, yet takes care of him as though we was.

*Giancarlo read the book as a child, which really made a difference to him. “It allowed me to dream and dream big. To have courage. To have connection. After seeing the movie, it allowed me to understand how we create relationships with each other. And how those relationships are things that we can hold onto. Not much that’s material that we can really hold onto.”

Jungle-Book-Junket

*Favreau shared about his enthusiasm to create this film as he was asked why this movie at this time. “I was compelled with the idea of what can be done with visual effects now, I was also very impressed with films like Planet of the Apes, Avatar, Life of Pi and specifically what was done in Gravity, where the principle photography was treated like an element of an effects piece. It became a big puzzle and after thinking about it, I had a take on it, and when we all discussed it, everyone thought it sounded really cool. 100 years ago was the book, 50 years ago was the animated film, and now it’s time to update this joy for a new generation.”

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Finding Dory at the Monterey Bay Aquarium! #FindingDoryEvent

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Finding Dory at the Monterey Bay Aquarium!

By Erin

*I was invited by Disney on a press trip for Finding Dory. All thoughts and opinions remain my own.*

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Last month myself and 24 other amazing writers went on an adventure of a lifetime with the quest of Finding Dory. This trip landed us in Monterey Bay, California at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. We were free to wander around as we wished to try to find her. Have you seen her? Finding Dory will be swimming into theaters everywhere on June 17th.

Monterey Bay Aquarium Finding Dory

The mission of the nonprofit Monterey Bay Aquarium is to inspire conservation of the ocean. For over 30 years, the Monterey Bay Aquarium has worked to protect ocean life for future generations by inspiring young and old with the beauty and wonder of the ocean. So come along with us and let’s take a tour of the aquarium and see if we can find Dory!

Sea Otters

Sea Otters-Finding-Dory-Monterey-Bay-Aquarium

The first thing that caught our eye after entering the aquarium were these adorable otters! These playful California sea otters make their home in a two-story exhibit that they share with coastal marine life. These gals are super fun to watch. Very playful, they were given toys to play with and chunks of ice that they would find creative ways to break apart to find some yummy treats to eat inside. I could have very easily stayed here all day watching these amazing animals, but we needed to find Dory!

Before moving on though, we had to check out the special delivery that had arrived just two days before. Outside, in front of the aquarium a wild sea otter had given birth to an adorable little pup on the rocks. Guests were all standing out on the overlook watching the mother and her baby. If you look closely, you can see her below on the left side, on the second rock sticking out. Yep, that little brown blob is her. Then you can also see a closer up shot I was able to get of her. She swam off into the ocean with her pup the same day we had to leave.  🙂

Baby-Sea-Otter-Monterey

Touch Pools

Rocky Shore Touch Pool

Next we made our way over to the Touch Pools! Here you can get up close and personal to Mr. Ray’s cousins, the bat rays, sea stars (like Peach!), and other friends of Nemo and Dory at this interactive exhibit. There is also a very cool Wave Crash gallery nearby here that pumps about 600 gallons of water and “crashes” every 30 seconds! The walk-through tunnel in the wave crash exhibit is one of the most popular family photo spots in the Aquarium.

Kelp Forest

Kelp-Forest-Fishes

Our next stop on our journey to find Dory, was to the magical kelp forest! This three-story exhibit is the first and largest living kelp forest community created at any aquarium. Pixar animators studied the water movement and play of light here at this very exhibit! How cool is that?

Kelp-Forest-Fish

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