The switch here, and Jason Scott Lee does it with skill and heart of genius, is that Mowgli talks to the animals in their languages. We do not hear the animal speaking English. But from the moment Bagheera offers his tail to the tiny Mowgli and Mowgli grasps that tail, we are in intimate communication with the animals. Mowgli, his pet wolfcub and the rescued bearcub Balu follow the panther through the jungle and I went with them. Every actor modulates his or her performance to make the story happen, to balance the telling. Kitty, Mowgli's childhood friend, does not let one drop of saccharine spoil her natural young woman. Cary Elwes as a villain is frighteningly archetypal (just as he is a beautiful hero in other films). . . But the animal actors are what compel me to fork over dollars for my own copy of the video. Since they are surrounded by masterful cinema storytelling and heartfelt human performances, their work carries the main theme of this film. We know now how fragile the jungle and its inhabitants are as man approaches with guns and bulldozers. The delicate balance of man and animal, the diplomacy of Mowgli at times, the essence of courage and loyalty -- all this is portrayed. If you know the original Jungle Book and the moral spirit of its author, you recognize that the character of the jungle inhabitants is respected. In this film, while we are given an adventure extrapolated from the original literary situation, the Law of the Jungle is kept. For sophisticated Kipling see the Michael Caine/Sean Connery film "The Man Who Would Be King".
