History YMMV / TheJungleBook2016

*** This version of Louie seems to believe that creating fire is an innate ability possessed by humans (and only humans) rather than a natural phenomena anyone with the right skills and knowledge can do. As such, he may have been willing to tolerate Mowgli as he believed he was the only way he would ever be able to control the red flower. But if he ever learned the truth, would he [[IGaveMyWord still uphold his end of the deal]]? Or would he pull a YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness on Mowgli?

** After a [[Film/PrinceOfPersiaTheSandsOfTime long]] [[Film/JohnCarter list]] [[Film/TheLoneRanger2013 of]] [[Film/{{Tomorrowland}} disappointments]] from Disney's live-action division, the acclaim the trailer has received indicates that remaking one of their best-loved classics was a smart move on Disney's part (it helps that their [[Film/{{Cinderella 2015}} remake]] of ''WesternAnimation/{{Cinderella}}'' was more positively received, showing that Disney really can feasibly pull off remaking their older movies).

* WTHCastingAgency:
** Initially the announcement of ''Scarlett Johansson'' as Kaa was treated as this. However [[NightmareFuel the teaser]] certainly changed this and it's considered one of the best performances in the film.
** Whilst not as vocal as the above, the casting of Bill Murray as Baloo riled some people up. However, these were the minority and, after the finished movie was released, the hate has largely subsided.
** When Christopher Walken was announced as voicing King Louie, many of the fandom stated that they felt Walken's voice was inappropriate for the character. This has gone through a resurgence after the teaser was released, with people saying that Walken's voice seems a bizarre choice for such a massive creature.
** Idris Elba being cast as Shere Khan received some criticism, with many saying his voice would be more suited to Bagheera. However, with the release of the film, Elba's performance is often considered one of the film's highlights.
** An article from ''The Galdem'' calls out this film for its lack of South Asian representation in the voice cast. Unlike the ''Lion King'' remake and ''WesternAnimation/{{Moana}}'', that had black- and Oceanic-majority voice actors respectively, this film only had Anglo-Indian Ben Kingsley as the sole South Asian voice actor for the film.

* EvilIsSexy: Scarlett Johansson as Kaa. 'Nuff said. Priyanka Chopra has gotten the same reaction in the Hindi dub, even from non-Hindi speakers.

* UnintentionallySympathetic: Shere Khan gets this, mostly for the fact that tigers in India are highly endangered and the [[spoiler:finale where he ends up getting burned is seen as too extreme]] for a modernized take (and it is more extreme than the animated original). Some also disliked what they saw as a {{Narm}}-filled scene where the animals decide that Shere Khan is not part of the jungle, when tigers are undoubtedly part of them. Although the last one can be NarmCharm for others since it's in the context of the entire jungle giving Shere Khan a ShutUpHannibal and [[DeclarationOfProtection declaring that Mowgli is part of the jungle community whether the tiger likes it or not]]. And his introductory scene establishes that he kills for sport rather than survival like everyone else.

%%* EvenBetterSequel: Or rather, remake. This film currently scores a 95% among critics, and a 86% among audiences on Website/RottenTomatoes. [[WesternAnimation/TheJungleBook The original film]] by Creator/WaltDisney and [[Creator/DisneysNineOldMen Wolfgang Reitherman]] got an 86% and 82%, respectively. %%(Entry needs more context. It gives a numbers breakdown, but beyond that it doesn't say anything about *why* the remake is better than the original. As in, what specific things did the remake do better?)%%

** Part of his motivation in trying to kill the man-cub viewing him as a "cuckoo bird"?

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!!The Novelization
* CompleteMonster: In the {{novelization}}, ''The Strength of the Wolf is the Pack'', by Scott Peterson & Joshua Pruett: [[BigBad Shere Khan]] is [[AdaptationalVillainy even worse]] than in the film. Having killed Mowgli's father when Mowgli was a baby, Khan wants to kill Mowgli as well [[RevengeByProxy as an act of revenge for having been burned by his father]]. When the wolves try to send Mowgli to the man village, Khan murders their leader and Mowgli's adoptive father, Akela. He threatens to kill the wolf pups if Raksha displeases him. When a jackal provides Khan with useful information, Khan [[UngratefulBastard kills him]] just [[DisproportionateRetribution for asking for scraps of food in return]]. When Mowgli returns, Khan nearly kills Baloo and Bagheera to get to him, and taunts him about having killed both of his fathers.

** As noted above, like in the 1967 film, [[spoiler: Mowgli does go to live in the Man Village, while here he stays in the jungle.]] This actually matches the ending of the first batch of Mowgli stories in "The Jungle Book" where Mowgli ultimately returned to the jungle, he would not fully return to man until the final Mowgli story of "The Second Jungle Book."

** Kaa: Evil or neutral? She tries to kill Mowgli as in the original film, but there's no particular indication of malice, and no one ever accuses her of breaking the jungle law. As far as we can tell, she's just hungry. While the Jungle Law forbids killing humans in the book (due to the fear of retaliation), it is not stated in the film, so it may have been AdaptedOut.
*** There's also a third option: she's clearly not on anyone's side but her own and her motivation (food) is entirely understandable, but she's also not above "playing" with Mowgli a little before eating him.

** After a [[Film/PrinceOfPersiaTheSandsOfTime long]] [[Film/JohnCarter list]] [[Film/TheLoneRanger of]] [[Film/{{Tomorrowland}} disappointments]] from Disney's live-action division, the acclaim the trailer has received indicates that remaking one of their best-loved classics was a smart move on Disney's part (it helps that their [[Film/{{Cinderella 2015}} remake]] of ''WesternAnimation/{{Cinderella}}'' was more positively received, showing that Disney really can feasibly pull off remaking their older movies).

* EvilIsSexy: Scarlett Johanson as Kaa. 'Nuff said. Priyanka Chopra has gotten the same reaction in the Hindi dub, even from non-Hindi speakers.

* an article from the Galdem calls out Jungle Book for its lack of South Asian representation in the voice cast. Unlike the Lion King Remake and the Moana film that had Black and Oceanic majority voice actors respectively. Jungle Book only had Anglo-Indian Ben Kingsley as the sole South Asian voice actor for the film.

* https://gal-dem.com/does-disneys-cast-for-the-new-jungle-book-reflect-issues-in-hollywoods-casting-of-poc/#:~:text=The%20three%20South%20Asian%20actors,Rajan%2C%20who%20voices%20Mowgli's%20father this article calls out Jungle Book for its lack of South Asian representation in the voice cast. Unlike the Lion King Remake and the Moana film that had Black and Oceanic majority voice actors respectively. Jungle Book only had Anglo-Indian Ben Kingsley as the sole South Asian voice actor for the film.

* EvenBetterSequel: Or rather, remake. This film currently scores a 95% among critics, and a 86% among audiences on Website/RottenTomatoes. [[WesternAnimation/TheJungleBook The original film]] by Creator/WaltDisney and [[Creator/DisneysNineOldMen Wolfgang Reitherman]] got an 86% and 82%, respectively.