Oh boy! Childhood Disney nostalgia! I curled up. I had a blankie and snacks and a fire in the fireplace. I was cozy. I was ready to suspend my disbelief and revisit childhood wonder. Then it didn’t happen. It’s the same story as the original Disney animated classic. Why not? Well… In its defense, let’s be clear, those are NOT real animals you’re watching. They’re not. Not one. That’s all effects. Absolutely astonishing the technology nowadays. Stunning. Let’s also be clear: That IS a real boy. Sigh… Herein lies the problem with The Jungle Book. The whole film features exactly one live human being, Neel Sethi, as Mowgli. Kids are notoriously difficult as actors and it’s noticeable when a really good one comes along. Sethi isn’t that one. Even the very best actors have trouble playing against non-existent characters, asking a ten-year-old to do it is too much. This whole film is shot with this kid sitting on a green screen with maybe a puppet to talk to. It’s just too much. Sethi doesn’t pull it off, the film collapses around him, and all the king’s effects and all the king’s post-production couldn’t put it back together again. Fun for kids and astonishing effects, but otherwise not very good.