THE beguilingly credible CGI rendering of real-life animals takes its biggest leap forward since “Life of Pi” in Disney’s new telling of “The Jungle Book.” Exceptionally beautiful to behold and supported by a stellar vocal cast, this umpteenth film rendition of Rudyard Kipling’s tales of young Mowgli’s adventures amongst the creatures of the Indian jungle proves entirely engaging, even if it’s ultimately lacking in subtext and thematic heft. Most “Jungle Book” big-screen adaptations have done very well at the box office — the 1967 version was the second-biggest grosser of its year, behind only “The Graduate.” This will not be the last we hear of Mowgli, Shere Khan, Kaa and the others for a while. Warner Bros.’ live-action “Jungle Book: Origins,” directed by Andy Serkis and featuring the likes of Christian Bale, Cate Blanchett, Benedict Cumberbatch and Serkis himself as Baloo the bear, started shooting a year ago and is set for release in October 2017. From the embracing opening image (extra effective in 3-D), which smoothly backtracks from the Cinderella castle logo right into the jungle setting, director Jon Favreau makes his new film instantly welcoming with its wonderfully detailed wilderness environment anyone would swear is real. It also provides clear dramatic orientation through the imposing voice of narrator Ben Kingsley in the guise of the black panther Bagheera, who watches over orphaned Indian boy Mowgli (Neel Sethi). The latter has been raised by wolves but can scamper through the trees and is able to survive partly by virtue of a truce that allows all animals to gather around a watering hole without fear of becoming lunch for their natural predators. Justin Marks’ script may veer rather too far from reality in depicting its jungle creatures as fundamentally peaceable, apart from the menacing tiger Shere Khan (Idris Elba) and Kaa, an enormous tree-dwelling snake given hypnotically seductive voice by Scarlett Johansson. The action pivots on Bagheera’s decision that it’s finally time for Mowgli to leave his jungle home and join his own species. Protesting that he doesn’t have a clue what humans are like, Mowgli is finally convinced when the wise panther promises to see him to his destination, resulting in a treacherous trek that leads them across increasingly inhospitable landscapes and into contact with all manner of animals. It’s like a “Heart of Darkness” for kids. The tone significantly shifts with the arrival of Baloo (Bill Murray) the bear. Strenuous effort has been expended to inject every line of Baloo’s ever-flowing commentary with snappy comedy, a challenge met with success perhaps half the time. But while the simple Baloo is content with the massive honeycombs Mowgli is able to get for him, a more formidable figure awaits in a spectacular abandoned ancient city. Kidnapped by no-nonsense monkeys, Mowgli is put at the mercy of the Godfather of the jungle, a grossly overgrown orangutan named King Louie (Christopher Walken) who talks with an old New York accent and insists that Mowgli “summon the red flower,” the animals’ term for the one thing humans seem to possess and control that animals can’t: fire. For his part, Walken gets to reprise the Sherman Brothers’ tune Louis Prima handled 49 years ago, “I Wan’na Be Like You.” The action finale, while well staged, is pretty predictable and includes a bad-guy death that repeats the same means of demise that greets the vast majority of Disney arch-villains going back decades. Favreau and cinematographer Bill Pope vigorously keep the camera moving at all but the quietest moments, and the visual effects team led by Robert Legato and Adam Valdez has both created sumptuous settings that look as lifelike. After having completely succeeded in transporting you to its primeval jungle setting, the picture concludes, at the very end of the lengthy final credits, with the cheeky note, “Filmed in Downtown Los Angeles.” At least one sort of movie magic is still very much at work here. The movie is now being screened in Shenzhen. (SD-Agencies) | 