Disney's THE JUNGLE BOOK is closing in on $1 billion worldwide, but that doesn't seem to be phasing Andy Serkis and his adaptation with Warner Bros. We've always known that Serkis' film would most likely be a darker take on Rudyard Kipling's novel, but the man himself had a few words to say to Vulture about JUNGLE BOOK (as it's called now), and why making a "scarier film" is actually a good thing!
Ours is for a slightly older audience. It's a PG-13, more a kind of Apes movie, a slightly darker take, closer to Rudyard Kipling's. It’s great to scare kids in a safe environment because it’s an important part of development, and we all loved to be scared as kids, so we shouldn’t overly protect them. Kids are so sophisticated, and that is why our Jungle Book is quite dark. … It’s a story of an outsider, someone who is trying to accept the laws and customs of a particular way of living and then has to adapt to another culture, a human culture, which of course he should be able to adapt to, because this is what he is. So it’s about two different species and their laws and customs, and neither are entirely right.
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I agree with Serkis, in regards to not being afraid to scare kids, so I'm glad to see that he's not going to pull any punches with his story. It's not likely that his adaptation will earn as much as Disney's, but in a way, I think that really helps to free up Serkis to show us his vision for the story. We know the Disney classic, we've seen the live-action take, and now we're open to something a little different. At least, I know I am!
JUNGLE BOOK aims to hit theaters on October 19, 2018.
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