The Jungle Book (2016)

(The NC 2018 opening plays before showing NC in his room)

NC: Hello, I'm the Nostalgia Critic. I remember it so you don't have to. It may surprise some of you that I'm actually a huge fan of The Jungle Book. (The poster of the 2016 remake is shown) No, no, not that one. (The DVD cover of the 1967 Disney version is shown) No, no, not that one either. (An image of the Jungle Book app phone game is shown) The actual book. It's surprising how many people don't know the literary source to The Jungle Book.

(Images of the book are shown)

NC (vo): The classic collection of stories by Rudyard Kipling mostly tackled the ongoing separations yet parallels between abandonment and fostering, law and freedom, and the coming-of-age balance between trying to belong yet also trying to stand out. NC: Then this came along... (A clip of the "I Wanna Be Like You" song sequence from the 1967 film is shown) ...and it became the funny monkey movie! (Clips of the 1967 film is shown)

NC (vo): And before you go nuts, I like this film fine. The animated Disney adaptation had little connection to the best known story from The Jungle Book, Mowgli's Brothers, but it was a cute little flick with some catchy songs and memorable characters.

NC: And seeing how we're still in the middle of Disney's Live-Action Remake Month...

(The Disney Live-Action Remake Month intro plays out, with the contrast clips of animated and live-action versions showing Baloo the bear this time)

NC: ...it only figures to talk about...I'll just say it...what I think is a weirdly beloved modern version.

(The title of the 2016 remake is shown, before showing its clips)

NC (vo): So while most of these Disney remakes are big hits, there's usually a fair amount of people who find they can't get into what the movie is doing. Jungle Book is one of the few exceptions, sitting at 95% on Rotten Tomatoes and getting a reputation as the "grown-up" version compared to the other ones. Only a complete asshole would dare badmouth it...

(A caption "Will you be that asshole?" appears, causing NC to be delighted)

NC: Oh! I thought this day would never come!

NC (vo): Yeah, I'm that jerkoff who not only didn't like it, but...really didn't like it. Surprisingly, it's not because it wasn't enough like the book. The original film did that and it was fine. It's that it tries to mix the book and the movie by focusing on their least effective elements while leaving out what made the other versions so memorable. What are these elements? Well, as your designated asshole, I'm excited to expand on this different point of view among a sea of disapproving comments.

(A comment appears next to NC, saying "YOU'RE A CANCER SANDWICH!")

NC: That's a good start. Let's take a look at 2016's Jungle Book.