ROANOKE TIMES 

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SUNDAY, December 25, 1994                   TAG: 9412290078
SECTION: EXTRA                    PAGE: 3   EDITION: HOLIDAY 
SOURCE: MIKE MAYO CORRESPONDENT
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

`JUNGLE BOOK' A WELL-CRAFTED ESCAPE

Confusion over the title may lead some parents to think that "Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book" is a live-action version of the 1967 cartoon. It's not. Instead, it's actually much closer to the Johnny Weissmuller "Tarzan" movies. As such, this one's a crackerjack adventure for kids - colorful, exotic and, overall, quickly paced. It opens today.

The story begins in the wilds of colonial India with Major Brydon (Sam Neill) setting off to govern a remote province. Accompanying him are his young daughter Kitty (Joanna Wolf) and Mowgli (Sean Naegeli), son of the party's guide. When the newcomers break "the law of the jungle" by hunting for sport, the tiger Shere Khan (Bombay) attacks, and Mowgli is separated from the others.

Befriended by a wolf (Shannon), a panther (Shadow) and a bear (Casey, all trained by Gary Gero and Steve Martin), Mowgli grows up in the jungle. After an instantaneous transformation, he matures into Jason Scott Lee, and the plot starts rolling.

It involves the equally mature Kitty (Lena Headey); her fiance, Capt. Boone (Cary Elwes), a true rotter; and a "lost" city filled with treasure. The script by director Stephen Sommers, Ronald Yanover and Mark Geldman pays scant attention to Kipling's stories. Instead it dusts off several cliches of the genre that haven't been seen in decades, including quicksand, inventive traps, a grand chorus of monkeys and other surprises best left undescribed.

When the story moves out of the jungle and into the city, where John Cleese provides light comic relief, it tends to run out of steam. At a preview screening, the youngest viewers got a bit restless in that middle section.

Director Sommers handles the action scenes well. Though they are violent, they're not too strong or too scary for most kids. The filmmakers also did a remarkable job of combining special effects with jungle/forest locations in India, South Carolina and Tennessee into a seamless world. In the leads, Lena Headey makes the most of a conventional spunky heroine role, and Jason Scott Lee is believable with both his animal and human co-stars.

This "Jungle Book" may or may not prove as enduringly popular as its cartoon predecessor. But it's certainly a well-crafted piece of escapism for young audiences, particularly those who haven't visited a jungle setting before.

Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book **8

A Walt Disney release playing at the Valley View Mall 6. 95 min. Rated PG for violence, mild swearing. 


 by CNB