Having already soundly conquered the box office, Disney’s The Jungle Book from director Jon Favreau will next appear August 23rd on Digital HD followed by a physical disc release on Blu-ray and DVD a week later, August 30th.
What you won’t find in stores on either of those dates is The Jungle Book on Blu-ray 3D or 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray. The former is a bit of a puzzler since the film was shot with 3D in mind and may signal Disney giving up on 3D altogether. A 4K release wasn’t expected as Disney has yet to announce plans to support the new home video format.
The Jungle Book features a robust voice cast including Bill Murray as the voice of Baloo, Sir Ben Kingsley as Bagheera, Lupita Nyong’o as Raksha, Scarlett Johansson as Kaa, Giancarlo Esposito as Akela, Idris Elba as Shere Khan, and Christopher Walken as King Louie. They all support newcomer Neel Sethi as young Mowgli, the lone human character.
Pre-order The Jungle Book on Blu-ray, DVD and Digital combo for a discounted price at Amazon.com.
Disney will present The Jungle Book in HD 1080p video with 7.1 DTS-HD Master Audio. Here’s a detailed rundown of the bonus features:
- “The Jungle Book” Reimagined – Favreau sits down with producer Brigham Taylor and visual effects supervisor Robert Legato to discuss “The Jungle Book” and reflect on the years they devoted to the reimagining of this timeless tale. Discover how Rudyard Kipling’s original stories and the classic animated film influenced their unique approach, witness the technical wizardry that enabled the team to create a believable and thrilling movie-going experience, and learn how they borrowed a page from Walt Disney’s innovation playbook to make it all happen. Lastly, meet the all-star voice cast who help bring the film’s colorful characters to life, as well as the musicians who accent the adventure with a majestic music score.
- I Am Mowgli – Follow the extraordinary journey of 12-year-old Neel Sethi, who was selected from thousands of hopefuls worldwide to play Mowgli “alongside” some of today’s biggest movie stars. Get a glimpse of Neel’s life before Hollywood came calling, check out his audition that sealed the deal, and see how a close-working relationship with Favreau brought out his best. Plus, Neel shares how filming “The Jungle Book” was one wild ride, from working alongside imaginary animals to performing some super-fun stunts.
- King Louie’s Temple: Layer by Layer – So, exactly how do you create a musical number featuring one man-cub, a massive, legendary ape and an army of wild and wily monkeys in the Seeonee jungle? Viewers are granted rare and unique access to the development of the “I Wan’na Be Like You” sequence in which King Louie attempts to coerce Mowgli into giving up Man’s deadly “red flower” (fire). A fast-moving musical progression reel showcases storyboards, animatics, Christopher Walken’s recording session and visual effects layers, which ultimately merge to form one of the film’s most memorable scenes.
- Audio Commentary – Favreau delivers his scene-by-scene perspective on the live-action adventure “The Jungle Book” with all the candor and humor you’d expect from this multi-talented actor-writer-director-
producer.
Check out The Jungle Book Blu-ray announce trailer and cover art below.
