MOWGLI: LEGEND OF THE JUNGLE

STARRING: Rohan Chand, Matthew Rhys

Mowgli is unrelated to Disney’s rollicking 2016 hit The Jungle Book, which means there’s no big ape singing, “Ooo-be-do, I wanna be like you-oo-oo.” This version of the Rudyard Kipling classic directed by Andy Serkis (who voices Baloo) is darker, with mangier, edgier animals – the monkey colony suggests some kind of thrill-kill cult. In one brilliant scene, man-cub Mowgli (Chand) hides from tiger Shere Khan (voiced by Benedict Cumberbatch) at the bottom of a pond – the tiger, fresh from a kill, washes blood from his mouth, releasing a cloud of crimson into the water. The voice performances, including Cate Blanchett’s python and Christian Bale’s panther, are first-rate. (On Netflix from Fri., Dec. 7)