Advertising and Media (Jungle Book)
Know: Recognise how the media language of the jungle book (1967 & 2016) has changed over time
Know: Recognise how media representations of the jungle book (1967 & 2016) have changed over time
Do: study the social and cultural contexts that influence how media representations are created
Do: construct an essay on the Jungle book's film trailer and advertising poster
Show: evidence of the completion of the essay in blogger
Media Language - The way that meaning is made using the conventions of the particular medium and type of media product. A broader category allowing candidates to write about elements of semiotics, genre, narrative, design, structure, codes and conventions, time and space, aesthetics, spoken and written and visual language to name a few examples.
The 4 aspects of the theoretical framework (LIAR):
Media Language
Media Industry
Media Audience
Media Representation
Representation - Refers to the construction in any medium (especially the mass media) of aspects of ‘reality’ such as people, places, objects, events, cultural identities and other abstract concepts. Such representations may be in speech or writing as well as still or moving pictures. The way the media through representation construct versions of reality; the processes which lead media producers to make choices about how to represent events, issues, individuals and social groups; the effect of social and cultural context on representations; how media representations convey values, attitudes and beliefs about the world and how these may be systematically reinforced across a wide range of media representations; how audiences respond to and interpret media representations.
In the 2016 version, the colours are duller and toned down, being less saturated than the 1967 version due to it being more bright, saturated and coloured. The 1967 version has a more funky and child-friendly font in comparison to the 2016 version which is more formal and is Serif. There is more sophistication in the 2016 version, whereas it is simpler the 1967 one is simpler; the 2016 version has used CGI and photoshop, however, the 1967 version looks like a drawing.
 |
| 1967 Jungle Book cover |
 |
| 2016 Jungle Book cover |
Spectacle - The whole poster campaign is really meant to sell the lush visuals of the movie in addition to the all-star cast that voices the various animal characters. So there’s a very nice visual consistency across the whole campaign. New technologies such as Photoshop and graphics programs have enabled Disney to produce these eye-catching posters, e.g. CGI, photoshop
Social and cultural contexts - how the media products studied differ in institutional backgrounds and use of media language to create meaning and construct representations to reach different audiences, and can act as a means of reflecting social, cultural and political attitudes towards wider issues and beliefs, and constructing social, cultural and political attitudes towards wider issues and beliefs. How media products studied can act as a means of reflecting historical issues and events. How media products studied can potentially be an agent in facilitating social, cultural and political developments through the use of media language to construct meaning through viewpoints, messages and values and representations of events and issues. How media products studied are influenced by social, cultural, political and historical contexts through intertextual references
Intertextuality - refers to the way aspects of a particular media product relate to another and thus accrue additional significance.
Jungle Book 1967 Facts
- Based on Rudyard Kipling’s book THE JUNGLE BOOK (1894)
- Kipling’s narrative contained “darker themes” and content which were judged to be unsuitable for a Disney film.
- Walt wanted a film that was “light, fun, and entertaining with a happy song - good stuff, fun stuff.”
- The story was modified by Larry Clemmons, who was given, a copy of Rudyard Kipling’s novel but told him that ‘The first thing I want you to do is not to read it’. To turn the book into a successful film many of the original characters and situations were cut out, creating a clear storyline.
- At a superficial level, the cartoon should not be offensive to anyone.
Baloo
- Bandleader & Comedian-singer Phil Harris was cast for the role Baloo – ‘Harris put the lines of dialogue into his own vernacular, (way of speaking) and brought the role to life’, said Ollie Johnston, one of Disney’s main animators.
- The director, Wolfgang Reitherman, said that ‘In The Jungle Book we tried to incorporate the personalities of the actors that do the voices into the cartoon characters, and we came up with something totally different.
Shere Khan
- Shere Khan was designed to resemble his voice actor, George Sanders, renowned in Hollywood for playing elegant villains, but his movements were based on live action big cats: the animator Milt Kahl based the movements on animals
- Disney and many American filmmakers have a track record of using the English accent to represent villainy see the following link and add the reasons why below
George Sander was an English film and television actor, singer-songwriter, music composer, and author. His career as an actor spanned over forty years. His upper-class English accent and bass voice often led him to be cast as sophisticated but villainous characters.
Why British accents make perfect film villains.
- Actors who use Queen’s English are more likely to appear untrustworthy, experts have suggested, as it immediately suggests that they are from the upper classes.
- They also come across as more intelligent, making it more likely for an audience to believe their complicated revenge plans.
- The reason, as linguist Chi Luu recently explained in JSTOR Daily, is that the accent lends itself well to the particular qualities that make for a compelling movie villain, a cocktail of traits more nuanced than just “pure evil.”
- Research has shown that speaking in the received pronunciation accent — the “posh” iteration of the British accent, also known as the Queen’s English — makes people appear “more educated, intelligent, competent, physically attractive, and generally of a higher socioeconomic class.”
- In one study, for example, a researcher delivered the exact same lecture in two different accents, receiving more positive reviews when he did it in received pronunciation. On the other hand, though, RP speakers are also generally considered “less trustworthy, kind, sincere, and friendly than speakers of non-RP accents.” And when you put the two together, you get someone with a fierce intellect and low morals — the perfect combo for a fictional bad guy.
- Played by Italian American band leader Louie Prima
- Disney’s own politics were rather conservative, right-wing and undoubtedly this affected the representations constructed within the film.
- the character King Louie, who seems to some viewers to offer a racialised portrait of jazz culture that conflates “swingers” (presumably African American jazz musicians) with monkeys.
- Louie, the Monkey-People’s, orangutan ruler. wants to learn how to make fire so that he can be like a man. This could easily be interpreted through a racial lens; the monkeys could be depictions of Africans wanting to learn how to be “civilised” equals of the white man.
- the character King Louie, who seems to some viewers to offer a racialised portrait of jazz culture that conflates (compares)“swingers” (presumably African American jazz musicians) with monkeys.
- Louie, the Monkey-People’s, orangutan ruler. Wants to learn how to make fire so that he can be like a man. This could easily be interpreted through a racial lens; the monkeys could be depictions of Africans wanting to learn how to be “civilised” equals of the white man.
- The representation is further reinforced through the use of African American accents (however) the role was played by an Italian American
- Social context: America was a segregated society during the 1960’s where Black people were actively fighting for Civil rights (equality)
- Visual effects supervisor Robert Legato explained how the larger-than-life ape — who only appears in the Disney version of "The Jungle Book" — was inspired by two things: Marlon Brando's role of Colonel Walter E. Kurtz in "Apocalypse Now" and an enormous extinct ape known as a Gigantopithecus that was indigenous to India, China, and Southeast Asia.
Jon Favreau's representation of King Louie, however, is inspired by both Marlon Brando's role of Colonel Walter E.Klutz in the movie "Apocalypse Now" and an enormous extinct ape - Gigantopithecus - which can be found in India; this is a different representation of the black race as the ape is already there and doesn't particularly need to try to fit in and want to be like the others. The ape's appearance overall is more sinister and mean looking in comparison to the 1967 version (who looks goofier, less threatening and ominous). "Orangutans are not really indigenous to India," Robert Legato. "But the Gigantopithecus is a real thing apparently that died out, but lived there, so the choice was made if we're gonna make him [Louie] into something, let's make him something that's indigenous to the landscape and take a little bit of liberty because he is a larger-than-life character anyway. He's Colonel Kurtz. He's the big mysterious guy." The accent also steers away from any association with black identity through the accent of the ape; the older version had an African-American accent which would instantly portray a black person. However, in the more recent version, the ape has a more American gangster accent which doesn't portray any black identities in comparison to the 1967 version.
Female representation
Comparing the 1967 and 2016 versions of Walt Disney's Jungle book (posters and film trailers), using media language discuss how the representations of the characters have changed.
You will need to explore the changes in social and cultural contexts and the impact of technology as part of your essay.
In the 1967's version of The Jungle Book, Baloo was voiced by Phil Harris (an American actor)- who made the role of Baloo a huge one. Harris bought along a warm and spontaneous demeanour to the bear. Baloo became an affectionate and fatherly-figure to Mowgli. Due to Harris' other Disney characters (Thomas O'Malley in 'The Aristocats' and Little John (another bear) in 'Robin Hood'), it shows that Harris is mainly cast as characters that are warm and friendly to those around his character. Baloo is a character which gets all of the children jumping up and down out of their seats; joining in; laughing; scratching, dancing and singing along with him. Although the film is crammed with memorable songs by all different people, what is really shown to bring the house down is Baloo's duet with King Louie 'I Wanna Be Like You', where Baloo tries to fit in with the orangutan and the Monkeys by dancing around in a costume (pretending to be a female ape) - wearing a palm leaf wig and skirt, and having coconuts on his snout, bring a comedic relief to the film and bringing joy to the scene. The whole scene is infectious in joy and could bring a smile to anyone's face. In the 2016 version of The Jungle Book, Baloo is voiced by Bill Murray (an American actor)- a warm, kind and friendly voice - who has also appeared in Ghostbusters, Garfield and Fantastic Mr Fox. In the 2016 version, Baloo is depicted as a Himalayan brown bear; it is also clear that in this version, Baloo is somewhat wiser compared to the 1967 version of the Jungle Book, however, he is still laid back like the one from 1967. In the 2016 version, Baloo is being portrayed as a free-wheeling, wise-cracking bear who helps Mowgli find his way. Kingsley describes Bagheera as having a personality as being analogous to someone in the military, most likely a Colonel, and that "he's instantly recognisable by the way that he talks, how he acts, and what his ethical code is". Bagheera is the film's narrator, saying that when he found Mowgli in the jungle, he gave him the Seeonee wolf pack, led by Akela to be raised by Raksha, and afterwards served as Mowgli's mentor and as a father-figure. Bagheera first appears in the film in teaching Mowgli to hunt. When he catches him, he says that if he can't keep up with the rest of the wolf pack then he'll end up as someone's dinner. He also disapproves of Mowgli's use of human tricks such as creating tools. Bagheera is presented as a wise figure. Level headed and intelligent, the panther is amongst the most down-to-earth residents of the jungle. When first introduced, he is seen as a selfless and caring individual, rescuing the orphaned Mowgli, and going out of his way to ensure his safety from that moment forward. Although he cares a great deal about the man-cub, Bagheera is also easily frustrated and intolerable of tomfoolery. This would result in rather heated arguments against the two, specifically in regards to whether or not Mowgli should remain in the jungle or return to the Man Village to live amongst his own species. Bagheera's temper can occasionally blind his sense of judgement, resulting in careless behaviour such as abandoning Mowgli in the jungle despite the knowing dangers that lurk. Nevertheless, he is quick to reform and repeatedly finds himself by Mowgli's side once again. He is a devoted ally and makes it a crucial objective to protect those he cares about. Bagheera is also commonly known as the foil of Baloo the bear, whom the former views as a "stupid, jungle bum". The two have opposite personalities, and continuously annoy one another with their need to push their own personal opinions onto each other. Nevertheless, these conflicts mostly centred around Mowgli's fate, and the two generally share a brotherly bond. Following the climax, when it appeared Baloo had met his demise, Bagheera revealed that he truly did care for the bear, and was notably embarrassed to see that Baloo had overheard his heartfelt eulogy. Once Mowgli made the decision to return to the Man Village, Bagheera and Baloo joyfully returned to their lives in the jungle, setting aside their differences and remained together as best friends. However, overall, Baloo's character is still presented as a fun and lovable father-like figure in both 1967 and 2016 versions.
King Louie, in the 1967 version of the Jungle Book, was voiced by Louis Prima who was by both Marlon Brando's role of Colonel Walter E.Klutz in the movie "Apocalypse Now" and an enormous extinct ape - Gigantopithecus - which can be found in India; this is a different representation of the black race as the ape is already there and doesn't particularly need to try to fit in and want to be like the others. The ape's appearance overall is more sinister and mean looking in comparison to the 1967 version (who looks goofier, less threatening and ominous). "Orangutans are not really indigenous to India," Robert Legato. "But the Gigantopithecus is a real thing apparently that died out, but lived there, so the choice was made if we're gonna make him [Louie] into something, let's make him something that's indigenous to the landscape and take a little bit of liberty because he is a larger-than-life character anyway. He's Colonel Kurtz. He's the big mysterious guy." The accent also steers away from any association with black identity through the accent of the ape; the older version had an African-American accent which would instantly portray a black person. However, in the more recent version, the ape has a more American gangster accent which doesn't portray any black identities in comparison to the 1967 version. King Louie can be seen in many ways; one being that it is a racial stereotype at the time of black people wanting to fit in and identify with all the other people - this is further emphasised through the fact that there are no orangutans in India meaning that King Louie is out of his habitat and has moved to another place; not in his natural habitat - much like when black people have migrated to places where white people are mainly populated. However, some people think that this is just an exaggeration of what King Louie is meant to be actually portrayed as. Given the context of the time, the lyrics 'I wanna be like you' portrays a negative presentation of black people and the fact that all they want is to be like white people despite at the time black people were trying to gain more equality.
Kaa, in the 1967 version of the Jungle Book, was voiced by Sterling Howard - also known for his parts in Winnie the Pooh (Pooh), the aristocrats (Roquefort), and Alice in Wonderland (Cheshire Cat) - with his voice is smooth and dull, however, almost dreamy and hypnotic (a good trait for the character of Kaa). However, in the 2016 version, Scarlett Johansson voices Kaa - also known for her roles in Marvel movies (Black Widow/Natasha Romanoff), Sing! (Ash), The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie (Mindy), and she also plays Cinderella in Disney's Where Every Cinderella Story Comes Tru - her voice being seductive and also hypnotic. The change from a male playing Kaa to a female playing Kaa adds more diversity to the genders of the celebrities who play the characters - it also takes an advantage of Johansson's voice (her accent, the way she speaks and the tone in which she speaks). In the books, Kaa was considered a mentor to Mowgli and akin to Baloo and Bagheera, it was only when it was adapted to films that Kaa became dangerous and villainous. This is most likely to the developer's belief that at the time, people would not accept that a snake as a heroic character. 1967's depiction of Kaa is smaller and looks friendlier than the more modern one. Kaa is a yellow-eyed Indian python that has grown to be extremely long. He has golden scales and a lighter underbelly, and dark brown spots patterned across his back. Despite having a large body, Ka's head and neck are small in comparison, although his mouth is large enough to take up most of his head and swallow prey. Kaa is a sly and seductive character, speaking with a soft, often entrancing tone to either lure his victims into a weary, dreamlike state or manipulate them into bestowing their trust, thus allowing him to devour them unexpectedly. He furthers this by the use of his iconic ability to hypnotise his prey with his eyes, rendering them enchanted and under his command. A powerful and dangerous ability, Kaa is a feared member of the jungle, as evidenced by his interaction with the often composed and fearless Bagheera. Such fear, however, does not resonate with the unofficial ruler of the jungle, Shere Khan the tiger. Kaa holds a disliking for Khan, believing the act of killing for pleasure—as opposed to survival—to be dishonourable. The two beasts are often at odds, though Shere Khan views Kaa as an "eyes and ears" of the jungle, relying on him to assist his quest in finding Mowgli at one point in the film. In 2016, Kaa is the tertiary antagonist. Unlike in the previous adaptations, this incarnation of Kaa is a female snake, voiced by Scarlett Johansson. In this version, she is depicted as, like previous versions, as an Indian rock python, albeit of similar size to her book counterpart; some 30 feet long.
In the 1967 Trailers, there is a commentator who introduces everyone, creating a feeling that the animals are being welcomed to join in - this allows the whole film to seem child-friendly. The bright, saturated colours, accompanied by the music in the background create a lively atmosphere that would get the whole audience entranced and wanting to know more. The trailer on a whole gives the viewer a sense of what was to happen throughout the movie; showing off Baloo's fun side, Kaa's dangerous and hypnotic side, King Louie theatrical side, the artillery side of the elephants, and the fierce side of Shere Khan. On the other hand, the 2016 trailer is more fast-paced - building up the tension and drama - creating enigmas throughout. There is a lot of shots in the dark and of fighting providing the audience with a sense of mystery and danger that goes on throughout, and of the harm that Mowgli - a little boy - could end up facing. The CGI of the animals in this trailer is a lot more realistic than the 2D drawings that had been created in the 1967 version. The colouring of this trailer is a lot darker and earthy coloured. There are a few scenes where it is night time and it is pitch black, generating a feeling of worry and anxiousness. Just from the trailer alone, this film doesn't seem as child-friendly as the trailer from the 1967 - with the darker colours, the brutality of the animals, and the realism of the animals making it seem like this is what animals always do.
In the 2016 versions of the posters, the colours are duller and toned down, being less saturated than the 1967 version due to it being more bright, saturated and coloured. The 1967 version has a more funky and child-friendly font in comparison to the 2016 version which is more formal and is Serif. There is more sophistication in the 2016 version, whereas it is simpler the 1967 one is simpler; the 2016 version has used CGI and photoshop, however, the 1967 version looks like a drawing. The 1967 version of the posters are more child-friendly and look completely inviting to any audience, children or adults. However, pretty much all of the 2016 posters look like they were made for a mode adult movie - with the darker colours, more scary positions (with the snake looking down at all the other animals).
When comparing what both versions look like, whilst the 1967 version is a cartoon, involving warm and saturated colours - creating a more fun and warm tone to the film; which when accompanied by the laughing, songs and dramatic characters; creates an excellent film for people of all ages. However, in the 2016 version, everything is CGI (apart from the humans), and most of the lighting has been dimmed and is less saturated and has more muted tones - creating a more mysterious and dark tone to the film; and when accompanied by the fighting, horror and fear that goes on throughout the movie, it brings up the question of who the target audience actually is due to it being quite scary for some people under a certain age. “Big action spectacles are the only films that seem to make studios comfortable enough to use this level of artistry and technology in storytelling,” Favreau said. “And so the unique opportunity I’ve had is to use it for humour and emotion. Showing nature, showing animals—and really getting into that deep, mythic imagery, that always marries well with technology and always has. And so that’s fun for me”. “The idea of going out to the jungle and shooting this just felt like it wouldn’t have the magic the ’67 film had,” Favreau said. “There was a dreamlike quality to it. There was a surreal quality to it. It was a high-water mark for character animation, because of the character and the emotion and the music. And that’s what I remember about it, and so I wanted to make sure we preserved that”. “Making the animals talk was the hardest part of the process,” Favreau said. “It was done on a shot by shot basis. There are certain animals that talk well. Other ones, it’s harder. A snake is harder because you don’t want to make it move in the way required to make the sound. So we always erred on the side of subtly. Plus we’re really smart about the camera angle, lighting, and where the camera is. Look at Bambi again. You’ll notice a lot of the time the camera is not on who’s talking.” The movie looks like live action, plain and simple. We’ve always wondered if you could push animation far enough to duplicate reality, and The Jungle Book may be the closest thing we’ve seen to that yet.
The Jungle Books 2016 version has included a lot of technology in hopes to make the film as realistic as possible - in fact, the first thing that is noticed is the groundbreaking visual effect techniques -which were led by the company MPC (who have also helped to make Harry Potter, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and Life of Pi), with their aim being to make the viewers feel as if they were actually in the jungle with Mowgli and all of the animals. To create a realistic film, the filmmakers built the entire jungle within a computer; using footage from real Indian jungles for realistic scenes. All of the filming took place in one small soundstage in Los Angeles and the world was constructed around Neel Sethi - Mowgli. When the jungle had been constructed, animals were needed to be transformed into characters. Using real animals for reference, they used key-frame animations to capture the photo-realistic images of the creatures, but with the visual characteristics to express the emotions and vocal performances of the actors and actresses. However, even though the animals look realistic, they are not as realistic as they could be; due to they're slightly larger than their real-life counterparts - Jon Favreau had wanted to reflect a childlike view of the world - adding to the feeling that the audience is experiencing the jungle the same way as Mowgli is (a small boy in a big world). It took a crew of over 800 artists pulling together to bring more than 70 species of animals to life. This process takes a huge amount of time; for Baloo, it took around five hours to create each frame of a film which featured him.
Female representation
- There appears to be no representation of female characters in the 1967 version of the Jungle Book.
- Director Jon Favreau in the 2016 version chose to cast Scarlett Johannson as Kaa providing a more Seductive/beguiling voice compared to the comedic representation of the 1967 film
What are the different types of marketing?
 |
| Celebrity endorsement |
 |
| Sponsorship from places like McDonald's |
 |
| Premiere |
 |
| Memes |
 |
 |
| Teasers |
 |
| Collectable Figurines |
 |
| Social Media advertising the film |
Above the line (ATL) - advertising is where mass media is used to promote brands and reach out to the target consumers. These include conventional media as we know it, television and radio advertising, print as well as the internet. This is communication that is targeted to a wider spread of audience and is not specific to individual consumers. ATL advertising tries to reach out to the mass as consumer audience.
Below the line (BTL) - advertising is more one to one and involves the distribution of pamphlets, handbills, stickers, promotions, brochures placed at the point of sale, on the roads through banners and placards. It could also involve product demos and samplings at busy places like malls and marketplaces or residential complexes.
Comparing the 1967 and 2016 versions of Walt Disney's Jungle book (posters and film trailers), using media language discuss how the representations of the characters have changed.
You will need to explore the changes in social and cultural contexts and the impact of technology as part of your essay.
King Louie, in the 1967 version of the Jungle Book, was voiced by Louis Prima who was by both Marlon Brando's role of Colonel Walter E.Klutz in the movie "Apocalypse Now" and an enormous extinct ape - Gigantopithecus - which can be found in India; this is a different representation of the black race as the ape is already there and doesn't particularly need to try to fit in and want to be like the others. The ape's appearance overall is more sinister and mean looking in comparison to the 1967 version (who looks goofier, less threatening and ominous). "Orangutans are not really indigenous to India," Robert Legato. "But the Gigantopithecus is a real thing apparently that died out, but lived there, so the choice was made if we're gonna make him [Louie] into something, let's make him something that's indigenous to the landscape and take a little bit of liberty because he is a larger-than-life character anyway. He's Colonel Kurtz. He's the big mysterious guy." The accent also steers away from any association with black identity through the accent of the ape; the older version had an African-American accent which would instantly portray a black person. However, in the more recent version, the ape has a more American gangster accent which doesn't portray any black identities in comparison to the 1967 version. King Louie can be seen in many ways; one being that it is a racial stereotype at the time of black people wanting to fit in and identify with all the other people - this is further emphasised through the fact that there are no orangutans in India meaning that King Louie is out of his habitat and has moved to another place; not in his natural habitat - much like when black people have migrated to places where white people are mainly populated. However, some people think that this is just an exaggeration of what King Louie is meant to be actually portrayed as. Given the context of the time, the lyrics 'I wanna be like you' portrays a negative presentation of black people and the fact that all they want is to be like white people despite at the time black people were trying to gain more equality.
Kaa, in the 1967 version of the Jungle Book, was voiced by Sterling Howard - also known for his parts in Winnie the Pooh (Pooh), the aristocrats (Roquefort), and Alice in Wonderland (Cheshire Cat) - with his voice is smooth and dull, however, almost dreamy and hypnotic (a good trait for the character of Kaa). However, in the 2016 version, Scarlett Johansson voices Kaa - also known for her roles in Marvel movies (Black Widow/Natasha Romanoff), Sing! (Ash), The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie (Mindy), and she also plays Cinderella in Disney's Where Every Cinderella Story Comes Tru - her voice being seductive and also hypnotic. The change from a male playing Kaa to a female playing Kaa adds more diversity to the genders of the celebrities who play the characters - it also takes an advantage of Johansson's voice (her accent, the way she speaks and the tone in which she speaks). In the books, Kaa was considered a mentor to Mowgli and akin to Baloo and Bagheera, it was only when it was adapted to films that Kaa became dangerous and villainous. This is most likely to the developer's belief that at the time, people would not accept that a snake as a heroic character. 1967's depiction of Kaa is smaller and looks friendlier than the more modern one. Kaa is a yellow-eyed Indian python that has grown to be extremely long. He has golden scales and a lighter underbelly, and dark brown spots patterned across his back. Despite having a large body, Ka's head and neck are small in comparison, although his mouth is large enough to take up most of his head and swallow prey. Kaa is a sly and seductive character, speaking with a soft, often entrancing tone to either lure his victims into a weary, dreamlike state or manipulate them into bestowing their trust, thus allowing him to devour them unexpectedly. He furthers this by the use of his iconic ability to hypnotise his prey with his eyes, rendering them enchanted and under his command. A powerful and dangerous ability, Kaa is a feared member of the jungle, as evidenced by his interaction with the often composed and fearless Bagheera. Such fear, however, does not resonate with the unofficial ruler of the jungle, Shere Khan the tiger. Kaa holds a disliking for Khan, believing the act of killing for pleasure—as opposed to survival—to be dishonourable. The two beasts are often at odds, though Shere Khan views Kaa as an "eyes and ears" of the jungle, relying on him to assist his quest in finding Mowgli at one point in the film. In 2016, Kaa is the tertiary antagonist. Unlike in the previous adaptations, this incarnation of Kaa is a female snake, voiced by Scarlett Johansson. In this version, she is depicted as, like previous versions, as an Indian rock python, albeit of similar size to her book counterpart; some 30 feet long.
In the 1967 Trailers, there is a commentator who introduces everyone, creating a feeling that the animals are being welcomed to join in - this allows the whole film to seem child-friendly. The bright, saturated colours, accompanied by the music in the background create a lively atmosphere that would get the whole audience entranced and wanting to know more. The trailer on a whole gives the viewer a sense of what was to happen throughout the movie; showing off Baloo's fun side, Kaa's dangerous and hypnotic side, King Louie theatrical side, the artillery side of the elephants, and the fierce side of Shere Khan. On the other hand, the 2016 trailer is more fast-paced - building up the tension and drama - creating enigmas throughout. There is a lot of shots in the dark and of fighting providing the audience with a sense of mystery and danger that goes on throughout, and of the harm that Mowgli - a little boy - could end up facing. The CGI of the animals in this trailer is a lot more realistic than the 2D drawings that had been created in the 1967 version. The colouring of this trailer is a lot darker and earthy coloured. There are a few scenes where it is night time and it is pitch black, generating a feeling of worry and anxiousness. Just from the trailer alone, this film doesn't seem as child-friendly as the trailer from the 1967 - with the darker colours, the brutality of the animals, and the realism of the animals making it seem like this is what animals always do.
In the 2016 versions of the posters, the colours are duller and toned down, being less saturated than the 1967 version due to it being more bright, saturated and coloured. The 1967 version has a more funky and child-friendly font in comparison to the 2016 version which is more formal and is Serif. There is more sophistication in the 2016 version, whereas it is simpler the 1967 one is simpler; the 2016 version has used CGI and photoshop, however, the 1967 version looks like a drawing. The 1967 version of the posters are more child-friendly and look completely inviting to any audience, children or adults. However, pretty much all of the 2016 posters look like they were made for a mode adult movie - with the darker colours, more scary positions (with the snake looking down at all the other animals).
When comparing what both versions look like, whilst the 1967 version is a cartoon, involving warm and saturated colours - creating a more fun and warm tone to the film; which when accompanied by the laughing, songs and dramatic characters; creates an excellent film for people of all ages. However, in the 2016 version, everything is CGI (apart from the humans), and most of the lighting has been dimmed and is less saturated and has more muted tones - creating a more mysterious and dark tone to the film; and when accompanied by the fighting, horror and fear that goes on throughout the movie, it brings up the question of who the target audience actually is due to it being quite scary for some people under a certain age. “Big action spectacles are the only films that seem to make studios comfortable enough to use this level of artistry and technology in storytelling,” Favreau said. “And so the unique opportunity I’ve had is to use it for humour and emotion. Showing nature, showing animals—and really getting into that deep, mythic imagery, that always marries well with technology and always has. And so that’s fun for me”. “The idea of going out to the jungle and shooting this just felt like it wouldn’t have the magic the ’67 film had,” Favreau said. “There was a dreamlike quality to it. There was a surreal quality to it. It was a high-water mark for character animation, because of the character and the emotion and the music. And that’s what I remember about it, and so I wanted to make sure we preserved that”. “Making the animals talk was the hardest part of the process,” Favreau said. “It was done on a shot by shot basis. There are certain animals that talk well. Other ones, it’s harder. A snake is harder because you don’t want to make it move in the way required to make the sound. So we always erred on the side of subtly. Plus we’re really smart about the camera angle, lighting, and where the camera is. Look at Bambi again. You’ll notice a lot of the time the camera is not on who’s talking.” The movie looks like live action, plain and simple. We’ve always wondered if you could push animation far enough to duplicate reality, and The Jungle Book may be the closest thing we’ve seen to that yet.
The Jungle Books 2016 version has included a lot of technology in hopes to make the film as realistic as possible - in fact, the first thing that is noticed is the groundbreaking visual effect techniques -which were led by the company MPC (who have also helped to make Harry Potter, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and Life of Pi), with their aim being to make the viewers feel as if they were actually in the jungle with Mowgli and all of the animals. To create a realistic film, the filmmakers built the entire jungle within a computer; using footage from real Indian jungles for realistic scenes. All of the filming took place in one small soundstage in Los Angeles and the world was constructed around Neel Sethi - Mowgli. When the jungle had been constructed, animals were needed to be transformed into characters. Using real animals for reference, they used key-frame animations to capture the photo-realistic images of the creatures, but with the visual characteristics to express the emotions and vocal performances of the actors and actresses. However, even though the animals look realistic, they are not as realistic as they could be; due to they're slightly larger than their real-life counterparts - Jon Favreau had wanted to reflect a childlike view of the world - adding to the feeling that the audience is experiencing the jungle the same way as Mowgli is (a small boy in a big world). It took a crew of over 800 artists pulling together to bring more than 70 species of animals to life. This process takes a huge amount of time; for Baloo, it took around five hours to create each frame of a film which featured him.
Discuss how these films were marketed and the value earned by the company. Using media language discuss the effects of technology on targeting an older audience in the 2016 version.
Disney has marketed The Jungle Book in multiple ways. Above the line, advertising has been used through trailers that have been played during half times at the ESPN (an American sports channel), before films in cinemas, and on the TV during breaks when shows are on. Below the line, advertising has been used to make things such as brochures and stickers, which have been handed out to people, sold in shops and toy stores. The circulation of the film has helped - being made into a DVD and a Blu-ray. Rides have been added to the Disney Theme Parks all over the world to spread awareness that they have made another film - there being a jungle cruise ride in Florida Disney Land, parades in Disney Land Paris, and giving sneak peeks to the visitors who are at Disney Land. The sports channels have helped spread the word that there is a new Jungle Book through using ESPN as a platform to market and exhibit their films - this spreads the types of watchers to more men as men are more likely to watch sports games when the trailers come on. Disney also uses the Superbowl - creating short films to be used in the half times to excite the viewers. Other ways that Disney has marketed The Jungle Book is to get people who Blog, use social media (such as Snap chat, Twitter and YouTube) to talk about it and spread the word. Celebrities have also helped to market The Jungle Book through Celebrity Endorsement - where the celebrities who voice some of the characters are posing with the characters that they voice - for example, Scarlett Johansson has taken pictures with a big figure of Kaa and has shared it on her social media to her thousands, if not millions, of followers.
