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CGI almost shines in first 'Jungle Book' trailer

Posted Tuesday, September 15, 2015 at 1:48 PM Central
Last updated Wednesday, September 16, 2015 at 9:51 AM Central

by John Couture

There are few letters in film that cause more consternation than CGI. Standing for Computer-Generated Imagery, CGI is the lasting reminder that we live in a world in which the phrase "more than meets the eye" finally means something significant. It's also a sign of the times as films these days tend to be more fake than practical.

There's no debate that the introduction of computers has opened up newer and vaster avenues upon which filmmakers can tell their stories. And yet, there are many who yearn for the old days when practical effects made films such as Star Wars as iconic as they are today. Well, at least until George Lucas got his CGI hands on them and created the "Special Editions," but that's a topic for another day.

No, today we get the best (and worst) of CGI in the form of the first trailer for the "live-action" remake The Jungle Book. Of course, the extent to which you can call the film "live-action" is a bit limited when you realize that in many of these scenes, there's only one live actor in them. That being said, the CGI animals look quite impressive and give you reason to hope that the days of clunky, funny-looking CGI is behind us forever. But then, we reach the last five seconds of the teaser and we're reminded all over again why we despise CGI on the best of days.

While everything looks amazing in the buildup, the payoff shot of Mowgli riding down the river on Baloo's stomach looks as fake as anything I've ever seen from CGI. It sticks out even more in comparison to the rest of the trailer and the high quality seen from that CGI. Here's hoping that this shot was simply just not finished and that Disney is not hoping that the voice of Bill Murray will distract viewers from the odd looking Baloo.

The film also features the voice talents of Idris Elba, Ben Kingsley, Scarlett Johansson, Christopher Walken and Lupita Nyong'o. The Jungle Book hits theaters on April 15, 2016.