Neel Sethi stars in a scene from the movie "The Jungle Book." The Catholic News Service classification is A-II -- adults and adolescents. (CNS/Disney)

By Catholic News Service

This adaptation of British author Rudyard Kipling’s 1894 collection of stories about the adventures of a “man-cub” (Neel Sethi) raised by animals offers delightful, good-natured, heartfelt entertainment for the entire family, the most easily frightened tots possibly excepted.

Orphaned as a baby, the boy is led by a kindly panther (voice of Ben Kingsley) to a pack of wolves, which raises him as one of their own. A menacing tiger (voice of Idris Elba) regards him as a threat and orders him killed, but the boy escapes. On the journey that follows, he strikes up an unlikely friendship with a happy-go-lucky bear (voice of Bill Murray) and faces new challenges. Amid the lavish, computer-generated forest and fauna, director Jon Favreau and screenwriter Justin Marks pay homage to Disney’s 1967 animated version of Kipling’s work with moments of humor and by incorporating its toe-tapping tunes, “The Bare Necessities” and “I Wanna Be Like You.”

A few scenes of peril. The Catholic News Service classification is A-II — adults and adolescents. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is PG — parental guidance suggested. Some material may not be suitable for children.

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