The recurring question in Disney’s The JungleBook is whether Mowgli (Neel Sethi) belongs in a village with his fellowhumans, or in the wild with the wolf (voiced by Lupita Nyong’o) whoadopted him.

在迪斯尼公司新出品的影片《奇幻森林》中，一个时常萦绕在观众脑海的问题是：毛克利（Mowgli）（尼尔·塞西饰）究竟是人类社会的一员，还是属于把他养大的狼（露皮塔·尼永奥配音（Lupita Nyong’o）所在的大自然？

The film itself has a similar identitycrisis. Is it a musical or isn’t it? Is it aimed at children or adults? Is it awacky live-action version of Disney’s classic 1967 cartoon, or is it a po-facedadaptation of Rudyard Kipling’s stories from 1894 and 1895? Like Mowgli, JonFavreau’s film can never quite decide.

就连这部影片本身也存在身份模糊的问题。它是一部歌舞片吗？它的受众是儿童还是成人？它是迪斯尼1967年出品的经典卡通片的真人版本，还是拉迪亚德·吉卜林（Rudyard Kipling）于1894-1895年写成的小说的呆板改编？就像毛克利的身份之谜一样，有关乔恩·费儒导演的这部影片的种种问题也很难给出确切答案。

One thing is clear, mind you, and that’s thatThe Jungle Book is a technical marvel. A 21st-Century update of the MaryPoppins sequence that puts flesh-and-blood actors into an animated setting, thefilm has an on-screen actor as Mowgli, but the animals and the lush landscapesaround him are computer-generated –not that you’d know.

有一点必须强调：《奇幻森林》这部影片在电影特效技术上达到了登峰造极的高度，这一点是明确无误的。这是一部21世纪的《欢乐满人间》（Mary Poppins)的续集：影片主角毛克利身边的各种动物和复杂的景物都是由计算机生成。

The film has an identity crisis. Is it amusical or isn’t it? Is it aimed at children or adults?

这部影片本身也存在身份模糊的问题。它是一部歌舞片吗？它的受众是儿童还是成人？

So convincing are the digital creations,with their thick fur, roiling muscles, glinting eyes and twitching ears, thatyou could easily imagine that Favreau had broken all sorts of childendangerment laws by throwing a 12-year-old boy into a studio with a pack ofwild animals. Between The Jungle Book and The Revenant, it seems that if youwant to see the photorealistic cutting-edge of digital imagery, then a bear hasgot to be involved.

影片中的数字特效令人叹服：有着厚密的羽毛、起伏的肌肉、晶亮的眼睛和翕动的双耳的各种动物角色让人身临其境，就好像费儒违反了《儿童保护法》，真的把这个12岁的小孩扔到了一群野生动物中间似的。就像《奇幻森林》和《荒野猎人》这两部电影中，如果你想看到最先进、逼真的数字影像，用熊来表现是最佳不过的了。

‘A lot less fun’

“趣味性差”

The problems with The Jungle Book have todo with something more old-fashioned: the script, which meanders from episodeto episode without ever picking up speed or accruing any of the thematicsophistication of Disney’s other current anthropomorphic animal extravaganza,Zootopia.

《奇幻森林》的真正问题在于剧本。影片的情节拖沓，主题简略，在叙事上明显不如迪斯尼另一部同期拟人化动物主题影片《疯狂动物城》。

Favreau and his screenwriter, Justin Marks,have stuck to the structure of the cartoon, never mind that the cartoon doesn’treally have a structure: we meet a mop-topped boy in a red nappy who has beenraised by wolves in an Indian jungle, and then he strolls towards civilisationwith a stern panther named Bagheera (voiced by Ben Kingsley), making variousfour-legged friends along the way.

显然，影片导演费儒和编剧贾斯汀·马克斯（Justin Marks）过于拘泥于卡通版电影的故事结构，但却没注意到卡通版实际上并不存在真正的故事结构：印度丛林里，一个头发乱蓬蓬，穿着红色短裤的男孩由狼群养大。后来，在一头名叫巴希拉的黑豹（本.金斯利配音）的陪伴下，他重返人类社会。途中，他们结交了一大群四条腿的动物朋友。

This ambling looseness is part of thecartoon’s laidback charm, of course. Thanks to the sunny mood generated by itstoe-tapping songs and memorable characters, it hardly needed a watertight plot.But the new film is a lot less fun than the cartoon was. Mowgli is regularlystreaked with blood, his surroundings are murky and sinister, and Shere Khan(Idris Elba) the tiger is a far more menacing antagonist. Determined to haveMowgli for breakfast, he growls that he’ll keep terrorising his lupine familyuntil the boy returns from his trek with Bagheera. Miles away, Mowgli doesn’t realisethat his wanderings are endangering his loved ones back home, but the viewerdoes, so his encounters seem less like harmless fun than a frustrating waste oftime.

其实，当初让卡通版影片获得成功的原因之一正是这种松散的故事情节。卡通版拥有轻松欢快的主题歌曲和个性鲜明的角色，不再需要紧凑严密的故事情节。但是，真人版影片的趣味性差于卡通版。片中，毛克利不时受伤流血，所处环境晦暗险恶，还有邪恶的大反派–老虎谢利·可汗（伊德瑞斯·艾尔巴（Idris Elba）配音）。就在毛克利和黑豹巴希拉出去闲逛的时候，老虎谢利·可汗决定在毛克利回来的时候把他当早餐吃掉，于是朝着收养毛克利的狼群凶猛地咆哮起来想把狼群吓跑。就在几英里外，毛克利并不知道他的莽撞行为让狼群身处险境，但是观众此时都无不屏住了呼吸。因此，他的探险奇遇与其说是在进行一种无害的娱乐，不如说是在让人胆战心惊地浪费时间。

Some are particularly irrelevant. When hecrosses paths with a herd of elephants and gets a hug from a giant pythonvoiced by Scarlett Johansson, the animals look stunning, but their cameos don’tserve any purpose except to nod to the equivalent segments from 1967. Moreenjoyable is Mowgli’s skirmish with King Louie (Christopher Walken), amountainous ape who is depicted as a cross between two Marlon Brandocharacters, Vito Corleone and Colonel Kurtz. And it is, inevitably, a delightto hear Bill Murray’s hepcat drawl coming from a conniving sloth bear, Baloo.

某些角色与主题毫无关联。影片里，毛克利和一群大象穿过小路遇到了一条巨蟒（斯嘉丽·约翰逊（Scarlett Johansson）配音）。巨蟒等动物的外形尽管十分逼真，但是这些配角除了照搬1967年卡通片里的相同角色外，没有对情节发展起到任何作用。更搞笑的是，和毛克利打了一仗的大猩猩路易王（克里斯托弗·沃肯（Christopher Walken）配音）看上去很像是马龙·白兰度扮演的两个著名角色– “教父”和“科兹上校”的组合体。棕熊巴鲁老是像比尔·默里（Bill Murray）一样慢吞吞地说话，同样让人忍俊不禁。

There were times during The Jungle Bookwhen I was rooting for the tiger

老实说，看这部影片时，我有好几次都希望老虎能赢。

But not even these perfectly cast sectionshave much to do with Shere Khan and the threat to Mowgli’s wolf pack. Besides,as understandable as it is that Favreau should include the cartoon’s two bestsongs, The Bare Necessities and I Wan’na Be Like You, it would be over-generousto say that Murray and Walken actually sing them, as opposed to bellowing alongenthusiastically to the music.

影片中绝大部分角色都和老虎谢利·可汗，以及它对毛克利的狼族形成的威胁没太大关系。另外，出于可以理解的原因，费儒当然也把卡通版里的两首主题歌《Bare Necessities》和《I Wan’na Be Like You》加到了新电影里。可笑的是，比尔·默里和沃肯两位配音演员与其说是在唱歌，还不如说是在随着音乐的节奏狂吼乱叫。

So what is the point of this spectacularbut aimless nature ramble, apart from honouring Disney’s commitment to turningits cartoons into live-action films (Pete’s Dragon is next, then Beauty and theBeast)? As far as I can tell, it’s Favreau’s audition to direct a Star Warsinstalment. There is a misty forest reminiscent of Yoda’s hideout in The EmpireStrikes Back. There are woodcrafts inspired by the Ewoks in Return of the Jedi.There are CGI giants and wittering sidekicks aplenty. Most Star Wars-y of all,there are scarred villains who chase our young hero around shadowy chamberswhile booming, “Use the red flower on me like your father did!” And, “We couldrule the jungle together!” Essentially, Louie and Shere Khan are temptingMowgli to come over to the Dark Side.

除了向迪斯尼卡通经典致敬外，很难看出这场五光十色，但却毫无目的的卡通版野外漫步改编成真人版影片的价值何在（接下来，《妙妙龙》和《美女与野兽》的真人版会接踵而至）。据我所知，这部电影更像是费儒为《星球大战》而试镜一样。迷雾重重的森林里好像隐藏着《帝国反击战》里的尤达，丛林生存技能则是师从《绝地归来》里的伊沃克人（Ewoks）。两部影片的计算机影像技术同样强大，而主角身边都同样围着一群老在喋喋不休的同党。和《星球大战》毫无二致的是，片中同样有刀疤脸恶棍一边在光线晦暗的房间里追逐少年英雄，一边怒吼着：“像你爸爸那样把红魔花交给我！”或者：“让我们一起统治整个森林吧！”片中，大猩猩路易王和老虎谢利·可汗也都想把毛克利引入歧途。

The other Star Wars-like facet, alas, isthat Mowgli is almost as irritating as Anakin was in The Phantom Menace. It’snot the actor’s fault. It’s more that he has to say, “You’re kinda cute, Iguess,” and “I’m done running from you,” with an all-American sickliness thatisn’t derived from either the Kipling stories or the 1967 cartoon. Therewere times during The Jungle Book when I was rooting for the tiger.

还有，片中另一个模仿《星球大战》的设定是，毛克利就像《星球大战前传1：幽灵的威胁》中的阿纳金（Anakin）一样可恨。这不是演员的错。在片中，他要用一种在吉卜林的原著和1967年卡通版影片里都没有的美国式病态语调粗声粗气地说：“我猜，你很可爱。”或者“我终于摆脱了你。”老实说，看这部影片时，我有好几次都希望老虎能赢。