Bear necessities: short but sweet first trailer for Disney's Jungle Book remake hits web

The first trailer for Disney’s live action remake of 1967 animated classic The Jungle Book has hit the web, hinting at a CGI-heavy action adventure featuring lush imagery of Indian flora and fauna. The teaser is soundtracked by the hypnotic tones of Scarlett Johansson’s sinister Kaa, a giant python whose majestic scale is revealed to the camera only at the end of the promo, as she explains to young “mancub” Mowgli how little chance he has of getting out of the jungle alive. The dangerous nature of the tiny human’s existence is made clear, with his immediate environment seemingly teeming with beasts. There are glimpses of the Bill Murray-voiced Baloo the bear, Ben Kingsley’s Bagheera the panther, Idris Elba’s villainous tiger Shere Khan and Christopher Walken’s King Louie the orangutan. Also featuring in Jon Favreau’s film are Lupita Nyong’o’s Raksha and Giancarlo Esposito’s Akela, Mowgli’s adoptive vulpine parents. The tone and look might be a million miles away from the beloved animation, but Disney can’t resist dropping in a few notes of Baloo’s Bare Necessities to remind us of the movie’s lineage. It’s not yet clear whether Walken will sing Louis’ signature ditty I Wanna Be Like You. Only ten-year-old Neel Sethi will appear on-screen in The Jungle Book, playing Mowgli in the film. The New York-born actor, who has no previous acting experience, was picked from thousands of candidates at auditions in the US, Canada and the UK. Favreau’s take is one of two competing movies based on Rudyard Kipling’s fantasy fable currently in the works. Rival studio Warner Bros has hired mo-cap king Andy Serkis to make his directorial debut on a separate version now expected in cinemas for 2017. The Serkis film features voice work from Benedict Cumberbatch, Christian Bale, Naomie Harris and Cate Blanchett.