ENTERTAINMENT X INTERVIEW
There is a great line in the movie – both funny and educational – where Baloo the Bear jokingly threatens the pangolin by telling him he’s never been a more endangered species than at that moment. Where did that line come from?
When I was recording with Bill Murray (voice of Baloo the Bear), the film only existed in my imagination and in rough sketches. In prepping Bill with backstory about the characters that were his friends, I gave him some background on the pangolin. The line was one of many that he improvised and it played really well in the scene. It also had the added benefit of drawing attention to the pangolins plight while still being entertaining..
Do you think that this movie – which used only CGI animated animals instead of live animals – will be a game-changer for the way animals are used in Hollywood going forward?
I think we’ve reached a point where computer generated animals make a lot of sense. It’s safer for the people and it’s safer for the animals. As a director this method gives me a lot more creative latitude. Technology is always offering opportunities to allow filmmakers to tell better stories and to make the set a safer place for all those involved, be it people or animals.
The pangolin was one of the few speaking animals in the movie that didn’t have a name or a credited actor voicing the character. Was this on purpose?
He actually did have a name, it was Mr. Pangolin. He was one of many unbilled cameos in the film.
Jon, what motivated you to include a pangolin in The Jungle Book movie?
When we were meeting with the LA Zoo -- they were helping us with our research for the film -- they suggested that we consider featuring the pangolin because they live in that part of the world and they are an endangered species. We said that we would consider it and began doing research. I had never heard of pangolins before. When our art department pulled images, we were inspired by this interesting creature. We wrote the pangolin into the script and as the character developed, we became quite enamored with him.
CD | @CREATIVEPARKERXL