翻拍真人版《奇幻森林》究竟值不值得
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，一個時常縈繞在觀衆腦海的問題是：毛克利（Mowgli）（尼爾·塞西飾）究竟是人類社會的一員，還是屬於把他養大的狼（露皮塔·尼永奧配音（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.
就連這部影片本身也存在身份模糊的問題。它是一部歌舞片嗎？它的受衆是兒童還是成人？它是迪斯尼1967年出品的經典卡通片的真人版本，還是拉迪亞德·吉卜林（Rudyard Kipling）於1894-1895年寫成的小說的呆板改編？就像毛克利的身份之謎一樣，有關喬恩·費儒導演的這部影片的種種問題也很難給出確切答案。
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.
有一點必須強調：《奇幻森林》這部影片在電影特效技術上達到了登峯造極的高度，這一點是明確無誤的。這是一部21世紀的《歡樂滿人間》（Mary Poppins)的續集：影片主角毛克利身邊的各種動物和複雜的景物都是由計算機生成。
The film has an identity crisis. Is it amusical or isn’t it? Is it aimed at children or adults?
這部影片本身也存在身份模糊的問題。它是一部歌舞片嗎？它的受衆是兒童還是成人？
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.
影片中的數字特效令人歎服：有着厚密的羽毛、起伏的肌肉、晶亮的眼睛和翕動的雙耳的各種動物角色讓人身臨其境，就好像費儒違反了《兒童保護法》，真的把這個12歲的小孩扔到了一羣野生動物中間似的。就像《奇幻森林》和《荒野獵人》這兩部電影中，如果你想看到最先進、逼真的數字影像，用熊來表現是最佳不過的了。
‘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》的真正問題在於劇本。影片的情節拖沓，主題簡略，在敘事上明顯不如迪斯尼另一部同期擬人化動物主題影片《瘋狂動物城》。
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.
顯然，影片導演費儒和編劇賈斯汀·馬克斯（Justin Marks）過於拘泥於卡通版電影的故事結構，但卻沒注意到卡通版實際上並不存在真正的故事結構：印度叢林裏，一個頭發亂蓬蓬，穿着紅色短褲的男孩由狼羣養大。後來，在一頭名叫巴希拉的黑豹（本.金斯利配音）的陪伴下，他重返人類社會。途中，他們結交了一大羣四條腿的動物朋友。
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 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.
其實，當初讓卡通版影片獲得成功的原因之一正是這種鬆散的故事情節。卡通版擁有輕鬆歡快的主題歌曲和個性鮮明的角色，不再需要緊湊嚴密的故事情節。但是，真人版影片的趣味性差於卡通版。片中，毛克利不時受傷流血，所處環境晦暗險惡，還有邪惡的大反派–老虎謝利·可汗（伊德瑞斯·艾爾巴（Idris Elba）配音）。就在毛克利和黑豹巴希拉出去閒逛的時候，老虎謝利·可汗決定在毛克利回來的時候把他當早餐吃掉，於是朝着收養毛克利的狼羣兇猛地咆哮起來想把狼羣嚇跑。就在幾英里外，毛克利並不知道他的莽撞行爲讓狼羣身處險境，但是觀衆此時都無不屏住了呼吸。因此，他的探險奇遇與其說是在進行一種無害的娛樂，不如說是在讓人膽戰心驚地浪費時間。
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.
某些角色與主題毫無關聯。影片裏，毛克利和一羣大象穿過小路遇到了一條巨蟒（斯嘉麗·約翰遜（Scarlett Johansson）配音）。巨蟒等動物的外形儘管十分逼真，但是這些配角除了照搬1967年卡通片裏的相同角色外，沒有對情節發展起到任何作用。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）看上去很像是馬龍·白蘭度扮演的兩個著名角色– “教父”和“科茲上校”的組合體。棕熊巴魯老是像比爾·默裏（Bill Murray）一樣慢吞吞地說話，同樣讓人忍俊不禁。
There were times during The Jungle Bookwhen I was rooting for the tiger
老實說，看這部影片時，我有好幾次都希望老虎能贏。
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.
影片中絕大部分角色都和老虎謝利·可汗，以及它對毛克利的狼族形成的威脅沒太大關係。另外，出於可以理解的原因，費儒當然也把卡通版裏的兩首主題歌《Bare Necessities》和《I Wan’na Be Like You》加到了新電影裏。可笑的是，比爾·默裏和沃肯兩位配音演員與其說是在唱歌，還不如說是在隨着音樂的節奏狂吼亂叫。
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 e 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.
除了向迪斯尼卡通經典致敬外，很難看出這場五光十色，但卻毫無目的的卡通版野外漫步改編成真人版影片的價值何在（接下來，《妙妙龍》和《美女與野獸》的真人版會接踵而至）。據我所知，這部電影更像是費儒爲《星球大戰》而試鏡一樣。迷霧重重的森林裏好像隱藏着《帝國反擊戰》裏的尤達，叢林生存技能則是師從《絕地歸來》裏的伊沃克人（Ewoks）。兩部影片的計算機影像技術同樣強大，而主角身邊都同樣圍着一羣老在喋喋不休的同黨。和《星球大戰》毫無二致的是，片中同樣有刀疤臉惡棍一邊在光線晦暗的房間裏追逐少年英雄，一邊怒吼着：“像你爸爸那樣把紅魔花交給我！”或者：“讓我們一起統治整個森林吧！”片中，大猩猩路易王和老虎謝利·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.
還有，片中另一個模仿《星球大戰》的設定是，毛克利就像《星球大戰前傳1：幽靈的威脅》中的阿納金（Anakin）一樣可恨。這不是演員的錯。在片中，他要用一種在吉卜林的原著和1967年卡通版影片裏都沒有的美國式病態語調粗聲粗氣地說：“我猜，你很可愛。”或者“我終於擺脫了你。”老實說，看這部影片時，我有好幾次都希望老虎能贏。
