Best Part of Disney’s ‘The Jungle Book’ is What You Don’t See on Screen – Live Animals!

Disney’s new trailer for “The Jungle Book,” shows a beautiful, lush jungle with tigers, panthers, bears, and other amazing wild animals. However, one of the incredible things about the movie, isn’t what you see on screen, but what you don’t; while all of the characters in the film are realistic, there are no live animals used in the movie.  Every scene was shot in downtown Los Angeles, using entirely computer generated imagery (CGI) to create the fantastical world and all of Mowgli’s exotic animal friends.

Now, we imagine getting Mowgli to float down the river on Baloo’s belly while singing, would have been difficult to pull off with a real bear, but physics aside, the decision to use all CGI-animated animals instead of live ones is a great move for Hollywood. Animals have too often been subject to dangerous and inhumane treatment in films. For example, during the filming of “Life of Pi,” the film’s Bengal tiger nearly drowned on set, an incident that was covered up by the U.S. body charged with ensuring animal safety in Hollywood. In addition, the trainer who was used in that film was recently captured on tape striking a performance tiger with a whip more than 20 times in order to get him to perform a trick. Back in the Golden Age of Hollywood, directors even used electric shocks to control animals on set. Thankfully, we’ve come a long way since then.

With all of the incredible technology we have at our fingertips, there is no reason at all to subject animals to such treatment all for entertainment. CGI animation is amazingly realistic and with it, filmmakers can create some of the most awe-inspiring visuals, without any suffering. For example, “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes” wowed movie-goers without using any actual apes. Since the film brought in $100 million during opening weekend in the U.S. alone, we think audiences and producers would agree that live animals in films just aren’t necessary.

Considering “The Jungle Book,” highlights the friendship between a boy and his animal family, we’re thrilled to see that no actual four-legged friends were harmed in its making.

“The Jungle Book” will come to theaters April 15, 2016. Watch the new trailer here and see these animals come to life:

Lead image source: Disney Movie Trailers