Lupita Nyong’o Talks The Jungle BookPosted by Andrew Janey
April 11, 2016
Coming out this week is Disney’s live action version of The Jungle Book, starring Neel Sethi, Bill Murray, Ben Kingsley, Idris Elba, Lupita Nyong’o, Scarlett Johansson, Giancarlo Esposito, Christopher Walken, Garry Shandling, and Brighton Rose.
The Jungle Book is an all-new, live-action/CGI epic adventure about Mowgli (Neel Sethi), a man-cub who’s been raised by a family of wolves. But Mowgli finds he is no longer welcome in the jungle when fearsome tiger Shere Khan (Idris Elba), who bears the scars of Man, promises to eliminate what he sees as a threat. Urged to abandon the only home he’s ever known, Mowgli embarks on a captivating journey of self-discovery, guided by panther-turned-stern mentor Bagheera (Ben Kingsley), and the free-spirited bear Baloo.
Along the way, Mowgli encounters jungle creatures who don’t exactly have his best interests at heart, including Kaa (Scarlett Johansson), a python who’s seductive voice and gaze hypnotizes the man-cub, and the smooth-talking King Louie (Christopher Walken), who tries to coerce Mowgli into giving up the secret to the elusive and deadly red flower: fire.
Playing the voice of the fiercely protective mother wolf Raksha is Academy Award winner Lupita Nyong’o, who recently voiced a cast a character in the blockbuster Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
At a recent press conference with the cast, Nyong’o spoke about what drew her to the film.
How did the project come about for you?
Lupita Nyong’o: I was very busy with the campaign for 12 years a Slave at the time that I met with Jon. He very carefully, quietly walked me through his idea for this version of The Jungle Book. And what struck me was the compassion with which he was talking about these characters. There was all this state of the art stuff. But at the heart of it was the love for the story and real adulation for each character he was going to bring to life. For me, that was what brought me to the role.
Photo by: Sarah Dunn. ©2016 Disney Enterprises, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
What attracted you to the project?
Lupita Nyong’o: I like to try out new things – Star Wars was my first attempt at doing motion capture and this is my first voiceover role. This is my first voice-over role, and I was attracted to it because Raksha is like the eternal mother. She chooses to take care of this creature who is not one of her own, but as though he was. I remember I did a session of voice-over really early on and then a few months later Jon (Favreau) called me in again, but this time he had Neel’s performance captured. And that really grounded the mother-son relationship for me, to see the vulnerability of this boy and the love that he had for the wolf. It only made my love for him grow even more. It’s such a beautiful image to see these two very different creatures have this very real bond.
What inspired you to get into character?
Lupita Nyong’o: I think my mother had a lot to do with what inspired me. She’s my example and she’s a very good mother and, yeah, I asked myself a lot of questions about what it would be like to lose one of my own. Although I am not a mother myself, I do love children. When I was 12, I preferred to stay indoors and babysit my cousins rather than go outside and play, so there is that part of me that is very much alive. I gravitate towards children. My mother definitely was someone who inspired me.”
