I bristle a bit when I hear that a beloved film is being remade. So when I saw sometime back that THE JUNGLE BOOK, the fabulous Disney film that was one of the very first Disney films I shared with my oldest grandson (second only to MARY POPPINS), I worried. I worried Mowgli — whom my grandson adored — wouldn't be the same. That the adorable elephant walk scene my grandson and I reenacted again and again wouldn't be the same. That Baloo and his scratchin' while singing Bare Necessities wouldn't be the same.

And I was right. It's all very different in this new version of THE JUNGLE BOOK. Because it's live action. No colorfully drawn chimps or...