Disney’s 2016 The Jungle Book movie trailer features The Hit House’s arrangement (and whistles) of “The Bare Necessities.”
The roll-out for the hotly anticipated release of Disney’s live-action epic adventure The Jungle Book began at the D23 Expo last year and continued with a Super Bowl 50 spot seen by millions. This critical marketing juncture needed just the right tone of light-hearted music to balance out an otherwise dark tale. So Disney tapped The Hit House to reimagine the timeless 1967 classic by Terry Gilkyson and originally sung by Phil Harris as Baloo. “The Bare Necessities” is arranged, performed, recorded, and whistled by Scott Miller and William Hunt.
The Jungle Book, directed by Jon Favreau and based on Rudyard Kipling’s 1894 eponymous collection of short stories, the movie is a modern day retelling as a live-action epic adventure about Mowgli’s (played by Neel Sethi) quest to survive in a jungle fraught with danger. An orphan raised by wolves, Mowgli is hunted by the tiger Shere Khan (voiced by Idris Elba), who is bent on revenge due to prior violent encounters with man. Forced to flee the only place he’s known, Mowgli departs the jungle with the help of panther and strict teacher Bagheera (voiced by Ben Kingsley), and the happy-go-lucky bear Baloo (voiced by Bill Murray). Through his journey of self-discovery and flight from danger Mowgli runs into varied jungle denizens with their own agendas, from Kaa (voiced by Scarlett Johansson), a hypnotic and seductive python, to King Louie (voiced by Christopher Walken), a slick con-man of an orangutan who attempts to get Mowgli to teach him the secret of fire. The mother wolf Raksha (voiced by Lupita Nyong’o) and Akela (voiced by Giancarlo Esposito) are also included in the premiere cast of voice actors.
Unlike the slick seductive python Kaa, Disney decided to trust The Hit House with their eminently recognizable tune and allowed our composers to do the work. The result? A revamped tune for 2016 that everyone will be whistling along to.
Watch The Jungle Book trailer, forget about your worries, your strife, and whistle along to the tune with us!
