Andy Serkis' Mowgli given a PG-13 rating for "bloody images"

Andy Serkis’ Mowgli given a PG-13 rating for “bloody images”

February 22nd 2018, 12:10pm

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

When most of us think of THE JUNGLE BOOK we conjure up images of the Disney versions of the movie, including both the beloved animated musical and massive live-action 2016 version. Both were geared towards the family crowd, but the new version from Andy Serkis will take things down a slightly darker path, as proved by the new rating.

The movie from Serkis, MOWGLI, has officially been given a PG-13 rating by the MPAA for “bloody images”, (via MoveWeb) with teases a more adult film than the PG film from Jon Favreau. Serkis has been teasing the movie’s tone for years, saying his movie will be more closely related to the book, and that the script “doesn’t shy away from its darkness.”

To further give you a sense of where the movie is going, Serkis gave an interview recently (via The List), where he revealed that his iteration of the loveable bear Baloo will, in fact, be a “dark Baloo”.

It's quite fun being the villain, actually. Especially when finding ways to make the villain appealing in some ways and so, I mean, look, it's all about the character. But you'll see me being Baloo. He is quite nice. He is actually quite tough in this one. A dark Baloo.

Though the live-action movie from Favreau was more serious in tone than the animated version, you couldn’t quite describe that movie’s Baloo as “dark.” Bill Murray’s take on the character was warm, friendly and huggable, even though his bear was willing to take on the evil tiger, Shere Khan (Idris Elba). Having another JUNGLE BOOK movie so soon after the last one, which made almost $1 billion worldwide and won an Oscar for Visual Effects. But if there is going to be one it helps that the movie is much darker in tone. It will set itself apart from the other movies we’ve seen, creating a nice juxtaposition. The only problem the movie may face is parents taking their kids to what they think is another JUNGLE BOOK movie, only to discover their kids will indeed have nightmares.

MOWGLI is set for October 19.