A new version of Disney's 1967 animated classic “The Jungle Book” hits theatres this week. This one combines live action with state of the art CGI, and features a host of big name celebrity voices. Time Warner Cable News film critic Neil Rosen filed the following review.

A new version of Disney's classic animated feature "The Jungle Book" combines live action with CGI, and features a nice roster of celebrity voices.

The Rudyard Kipling stories that these are based on remain basically the same, but the tone is far more serious than Disney's lighthearted 1967 version.

Mowgli is a young boy raised in the jungle by wolves. An evil tiger wants to kill him because the boy will grow up to be a man, and mankind is dangerous to the forest and its inhabitants. The not so subtle eco message is loud and clear here. Mowgli leaves his pack and sets out in the jungle on a voyage of self-discovery.

What director Jon Favreau has done here is dazzling and spectacular. The jungle, with its waterfalls, rivers and vines, is so realistic, that every shot is eye popping and filled with wonder. The animals are also a triumph of computer technology. The intricate detail on every creature will make you say "wow" time and time again. Plus, the use of 3D here is extraordinary.

Favreau has proved that he can master family comedies with "Elf," and also comic book movies with "Iron Man." Now he reinvents a Disney classic and hits a home run.

Neel Sethi as Mowgli is good, and the animal voices are excellent. Scarlett Johansson is haunting as a snake, and Bill Murray is a delight as Baloo the bear.

Two classic songs from the original, "The Bare Necessities" and "I Wanna Be Like You” are revived here. I think Louis Prima sang the latter better, but Christopher Walken's version as King Louie is still pretty good.

Some scenes in the movie reminded me of "The Lion King" and the villainous tiger, voiced by Idris Elba, will remind many of that film's Scar. Plus Baloo is something out of Disney World's Country Bear Jamboree. However, this movie more than stands on its own. 

A warning to young children: This might terrify them, because it is so realistic when the animals kill each other. But this is something to see, and technically, it's a landmark achievement.