There is one thing about Disney's The Jungle Book that everybody with a soul knows to be true: it's not The Jungle Book without "The Bare Necessities." The original animated film features plenty of songs, but I think we can all agree that "The Bare Necessities" is the best, or at least the most catchy. So when Jon Favreau set out to make a live-action, non-musical version of the classic, it was pretty hard to imagine that the movie would be completely free of "Bare Necessities." In fact, when asked by Entertainment Weekly whether or not his version would include the fun song, Favreau responded, "How do you not do that?" Here's everything you need to know about "The Bare Necessities" in the new Jungle Book.
Bill Murray voices Baloo, the lovable big bear who befriends Mowgli, in the new film, and one of his star moments is, without a doubt, performing "The Bare Necessities" alongside Mowgli (Neel Sethi). The two recorded the duet in Martha's Vineyard, in Carly Simon's studio no less, according to USA Today. The finished product, while different than "The Bare Necessities" you might remember, is pretty reminiscent of the original. Though Favreau made great efforts for his film to be more of a reboot than a remake, one thing he did keep from the original film was a shot of Mowgli riding down a river on Baloo's stomach, both of them humming along to the catchy tune.
Leading up to the film's April 15 release, the new version of "The Bare Necessities" is nowhere to be found. The movie's original soundtrack will be released the same day as the movie, but no official track listing has been released. Yet while the album appears to focus on the original score by John Debney, I think it's safe to assume that Murray's charming version of the song will be included. Again: you can't have The Jungle Book without "The Bare Necessities."
But if, for some reason, the song is not included on the official soundtrack, then it might take some time before fans can hear it without going to see the movie. I have no doubt that clips of the scene will soon find their way online, but it will likely take about a year for a good quality recording to make its way to the general public. Luckily, though, Murray and Sethi broke into the happy tune during a recent visit to Jimmy Kimmel Live. So, if you close your eyes and listen to the music, you might be able to pretend you're really seeing Baloo and Mowgli perform just for you.
Images: Walt Disney Studios; disneythejunglebook/Instagram
