He Just Joined a Classic Reboot

In a move that seems pretty close to perfect, Disney announced that none other than Bill Murray will be the voice of Baloo in their upcoming adaptation of The Jungle Book. The Jon Favreau-directed remake will be released in 2015, and it's supposed to be a combination of animation and live action. Murray joins an already star-studded cast that includes Scarlett Johansson as Kaa the snake, Christopher Walken as King Louie, Idris Elba as Shere Khan, and Lupita Nyong'o as Raksha the mother wolf.

Murray seems perfect for the role of Baloo, the singing, lovable bear. However, I wonder how advisable the choice to do another retelling of Rudyard Kipling's classic is, especially since it's one of two coming out soon. The other is a live-action film called Jungle Book: Origins directed by Andy Serkis. The Jungle Book is already an animated Disney classic, so why mess with something that already worked for the company?

That said, I'll probably see it for the voice cast alone, which is probably what Disney is going for.

Will Murray sing "The Bear Necessities"? I'd rather Disney find a way to adapt Kipling's stories rather than remake the Disney adaptation. I hope this doesn't start a trend of Disney fixing what was never broken and remaking childhood favorite — I just don't think I'm ready for that yet.