Advertising - Jungle Book Poster Essay

Mise-en-scene is used in this poster to advertise the Jungle Book (2016) film to its target audience effectively.
The composition of the different animals across the poster creates the impression that the animal kingdom in the film is large and therefore can show a sense of community - however this is contradicted by the threat of conflict presented. Using the rule of thirds, the 3 main characters (including the protagonist) are positioned in the centre, meanwhile the antagonists are on the periphery. The tiger is shown to be ready to attack, which presents to the target audience that there is action in the film. The snake that is on the periphery may make audiences tense due to the connotations of snakes being vengeful and cunning - however the connotations change depending on culture. For example, the Ancient Greek God known as Asciepius (God of medicine and healing), carried a staff with one serpent wrapped around it. This indicates that snakes may have healing or helpful abilities to certain cultures. This can cause uneasiness to the audience as they have their own opinions of the snake based on culture, whereas the protagonist Mowgli does not, and may fall into a trap.
The set of the jungle is presented to look realistic (versimultitude), unlike the 1967 cartoon, which is likely to attract older audiences rather than just children. The realistic set also makes the threat of conflict more intriguing to the audience as they may feel more attachment to characters.
The prop of the twisted tree can represent how the animal kingdom has been disorientated which shows the audience that the film will not be as innocent and happy as the 1967 cartoon.
As well as this, actors are used to promote the film. The snake is presented as a female, due to being acted by Scarlett Johansson. This creates diversity in the gender of villains (causing her to be a counter type of multiple gender theories), and also will invite fans of this actress. As well as this, the actor Christopher Walken helps to attract the target audience of family. The family contains a large age range, and therefore this well known actor will help to attract adults.
There is a lack of costumes presented on the poster, which represents how the film takes place in the wild and therefore shows how this world is different to the audience's. The human Mowgli is not shown to be trying to dress appropriately, therefore it portrays that there is no civilisation in the film besides that of the animal kingdom (which has evidently been ruined).
Low-key lighting is also used to present the film as fairly dark and mysterious, hiding certain characters in the trees. This attracts the target audience (likely families without young children) as they will be interested to see how the evident disruption of the narrative is solved.

Barthes Semantic Code points to any element in a media text that suggests a connotation, such as colour or typeface. The anchorage text, in gold, is at the bottom centre of the poster. It stands out to the audience with the colour gold, which blends with the natural colours of brown yet is still obviously out of place. Serif font is used to create an old-fashioned appearance which represents how this is an old story, and also shows how Mowgli would not be classed as a modern or civilised human. Serif font was often used for the 1967 adaptation, therefore it creates a sense of familiarity when people see the 2016 version. Also, the text 'Disney' is smaller than the 1967 adaptation. This is due to the fact that the target audience is no longer young children and therefore the fact it is produced by Disney is no longer a hugely important factor in attracting the target audience.
The use of earth-like colours on the poster creates the effect of being in the jungle for audiences seeing the poster. The use of muted colours creates the effect of mystery and darkness which connotes negativity and conflict.

Behind King Louie, there are old buildings portrayed on the poster. These appear familiar to audiences as they appear to be old, historic buildings.
The use of photoshop causes unrealistic things to appear real (especially when they are beside real things) - and therefore intrigues the target audience. Photo-generated aspects also make the poster more impressive, which helps to attract audiences.