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Disney's 1967 animated feature seems even more entertaining now than it did upon first release, with a hall-of-fame vocal performance by Phil Harris as Baloo, the genial bear friend of feral child Mowgli. Based on fiction by Rudyard Kipling, the film goes its own way as Disney animation will, but the strong characters and smart casting (George Sanders as the villainous tiger, Shere Khan) make it one of the studio's stronger feature-length cartoons. Songs include "The Bare Necessities" and "Trust in Me." --Tom Keogh |
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A classic 1967 Disney animated film that's loosely based on Rudyard Kipling's book of the same name, Jungle Book tells the story of a young boy Mowgli who was raised by animals in the jungle. When tiger Shere Khan threatens to return to their part of the jungle, the other animals decide that Mowgli must return to the man village in order to ensure his safety. Panther Bagheera has difficulty convincing Mowgli to follow him to the man village and recruits the help of a big lovable bear Baloo. Mowgli's journey is one of wit, song, and many surprises. A timeless film populated by strong characters bursting with personality, great music like "Bare Necessities" and "I Wanna Be Like You," and inspiring animation by Frank Thomas, Ollie Johnston, and other master animators, Jungle Book captivates audiences of all ages. This Platinum Edition includes everything from the standard bonus features like interactive games, music videos, and deleted songs to exciting and sometimes rare commentaries by everyone from modern day animators to Walt Disney himself, multiple featurettes about specific aspects of the film and its production, and a lengthy deleted scene featuring lost character Rocky the Rhino. Especially interesting for adults and Disney fans are "The Bare Necessities: The making of The Jungle Book" featurette, which explores Walt Disney's commitment to developing strong characters and his insistence that writers, animators, and song writers create a light version of Jungle Book that followed his own personal interpretation of the story, and the "The Lure of The Jungle Book" featurette, which discusses Frank Thomas' and Ollie Johnston's amazing contribution to the film as prolific animators and the inspiration and influence that their work provided for future animators including Brad Bird (The Incredibles), Andreas Deja (Beauty and the Beast and The Lion King), Sergio Pablos (Tarzan), Will Finn (Home on the Range), and Eric Goldberg (Fantasia 2000). The full length commentary by Bruce Reitherman (voice of Mowgli), animator Andreas Deja, and composer Richard Sherman with its interspersed archival commentary of Disney greats from the original creative team (Frank Thomas, Ollie Johnston, Woolie Reitherman, and others) is also very interesting and insightful. --Tami Horiuchi |
