Reviewed by Stuart O'Connor
Stars the voices of Phil Harris, Sebastian Cabot, Bruce Reitherman, Louis Prima, George Sanders, Sterling Holloway, Verna Felton
Written by Larry Clemmons, Ralph Wright, Ken Anderson
& Vance Gerry, based on the stories by Rudyard Kipling
UK certification U | UK RRP £21.99
DVD Region 2 | Runtime 78 minutes
Directed by Wolfgang Reitherman
"Many strange legends are told of these jungles of India, but none so strange as the story of a small boy named Mowgli." Ah yes, the opening narration by the panther, Bagheera (voiced by Sebastian Cabot), nicely sets the stage for what is, many believe, the finest animated film the Disney studio ever made.
This was back in the days of hand-drawn animation, kids — those fancy-schmancy computers they use nowadays hadn't been invented yet. And The Jungle Book — which was the last Disney film to be overseen by Walt himself — is certainly one of the best-looking flicks they made. But it's not renowned just for its looks; oh no. What really sets this one apart is the soundtrack — in particular the songs, every one of which is an absolute triumph. From The Bare Necessities and I Wanna Be Like You to Trust In Me and That's What Friends Are For, its the songs that get your toes a tappin' and your fingers a snappin' (hey, gimme a break, it was made in the 60s).
It's a simple tale of childhood innocence and responsibility that's about as timeless as they come, and has some of the greatest, most charming characters Disney ever committed to film — father-figure Bagheera; crazy big-brother bear Baloo; evil (and English!) bad-guy Shere Khan,the tiger; King Louie, that crazy, swinging orangutan; and the four vultures, who were quite clearly based on The Beatles. I adored this film as a kid, and I still adore it as an adult. This remastered edition is pristine, and definitely a must-buy if you don't already own The Jungle Book on DVD.
EXTRAS **** As we've come to expect from these Disney reissues, there's a terrific swag of bonus material — and The Jungle Book features more than just the bare necessities. First up, the "lost" character — Rocky the Rhino, who (thankfully) never made it past storyboard stage. Then there's a special music video for I Wanna Be Like You, along with a bunch of songs that never made it into the finished film; audio commentaries from composer Richard Sherman, animator Andreas Deja and Bruce Reitherman, who played the voice of Mowgli; a documentary about the Disney Conservation Fund; a making-of featurette; a featurette on Disney's Kipling; art galleries; a feature on the character animation; a selection of games for kids; and loads more.
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