'The Jungle Book' (1967) Review
The 1967 Walt Disney animated version of Rudyard Kipling's book, The Jungle Book, was the last Walt Disney animation project that was overseen by the man himself. It's is widely regarded as a classic and I can't disagree with that statement having been in love with the film since first viewing it as a child. However, once you take a step back and look, the film feels a bit devoid of plot, although that is often the case for animated films (Can't wait to go into this with a Throwback Thursday Review of Frozen later this year). The difference with The Jungle Book being that there actually is a plot and a nice message, it's just very simple, straightforward, and loads of fun. The Jungle Book follows a young boy, Mowgli, who was found abandoned as a child by a panther, Bagheera, and taken to a pack of wolves to be cared for and raised among animals. Mowgli grows up among the pack but it is soon decided that he must be returned to mankind before the villainous Shere Khan discovers him and disposes of the boy. Bagheera takes it upon himself to escort Mowgli to the nearest village inhabited by man and along the way Mowgli encounters a wide variety of animal personalities that are either trying to exploit him for nefarious purposes or teach him valuable life lessons. Mowgli upon meeting each of these animals tries to fit in for the most part by taking up their philosophies or paling around with them till he's saved by Bagheera and that's really where The Jungle Book s central theme comes in, you shouldn't conform to society but be yourself. While it may not be quite as clear as in The LEGO Movie it's definitely one of the messages that's being conveyed to audiences and a great message for children to learn early on. The Jungle Book features a few songs many of you may be familiar with already but nonetheless "Bare Necessities" and "I Wanna Be Like You" are two songs that are very fun, catchy, and just plain entertaining when combined with the events unfolding onscreen. The film's animation also really holds up despite being almost 50 years old as characters move smoothly onscreen and the environments are exceptionally drawn. The film is bolstered by it's voice cast who all excellently portray the personalities they are being tasked with just their voices. Bruce Reitherman as Mowgli really embraces the brotherhood between Mowgli and Baloo making it all the more believable when he feels betrayed by Baloo's change of conscience when he tells Mowgli he should go to the village. Aside from that, he was obviously a child at the time and so of course he's believable in the role but nails the personality you'd expect from a child raised in these conditions. Phil Harris is remarkable voicing Baloo getting to tap into a fun, zany bear that loves to eat, dance, and relax. Sebastian Cabot voices Bagheera and from his voice alone you can feel the weight on his shoulders and burden of responsibility as he gives off the personality of an uptight, efficient workaholic that wants to ensure Mowgli's safety. Louis Prima gets to let loose as the jazzy orangutan, King Louie, who secretly wants to harness the power of fire to be more like man. Sterling Holloway captivates the audience as the slippery serpent, Kaa, who wants to hypnotize Mowgli and eat him as a nice meal. Last but certainly not least, George Sanders makes for a truly terrifying tiger in Shere Khan, who I'm sure was the inspiration for The Lion King's Scar. Shere Khan's presence is felt throughout the entire film as animals cower in mention of his name and when he stealthily creeps on screen it's a satisfying reveal. Shere Khan also evokes himself as both an intellectual and physical force to reckon with that plays mind games with his prey and the ferocity to pounce any instant. In summation, The Jungle Book is certainly one of Disney's greatest animated works and without a doubt remembered as a classic thanks to the a few fun songs, some memorable characters, and and a nice message regarding conformity, friendship, and family. While I'd love to give The Jungle Book a perfect score, the very beginning of the film drags a bit, the villain doesn't enter the fray till an hour in, there only two noteworthy songs with the rest of the music turning out to be rather bland, and the plot is very simple but none of these things take away from the overall fun viewing experience. I'd highly recommend it for Disney fanatics even if you've seen it before, especially given that Disney's having another go at the material this weekend that looks quite promising and it will be fun to spot any references or homages to the '67 animated version.
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