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The Jungle Book Customer Reviews (1 - 3 of 29 Reviews)

Stop Limiting Issues
I don't have this dvd and wouldn't buy it unless i was desperate.Disney is always pulling stuff like this: "Limited Issue, Limited Adition, Limited time Only", To Be Perfectly honest, it's becoming quite annoying.The only point i could think of for owning this dvd is because it's "dvd". However i believe it is a waste of money and a vhs copy is sufficent at this point. When they put it out again it should have the special features it deserves.

Funny, cute and exciting!
This animated Disney classic is about a orphan named Mowgli, who lives in the jungle and befriends all kinds of animals such as elephants, a bear named Baloo, and other naimals.

This film is highly recommended for children of all ages; especially, for children who are fascinated by the jungle and animals, who live in the jungle (i.e., bears, elephants), etc.

Buy or rent it today because you'll be glad you did because the theme and plot is simple to follow and understand and your child(ren) will find it amusing and entertaining; especially, the music!



A mix-up between good and bad
Disney's THE JUNGLE BOOK seems rather irrelevant today when you look at the film. The movie was made in 1967, a time when the Golden Age of Animation was clearly over, especially for Disney. Watching this movie on laserdisc a couple of days ago I noticed how grainy the animation looked. And one shot looked like it was an exact copy of another shot. I understand why Disney used did every single thing by hand--painstakingly doing it frame by frame. Every thing was carefully detailed. But by the 1960's it was too expensive to do. They started cutting corners. The animation grew worse in the 1970's, and it wasn't until new technology came out in the 80's that animation regained its glory.
But back to THE JUNGLE BOOK. Although the animation now seems rather cheap, it's still an enjoyable film. The story involves a boy named Mowgli. A Panther named Bagheera found him as a baby and took him to a wolf family, who quickly adopted him. It was too far to take him to his own kind, and he hunched that he would have to go back to his own kind.

Mowgli grows up sheltered and happy. But Shere Khan, a menacing tiger is in the area. Mowgli is in danger because this tiger hates man. The wolves agree the boy must be taken somewhere safe. Bagheera volunteers to take him to a man-village.

But Mowgli has no desire to go. He insists on staying in the jungle. Bagheera tries to reason with him, explaining the danger of Shere Khan and why he hates man. Reasoning doesn't work, and it's only after meeting several characters along the way, including Shere Khan, that Mowgli learns why he must go into the man-village.

Every single character he meets with the exception of Shere Khan results in a song. It is here that the film shines in its best area. Mowgli meets a heard of Military Elephants, a bouncing, bear named Baloo, a slithering snake with a hypnotising ability, and a bee-bopping arangutain. Each character has a personality that I enjoyed. The head of the Elephants is a pompous, overblown, arrogant soldier. Baloo is an instantly likeable bear who bonds with Mowgli and believes that he can protect him like a son. The two have a great musical number with "The Bear-Necessities". The best and most entertaining part is when he meets the king of the monkeys--King Louie, who sings a really catchy song: "I wanna be like you".

King Louie was voiced by Louis Prima, known as the "king of scat". I saw footage of him and his band, where they walk into the audience playing their instruments. Watching the animation of King Louie, it occurred to me that the animators studied footage of Prima and were inspired by it.

There was one part of the film that I felt just kind of dragged it. It's a musical number involving the hypnotising snake named Kaa. He is voiced by Sterling Halloway, who had voiced a number of animated Disney characters. Although I enjoyed hearing his voice, the number just started to drag as he put Mowgli to sleep. (In fact, a scene occurs that is an exact duplicate of an earlier one. Watch this character and you'll see what I mean.)

The tiger Shere Khan is actually an interesting villain. This comes not because of how he is written, but because of his voice. He sounds like a calm, polite, and reasonable gentleman. Although he will clearly kill Mowgli, he actually has some respect for him. Every time he opened his voice I actually wanted him to continue talking.

So-overall, I do recommend the movie. It will entertain kids as well as parents. But it's a mix-up between good and bad. The good stuff are the supporting characters who surround Mowgli (especially Baloo, Shere Khan, and King Louie) and the really catchy musical numbers. The bad parts are the rather primitive animation and a musical number that drags the film. Disney has done far superior animated movies both before, and after "THE JUNGLE BOOK". However, Disney films are not my favorite animated movies anymore. Sure, they're still entertaining, and some have wonderful touching themes. But the Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki is the best in the field. I highly recommend you check out his very best: MY NEIGHBOR TOTORO (1988) and SPIRITED AWAY (2002).

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