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The Jungle Book

Plot

The final animated feature produced under the supervision of Walt Disney is a lively neo-swing musical, loosely based upon the tales of Rudyard Kipling. The story takes place in a tropical jungle where people are conspicuously absent. But one day Bagheera the Panther (voice of Sebastian Cabot) discovers a baby in the wreck of a boat. Feeling pity on the child, Bagheera takes him to be raised with the wolves. Ten years later, the child has grown into Mowgli (voice of Bruce Reitherman). Mowgli discovers that his life is in danger because of the return to the area of Shere Khan the Tiger (voice of George Sanders), whose hatred of humans is such that Mowgli faces certain death if discovered. Bagheera agrees to transport Mowgli to the human village, where he will be safe from Shere Khan. Along the way to the village, night falls and Mowgli and Bagheera almost succumb to the man-eating snake Kaa (voice of Sterling Holloway). Escaping Kaa's coils, they run into the lock-step military elephant band of Colonel Hathi (voice of J. Pat O'Malley). Afterwards, Mowgli, who doesn't want to be sent to the human village, runs away from Bagheera and meets up with the fun-loving Baloo the Bear (voice of Phil Harrris). With both Bagheera and Baloo to protect him, Mowgli is saved from several more life-threatening situations -- including a barber-shop quartet of vultures, the crazed King Louie of the Apes (voice of Louis Prima), and Shere Khan himself -- before making it to the village of humans. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi

Review

Although it is quite skillfully drawn, The Jungle Book is noteworthy for being the first time that the Disney studio let the choice of actors play an influential role in the development of an animated feature. It's true that previously some actors, such as Ed Wynn in Alice in Wonderland, had made significant contributions, but not to the extent that Phil Harris, Louis Prima, George Sanders, and Sebastian Cabot do in Jungle Book. Their distinctive personalities add enormously to the effectiveness of the film, helping to mask the fact that, although the film has incident, it actually has very little plot. The catchy score also helps, from the imminently hummable "Bare Necessities" to the wildly capering "I Wanna Be Like You" to the barbershop-disguised-as-Beatles "That's What Friends Are For." As always, the character animation is top notch, from Kaa's slinky, slithering coils and Shere Khan's significantly shifty eyes to King Louie's long-armed neo-boogie moves and Baloo's carefree swinging gait, and the backgrounds make good use of the jungle color palette. The triangular relationship between Baloo, Bagheera, and Mowgli is also well presented and entirely convincing. The film benefits from an exuberant joie de vivre; it's one of the most high-spirited feature cartoons, and free from excessive sentimentality. The use of "star" voices would continue in future Disney entries, such as Robin Hood and The Aristocats, both with Phil Harris. ~ Craig Butler, Rovi

Cast

Bruce Reitherman - Mowgli the Man Cub
Phil Harris - Baloo the Bear
Sebastian Cabot - Bagheera the Panther
Louis Prima - King Louie of the Apes
George Sanders - Shere Khan the Tiger
Sterling Holloway - Kaa the Snake
J. Pat O'Malley - Col. Hathi the Elephant

Verna Felton - Elephant; Clint Howard - Elephant/; Chad Stuart - Vulture; Tim Hudson - Vulture; John Abbott - Wolf; Ben Wright - Wolf; Darlene Carr - The Girl

Credit

Milt Kahl - Animator, John Lounsbery - Animator, Oliver Johnson, Jr. - Animator, Frank Thomas - Animator, Ollie Johnston - Animation Director, Frank Thomas - Animation Director, Wolfgang Reitherman - Director, Tom Acosta - Editor, Norman Carlisle - Editor, George Bruns - Composer (Music Score), Terry Gilkyson - Composer (Music Score), Richard M. Sherman - Composer (Music Score), Perc Westmore - Makeup, Walt Disney - Producer, Don Griffith - Set Designer, Ken Anderson - Screenwriter, Larry Clemmons - Screenwriter, Vance Gerry - Screenwriter, Ralph Wright - Screenwriter, Rudyard Kipling - Short Story Author

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