▶▶▶ Great Price Buena Vista Home Video for $14.13

The Jungle Book (40th Anniversary Platinum Edition) Review

Jungle Book, the movie, is radically different from the classic Rudyard Kipling novel but I tend to be more forgiving if a movie preserves the spirit of the book but in this case it absolutely doesn't. The characters are completely different and remain the same only in name and species. In particular the literary Baloo is nothing like the singing slacker from the movie. One might note that at the beginning it states that the movie was `inspired' by Kipling's Jungle Book and I assume by this it means that Disney was inspired to write a completely new story. The real question is whether or not the Jungle Book, standing on its own, is a quality animated movie. Of course it is, it's Disney but that doesn't mean it's spectacular. The Jungle Book is a rather small tale that takes place over the course of one or two days as Mowgli is taken by Bagheera and Baloo to live in the man village.

There are a few issues with the movie that can be a bit cringe worthy. The monkeys who kidnap Mowgli, including King Louis, are all portrayed as stereotypical blacks. Now one might argue that the movie does take place in Africa except it doesn't. The Jungle Book takes place in India which is in Asia. Why aren't the monkeys portrayed as stereotypical Indians? There is a tremendous amount of Disneyfication. In the book Mowgli grows to loath the humans for their treatment of his parents and uses elephants to raze the village to the ground. This is, shall we say, NOT the ending Disney went with. In the book Mowgli kills Shere Khan and skins him rather than having him scamper off with his tail on fire.

The animation is old fashioned yeoman type work but in this case that is a big compliment. There is no corner cutting here as each characters is drawn alive and active rather than static with moving mouths as cheaper animation studios will do. The character movement is very believable and I'm sure a ton of rotoscoping was done which I don't consider cheating in the least. Disney was well known for doing meticulous research on animal movement and Shere Kahn looks great as he stalks Mowgli. The music is very catchy including the python Kaa's `Trust in Me' and Baloo's wonderful `Bear Necessities'. Overall the animation is probably average or below average for a Disney movie (which are always above average for animation in general). It's very dark and often bland.

So what you get is a dramatically watered down story that kinds of leaves it a bit dull. It's just a one (or perhaps two) day journey to the man village and not a whole heckuva lot happens. There are segments where Mowgli meets a group of elephants and another with some buzzards imitating the Beatles (a rather unfortunate attempt to tap into some pop culture circa 1967). Both of these segments added nothing to the larger story which is paper thin. I like the concept behind The Jungle Book and there are great elements but if I were to start a collection of Disney movies The Jungle Book would be low on my movies to own.

The Jungle Book (40th Anniversary Platinum Edition) Overview

One of the most popular Disney films ever, THE JUNGLE BOOK is a song-filled celebration of friendship, fun, and adventure set in a lush and colorful world. Inspired by Rudyard Kipling's "Mowgli" stories, Disney's 19th animated masterpiece was the last animated feature that had Walt Disney's personal touch. The jubilant adventure begins when Mowgli, a little boy raised by wolves, is urged by his friend Bagheera, a wise old panther, to seek safety in the man village. Feeling very much at home in the jungle, Mowgli resists and runs off. Much to Bagheera's dismay, Mowgli meets a new friend with a happy-go-lucky philosophy of life -- Baloo the Bear, a lovable "jungle bum." Together, the three buddies find the journey back to civilization anything but civilized! They encounter a crazy orangutan, the hypnotic and sly snake Kaa, and the menacing Shere Khan! Fully restored for this 30th anniversary edition, this enduring classic swings with jazzy toe-tapping music, including the Academy Award(R)-nominated "The Bare Necessities," and the freewheeling "I Wan'na Be Like You"! A thrilling story for all ages, THE JUNGLE BOOK is an absolute necessity for your video collection.

The Jungle Book (40th Anniversary Platinum Edition) Specifications

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

Available at Amazon Check Price Now!

Customer Reviews

I love the old "real" animation! - Sarah J. Levin -
I ordered this for my son and wow does he love it! I love the old "real" animation that's not digital. It really brings me back. It's relatively short (75 minutes or so) so it's long enough to distract a sick kid, but not so long that he looses interest. Great movie!

great experience!! - sherry48 -
Ordered thru Hastings and could not have had a better experience. The order shipped quickly and I received it in a matter of a few days. Hasting kept in contact thru e-mail and the used DVD was in great shape. I highly recommend HASTINGS!! GREAT JOB!!!

JungleBook - Karen Fox -
Great movie.My 2 year old,4 year old and 9 year old sat all the way through this movie and wanted more.I would recommend this to everyone.

Great movie, fast shipping! - HRogers -
This is a great movie & was hard to find in stores. It was delivered before indicated on the shipping notification!

*** Product Information and Prices Stored: Sep 05, 2010 09:03:04

Animation

Sunday, September 5, 2010