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The Jungle Book is a 1967 animated feature film, released on October 18, 1967. it was the last to be produced by Walt Disney, who died during its production. It was inspired by the stories about the feral child Mowgli from the book of the same name by Rudyard Kipling. The movie remains one of Disney's 19th animated most popular movie, and contained a number of classic songs, including "The Bare Necessities" and "I Wan'na Be Like You". Most of the songs are by Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman. The film was directed by Wolfgang Reitherman and his son, Bruce Reitherman, provided Mowgli's voice.

Plot[]

Mowgli (Bruce Reitherman) is found in an abandoned basket as a baby in the deep jungles of Madhya Pradesh, India by Bagheera (Sebastian Cabot), the black panther. He promptly takes him to a family of wolves that just had a litter of cubs. The mother, Raksha and the father, Rama name him Mowgli, and they raise him along with their own cubs and Mowgli soon becomes well acquainted with jungle life. Ten years later, when the wolf pack learns that Shere Khan (George Sanders), a dangerous Bengal tiger, has returned to their part of the jungle, they realize that Mowgli must be taken to the "Man Village" to protect him and those around him. Bagheera volunteers to escort him back, leaving Mowgli's father, Rama devastated.

They leave that very night, but Mowgli is determined to stay in the jungle. They spend the night in a large tree, where they encounter Kaa (Sterling Holloway), a python who hypnotizes Mowgli and tries to eat him, but Bagheera stops him, and they eventually fall asleep.

The next morning, Mowgli and Bagheera are awakened by the Indian Elephant Jungle Patrol led by Colonel Hathi (J. Pat O'Malley). Mowgli tries to join the them, but Bagheera finds Mowgli and they argue. Mowgli then runs away, and he soon meets up with the fun-loving bear Baloo (Phil Harris), who shows Mowgli the fun of having a care-free life and promises.

Mowgli now wants to stay in the jungle more than ever. Before long, Mowgli is caught by a gang of monkeys and taken to their leader, King Louie (Louis Prima) the orangutan, who makes a deal with Mowgli that if he tells him the secret of making fire like a human, then he will make it so he can stay in the jungle ("I Wanna Be Like You"). However, since he was not raised by humans, Mowgli doesn't know how to make fire. Bagheera and Baloo arrive at the palace and try to plan a way to rescue Mowgli, but the catchy beat of the song distracts Baloo and he wanders off dancing. He reappears dressed in an orangutan costume, which fools the King Louie, and they start dancing together. Unfortunately, Baloo's disguise falls off when King Louie hits him in the back while they were dancing, and the monkeys chase Baloo and Bagheera while they try to rescue Mowgli. King Louie accidentally knocks down a pillar and holds up the temple the best he can until he struggles when Baloo begins to tickle him frantically under the arms. The monkeys manage to stop Baloo's tickling, but end up bouncing King Louie onto the other pillar instead, causing the temple to collapse in a rumble. 

Later that night, after Mowgli is rescued, Bagheera explains to Baloo that Mowgli seems to have man's ability to get into trouble. He also tells Baloo that sooner or later, Mowgli will meet Shere Khan, and he has to take him back to the Man Village. In the morning, Baloo tells Mowgli that he has to take him back to the Man Village, and Mowgli tells Baloo that he sounds just like Bagheera, and he runs away in the deepest part of the jungle. After Baloo tells Bagheera that Mowgli ran away, he eventually hears the Indian Elephant Jungle Patrol and he tells Colonel Hathi that Mowgli ran away. Shere Khan overhears their conversation. At first, Colonel Hathi refuses to help find Mowgli, and his wife, Winifred and their son, Hathi, Jr. break from ranks and confront him. Winifred asked him how he would like to have their own son lost and alone in the jungle, but he thinks that's an entirely different matter. Winifred tells him and Mowgli is no different than their own son, and she tells him to help find him or she'll take over command. Hathi, Jr. tells him that he and Mowgli are friends, and he'll get hurt if they don't find him. Colonel Hathi relents, and organizes a special search mission to find Mowgli.

Later, Mowgli sees Kaa again, and he hypnotizes Mowgli into a deep and peaceful sleep while singing to him, but Shere Khan uses Kaa's tail as a doorbell to call him. Shere Khan tries searching Kaa's coils, but doesn't find Mowgli, and he tells Kaa to let him know if he sees Mowgli. Kaa shivers, and Mowgli wakes up and escapes from Kaa.

He later encounters a group of solemn vultures (J. Pat O'Malley, Digby Wolfe, Lord Tim Hudson, and Chad Stuart), who closely resemble The Beatles, and they say they'll be his friends. The vultures argue and continually sidetrack Mowgli with their pointless arguments. Shere Khan appears shortly after and challenges Mowgli to a fight, but Baloo rushes to the rescue by grabbing Shere Khan's tail, and Baloo is knocked unconscious during their fight. The vultures rescue Mowgli, and a storm erupts. Lightning strikes a tree and causes the fire, which one of Shere Khans fears besides Man's guns. Mowgli ties a flaming branch onto Shere Khan's tail while the vultures attack him. One of the vultures tells Shere Khan to look behind him, and frightened, he tries to put out the fire with his paws, but he then gets his behind burned while running away. Bagheera arrives, and thinks that Baloo is dead, but he wakes up and he and Bagheera take Mowgli to the Man Village, and Mowgli sees a girl from the village singing while coming down by the riverside to fetch water. After she notices Mowgli after spotting his reflection and seeing him fall in the river, she becomes smitten with him and "accidentally" drops her water pot, and Mowgli retrieves it for her and follows her into the Man Village. Baloo and Bagheera then return home.

The Jungle Book theatrical release history[]

  • October 18, 1967 (original release)
  • June 9, 1978 (re-release)
  • July 27, 1984 (re-release)
  • July 13, 1990 (re-release)

The Jungle Book home video release history[]

  • March 18, 1978 (VHS, and Laserdisc)
  • March 18, 1988 (VHS, and Laserdisc)
  • March 23, 1998 (VHS, and Laserdisc)
  • March 3, 2001 (VHS, and Laserdisc)
  • March 18, 2007 (VHS, and Laserdisc)
  • March 3, 2011 (DVD, and VHS - Platinum Edition)
  • October 2, 2007 (DVD - 40th Anniversary Edition)

Releases[]

The Jungle Book was released in the United States on VHS in 2000 as part of the Walt Disney Classics product line. The American version was subsequently released in 2007 as part of the Walt Disney Masterpiece Collection for the film's 30th anniversary. A VHS edition from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment in 2009. The Gold Classic Collection DVD was released in 2001. The film was released once again as a 2-disc Platinum Edition DVD on October 2, 2007 to commemorate its 40th anniversary. The Platinum Edition presents the film for the first time in 1.75:1 aspect ratios.

Characters[]

Major Characters[]

  • Mowgli, voiced by Bruce Reitherman: the main character, a young boy raised by wolves. In the movie, Mowgli is featured as a 10 year old, which is around the age he was in Rudyard Kipling's book when he was first captured by the Bandar Log (monkeys). In the book, Mowgli managed to escape his parents' camp when they were attacked by Shere Khan, The Tiger, and he entered the wolves' den by himself. In the movie, he is found by Bagheera in a wrecked boat, possibly caused by an accident, and he takes him to a family of wolves that just had their own litter of cubs.
  • Baloo, voiced by Phil Harris: A Bear who befriends Mowgli. He lives life according to his own rhythm. Baloo becomes Mowgli's best friend, and somewhat of a father figure to him, much to the annoyance of Bagheera, who believes him to be an irresponsible and careless character. He was originally meant to be a minor character in the film.[1] Baloo's design was obviously based on grizzly bears, even though these bears do not exist in India. However, Baloo does possess the more prominent, sloth-like claws distinctive to the polar bear. In Kipling's book, Baloo is said to be a "sleepy serious old brown bear," and was a more strict and conservative character.
  • Bagheera, voiced by Sebastian Cabot: A Black Panther who first finds Mowgli, they become good friends. In the book, Bagheera spoiled Mowgli and was more of a mother figure to him, despite being male, but in the movie, he is depicted as a smart, serious mentor that only wants to take Mowgli to be safe.
  • Shere Khan, voiced by George Sanders: a Bengal Tiger and the main antagonist of the movie. He is a known hater of man and seeks to kill Mowgli. Unlike the book version, the movie's Shere Khan is not crippled and is perceived as a very powerful character, feared by all other animals. His biggest fears are Man's guns and fire.
  • Kaa, voiced by Sterling Holloway: a Rock Python around 9 meters long. As in Kipling's book, he has great hypnotic powers. However, in stark contrast to the book, he is depicted as a somewhat comic and antagonistic character and during the movie, manages to hypnotize Mowgli and wrap him in his coils twice. At one point, he temporarily hypnotizes Bagheera. He even tries to hypnotize Shere Khan, but fails.
  • King Louie, voiced by Louis Prima: an Orangutan who lives in an ancient ruined temple, who captures Mowgli so he can teach him the secret of how to make fire. He was one of the characters created for the movie, for he doesn't appear in Kipling's books. However, he and his followers do share many similarities with the monkey-people of the original book.
  • Colonel Hathi, voiced by J. Pat O' Malley: an Indian Elephant and the leader of the Jungle Patrol. A running gag in the movie is that Hathi says: "An elephant never forgets!" yet he manages to forget many things - including his own son - due to getting older and slowly losing his memory. In the movie, Hathi seems to be a war elephant used in the Maharajah's Army, who escaped to the jungle or was released. He recalls his days as a war elephant as his Golden Age and talks about it constantly, much to the annoyance of his wife, Winifred and the other elephants. When Mowgli runs away and Bagheera asks him to help find him, he refuses. Winifred and Hathi, Jr. break ranks to set him straight. Winifred tells her husband to help find Mowgli or she's taking over command. Shocked, he answers that a female leading his herd is utterly preposterous. His son tells him that he and Mowgli are friends, and he'll get hurt if they don't find him. He begs his father to help, and he relents.
  • Buzzie, Ziggy, Flaps, and Dizzy, voiced by J. Pat O' MalleyChad StuartDigby Wolfe, and Lord Tim Hudson respectively: four vultures, tightly based on "The Beatles". They befriend Mowgli because, according to them, they are all outcasts. In the Latin American dubbing of the movie, the vultures have each a particular accent; Spanish, Mexican, Argentinian and Cuban. Buzzy is bald, Ziggy has frizzy brown hair, Flaps has parted blunder hair, and Dizzy has black bald that covers his eyes.
  • Hathi, Jr., voiced by Clint Howard: the young son of Colonel Hathi and Winifred who's a Future Colonel in Training, and he becomes friends with Mowgli. Like his mother, Winifred, he shows concern for Mowgli's safety, and after Mowgli runs away, he tells his father that he and Mowgli are friends, and he'll get hurt if they don't find him, and he begs his father to help find him, and he relents.
  • Rama, voiced by Ben Wright: an Indian Wolf who adopts Mowgli into his family, along with his wife, Raksha. When Mowgli is forced to leave, he and his family are devastated.
  • Akela, voiced by John Abbott: the leader of the wolf pack. He worries about Mowgli's safety, and accepts Bagheera's offer to take Mowgli with him to the Man Village.
  • Winifred, voiced by Verna Felton: a female Indian Elephant, and the wife of Colonel Hathi and the mother of their son, Hathi, Jr. She is snarky and sarcastic, and she constantly reminds her husband of his forgetfulness. She also gets bored of hearing her husband's constant "Victoria Cross bit." She also shows concern for Mowgli's safety, and she tells her husband to help find him or she'll take over command. Their son, Hathi, Jr. then tells him that he and the Mowgli are friends, and he'll get hurt if they don't find him, and he relents.
  • The Jungle Patrol, are the Elephants that are in Colonel Hathi's Herd of Elephants. They often get frustrated with the Colonel, and even tell his wife, Winifred about it. At one point, the Elephant standing next to Winifred told her: "I'm putting in a transfer to another herd." Though they are very loyal, they don't like the constant marching, drills, and inspections, but they are very strong and well-skilled in battle.
  • Shanti, voiced by Darleen Carr: A young Indian girl who falls in love with Mowgli, befriends him, and lures him out of the jungle at the end of the movie. She wasn't given her name her, but she goes get it in the sequel.
  • Bandar Log : The monkey clan that took Mowgli to King Louie, so King Louie can ask Mowgli to tell him how to make fire.
  • The Wolf Pack: The wolf pack that cares for Mowgli in his first 10 years. It is unknown if this is actually the name of the pack, but it's possible, since that was the name in the book.
  • Wolf Cubs : Mowgli grew up with the wolf cubs, and they loved him like one of their own siblings.

Uncredited[]

  • Digby Wolfe as Ziggy
  • Hal Smith as the Slob Elephant
  • Ralph Wright as the Gloomy Elephant
  • Leo De Lyon as Flunkey
  • Bill Skiles and Pete Henderson as Monkeys
  • The Mellomen as Colonel Hathi's crew

Medvirkende[]

Elefant

  • Ole Monty
  • Ove Sprogøe
  • Peter Kitter

Abe

  • Ole Monty
  • Ove Sprogøe
  • Peter Kitter

Grib

  • Ole Monty
  • Ove Sprogøe
  • Peter Kitter

Differences between the book and the film[]

When the Walt Disney Company read The Jungle Book, they decided to make it a more viewer friendly film and altered the story. Here are some main differences:

  • Rama is simply Father Wolf in the book. His name in the film is an error; in the book, Rama is actually a bull from the cattle herd Mowgli had to drive when he lived in the man village.
  • In the book, it is Father Wolf and Raksha who find Mowgli, not Bagheera as seen in the film.
  • In the book, Bagheera spoiled Mowgli. He is more serious in the film.
  • In the book, Shere Khan is killed by Mowgli and a herd of cattle. In the film, he does not die but runs away and tries to put out the flaming branch on his tail.
  • In the film, Baloo is portrayed as a fun-loving, silly bear who cares deeply about Mowgli. In the book, he is a sleepy, serious bear who taught Mowgli the Law of the Jungle.
    • Similarly, Baloo isn't associated with the wolves, whereas in the books he is.
  • In the book, Kaa is one of Mowgli's close friends who rescues Mowgli from the Bandar Log, and tells him of the golden ankus, and helps fight the red dogs. In the film, he is a minor antagonist who wants to eat Mowgli. He doesn't come rescue Mowgli from Louie either.
  • In the film, Kaa hypnotizes with his eyes (and can hypnotize humans as well as animals). In the book however, Kaa hypnotizes through a dance that affects everyone but Mowgli.
  • In the film, In Which did not include like Characters, Rocky the Rhino, Buldeo, Tabaqui, Meshua and others.
  • In the book, Hathi is a wise ruler of the jungle, while in the movie he is a pompous war elephant who often forgets things.
  • In the book, Hathi has three children, but no spouse. In the film, he has only one child, Junior, a wife, Winifred, and an equal amount of male and female herd members.
  • In the film, the monkeys are ruled by a king, an orangutan named King Louie (though orangutans aren't native to India), while in the book it is repeatedly stated that they have no form of leadership whatsoever (but tried to make Mowgli their leader). The monkeys are also much more sinister characters in the book, while in the film they are more like bullies and pranksters to Mowgli and Baloo.
  • The vultures are not present in the book either. They were original characters who were made to resemble The Beatles. The only bird that plays an important role in the book is Chil the Kite, who is absent from the film.
  • Another character absent from the film is Tabaqui the Jackal. In the book, Shere Khan has a sidekick who is a mad cowardly jackal that scavenges the homes of others for scraps of food and such.
    • In a related note, Tabaqui was planned to be included, but Walt Disney decided to abandon the idea as he felt he shouldn't include canine-villains so soon after The Sword In The Stone.
  • The wolves play an important part in the book. In the film, the wolves are only in the beginning of the story.
  • In the book, Mowgli eats meat like his foster wolf brothers. In the film, he eats fruit like Baloo and King Louie.
  • In the book, Mowgli realizes he needs to go back to the man village. In the film, he desires to stay in the jungle until the end of the film.
  • There is no girl that lures Mowgli into the village in the book. In the book, the main female character is a woman named Meshua who adopts Mowgli (though she appears in the sequel).
  • In the Book Shere Khan is crippled from birth, which is why he only killed cattle. In the film there is no mention of him being crippled at all, nor does he appear to be crippled.
  • In 1993 Remake (Fanmade Only) Mowgli is Being Replace with Gadget Hackwrench along with Lahwhinie also Shanti is Being Replace with Chip and Dale Also With Extra Characters are Montaray Jack, Zipper, Mouse (Goliath II) Hornbill, Talking Tree, Friend Owl, Ludwig Von Drake, Tick Tock Crocodile, and Tot, There's also Some Characters will Get Extra Dialogue and Extra Scenes,

Awards[]

The film received an Academy Award nomination in 1977[1]

  • Best Song for "The Bare Necessities". (Lost against "Talk to the Animals" from Doctor Dolittle).

Television broadcast[]

The Jungle Book is aired on BBC Kids in North America on December 25, 2007 (alongside The Wild Thornberrys Movie, Quest for Camelot, The Little Mermaid, Cinderella II: Dreams Come True and The Prince of Egypt).

Crew members[]

  • Directed by Wolfgang Reitherman
  • Directing animators: Frank Armitage, Dale Barnhart, Eric Cleworth, Tom Codrick, Basil Davidovich, Al Dempster, John Ewing, Don Griffith, Fred Hellmich, Friz Freleng, Ub Iwerks, Ralph Hulett, Ollie Johnston, Milt Kahl, Hal King, Eric Larson, Bill Layne, John Lounsbery, Dick N. Lucas, Art Riley, Sylvia Roemer, Waltz Stanchfield, Frank Thomas, Thelma Witmer, Hal Ambro, Milton Gray, Burny Mattinson, Floyd Norman, Doris A. Plough and Bob Richardson
  • Art Director: Ken Anderson
  • Layouts by Basil Davidovich, and Vance Gerry
  • Color styling by Ralph Hulett
  • Character Animation Milt Kahl, and Bill Peet
  • Written by Larry Clemmons, Ralph Wright, Ken Anderson and Vance Gerry
  • Music by George Bruns
  • Screenplay by Margaret French
  • Songs by Richard M. Sherman, and Robert B. Sherman with Terry Gilkyson

References[]

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