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The Jungle Book (1967 film)

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The Jungle Book
Original Theatrical Poster
Directed byWolfgang Reitherman
Written byNovel:
Rudyard Kipling
Screenplay:
Larry Clemmons
Ralph Wright
Ken Anderson
Vance Gerry
Bill Peet
Produced byWalt Disney
StarringPhil Harris
Sebastian Cabot
Bruce Reitherman
George Sanders
Sterling Holloway
Louis Prima
Music byScore:
George Bruns
Songs:
Terry Gilkyson
Richard M. Sherman
Robert B. Sherman
Distributed byBuena Vista Distribution
Release dates
October 18, 1967
June 9, 1978 (re-release)
July 27, 1984 (re-release)
July 13, 1990 (re-release)
Running time
78 minutes
LanguageEnglish
Box office$73,741,048[1]

The Jungle Book is a Template:Fy American animated feature produced by Disney Animation Studios. Released on October 18, 1967, it is the 19th animated feature in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series. It was inspired by the stories about the feral child Mowgli from the book of the same name by Rudyard Kipling. The movie contains a number of classic songs, including "The Bare Necessities" and "I Wan'na Be Like You". Most of the songs were written by Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman. Directed by Wolfgang Reitherman, it was the last to be produced by Walt Disney, who died during its production. The film grossed over $73 million in the United States excluding its three theatrical re-issues.[1]

Plot

Mowgli (Bruce Reitherman) is found in a basket as a baby in the deep jungles of Madhya Pradesh, India. In the Disney movie, there is no mention of what happened to his parents or how he came to be there, but the basket was in half a boat in the middle of a river; so it is most likely that his parents were washed downstream and drowned. Bagheera (Sebastian Cabot), the panther who discovers the boy, promptly takes him to a wolf who has just had cubs. She raises him along with her own cubs and Mowgli soon becomes well acquainted to jungle life.

Mowgli is shown ten years later, visiting the wolves and getting his face licked eagerly when he arrives. That night, when the wolf tribe learns that Shere Khan (George Sanders), a man-eating tiger, has returned to 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.

They leave that very night, but Mowgli is determined to stay in the jungle and loses Bagheera. Kaa (Sterling Holloway), the hungry Indian Python, hypnotizes Mowgli into a deep and peaceful sleep, traps him tightly in his coils, and tries to devour him, but comically fails. The next morning, Mowgli tries to join the elephant patrol led by Hathi (J. Pat O'Malley). Bagheera finds Mowgli and they argue; Mowgli runs away from Bagheera. The boy soon meets up with the fun-loving bear Baloo (Phil Harris), who shows Mowgli the fun of having a care-free life and promises not to take him to the man village.

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. However, since he was not raised by humans, Mowgli doesn't know how to make fire. Mowgli is rescued from King Louie by Bagheera and Baloo, but soon Mowgli runs away from them after Baloo realizes the man village is best for the boy. Kaa, for a second time, hypnotizes Mowgli into a deep and peaceful sleep, and tries to eat him, but thanks to the intervention of Shere Khan, Mowgli escapes.

He 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 friend. The vultures comically argue and continually sidetrack Mowgli with their pointless arguments. Shere Khan appears shortly after and challenges Mowgli to a fight, but when Baloo and Bagheera rush to the rescue, they manage to get rid of the ruthless tiger. Bagheera and Baloo take him to the edge of a man-village, but Mowgli is still hesitant to go in. His mind soon changes when a young girl from the village comes down by the riverside to fetch water.

After noticing the boy, she "accidentally" drops her water pot, and Mowgli retrieves it for her and follows her into the man village. After Mowgli chooses to stay in the man village, Baloo and Bagheera decide to head home while singing a reprise of "The Bare Necessities".

Cast

Main article: The Jungle Book characters

All of the voice actors are credited in the film's credits, with the exceptions of Leo De Lyon, Thurl Ravenscroft, Hal Smith, Terry-Thomas and Digby Wolfe.[citation needed]

Development

Disappointed by the reception of The Sword in the Stone, Walt Disney was determined to give the opportunity for his animators to do their best work.[2] He assigned Larry Clemons as one of the four story men for the film; giving the animator a copy of Kipling's book, Disney told him: "The first thing I want you to do is not to read it."[2]

Walt counted on the characters to drive the story. Many familiar voices inspired the animators in their creation of the characters[2] and helped them shape their personalities.[3] This use of familiar voices for key characters was a rarity in Disney's past films.[3]

Walt took an active role in the story meetings, acting out each role and helping to create gags.[2] It was the last animated film from the company to have Walt's personal touches.[3]

Releases

The Jungle Book was released in October 1967,[2] just 10 months after Walt's death.[3] It was a success, earning $13 million in just its domestic release[3], mostly due to the popularity of its musical numbers.[2]

The film made its VHS home video debut in Mexico on October 31, 1987, twenty years after its original release. This 1987 release was dubbed in Spanish. The Jungle Book was released in the United States on VHS in 1991 as part of the Walt Disney Classics product line. The American version was subsequently re-released in 1997 as part of the Walt Disney Masterpiece Collection for the film's 30th anniversary. A Limited Issue DVD was released by Buena Vista Home Entertainment in 1999. 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 widescreen aspect ratio. This is the first Disney release titled "Platinum Edition" in the UK instead of "Special Edition".

Critical Reaction

The Jungle Book received an outpouring of positive reviews, undoubtedly influenced by a nostalgic reaction to the passing of Walt.[3] Time Magazine noted that the film strayed far from the Kipling stories, but "the result is thoroughly delightful...it is the happiest possible way to remember Walt Disney."[3] The New York Times called in "a perfectly dandy cartoon feature," and Life magazine referred to it as "the best thing of its kind since Dumbo."[3]

Some negative reviews came from Judith Crist, who said the film was "devoid of mood or atmosphere." Variety's review was generally positive, but they stated that "the story development is restrained" and that younger audiences "may squirm at times."[3]

Awards

The film received an Academy Award nomination in 1967 [1]:

Music

The score features eight original songs:

Longtime Disney collaborator Terry Gilkyson was brought in to write the songs for the film. Gilkyson delivered several complete songs, but Walt Disney felt that his efforts were too dark. The Sherman Brothers were brought in to do a complete rewrite, on the condition that they not read Rudyard Kipling's book. The only piece of Gilkyson's work which survived to the final film was his upbeat tune "The Bare Necessities", which was liked by the rest of the film crew.[4]

The song "Trust in Me" is based upon a song entitled "Land of Sand" which had been written by the Sherman Brothers for, but not used in, Mary Poppins.[4]

Part of "Bare Necessities" was remixed for the theme song of its short-lived 1990s TV spin-off, Jungle Cubs.

In the scene where Bagheera, the vultures, and Mowgli believe that Baloo is dead as well as Bagheera funerals Baloo, Paul J. Smith's organ score from Walt Disney's first film Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is heard from the scene where the seven Dwarfs mourn Snow White on her bed before she is put into the glass coffin.

"We're Your Friends" was originally conceived as a rock and roll song, sung by the quartet of vultures and an original character, Rocky the Rhino. The vultures were even designed based on The Beatles, with moptop haircuts and Liverpudlian accents, and would be voiced by the band, which did not come into fruition due to problems with their schedule. During production, first Rocky was cut, then Disney decided the 60's style rock would cause the song to be considered dated later, leading "We're Your Friends" to be changed to the barbershop quartet that appears in the final film.[5] Thurl Ravenscroft of The Mellomen sung Shere Kahn's part, due to George Sanders not being available. [6]

On Classic Disney: 60 Years of Musical Magic, this includes "Colonel Hathi's March" on the red disc, "The Bare Necessities" on the blue disc, "I Wanna Be Like You" and "Trust in Me" on the green disc, "That's What Friends Are For" on the purple disc, and "My Own Home" on the orange disc.

The Disney's Greatest Hits collection includes the song "I Wanna Be Like You" on the blue disc and "The Bare Necessities" on the green disc.

Deleted songs

All of the below songs were the original songs by Terry Gilkyson.

  • "Brothers All" - Opening
  • "The Song of the Seoneee" - Wolf Pack
  • "Monkey See, Monkey Do" - Monkeys
  • "I Knew I Belonged to Her" - Mowgli
  • "In a Days Work" - Baloo and Bageera
  • "The Mighty Hunters" - Shere Khan & Buldeo the Hunter.

Differences between the Mowgli Stories and the film

When the Walt Disney Company read The Jungle Book, they decided to make it a more viewer friendly film[citation needed] 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 described as the sleepy, serious bear who taught Mowgli on the Law of the Jungle.
  • 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.
  • In the film, Kaa hypnotizes with his eyes. In the book however, Kaa hypnotizes through a dance that affects everyone but Mowgli.
  • 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, yet no spouse. In the film, he has only 1 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, King Louie, while in the book they make Mowgli their king. The monkeys are also much more sinister characters in the book, while in the film they are friendly to Mowgli and Baloo.
  • The Vultures are not present in the book either. They were made to resemble The Beatles. The only bird that plays an important role in the book is Chil the Kite, who is not present in the film.
  • Another character not present in 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.
  • The Wolves play a much bigger part in the book. In the film, the wolves are only in the beginning.
  • In the book, Mowgli eats meat like his wolf brethren. In the film, he eats fruit like Baloo and King Louie.
  • In the book, Mowgli realizes he needs to go back to human civilization. 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. The main female character is a woman named Messua who adopts Mowgli.

Legacy

Elements of The Jungle Book were recycled in the later Disney feature film Robin Hood due to that film's limited budget, such as Baloo being inspiration for Little John (who not only was a bear, but also voiced by Phil Harris).

Many characters appear in the 1994-98 animated series TaleSpin. Between 1996 and 1998, the TV series Jungle Cubs told the stories of Baloo, Bagheera, Louie, Kaa and Shere Kahn when they were young.

On February 14, 2003, DisneyToon Studios in Australia released a sequel to the 1967 classic, entitled, The Jungle Book 2, in which Mowgli runs away from the man village he moved into at the end of the first film, to see his animal friends, unaware of the danger he's facing with the not-yet-dead Shere Khan who is more determined to kill him than ever, due to embarrassing him earlier.

Since the movie's release, many of the film's characters appeared in House of Mouse, The Lion King ½, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, and Aladdin and the King of Thieves.

References

  1. ^ a b "Re-releases of The Jungle Book". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2008-09-27.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Thomas, Bob: "Chapter 7: The Post-War Films," section: "Walt Disney's Last Films", pages 106-107. Disney's Art of Animation: From Mickey Mouse to Hercules, 1997
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Maltin, Leonard: "Chapter 2," section: "The Jungle Book", pages 253-256. The Disney Films, 2000
  4. ^ a b "The Bare Necessities: The Making of The Jungle Book", The Jungle Book Platinum Edition Disc 2
  5. ^ "Lost Character: Rocky the Rhino", The Jungle Book Platinum Edition Disc 1
  6. ^ Richard Sherman (2007). The Jungle Book audio commentary. The Jungle Book, Platinum Edition, Disc 1.{{cite AV media}}: CS1 maint: location (link)
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