The Jungle Book is a film that many people are torn over. Some people like the film and some people don't think it was that great. I am one of the people who absolutely love The Jungle Book! With its catchy, memorable and extremely fun music, the wonderful characters and the gorgeous animation, The Jungle Book is a great film and the perfect final film for Walt Disney to leave us with.
The Jungle Book follows the story of a "man-cub" named Mowgli, who was raised by wolves in the jungle. When the wolves learn that a tiger named Shere Khan has returned to the jungle, a Black Panther named Bagheera must take Mowgli to the "Man-Village" before Shere Khan kills him. Mowgli does not want to leave the jungle, however, and because of this, the characters go through a lot of different adventures.
Some may find the story to be episodic. I agree, but I think it was intentional. Since this takes place inside a book, I think it makes sense and makes the film seem more like a storybook that shows all of the different adventures Mowgli has. However, this is the rare film where the narrative is not what makes the film as amazing as it is. Instead, the music and characters are what make the movie the masterpiece it is. Of course, that doesn't mean the story is good and isn't well told. In fact, the story is great and really well told and has a very heartfelt conclusion to wrap up the film. But, the narrative is not the shining star of the film.
The characters are excellent and really lovable. Not one character feels underwhelming. Mowgli is a great main character who is a ton of fun to spend the 1 hour and 18 minute length of the film with. Bagheera is also a very good and well developed character and it's easy to understand why he wants Mowgli to return to the Man-Village. He wants him to be safe. Shere Khan is another interesting character who makes for a great and menacing villain. And who could forget good ol' Baloo? The fun and carefree bear is arguably the best character in the entire film and is brilliantly voiced by Phil Harris.
The side characters are great as well. The singin' and swingin' King Louie is yet another extremely fun character who kidnaps Mowgli just so he can get Mowgli to tell him how to be human. Kaa the Python is an excellent second villain for Mowgli to encounter. He is really funny and is voiced by the one and only Sterling Holloway, who was responsible for many voices of Disney characters such as Winnie the Pooh and the stork from Dumbo. The four vultures who not only look like The Beatles, but were actually supposed to be voiced by The Beatles until they turned down the roles, are also really funny.
The animation is absolutely gorgeous. The film's use of color in the set pieces and backgrounds of the jungle is remarkable. The paint on some of the backgrounds create a nice little blur effect and give a great amount of depth. The character designs are also very well done. Director Wolfgang Reitherman, one of Disney's infamous Nine Old Men does a remarkable job with directing this film. You can tell that he and the rest of the filmmakers and animators had a lot of fun making this film.
The musical numbers in this film are some of the best I've heard in any Disney film. "Bare Necessities," "I Wan'na Be Like You," "Trust in Me," among other remarkable songs from this film have become classic songs. The Sherman Brothers returned to do the music in this film and knocked it out of the park. The score is also great. The only flaw I have with the score is that pieces of score from previous Disney films have been reused at some points in this film, albeit very small points. When Mowgli wakes up after escaping from King Louie, they played the score from Sleeping Beauty. Also, when Bagheera and Mowgli think Baloo is dead, they play the score from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. These are very small parts of the film and these parts actually fit the scenes quite well, but it still comes off as kind of lazy.
The Jungle Book is a wonderful film. The music is memorable and catchy and the characters are lovable and very well developed. It is a very underrated film that should be watched by everyone, whether you're a Disney fan or not. If you realize that the episodic story is probably just to give the film more of a storybook feel, you will not be disappointed and you will find that the music and characters more than make up for it.
Film Grade: A
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