Jungle
Book The imagination of Rudyard Kipling is brought vividly to
life in this classic Disney animated film. The tropical jungle
is teeming with animals, not all of them friendly, which get
along in their own amusing fashion. Mankind seem to play a
small part in this happy world until, one day, Bagheera the
Panther hears a strange sound. Investigating, he discovers
a man-child in the wreck of a boat. Normally he would walk
away but this time Bagheera feels some pity for the orphaned
infant and takes him to the wolves, to be raised as one of
their own. Ten years later the child has grown into Mowgli
the Man Cub, happily adopted as a wolf. Unfortunately a shadow
is cast over this picture - Shere Khan the Tiger is returning
to the area and he is certain to kill Mowgli, such is his
hatred of humans. Bagheera volunteers to take him to the human
village where he'll be safe.
Since darkness falls before reaching the camp they decide
to stop for the night, high up in a tree. Bagheera falls asleep
but hasn't reckoned for the dangers of the jungle, specifically
Kaa the Snake. Slithering along Kaa spies the young boy, perfect
for a snack, and wriggles over to gain his confidence. Using
his wildly hypnotic eyes Kaa sends Mowgli into a trance, prior
to swallowing him, but is disrupted in the nick-of-time by
Bagheera (who narrowly escapes being eaten himself!). The
morning arrives uneventfully, except for the fact that the
ground is shaking - the elephants are on patrol. Colonel Hathi
marches into view at the head of his troops, all stepping
in line and in perfect synchronisation. Mowgali decides to
join in, leading to much hilarity and jokes at the expense
of the military, as an elephant before Bagheera drags him
away.
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Mowgli is dead-set against joining his own kind though and
runs away from the kindly, but exasperated, panther. Soon
he bumps into someone who is much more fun to be with - Baloo
the Bear. Prepare for a superb song, "The Bare Necessities",
and some memorable insults between Bagheera and Baloo. More
trouble lies ahead for the independent and adventurous Mowgli
- tangles with the apes (especially King Louie of the Apes),
barber-shop singing with a quartet of vultures and finally
Shere Khan himself. Baloo and Bagheera repeatedly show their
devotion to Mowgli by rescuing him from all sorts of situations,
although the result of all of this action is a somewhat bitter-sweet
ending.
There are several memorable aspects to this thoroughly enjoyable
story - the songs, the voices and characters of the animals,
the excellent animation (including some beautiful colours)
and the strength of the underlying tale. Together these unify
to give a very funny, heart-warming and very fast paced movie.
On the minus side there are a few not quite so brilliant songs
and some of the attitudes, particularly towards women, are
a little old-fashioned. Despite this, The Jungle Book ranks
as one of the finest Disney animations, with absolutely no
excess sentimentalism. There are few better ways to spend
a spare 75 minutes
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