The Jungle Book 40th Anniversary
Platinum Edition (Disney DVD Set)
Picture:
B- Sound: B- Extras: B- Film: B-
Monkeys,
Tigers, and Bears…Oh My! No, there are
no wizards here, just a tale of a boy trying to find his way home and the
friends he meets along the way. I guess
that does sound a little like The Wizard
of Oz though, right? Finally on DVD
for children of all ages to enjoy is The
Jungle Book 40th Anniversary Platinum Edition. The 1967
classic has been remastered in both sound and picture quality and is now
presented to audiences 40 years after its conception. The Jungle Book by many and even the
animators at Disney Studios is considered to be the epitome of Disney
greatness. The Jungle Book has an imaginative storyline that was reworked from
its literary origin, as well as a musical soundtrack that in many ways still
has not been topped today. Granted this
is by no means this reviewers’ favorite Disney Feature, but many do consider
this to be the best of the best.
The film
was released in October of 1967 and was the last film Walt Disney was a part
of; Walt unfortunately dying midway through production of the film. The nineteenth full length Disney Film was
met with great praise and managed to spin the Rudyard Kipling classic into a
new light.
The film
takes place in India and centers on a boy named Mowgli who as a baby was sent
down river in a basket. A panther named
Bagheera discovers the discarded child and promptly takes him to a mother wolf
that raises the boy as one of her own.
It is not long before the boy learns the way of the jungle and finds his
place. The film then goes ten years into
the future, where the wolves discover that a man hungry Tiger names Shere Khan
has reentered the jungle. In a desperate
attempt to save the boy and return him to the man village Bagheera volunteers
to escort the boy ‘home.’ Since Mowgli
has no intention of returning to the man village, Bagheera’s job is no easy
one.
There is
initially a run in with a shifty, hypnotizing, man eating snake named Kaa (that
just ends comically), then Mowgli tries to join a troop of elephants (that as
well ends comically), and finally Mowgli meets a lovable Sloth Bear named
Baloo. Baloo tells Mowgli that life is
about being carefree, having fun, and having no worries; in turn promising NOT
to take him to the man village. Soon
after this promise, however, Mowgli is kidnapped by a band of mischievous
monkeys who are led by the crazy orangutan King Louie. King Louie promises that if Mowgli teaches
him the secret of Man’s Fire he will never have to go to the man village and
can continue to live in the jungle. In
an epically destructive manner Bagheera and Baloo save Mowgli from King Louie
and Baloo agrees that it is best for Mowgli to go to the man village where he
can be safe. Before Mowgli can be
returned ‘home’ Kaa returns for a late snack, but some other hungry creature
has also caught Mowgli’s scent…Shere Kahn.
Will the boy be saved or is he just another tasty morsel to a hungry
tiger?
Funny
enough this being a film created in the late 1960’s a flock of four fab, British,
vultures also make an appearance…looking strangely like another Fab Four, The
Beatles.
Another
funny factoid about the film is the characters’ names. Shere Kahn in Persian means Lord Tiger,
Bagheera means Panther in Hindi, and Baloo means Bear (Mowgli is said to mean
frog in Hindi…but that is not true).
The film
overall is excellent. It is well
scripted, well animated with great depth and texture, and the musical scores
are extremely admirable. Whereas this is
not this reviewer’s favorite, he recognizes Disney’s genius and ability to
recast a classic into an even greater classic.
While the story may seem slow at times the musical interludes give the
feature a new jolt each time that are exciting and memorable. Disney films will be around for all time and The Jungle Book is a perfect example of
why.
The
film’s staying power can also be seen in its ability to be recycled. Disney Studios seemed a bit troubled after
the loss of their leader Walt Disney and the first release after his death, Robin Hood, utilized their boss’ last
venture of The Jungle Book as a mode
of inspiration. If a viewer looks
closely at the 1973 feature film Robin
Hood, one will notice many of the characters, voices, and even dance
numbers are either identical or similar to those of The Jungle Book. This is not
to say that Robin Hood was just a
rehashing of The Jungle Book, but
rather that The Jungle Book was so epic and meaningful that it could spawn a
whole new feature film with heart and meaning.
Besides The Jungle Book being utilized in Robin Hood, it was also transformed
completely into the Emmy Award winning series Tale Spin. Tale Spin ran from 1990-1994 with a 65
episode run that used characters from The
Jungle Book such as Baloo, Shere Khan, and King Louie. Tale
Spin centered on a lazy sloth bear (Baloo) who ran a shipping company, but
seemed to get into more mischief than anything else. The series was a fantastic hit and is
considered among many to be an animated television classic like Rescue Rangers, Duck Tales, and Darkwing
Duck. Proving once again the
versatility of The Jungle Book.
The
jungle of technical features on this 2 Disc DVD set are quite nice, but nothing
to write home to Papa Bear about. The
picture is presented in a 1.75 X 1 Widescreen image that has been anamorphically
enhanced for 16 X 9 televisions. This
reviewer is all about anamorphic enhancement to a degree, but it seems at times
that the images’ top and bottom are missing something or have been noticeably
altered. The quality is a funny issue in
the case of The Jungle Book, due to
it looking better than any VHS, Laserdisc or previous DVD release, but not up
to snuff with the original Technicolor film production. The colors remain bright and fluid
throughout, only demonstrating a slight darkness issue occasionally. The picture, however, fails to recreate the
full brightness and jungle atmosphere that Technicolor would have presented. The Sound quality is excellent as is heard in
most Disney Platinum releases, being presented in the Disney staple of Disney
5.1 Home Theater Mix. The musical
soundtrack of the film is quite excellent, but many of the dialogue sequences
are distant or even demonstrate a muffled quality. This is not to say the scenes are horrible,
but rather they still need some work.
The
extras are Bear-able, but like most Disney releases are more aimed toward a
younger audience. Extras include a music
video for “I Wan’na Be like You” by
the Jonas Brothers who are very popular amongst children, several Jungle Book themed interactive games
mainly centering on animals and language, and a few more adult/documentary type
features. The features that may interest
adults more include a featurette on a ‘long lost character’ names Rocky the
Rhino, Deleted Songs, a featurette called ‘Disney’s Kipling’ that explores the
Walt Disney’s touch on a literary masterpiece, and finally a making of The Jungle Book Featurette. Overall, the bonus features are exciting and
there is definitely something for both children and adults.
In the
end, The Jungle Book is a must have
for any collection especially in this remastered format. The picture and sound are nicely presented
and the extras give insight into the film’s creation process. So come for the film, stay for the
extras. Join Baloo, Mowgli, King Louie,
and the rest of the Jungle Crew for one fantastic adventure that animators to
this day still look to for guidance and inspiration.
- Michael P Dougherty II
