You thought I was kidding when I claimed to love Disney movies at age twenty-one. I will have you know, I went to Wal-mart after that class and bought my own 40th Anniversary edition of Walt Disney's The Jungle Book and I'm damn glad I did.
The movie is a classic two dimensional, adventure animation, so it's not really important to know that Wolfgang Reitherman is the Director, but it is based on Rudyard Kipling's novel of the same title. First released in October 1967, the new platinum edition features enhanced picture and sound but the same Disney goodness you remember from your childhood.
Without invitation, my roommates wandered into the room singing the Oscar-nominated original song, "The Bare Necessities," and found a spot on the floor to watch Mowgli the man-cub make his way to the man-village with a few colorful characters he meets along the way.
Baloo, the loveable, bum-shaking bear voiced by Phil Harris, is supposed to teach Mowgli about the bare necessities of life and the true meaning of friendship according to the DVD case. While I can see how one could derive this lesson from the 78 minute movie, I only see it as a jovial Disney filled with laughter and talking animals.
As Mowgli moves towards the man-village, the king of the jungle, Shere Khan (George Sanders), is trying to make the boy his next kill. The adventure comes when Bagheera, the boy's wise panther guide (Sebastian Cabot), leaves the naive boy to find his own way. The man-cub encounters a hypnotizing snake (Sterling Holloway), dancing orangutan (Louis Prima) and lazy vultures, each with their own amusing song about life in the Indian jungle.
Even though this movie is the last animated film to receive Walt Disney's personal touch before his death in 1966, it is chronologically in the middle of the great Disney movies I remember from childhood. In addition to the mastermind behind the Disney conglomeration, many of the voices are Disney regulars. Sterling Holloway, who lends his voice to Kaa the python in this film, is also heard as Winnie the Pooh and as the Cheshire Cat in Alice in Wonderland. Phil Harris can also be found as Little John in the 1973 Disney-animated Robin Hood.
In trying to decide what makes this movie great and what gives me the reason to do a cheery clap in class, I've discovered it's not because the amazing quality of animation or because this is my overall favorite Disney animation. It's because the songs and dancing characters take me back to a time of plastic cartoon lunch boxes, side ponytails with fluffed bangs and slap bracelets. Who doesn't want to return to those times on occasion?
I won't spoil the fun, but with the 40th Anniversary Edition DVD, you can meet the long-lost character, Rocky the Rhino, and experience never-before-heard deleted songs, and all-new games. Disney animations always take on new meaning when watching them as adults, but I will never fail to laugh when Mowgli outsmarts the scheming snake and sends him squeaking away with a knot in his tail. Some Disneys will never die and thank God this is one of them.