THE JUNGLE BOOK (8.5 out of 10) Directed by Wolfgang Reitherman; starring Phil Harris, Louis Prima, Sebastian Cabot, Sterling Holloway; Rated G; Walt Disney Company; running time 78 minutes. Rereleased on Blu-ray 2/11/14.
For any kid growing up in the ’80s and ’90s, it’s inevitable that you’ll come across Walt Disney’s production of ‘The Jungle Book’ not once or twice, but at least a dozen over the course of your formative years. As a kid, it’s charming fun, instantly likable, and completely thrilling.
As an adult revisiting it with the new Blu-ray release, it’s no less charming.
Considering it as Walt Disney’s last animated masterpiece (as Walt died during production and this was the last animated film to be guided by his hand), it’s a wonderful culmination of his instincts as an entertainer for the whole family. While “The Jungle Book” works on the surface for children as an entertainment, it has so much more going on that deepens it with every era you manage to revisit it.
As a kid, you might be attracted to King Louis and his singing, or Baloo the Bear and his lassaiz-faire attitude, but as an adult, the story of Mowgli and his search for a place in the world can be heartbreaking at times. He’s lost and looking for acceptance, wondering where he fits in the world and the most dangerous animal in the jungle is after him.
The themes fit neatly between delightful music sequences and it’s all wonderfully voiced and staged. There’s an elegance to the density of the film as well. Disney and his team are able to cram into 78 minutes a story the size of a two-hour Pixar film. It’s efficient and every frame tells a story that advances things.
On Blu-ray, the animation has never looked better and the special features (like those appended below) are well worth every penny you’d spend on the new release. The animation itself is given new life as you can now scrutinize every drawing and frame the original animators put down on celluloid.
If you’re a fan of classic animation and Disney in particular, there should be no doubt you’ll be buying this. If you’ll forgive the pun, it’s a ‘bear’ necessity.