| Special
Features: |
Restored sound and pictures
Audio Commentary
The Lost Character: Rocky the Rhino
The Bare Necessities: The Making of The Jungle Book
Disney's Kipling: Walt's Magic Touch on A Literary Classic
The Lure of The Jungle Book
Mowgli's Return to the Jungle
Four all-new games including Baloo's Virtual Swingin'
Jungle Cruise
Music videos
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| Review:
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Based on Rudyard Kipling's classic book, this film tells
the story of Mowgli who's parent were killed by Shere Khan,
a man-eating tiger. Toddling innocently away from the scene
of the murder, Mowgli finds refuge with the leader of the
jungle's wolf pack; Akela, his wife and cubs. Bagheera the
panther and Baloo the bear teach Mowgli the laws of the
jungle as he grows, but when Shere Kahn returns those who
love the boy most believe he will be safest in the village
among his own kind. Mowgli, however, is determined to live
forever in his beloved jungle and defeat the wicked Shere
Kahn. ***
Walt Disney died during the making of this 1966 film,
and it was not finished and released until 1967. There was
much anxiety in the Disney animation department, for if
the film did not do well at the box office the entire department
might be eliminated. Audiences then were thrilled with the
film and it remains a much beloved Disney classic. Nominated
in 1968 for a Golden Laurel award and an Oscar in the Best
Music/Original Song category, this film won the Golden Screen
awarded in 1988. The xerographic system developed in 1961
for "101 Dalmations", was further refined in this film to
combine Xeroxed cels with hand inked details. ***
The Vultures, who sing the song "That's What Friends
are for", were originally meant to be voiced by the Beatles,
but scheduling changes made that impossible. Disney had
them change the song from it's original Beatles-beat to
a barber shop quartet style as he believed the original
scoring would date the film too strongly as a product of
the 60's. Disney also believed that the original plot line
and songs the team had come up with were too dark and brooding.
The only song kept from that first writing was "Bear Necessities".
Verna Felton, who voiced Winifred the wife of Colonel Hathi,
died the day before Walt Disney, leaving this as her final
performance. I find it interesting that this uplifting and
much loved classic that was so plagued by production issues
and death, is the same film that convinced the company to
keep its animation department. Without the success of this
Disney classic, we might never have seen later works like
"The Black Cauldron", "Little Mermaid", "Beauty and the
Beast" or "Aladdin"!***
"The Jungle Book" is a wonderful family film with some
timeless animation moments. The acceptance and naming of
Mowgli by the Pack, the fun lessons from rumbling jazz-loving
Baloo, the kidnapping of Mowgli by King Louie, Kaa's sibilant
hypnotism, and Mowgli's first look at a real girl are moments
that have made an indelible impression on children and parents
for 40 years! The delightful soundtrack sounds great, and
the restoration really brightened up this adored classic
Disney film. "Forget about your worries and your strife"
and give this anniversary edition a look! ***
Image and Sound:
1:75: aspect ratio, Dolby. Here, the screen aspect has
been cropped a bit, but the colors have been lovingly restored
to their vivid best. Sound quality has also been boosted
with the 5.1 Disney Enhanced Home Theater Mix so the soundtrack
comes through clear and smooth.
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| Special
Features: |
Restored sound and pictures- looks and sounds great!
Audio Commentary: Interesting for animation fans as
it combines commentary from current animators with insights
from the films original creative team.***
The Lost Character: Rocky the Rhino: Storyboards and
original voicing by Frank Fontaine bring to life this scene
cut from the film involving an encounter between Mowgli,
Baloo and Rocky, an ill-tempered rhino, just after the collapse
of King Louie's palace. Walt Disney felt that two comic
scenes back to back would lessen the film. ***
The Bare Necessities: The Making of The Jungle Book:
I always enjoy a good "making of" feature, and this one
does not disappoint. They included some wonderful archived
bits and added interesting interviews with people like:
Bruce Reitherman who voiced Mowgli, John Culhane who worked
on films like "Fantasia" and "Frank and Ollie", Brad Bird
who brought us such excellent works as "The Iron Giant"
"Ratatouille" and "The Incredibles", Glen Keane who did
amazing work on "Aladdin" "Beauty and the Beast" "Pete's
Dragon" and many other Disney classics, Richard Sherman,
Eric Goldberg, and many others. There is a collection of
artwork and film treatments that have never been seen before
in this section as well. A bright gem for animation collectors.***
Disney's Kipling: Walt's Magic Touch on A Literary
Classic: Footage from 1963 that includes scenes from Kipling's
"Mowgli Stories" is used to illustrate Disney's interpretation
of Kipling's masterpiece. A nice feature in this anniversary
edition. ***
The Lure of The Jungle Book: Interviews with Sergio
Pablo, Will Finn, Eric Goldberg, Andreas Deja, and Brad
Bird (some of today's biggest names in animation) talk about
how this film inspired them and influenced their careers.
***
Mowgli's Return to the Jungle: This feature looks at
nature filming with some interesting firsthand experiences
from Bruce Reitherman, the voice of Mowgli.***
Four all-new games including Baloo's Virtual Swingin'
Jungle Cruise. Musical challenges and fun activities on
this DVD-ROM section. ***
Still Frame Art Gallery: Nice to look at, this feature
usually pleases only die-hard animation fans.
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