In 1894, Rudyard Kipling published a collection of stories in one novel titled, “The Jungle Book.” Set in India, the story follows a human or man-cub named, Mowgli. A boy raised by wolves. His friends Bagheera the Panther & Baloo the Bear protect him from a sinister tiger known as Shere Khan. In the early ’60s, Walt Disney green-lit an animated film adaptation based of The Jungle Book. Production was on hold when he was producing other movies “101 Dalmatians & “The Sword and the Stone.” In 1966, just as The Jungle Book’s polished, Walt died from lung cancer. This was the last animated movie he worked on. Remember kids, smoking is bad for your lungs. I do not condone underage smoking.
Released in 1967, (same year Jason Statham was born) it received positive reviews from critics and movie goers alike. Plus, it made money at the box office. Twenty-Four Years Later, Disney Channel aired a cartoon called, “TaleSpin” following Baloo’s adventures as a pilot. In 2003, “The Jungle Book 2” came out. Unlike the original, the sequel was critically panned. In 2016, Jon Favreau directed a live-action remake.
To celebrate Disney turning 100, I’m selecting a few movies to watch and review if they hold up or not. Which Disney movies should I review next? Please leave a comment and I’ll respond back.
This review contains SPOILERS.
Healthy & Unhealthy Aspects
Healthy: Voice Actors all did a solid job for their respective performances.
Animation still holds up since 1967.
Songs are catchy and unforgettable. You cannot forget the infamous song, “Bare Necessities.”
Fun Fact: Ron Howard’s brother Clint, provides the voice of a baby elephant.
The best part is King Louie. I don’t think he’s a racist caricature. He’s not offensively bad like the Crows from “Dumbo” or the Siamese Cats from “Lady and the Tramp.” What offends me the most is Mowgli’s stupidity. In the words of Gandalf the Grey, “Fool of a took!”
The Vultures are based on one of my favorite bands, The Beatles. Back in 1967, the band’s eighth album, “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely House Club Band” became a cornerstone of the British Invasion.
Unhealthy: Walt Disney failed to adapt Rudyard Kipling’s book. It’s a shame his last work ended didn’t spark.
Mowgli never shows remorse over the wolves who raised him. He only cares about Baloo and refuses to go to the “man village” for his own good. What an a-hole. He doesn’t do anything good except he overcomes Shere Khan. I have to Double Down this con for not making me care about Mowgli at all.
Mowgli’s chemistry with Bagheera & Baloo makes me care less. I’m more interested than King Louie.
The Marching Elephants never contribute to the plot whatsoever.
For a 78-minute animated movie, I looked at my watch to see how long this’ll end.
I can’t believe I’m saying this, Mowgli comes across as annoying. All he does is nag and gets himself into trouble nearly costing his life. I know he’s a kid, but I don’t buy him as a likable protagonist. I never cared about his well-being living in the jungle or his friends want him to live in a human village. Mowgli’s one of the worst Disney animated characters along with these lead characters. Frodo Baggins doesn’t gripe and complain throughout “The Lord of the Rings Trilogy.”
- The Blue Fairy
- The Crows from Dumbo
- Cinderella & The Prince
- Lady and the Tramp also the Siamese Cats
- Aurora & Prince Phillip
- Penny from The Rescuers
- Ariel
- Chicken Little
The Final Verdict: D, FOR DINO DROPPINGS!
From my point of view, The Jungle Book is one of the worst Disney animated movies to exist. It didn’t age well. Walt Disney’s last movie he ever worked on ended on a whimper. If you wanna see a proper movie set in a jungle, my picks are “Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle” & Kong: Skull Island.”
Nickthemoviecritic.com 
Black Cauldron or Oliver and company; wondering what your thoughts are on them. I find it laughable that my middle school had the latter on the best 80s movies when empire strikes back or Batman should’ve been on there.
The vulture song was the weakest part for me. Still though this is far better than sword in the stone or aristocats. I keep wanting to watch Star Wars instead of sword in the stone since that’s all I can think of while watching it.
As for Mowgli, yeah he was unremarkable; this was one of those movies where the lead character (Mowgli) is ousted by other main characters just like Aladdin. I mean yeah he spent his life in the jungle but bagheera (and later baloo) didn’t want Mowgli to be murdered. The other animals along with bagheera didn’t want Mowgli to stay in the jungle, they wanted him to be where he belongs and safe from animals like Kaa and Shere Khan. Baloo tried stating Mowgli doesn’t have guns or fire but he was well aware that Mowgli was going to die if baloo didn’t surrender Mowgli.
Bagheera wanted Mowgli to go to the village even after the tiger was defeated because he knew Mowgli was attracted. He said that Mowgli had to go back and couldn’t help himself; Mowgli ran away from baloo and bagheera right after he heard the girl (Shanti) and wanted to be by her. Furthermore if I were Mowgli and saw baloo getting nearly killed I would’ve ditched him as well.
The elephant scene wasn’t all pointless; shere khan caught wind of the situation.
Lastly don’t bother with jungle book 2, it’s worse.
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Been awhile seeing Black Cauldron & Oliver and Company. Did you know James Mangold (3:10 to Yuma, Logan) co-wrote the script for the latter?
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I love these cartoons in my childhood.
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Great post. I found it interesting how you didn’t like Mowgli. I thought he was fine, although I thought “The Jungle Book” was just okay.
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