Hi folks! Welcome to my My Own Personal Nerdy Disney and Animation Scrutinizing Analysis blog. A blog where I'm analyzing several Disney films, Disney or Animation in general! These entries are just meant to be my analyses. Not reviews or statements. Just fun analyses! Though I'll make some personal remarks now and then, the content of these entries are meant to be depicted objectively. They're made for entertainment purpose only and the pictures/clips are copyright Disney or other companies.
Make sure to leave a comment if you like this site! And if there's something you think could be improved, please let me know. But in a constructive way, please. And just a note; I'm not a Native English writer, so my incorrect grammar may be notable.
And finally; If you haven't seen the films, beware of spoilers! And the funny lines aren't meant to be nothing than funny. So I hope you won't find them offensive. If so, I apologize


Though there`s been some theories about Book's popularity because of being Walt's last film, there's no denial that Book was a genuine, huge success during it's release. Both critically and commercially. Since then it's been heralded as a classic by Disney lovers and historians and being re-released trice. And being promoted among Walt's Pantheon (and being one of Germany's most successful films of all time).
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Yes, there's a reason why it's called The Jungle Book, guys;) |

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We'll have to grow up before playing such games again :) |

Walt's first films were equally balanced by dark and lights moments. And while this is of course subjective, the darkness became less prominent in films like the semi-panned Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan, 101 Dalmatians and The Sword In The Stone (in my opinion). And it's fair to state that alongside Peter Pan, The Jungle Book is certainly catered towards a male demographic, due to it's male-demographic components.
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Those claws will be hard to hypnotize :) |

The anthropomorphic Robin Hood goes even further and copies the same animation/characters, a similar bear, snake and elephants (and how about the famous The Phony King of England, which truly duplicates Jungle Book, Aristocats and the fairest of them all). The Jungle Book was the film that saved Disney Animation from going downhill. Despite that neither Aristocats nor Hood were outright flops, there could be another reason why they're not as worshiped by Disney historians; Because they simply didn't outgross The Jungle Book!
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We're hiding from the Chicken Little :) |


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I'm adorable, ain't I? But I'm toxic, as Britney Spears ;) |
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I was smitten by how lazily this boat was made :) |
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I said A instead of cheese. I wanted to be original ;) |
Not all of them has good intentions, as Kaa, Coronel Hathi and King Louie. But some of them does warm up to Mowgli, as Junior, the Vultures and last, but not least Baloo (who originally was just meant to have one scene in the movie).
In the end, Mowgli has a confrontation with the Shere Khan, a villain which appears remarkably late in the film, (due to Walt putting him off because of his non-faithful approach to the story), but it's remarkable that he never gets killed in the film (and the two felines never actually meets). But the film never confirms that the impetuous Mowgli actually realizes that he's not safe in the jungle. Before eventually becoming smitten by the village girl (which was named Shanti in the Jungle Book Groove PlayStation Game).
straying away from a source material, the thing is Kipling's novels contains enough drama and plot to dramatize. Which is a reason why Walt`s version seems skimpier than Kipling`s (no offence). Yet Kipling's novel is pretty episodic in itself. Though there's been made several animated, non-Disney series about Book (also a CGI version from 2010), I recall watching a animated short as a child which was quite faithful to Kipling's novel. Yet that short haven`t been the only animated version that`s been faithful. Chuck Jones released the Mowgli`s Brothers-feature in 1976 that was quite faithful to the novel.








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Yes, I am going to eat ya. What else did you expect? :) |
The rest of the cast are more memorable, though. There`s no doubt that Baloo is the most likable of them! A bigger-than-life, happy go-lucky guy who most kids would simply love (who was my favorite character as a kid). The film takes time to develop a real bond between Mowgli and Baloo, despite him not being completely able to let go of Mowgli (which best friends and veteran animators Ollie Johnston and Frank Thomas worked on).
Sterling Holloways Kaa is quite memorable, as is the charismatic and dignified Shere Khan. Even King Louie, despite not being sympathetic nor particularly developed, shines in his cameo. And let's not forget the fun, Beatles-inspired vultures! It`s remarkable that both Kaa and the Elephants have their recurrent scenes. While the monkeys, the wolves and the vultures appears in only one sequence.

The Jungle Book handles it quite subtly, actually. Mowgli loves the jungle not only because being his home. But because of it being a fun place to be.






Mowgli himself was played Wolfgang Reitherman's son Bruce, who also voiced Winnie The Pooh's Christopher Robin and was somewhat modeled after him (though he wasn't the first choice, as David Bailey was first cast). Disney veteran Sterling Holloway played Kaa (while voicing Winnie The Pooh, though
the animators were initially apprehensive of using him, due to him being reused in several movies). Family Affair's Sebastian Cabot voiced Bagheera. English Disney veteran J. Pat O'Malley was Coronel Hathi (and the lead vulture) and Disney-veteran Verna Felton was his mate, Winifred. Clint Howard, who would voice Roo in Pooh, voiced Junior the Elephant. And no, the Beatles didn't voice the Vultures! Though Disney were considering having them, their manager refused.

Less attention are given to the other songs. But to be fair, they're not completely neglected, either. It's notable how the very first song appears late in the movie (though it's not like 101 Dalmatians, a rare Walt movie which had few songs).


The veteran musicians at Disney at the time, the Sherman brothers, wrote the songs. But it's funny that folk singer (and Disney-worker) Terry Gilkyson's only remaining song was the breakout hit (Gilkerson's other songs were thrown out for their too serious tone). But as for authentic Indian folk music, while the score has some Indian influence, it still doesn`t have authentic Indian instruments within it. As for the musical style, the choice of Dixieland jazz and Barber Shop Quartet are indeed a headscratcher for purists (though the vultures had a rock song, which Walt took out in fear to date itself). But that's the dedication to the mass public ;)


The Jungle Book is not often praised for it's visuals. But at least it has a soft watercolor look to the backgrounds. It's no secret that the Xerox process made the characters rougher and edgier-looking (which Walt supposedly hated). However, it's not as evident than it's on the predecessors. At least it has a blend of sharp characters and mild backgrounds. It may not be the first Disney jungle, but certainly the most inspired and elaborated (uptil then). It must have been an exotic challenge for the layout department, who actually visited the Indian jungle. The Jungle Book is the first of Walt Disney's features since Bambi to take entirely place in a naturalistic setting with wild animals.
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I can make human movements :) Impressive, huh? |
Though ironically the protagonist is a human (which he was in the novel, duuuh), Book features an almost all-cast animals. Most of them naturalistic, but some of them semi-anthropomorphized. The monkeys, elephants and vultures having human hair (at least Tarzan had an equal blend of humans and animals).
But my love for The Jungle Book was also because of it being a genuinely enjoyable and charming film. Which I still consider it to be today. It's frisky and endearing tone may be the reason for captivating a huge audience, which it's completely deserved. Despite my previous ranted about the vague plotline, I truly have a fondness for Book despite it's shortcomings.
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Shiny Happy People. Oh, we meant creatures ;) |


The more kid-oriented Mowgli's Story was made in 1998 directly to video. Made by Nick Mark (Veronica Mars) and Eartha Kitt voicing Bagheera.
In 2016 we've got another





actor with The Emperor's New Groove, Monsters Inc and The Princess and the Frog). Phil Collins (actually) voices Lucky, while Haley Joel Osment voices Mowgli (apparently having recorded his lines as younger, due to him being a teen in the early 2000's). Tony Jay voiced Shere Khan, while Mae Withman (yes, Tinker Bell) voiced Shanti. John Rhys-Davies voiced Mowgli's adoptive father. King Louie didn't appear, due to Prima's family suing Disney.
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Yes, I'm using you for a trashcan, kid :) |

I do consider it to be a genuine enjoyable and enchanting film. I remember seeing it twice theatrically as a kid as an eight-year old in 1993 (one time with my whole school, suggested by my teacher, who was smitten by my interest on this film). And seeing it several times on when I received on VHS on my birthday (to my dad's despair). So let's get the bare necessities of life ;)
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Damn, it was so difficult to make the jungle jumpin, so we forgot to record it. But this is a cartoon afterall ;) |
References:
The Jungle Book Platinum Edition
Mouse Under Glass (David Koenig)
The Art of Walt Disney: From Mickey Mouse to the Magic Kingdoms and Beyond (Christopher Finch).
The Jungle Book Diamond Edition
Disney's Art of Animation: From Mickey Mouse to Hercules (Bob Thomas).
The Making of The Jungle Book (1997)
The Jungle Book/The Second Jungle Book (Rudyard Kipling)
Tarzan of The Apes (Edgar Rice Burroughs).
The Mouse That Roared: Disney and The End of Innocence (Henry A. Giroux).
The Jungle Book The Official Collector's Edition (2016)
http://www.threecommentears.com/2014/08/the-three-commentears-episode-16-the-jungle-book/
https://books.google.no/books?id=5JHrODsAdNwC&printsec=frontcover&hl=no#v=onepage&q=interest&f=false
http://www.dvdizzy.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=31006
http://www.moviefone.com/2014/12/23/richard-sherman-jungle-book/
http://time.com/3048493/christopher-walken-jungle-book/
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/ben-kingsley-joins-disneys-jungle-714889
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/scarlett-johansson-lupita-nyongo-talks-698578
http://animatedviews.com/2012/bob-hilgenberg-and-rob-muir-on-the-rise-and-fall-of-disneys-circle-7-animation/
http://www.slashfilm.com/jon-favreau-in-talks-to-direct-the-jungle-book/
http://www.tor.com/2015/08/20/walt-disney-supervises-his-last-film-the-jungle-book/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TaleSpin
http://www.animationsource.org/talespin/en/custom_questions/Production_information/147.html&nump=1338
http://web.archive.org/web/20030202151522/http://www.animated-movies.net/TheJungleBook.html
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/10202873/The-Jungle-Book-the-making-of-Disneys-most-troubled-film.html
http://www.blu-ray.com/movies/The-Jungle-Book-Blu-ray/7713/#Review
http://www.dvdmg.com/junglebook.shtml
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ly4JqtekoLY
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/jungle-book-live-action-reboot-582283
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/germany-original-jungle-book-biggest-885953