D52: The Jungle Book

The 1967 film The Jungle Book was the last Disney animated feature was the last to be personally worked on by Walt Disney and was released less than a year after his death in December 1966. It is a loose adaptation of Rudyard Kipling’s book of the same name, following the story of Mowgli, a human boy who was raised by wolves and grew up in the Jungles of India.

There are two real highlights to The Jungle Book. The first is the animation itself. Not only is it beautiful, as was typical with Disney’s work at the time, but it also features some of the best character animation ever produced, whether by Disney or any other studio. It is so strong, in fact, that it is still used as reference material for animators to this day, and that strength is evident even to the casual viewer. The second winning element of the film is its soundtrack. The songs by the Sherman Brothers are immediately catchy and many are universally known to this day.

The Jungle Book was never one of my favorites as a child and, watching it again now, I can’t say that my opinion has changed much. I enjoy the music and appreciate the technical prowess, but for some reason I just never quite get invested in the story or the characters. That being said, I’m definitely in the minority with this opinion and would certainly recommend seeing it. Most kids and adults alike will be able to get a lot of enjoyment out of the humour, action, and memorable characters.

40th Anniversary re-release trailer

Up next: The Aristocats (1970)