True confessions of a movie nerd: The Jungle Book is my favorite Disney film. Period. The only one that comes close to it is Beauty and the Beast (1991) and, as much as I dig that one, it takes second place. I grew up on The Jungle Book, seeing it in theaters when Disney still re-issued their classics. I had a book and record set of it, which was the story and the soundtrack. It's the only Disney outside of Beauty and the Beast that I've owned on VHS, DVD, and Blu Ray. So yeah, I still dig it.
The Jungle Book, of course, is the story of Mowgli, a young boy found by Bagheera the panther and raised by wolves. When Mowgli turns 10 it is learned that Shere Khan the tiger has returned and is seeking to kill Mowgli before he can grow up. Bagheera is tasked with taking the young boy to a Man Village despite the youngster's desire to stay in the jungle. Along the way, Mowgli encounters lovable goof Baloo the bear, is brought before King Louie, and finally comes face to face with his nemesis.
The Jungle Book is the first real all-star Disney movie. Sebastian Cabot, arguably best remembered for the TV show Family Affair, voices Bagheera. Comedian Phil Harris, who was in the John Wayne airplane disaster thriller The High and The Mighty as well as the 1956 Bing Crosby musical Anything Goes, plays Baloo. The voice of Winnie the Pooh, Sterling Holloway, does the Python who has coil trouble, Kaa. Character actor George Sanders is the villainous Shere Kahn. Sanders had done everything from The Saint to Hitchcock. With his inimitably smooth voice, he's the arguably the best Disney villain ever. J. Pat O'Malley, who appeared on basically ever TV show back in the day and did quite a few other Disney movies, is Colonel Hathi, the pompous elephant leading a weary pack on an eternal march through the jungle.
Then there's Louis Prima. Prima may be the best recognized member of the cast today. His version of Just A Gigolo/I Ain't Got Nobody--he was the first singer to combine the songs--is a classic. Here he plays King Louie and gets the showstopper song, I Wanna Be Like You. It's the most memorable scene in the entire movie. Oh, sure, The Bare Necessities was nominated for an Oscar, but frankly I always preferred Louie's song.
Interestingly, it is director Wolfgang Reitherman's son Bruce who does the voice of Mowgli. He got the part after the original actor's voice broke during the 3 year filming period.
Part of what makes this work is the fact that the actors aren't just doing voices as the characters. All of the characters in the film take on traits of those actors. Shere Khan is pretty much what you would get from George Sanders as a villain, only animated. And Louis Prima's habit of marching around with his band during a performance is full blown used by King Louie in this. On top of that, all the characters resemble their voice actors if you pay close enough attention. Interestingly, the original idea was to have The Beatles do the vultures at the end of the film. That's why the vultures resemble the Fab Four. However, legend has it that John Lennon vetoed the idea.
It is well established that The Jungle Book was the last animated film Walt Disney was personally involved in. As such, it is his crowning achievement. 30 years after his (and the world's) first full length animated movie, Disney capped his career off with a breezy, entertaining 80 minutes that might have deviated wildly from Kipling's novel, but did so with style.
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