My Review of The Jungle Book (1967) · 10:59pm Jul 9th, 2021
Rating Scale:
12/10—a complete masterpiece; flawless and outstanding
11/10—Excellent, near-perfect film
10/10—the standard rating; awesome film with a couple of flaws
9/10—a wonderful film with several flaws
8/10–a great film with numerous flaws but not enough to ruin it
7/10—a fun and entertaining movie; not great but still enjoyable
6/10—a slightly above average film; it is something I might watch again
5/10—mediocre movie; not awful but not great either
4/10—a below average film; it could have been much better
3/10—a bad film; poorly written and poorly executed
2/10—a very bad movie; the few good things in the movie overshadowed by the bad things
1/10—a terrible movie; a total waste of time
0/10—a worthless piece of abomination; should have never been made
Hello, hello, hello, my wonderful readers! Welcome to yet another Disney Friday review by yours truly! This time, I will be talking about what I enjoyed out of the original Jungle Book film from 1967. I think that this animated film is one of the most underrated Disney films of all time as it has a wonderful story, great characters, and full of humorous yet solid lines of dialogue. This is far from perfect as this is an animated film from the late sixties, but it is a classic gem from Walt Disney himself regardless. Speaking of which, this was the last film he played a direct role in making before he sadly passed away in 1966, a year before this film was released. This is one of those few Disney movies produced by Walt Disney that I actually enjoyed as opposed to his other movies I already reviewed before.
First off, as I already implied, the animation of this film doesn't hold up that well since this was from the 1960s, but hey, I'll let it slide. Nevertheless, it still manages to make the character designs very simple enough especially the designs of our main character and a few other characters. Mowgli wasn't interesting to say the least, but he was very amusing to watch on screen. As someone who both loves and enjoys Disney's Tarzan, this was yet a type of movie that felt very adventurous and exciting. In fact, if it weren't for Jungle Book, I probably would have never felt some sort of connection with Tarzan. Wait... CAN SOMEONE MAKE A CROSSOVER BETWEEN BOTH FILMS?!
I absolutely love the animal characters in this movie as well! For example, Baloo and Bagheera were the most enjoyable protagonists for me; they were both funny while yet have different personalities that made their relationship deep and well-established. Bagheera is the voice of wisdom, reason, and caution while he can be a little overprotective and harsh. Baloo is a jovial, caring, and conscientious bear who has a great sense of humor who likewise cares deeply for Mowgli. Despite the flaws each of them have, they are still fun characters through and through. Props to Phil Harris (RIP) and Sebastian Cabot (RIP) for their respective voice roles.
As far as the story is concerned, it was really well done and simple enough to follow along. All the humorous scenes involving the marching elephant troops, King Louie and his monkeys, and with Kaa the Snake were really well-written and funny. I even liked some of the running gags in this such as Kaa's tail always being tied up or him falling down. *Sigh* Such a shame Sterling Holloway isn't around to give those hearty voice performances anymore. May he also rest in peace.
As for the antagonist of the movie, Shere Khan was a splendid beast to watch as well as a force to be reckoned with! Coming from someone who dearly loves cats of all kinds (especially wild cats), his design looked really wonderful to look at and looked very intimidating to say the least. The late George Sanders did an excellent job voicing the villain. Despite the fact he had only three major scenes for his screen-time, the movie built him up as a great killer who despises mankind for his gun and fire. The execution of his character writing was well done.
In conclusion, The Jungle Book is a timeless classic which the majority of Disney fans still regard as a wonderful film even to this day. It is not perfect, but it is a film worth watching. Thus, I give it a 9/10! Oh, and I still love the "Bare Necessities" song. Anyone want to sing with me?
Peace!
I’m glad you enjoyed this movie.
In my opinion, “The Jungle Book (1967)” was a perfect send off for Walt Disney himself. Even today, I find myself proud that he went all-out in making this movie fun to watch in every way thanks to lending more creative involvement.
This movie didn´t play a big part on my childhood but I adored Bagheera and Shere Khan.
Did you watch the sequel?
5552844
Yep, I already watched it a few years ago or so. That will be reviewed next Friday.
5552846
.
Oh ok
By the way, I forgot to mention that the song I wanna be like you is bop. My preschool teacher used to play it and all the kids danced and sang to it.
Funny thing, really.
At one point, I came up with an idea for a crossover fic where Shere Khan somehow winds up in Equestria, and I had an interest in creating it because I was surprised no one had made such a story. However, I later decided to put the story on the back burner due to many story-related issues and conundrums I was having with it.
5553082
What a coincidence! I had almost the same experience with my crossover idea for Sabor from Tarzan!
When will your review of “The Jungle Book (2016)” be coming?
5560046
Patience. It will come, alright?
5560052
Alright. I was just curious because I expected it to come a couple days ago, that is until “The Hunchback of Notre Dame II” came instead.
Out of curiosity...
What are the other movies produced by Walt Disney that you enjoyed? Will you be reviewing any of them next?
5573849
You’ll find out once I get to them. I just can’t answer that right now.
One thing I’ve been interested in seeing Disney do as of late regarding “The Jungle Book” is an animated miniseries displaying Mowgli’s time with the wolves. All before leaving for the Man Village, of course.
Is that something you wouldn’t mind seeing someday too?
5590770
Eh, not really.