The Jungle Book (1967)

Bagheera the Panther and Baloo the Bear have a difficult time trying to convince a boy to leave the jungle for human civilization.

Director:

Wolfgang Reitherman

Writers:

Larry Clemmons (story), Ralph Wright (story),

Stars:

Phil Harris, Sebastian Cabot, Bruce Reitherman

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 2 wins & 2 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Phil Harris	...	'Baloo' the Bear (voice)
Sebastian Cabot	...	'Bagheera' the Panther (voice)
Bruce Reitherman	...	'Mowgli' the Man Cub (voice)
George Sanders	...	Shere Khan the Tiger (voice)
Sterling Holloway	...	'Kaa' the Snake (voice)
Louis Prima	...	King Louie of the Apes (voice)
J. Pat O'Malley	...	Col. Hathi the Elephant / Buzzie (voice)
Verna Felton	...	Elephant (voice)
Clint Howard	...	Elephant (voice)
Chad Stuart	...	Vulture (voice)
Lord Tim Hudson	...	Vulture (voice)
John Abbott	...	Wolf (voice)
Ben Wright	...	Wolf (voice)
Darleen Carr	...	The Girl (voice)

Storyline

Disney animation inspired by Rudyard Kiplings "Mowgli" story. Mowgli is a boy who has been raised by wolves in the Indian jungle. When the wolves hear that the fierce tiger, Shere Kahn, is nearby, they decide to send Mowgli to a local "man tribe". On his way to the village, Mowgli meets many animal characters in this musical tale. When Shere Kahn learns of Mowgli's presence, he tracks him down.

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Plot Keywords:

jungle | panther | bear | tiger | blockbuster | 

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Taglines:

The Jungle is JUMPIN'!

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Genres:

Animation | Adventure | Family | Musical

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Official Sites:

Disney DVD site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

7 December 1967 (Argentina)

Also Known As:

El libro de la selva

Filming Locations:

Walt Disney Studios, 500 South Buena Vista Street, Burbank, California, USA

Box Office

Gross:

$141,843,612 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Walt Disney Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

78 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The Vultures were originally going to be voiced by The Beatles. The band's manager, Brian Epstein, approached the Disney studios about having The Beatles appear in the film, and Disney had his animators create the Vultures specifically to be voiced by the band. But when Epstein took the idea to the Beatles, John Lennon vetoed the idea, and told Epstein to tell Disney he should hire Elvis Presley instead. The look of The Vultures, with their mop-top haircuts and Liverpool voices, are a homage to The Beatles; one bird's voice and features are clearly based on Ringo Starr. When the Beatles departed the project, the song was rewritten as a barbershop quartet, to make it timeless.

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Goofs

Wolf cubs do not wag their tails when they are curious. The tail wag among wolves is largely a sign of submission.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Bagheera: Many strange legends are told of these jungles of India, but none so strange as the story of a small boy named Mowgli. It all began when the silence of the jungle was broken by an unfamiliar sound.
[Sound of baby crying]
Bagheera: It was a sound like one never heard before in this part of the jungle. It was a man cub! Had I known how deeply I was to be involved, I would've obeyed my first impulse and walked away.

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Crazy Credits

There is a reprise of "The Bear Necessities" at the very end of the film.

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Connections

Featured in Best Ever Family Films (2005)

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Soundtracks

"Colonel Hathi's March (The Elephant Song)"
(1967) (uncredited)
Words and Music by Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman
Performed by J. Pat O'Malley, Hal Smith, Verna Felton, Bill Lee, Clint Howard, and the Disney Studio Chorus

User Reviews

The Simple Bear Necessities

The Jungle Book, one of Disney's ultimate classics, it has great characters, an awesome story and terrific animation. I'll admit it, I adore Disney movies, I could never choose just one Disney movie as my favorite, I love them all for so many different reasons. The Jungle Book is one of my fav's though, after buying the new release on DVD, I realized that I love this movie now more than ever. The reason that I think this movie is so wonderful is because of the characters, they just brought so much life to the story and really made this into a wonderful Disney classic.

Mowgli is found in a basket as a baby in the deep jungles. Bagheera, the panther who discovers the boy, promptly takes him to a wolf who has just had cubs. She raises him along with her own cubs and Mowgli soon becomes well acquainted to jungle life. Mowgli is shown ten years later, visiting the wolves and getting his face licked eagerly when he arrives. That night, when the wolf tribe learns that Shere Khan, a man-eating tiger, has returned to the jungle, they realize that Mowgli must be taken to the man village, to protect him and those around him. Bagheera volunteers to escort him back. They leave that very night, but Mowgli is determined to stay in the jungle and loses Bagheera. Kaa, the hungry python, hypnotizes Mowgli into a deep and peaceful sleep, traps him tightly in his coils, and tries to devour him, but comically fails. The next morning, Mowgli tries to join the elephant patrol. Bagheera finds Mowgli and they argue; Mowgli runs away from Bagheera. The boy soon meets up with the fun-loving bear Baloo, who shows Mowgli the fun of having a care-free life and promises not to take him to the man village. Mowgli now wants to stay in the jungle more than ever. Shere Khan is after Mawgli though and won't rest 'till he kills him.

Seriously, these are some of the most memorable characters in Disney history, we have Baloo, the care free party bear that just wants to have fun and only needs the "bear" necessities of life. Begheera, a panther, that we've all known this kind of person, the one that just wants to get down to business and get as much done as quickly as possible, the party pooper, but deep down still has that heart. And one of Disney's most memorable villains of all time, Shere Khan, voiced by George Sanders, classy, sassy, menacing and vicious, I wouldn't be surprised if he was Scar's inspiration(the lion villain in The Lion King). If you haven't seen The Jungle Book, just buy it, believe me, it's worth the money. It's a classic fun animated film that I will love forever, still to this day I will always sing along to Bear Necessities, it's a good time.

10/10