Chuck Jones took a great story and combined it with a great cast to give us an outstanding animation feature. Orson Welles narrates and supplies the voice of a cowardly muskrat as we see Rikki the orphaned mongoose become a hero to his adopted family in 19th century India. The versatile June Foray provides the voice of Rikki, the boy's mother,the mother bird, and the evil cobra Nagaeena. The text is taken largely from the Kipling story, with whole passages used verbatim. Even the tailor-bird's song is from the original story, with a catchy tune created for the story. This is Chuck Jones' other side: no slapstick. Just a touching, memorable story which captures Kipling's period feel and sentimentality seen through the eyes of the young boy who must live with his colonial family on a distant continent. If you can find this animation on video, your kids ages 5 and up will enjoy it, and you will appreciate the wonderful production and characters.
