Sheesh, eating him was not an option… not until the end of the film.
Monkeys, Lions, Panthers and Snakes… OH MY!
Mowgli is raised in the jungle as a small man-cub. He is being raised by Bagheera, a very beautiful panther. When Mowgli is old-enough, Bagheera has to get him out of the jungle before Shere Khan comes back to find him. Regretfully, Khan already knows of Mowgli’s presence, so the hunt is on to find Mowgli.
The great thing about Disney movies from this time period, the 60’s, is that there was an innocence to their animated classics, but there was always a sense of serious danger. It’s certainly not like most of the PC crap that gets put out these days. There was a real sense of violent, real-world death being imminent at any given point. Certainly no way around this. Disney treated this Kipling classic quite well, more than it generally does with stories nowadays. Sure there are some great tunes in it, but the story in general isn’t at all unfaithful, okay… maybe a little.
The movies, while classic, does run into a few problems though. The pacing is off a smidge. Just a smidge, which makes some moments in the movie a bit tideous. I know what you’re thinking… how can I criticize a classic? Well, what makes this movie a classic? Back in the day when Disney ruled the animated movie department, because no one else did that sort of stuff, almost everything Disney did was a classic. But these days, this movie does move sort of slow and it isn’t as prominent. It’s like an old car, it’s really a nice classic, but is it practical for this day and age? Probably not. Again, the pacing is a bit off, but the movie still does what it intended to set out doing, bring a classic book to life.
So, in a nutshell, it’s a good film. It is a classic, but only in the sense that it was way ahead of its time. Does it work now? Yes, but (again) the pacing of the film does drown it just a smidge. I love the classic music, the great animal personalities and it’s very kid friendly. I love everything about it… except the pacing.
A Jungle of Joy…
A limited edition? And you have to ask about the special features? PUH-leeze! The special features are oh so good. Not to mention that the restoration of the film itself should be considered the best special feature. It’s crystal clear and gorgeous! You get a slew of special features though that include a ton of games and activities for the kids, which mine loved to death, deleted songs, and some really great documentaries on the film itself. Add to this a small piece on a lost character (not really lost, just not really added) and you’ve got yourself a special features section that is more than classic.
Ignore the music video, very annoying.
Final Thoughts
So, I know I’m going to be killed for saying the movie is a classic, but doesn’t belong in this day and age. As a reviewer I’m asked to give my honest opinion, that is my honest opinion, it just doesn’t work as well now as it did then. I like the movie, the pacing is just a bit erratic, but it’s still good fun for the kiddies. The special features alone, minus the music video, will make you happy.
