Le Livre de la jungle

In case you're wondering, I'm 25 and my favourite films of all time include Heat, Once Upon a Time in the West and Apocalypse Now. This is just a pointer to how, considering the film I'm writing about, eclectic a true film fan's taste has to be. I'll start with one statement: this film should be compulsory viewing for every child. If, at the end of this film, you're face is not permanently disfigured from smiling, there's something wrong with you. Everything about this film is enjoyable. The characters so loving, the songs so memorable; everything is so uplifting. I first saw this as a child and right then I loved it, but not until you reach a certain age do you realise how much a film can affect you. Every character has something about them that you cannot fail to love. Baloo and King Louie are obvious - they are there for light relief, but even the sinister Kaa the snake and Sheer Khan the tiger are lovable in their own ways. Mainly I put this down to the voice cast and the way they portray their characters. Everybody with a good knowledge of film knows that Tom Hanks was the voice of Woody in Toy Story and that Mike Myers was Shrek, but who knows who provided the voice of Baloo? It shouldn't matter and, as is the case with The Jungle Book, it doesn't. The characters are what is important. Character and plot are the only things that matter in great films and this film has that theory at its bedrock. If you have a child, sit them down to watch this and I guarantee they will be transfixed. I'm 25 and I make sure I watch this every 12 months. Age wise I'm an adult, but I'm still a child when I see this on screen, and that's the way it should be.

The Jungle Book is a great classic animation movie. It is famously known for being the last film that Walt Disney himself ever got to work on. He died while the film was in production, and sadly never got to see the outcome of the movie. The animation in this film is excellent, and the songs and performances are even better! Each character has something about him or her that makes you like them. The movie seems to be very cheery and happy. I remember watching this movie as a little kid, and I absolutely loved it! I give The Jungle Book a 10/10.

There aren't many animated Disney films I don't like, basically every single one of them until the end of the seventies was amazing. But for me, this is the one which stands out.

Sadly, Disney himself never got to see the finished film (he died during the production), but this is one he would have been proud of. Crafted beautifully and with attention to every little detail, from the way the different animal species move to the colorful jungle backgrounds.

Wolfgang Reitherman has directed some of the studio's best - but here he has created his masterpiece. Outstanding animation, fantastic characters - and what a killer soundtrack.

A joy for every generation to discover anew (my 9-year old nephew currently has a bit of a Shere Khan fixation), I guess I will never outgrow this timeless classic. 10 out of 10.

Favorite films: http://www.IMDb.com/list/mkjOKvqlSBs/

Lesser-known Masterpieces: http://www.imdb.com/list/ls070242495/

Favorite Low-Budget and B-Movies: http://www.imdb.com/list/ls054808375/

Favorite TV-Shows reviewed: http://www.imdb.com/list/ls075552387/

What can I say about The Jungle Book? It probably has the best songs of any Disney movie, it's full of wonderful animals such as Baloo the Bear and King Louie the ape and it has a great little character in Mowgli who was raised in the jungle (so I guess he's related to Tarzan).

This is a great story throughout and the songs were just wonderful. When I first watched this film I couldn't get the songs out of my head and just kept humming them to myself time after time.

There's plenty of creatures for fans of animals from snakes to elephants to a big bad tiger called Shere Khan (one of the best Disney villains ever).

For those who haven't seen The Jungle Book, may I suggest viewing it as soon as possible?

The Jungle Book is one of Disney's most memorable animated movies. It's based on the "Mowgli" stories by Rudyard Kipling (who also wrote the famous Just So Stories). Like in most Disney films, Mowgli is an orphan. Bagheera the panther find him and he is raised by a family of wolves. That is until Shere Khan the tiger comes back to the jungle...

One thing I love about The Jungle Book is the villains. In most Disney movies you have one villain, sometimes with stupid and funny sidekicks who get bossed around all the time. But The Jungle Book offers three villains all who want Mowgli all for themselves. There is King Louie the king of the monkeys. He kidnaps Mowgli but doesn't really want to harm him, which perhaps makes him the least cruelest of the three. All he wants is to be like man as he puts it in the wonderful song that will want to make you get up and dance: "I Wanna Be Like You". More specifically he wants to know the secret on how to make fire. Then there's Shere Khan, the tiger who comes back to the jungle and is the reason that Bagheera and the wolves (and eventually Baloo) want to take him back to the "man village". Shere Khan is very swift and cruel but also very calm about his cruelty and not the least bit temperamental. However his characteristics do change at his last screen appearance, and frankly I'd be freaking out to if I had a burning branch stuck to my tail (heck I'd freak out if I just had a tail). Shere Khan hates mankind and of course Mowgli is man. Last but definitely not least (my favorite of the three)- Kaa, the snake, and a very big one I might add. See- King Louie wants to be like Mowgli, Shere Khan wants to kill Mowgli and Kaa wants to... eat Mowgli. He has a very big mouth which would enable him to eat Mowgli but it does him bad too- he talks to much and then never gets the chance to eat Mowgli.

Other than these three memorable villains there's Mowgli himself, the man-cub (who by the way was voiced by Bruce Reitherman, son of the director of this film- and many other Disney greats: Wolfgang Reitherman). There's the elephants, the vultures (who are actually nice and quite humorous too), Baloo the bear and Bagheera the panther. Songs include King Louie's (who was voiced by Louie Parma) "I Wanna Be Like You". Kaa's "Trust in Me" (which no one should... trust in Kaa that is). And of course Baloo's "The Bare Necessities".

As for the racist overtone- that's one of the silliest things I've heard. The Jungle Book can be enjoyed by anyone of any age (...and any race).