Il libro della giungla

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).

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.

From the very first minute that Walt Disney conceived of "The Jungle Book" he promised for the sakes of general audiences that he'd absolutely Pile Rudyard Kipling's classic book with energetic, toe-tapping, show-stopping music and unforgettable crazy songs though many people around him had doubts for the original novel was apparently quite serious. Throughout his entire career he had proved so many critics and members of his crew wrong, that he Could enhance the familiar yet ageing qualities of the original tellings of many of the world's most beloved classic books by putting his own magical, musical, charming, ambitious nature into them and would then transfer his versions onto film. Not once had he failed to prove the world and the world's opinions wrong in all his life and "The Jungle Book" was no exception. It's got to be his own happiest, most carefree, most musical adventure movie to date! I haven't read the book yet because I don't even have it though I do have a shortened Ladybird book of it but I haven't read that so I can't judge any inaccuracies or changes to the story but I'm positive there are some alterations - all for the best, of course. I must say that Mowgli is quite rebellious here and impudent. He's always running away when things don't go his way, I've noticed he hits and threatens a lot of his friends and yet they still like him! Baloo is - as everyone sees him - so lovable and kind. For the first time in a Disney film, Sterling Holloway provides the voice for a villain - the murderous Kaa the python snake. For a happy-go-lucky cartoon, I think it's unpleasant how a bonkers snake could randomly get a little boy into his deadly coyles (at night at one point), hypnotize him and prepare to eat him! But at least Mowgli gets the last laugh by causing the python to have a knotted tail and shifting him off his tree. My favourite dance number has got to be with King Louis of the Apes in the ancient ruins ("I Wanna Be Like You") and how all the crazy dancing sends the ruins tumbling. My second favourite is "Bare Necessities". In my opinion, the part where the mildly poor comedy comes in most of all is with Colonol Haithi and his elephants and his whiny wife; poor Verna Felton had Winifred the elephant as her final role on film. Colonol Haithi is supposed to be a no-nonsense, snooty leader but my eyes (and ears come to think of it) tell me that he is just a totally absurd loud-mouth. If there is any character in this film who won't stand for any nonsense it's Bagheera! I know that all he really wants is for Mowgli to be safe and therefore return to the man-village but he was certainly a miserable old busybody after the King Louis scene. He had the cheek to break up that special bond between Mowgli and Baloo that so many people have grown to love! Charming! Recently, I bought the twin DVD release of the Platinum Edition of "The Jungle Book" from Woolworths and it was just amazing! Better than most Disney DVDs today (even though they're not bad themselves)

It isn't completely faithful to the book, but for a good reason. The book has bits that you can't have in an animation. The animation is beautiful, the backgrounds rich in colour, and the characters beautifully drawn. The story is a very simple one, yet effective, and allows the songs and characters to take force. The songs and music by the Sherman Brothers perfectly match the breeziness of the film, with classics such as " Bare Neccessities" and "Wanna Be like you". Unlike some people, I liked the vulture barbershop, excellent harmonies. And what a talented voice-cast. Phil Harris was hilarious as Baloo, and Sebastian Cabot was brooding as Bagheera. Reitherman's son was good as Mowgli, and Louis Prima(who's not black so the racist overtones idea is ridiculous) was a riot as Louis. The real star was the perfectly cast George Sanders as the frightening and calculating Shere Khan. This is fantastic, if a little short, and avoid the sequel! 9/10 Bethany Cox