A Rudyard Kipling Classic Come To Life
RIKKI-TIKKI-TAVI, the Indian mongoose, takes on the responsibility for keeping the big bungalow belonging to an English family safe. But with the deadly great cobras Nag & Nagaina on the prowl, how long will Rikki be safe himself?
This is a very fine adaptation of one of Rudyard Kipling's non-Mowgli tales from The Jungle Books. Directed, produced & written for the screen by master animator Chuck Jones, the story sticks quite faithfully to the original and keeps the requisite cartoon silliness to a minimum.
Much credit should go to Orson Welles, who narrates as well as voicing Nag & the nervous muskrat; also to June Foray who gives voice to all three female roles. Together, these two old pros add a great deal to the success of the film.
In order to maintain the `cuteness quotient' Rikki is not drawn exactly to scale. Any mongoose who could fit effortlessly in a child's breakfast spoon would certainly be no match for an enraged, adult cobra.
The Indian gray mongoose, or Herpestes edwardsi, can commonly live more than 20 years in captivity, with a head & body up to 26 inches long. They are indeed renowned for attacking large poisonous snakes, and they usually win these battles due to their great agility & speed, as well as their very thick coats, through which the snakes' fangs have trouble penetrating. There are many species of mongoose - among them the African meerkat.
Children enraptured by Rikki should know that mongoose importation into America as pets is prohibited, due to these little carnivores predilection for hunting & destroying useful animals & birds.
This is a very fine adaptation of one of Rudyard Kipling's non-Mowgli tales from The Jungle Books. Directed, produced & written for the screen by master animator Chuck Jones, the story sticks quite faithfully to the original and keeps the requisite cartoon silliness to a minimum.
Much credit should go to Orson Welles, who narrates as well as voicing Nag & the nervous muskrat; also to June Foray who gives voice to all three female roles. Together, these two old pros add a great deal to the success of the film.
In order to maintain the `cuteness quotient' Rikki is not drawn exactly to scale. Any mongoose who could fit effortlessly in a child's breakfast spoon would certainly be no match for an enraged, adult cobra.
The Indian gray mongoose, or Herpestes edwardsi, can commonly live more than 20 years in captivity, with a head & body up to 26 inches long. They are indeed renowned for attacking large poisonous snakes, and they usually win these battles due to their great agility & speed, as well as their very thick coats, through which the snakes' fangs have trouble penetrating. There are many species of mongoose - among them the African meerkat.
Children enraptured by Rikki should know that mongoose importation into America as pets is prohibited, due to these little carnivores predilection for hunting & destroying useful animals & birds.
- Ron Oliver
- Mar 24, 2001