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Jungle Book (The)
R1 - America - Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment Review written by and copyright: Noor Razzak (8th October 2007). |
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The Film
 "Look for the bare necessities, the simple bare necessities, forget about your worries and your strife..." who can forget that classic scene where Baloo (Phil Harris) sings his song preaching his philosophy. "The Jungle Book" is filled with many memorable classic moments; this is part of the charm of Disney animations. They are always filled with fun sequences that stick with you long after you've seen the film, added to the mix are the unique characters and the catchy songs. For 40 years "The Jungle Book" has remained one Disney's most treasured classics and it's available again on DVD for fans both old and new to enjoy. "The Jungle Book" is the nineteenth animated feature produced by the Walt Disney Company and released in 1967. The film is loosely based on the stories of Mowgli, a feral child raised by the animals of the jungle by Rudyard Kipling. Note the use of the word loosely, during the production Walt Disney told the animators to "throw away" Kipling's book because of the dark and dramatic nature. The adaptation has been given a lighthearted approach, tailored for children with songs and as the saying goes has been "Disney-fied". "The Jungle Book" also marks the end of an era at Disney, as it was the last film to be personally overseen by Walt Disney. He died during the film's production on the 15th December 1966. "The Jungle Book" tells the story of a man-cub Mowgli (Bruce Reitherman), who as an infant was found alone in a boat by a panther, Bagheera (Sebastian Cabot). Bagheera took the boy and placed him in the care of wolves that raised him. Now a boy, Mowgli must leave the jungle because the feared tiger Shere Khan (George Sanders) has returned to the jungle and plans on killing the man-cub. Bagheera tries to return Mowgli to the humans in an effort to protect him but Mowgli doesn't want to leave his surroundings. During their journey through the jungle Mowgli encounters a friendly bear Baloo, a conniving snake Kaa (Sterling Holloway), the primate King Louie (Louis Prima) and a variety of other encounters including the terrifying Shere Khan. The premise of "The Jungle Book" is relatively simple, boy is found in the jungle, boy is raised by wolves, boy's life is threatened and he must return to civilization despite wanting to stay in the jungle. Despite this uncomplicated plot, the film is marked with many touches of excellence including the varied animals that populate the jungle each interesting and unique in their own way. And like many Disney animated animals all seem to have characteristics and traits that are human and thus audiences can identify with, begging the question "what animal are you?" Being a product of the 1960's the film's tone is grounded in that decade, for example some of the dialogue is very 60's-esque, "Ha-Ha! Man that's what I call a swinging party" exclaims Baloo in one scene and the Vultures Buzzie (J. Pat O'Malley), Ziggy (Digby Wolfe), Dizzy (Lord Tim Hudson) and Flaps (Chad Stuart) were at one point supposed to be voiced by The Beatles but because of a scheduling conflict this never materialized, the characters eventually became a parody of the fab four. I've never been a fan of musicals, and sometimes musical moments in animated films are often cheesy and lame, the exception being Disney films pre-dating the 1970's (although a few films made after the 70's included some rather inspired music) but the songs in these films were always catchy without being annoying. A key element in my opinion, the songs were light, well composed and written and almost always well executed and "The Jungle Book" is no exception. The film includes striking animation, wonderful characters, catchy music and a series of exciting sequences that never bore the viewer and the wonderful thing about DVD is that you can continue to revisit these films and share them with loved ones and children to inspire a whole new generation of fans. It's another in a line of classic Disney films and a true fan while not likely need further motivation to pick it up.
Video
There's always some controversy when it comes to ratios of Disney films, the previous bare-bones DVD release of "The Jungle Book" was in 1.331 full frame, that transfer was an open matte release. When exhibited in theaters the film was matted at the top and bottom to give a widescreen effect and this release presents the film in the theatrical matted ratio of 1.75:1, granted some information on the top and bottom is lost however this is information that wasn't really supposed to be seen anyway. The transfer is a lavish presentation of the film, for a film that's 40 years old the image is gorgeous. Colors are vibrant and lush with black appearing deep and bold. I was overly impressed with the cleanliness of the print; there was hardly a speck of dirt through the film. I couldn't find any compression related problems and the transfer was free from edge-enhancement as well. I don not own nor have I seen the previous DVD release so I can't really compare the images but this new Platinum release is splendid.
Audio
Four audio tracks are included for this release, an all new Enhanced Home Theater mix in English Dolby Digital 5.1 as well as 5.1 tracks in French and Spanish additionally the film's original English Dolby Digital 1.0 mono track is included for purists. For the purposes of this review I chose to view the film with its new 5.1 track. The purpose of these Enhanced mixes seem to take the original elements and broaden them for the 5.1 platform, this helps open the sound space and create a more immersive experience. However the original mix was composed as a mono track and translating that to 5.1 doesn't exactly take over all channels. The dialogue is primarily front heavy and the surrounds only really kick in during the musical numbers. Although the depth is limited the track is clear and distortion free and isn't as bad as I was expecting. Optional subtitles are included in English for the hearing impaired only.
Extras
DISC ONE: The first disc opens up with a feature-length audio commentary by composer/song-writer Richard M. Sherman, supervising pencil animator Andreas Deja and voice actor Bruce Reitherman and also featuring archival interviews with director Wolfgang "Woolie" Reitherman, directing animators Ollie Johnson and Frank Thomas and co-screenwriter Larry Clemmons. The in-studio participants provide a wonderfully layered and informative track covering aspects of the production including how the animators used live references for Mowgli and how Bruce was directed for the both the reference and the voice work by his father, animator Deja (who did not work on this film) acts as moderator providing with Sherman and Reitherman questions and ques for the conversation. Sherman talks about writing the songs (although he and hi brother did wrote all but the now famous "Bare Necessities". The archival interviews add further information regarding the animation process and creating the various sequences as well as the adaptation process among other things. Like other Platinum releases this commentary is yet another top notch effort from Disney, it provides the viewer with plenty of trivia and information on this classic film and for fans it's a feature you don't want to skip. Also featured on this disc is a deleted scene entitled "The Lost Character: Rocky the Rhino" which runs for 6 minutes 35 seconds, this clip features the scene in it's storyboarded phase, the scene introduces the Rhino character who would have made his appearance along with the vultures however it was dropped because Walt feared that there were too many action-orientated scenes that this one was not necessary and therefore dropped. In the section "Music & More" we've got a few extras that include a music video for the song "I Wan'na Be Like You" performed by The Jonas Brothers, this clip runs for 2 minutes 45 seconds and is a sugary-pop updated version of the song from the film. Also in this section is the Disney song selection this feature allows you to access four songs from the film, you can view the clips from the film with or without lyric subtitles so you can sing along to it, these selections can be viewed individually or with a 'play all' function, the songs included are: - "Colonel Hathi's March" which runs for 1 minute 57 seconds. - "The Bare Necessities" which runs for 4 minutes 15 seconds. - "I Wan'na Be Like You" which runs for 4 minutes 1 second. - "That's What Friends Are For" which runs for 2 minutes 5 seconds. Following that is a series of 7 deleted songs, these are audio recordings only and are numbers composed by Terry Gilkyson. These audio recordings are in rough shape and are most likely from early recording sessions, they can be listened to individually or with a 'play all' function and include: - "Brothers All" which runs for 3 minutes 51 seconds. - "The Song of the Seeonee" which runs for 2 minutes 28 seconds. - "The Bare Necessities (Demo Version)" which runs for 3 minutes 9 seconds. - "Monkey See. Monkey Do" which runs for 2 minutes 54 seconds. - "I Knew I Belonged To Her" which runs for 2 minutes 20 seconds. - "In A Day's Work" which runs for 2 minutes 51 seconds. - "The Mighty Hunters" which runs for 3 minutes 31 seconds. "The Disney Wildlife Conservation Fund" is a promo clip that runs for 3 minutes 30 seconds and educates the viewer on the conservation efforts that Disney has been and continues to be apart of. Rounding out the extras on this disc are a series of bonus trailers for: - "Enchanted" which runs for 2 minutes 35 seconds. - "Meet the Robinsons" which runs for 2 minutes 29 seconds. - "Ratatouille" which runs for 2 minutes 31 seconds. - "The Artistocats" which runs for 1 minute 10 seconds. - "Peter Pan: Return to Neverland" which runs for 1 minute 2 seconds. - "The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause" which runs for 2 minutes 23 seconds. - "Adventures by Disney" promo spot which runs for 32 seconds. - "Disney Movie Rewards" promo spot which runs for 30 seconds. DISC TWO: This disc is split into two sections, the first entitled "Man Village (Backstage Disney)" and the second entitled "Jungle Fun (Games & Activities)". Below are the supplements from the first section: The primary supplement on this disc is "The Bare Necessities: The Making of The Jungle Book" a documentary that runs for 46 minutes 23 seconds. I was afraid that there would be a lot of repetition from the commentary in this feature, but there was very little. This comprehensive features takes a look at the entire production process interviewing key people involved in the film as we get a look at the adaptation process through to the music and songs, casting of the voice talent and the animation process including a look at the legendary duo Ollie Johnson and Frank Thomas who together animated over half of this film including some of the key and now classic sequences. This is a superb documentary that explores the making of and makes a welcomed addition to this disc. Next up is "Disney's Kipling: Walt's Magical Touch on a Literary Classic" a featurette that runs for 15 minutes and explores the fundamental differences between the Disney feature and the original book. This compares the original treatment versus the book and also looks at how the film turned out. Key scenes are examined and compared in terms of tone, Mowgli's journey and story elements including the concept to entertain and create unique characters which was Disney's mantra. The fundamental differences are broad and this clip highlights them for the viewer. Following that is "The Lure of The Jungle Book", a featurette that runs for 9 minutes 27 seconds, this clip takes a look at how the film inspired and influenced the work of current Disney animators and how the film has also been used as reference for other key Disney films. Animators take us through the first time they saw the film and the impact it had on them. "Mowgli's Return to the Wild" is a featurette which runs for 5 minutes 10 seconds, this clip focuses on Bruce Reitherman's journey from voice actor on this film to wildlife cameraman and the lessons he learned from his director father that he still follows today in his career. Also featured is "Frank & Ollie" an archival clip which runs for 3 minutes 45 seconds and features the two legendary animators discussing character animation including the use of live action reference, creating movement and weight as well as the importance of expressive eyes. A series of six comprehensive art galleries are also featured. These galleries provide a rare look inside the Disney vault and contain all the wonderful creative designs that were commissioned for this film which includes original pencil work as well as developmental design work, characters designs and also a series of rare photographs of the production process. These are a fantastic reference for fans and illustrators alike and provide a unique look at the process of creating an animated film. The galleries included are: - "Visual Development" which includes 55 images. - "Character Design" which includes 63 images. - "Storyboard Art" which includes 78 images. - "Layouts and Backgrounds" which includes 45 images. - "Production Photos" which includes 40 images. - "Publicity" which includes 14 images. The next section is the "Jungle Fun (Games & Activities)" and includes a series of games as well as another featurette. The first series of games is "Baloo's Virtual Swingin' Jungle Cruise" which includes four interactive games to play, they are: - "Kaa-Zen-Tration" where you must beat Kaa's spell by picking the pattern of his hypnotic eyes. - "Hathi's Boot Camp" Here you have to look at plans and repeat them as Hathi has told you. - "Buzzard Shop Quartet" select how many vultures have landed on branches. - "Louie's Lounge" Help King Louie keep his beat by using your arrow keys. "The Jungle Book Fun with Language" games is an puzzle were you can use your arrow keys to answer questions related to the film and it's characters. Finally we've got "DisneyPedia: Junglemania!" a featurette that runs for 14 minutes 20 seconds and is an educational look at the Jungles of India and the animals that inspired the characters of the film. Rounding out the extras is a booklet that provides background on the extras, a disc breakdown and chapter listing.
Packaging
This 2-disc set is packaged in an amaray case that is housed in a cardboard slip-cover.
Overall
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