The Jungle Book is inspired by Rudyard Kipling’s “Mowgli” stories about a little boy who is raised by wolves and the journey to return him back to the man-village. The process of returning Mowgli with the help of the happy-go-lucky bear Baloo and the motherly panther Bagheera, contains many obstacles and dangers they face yet includes the humor, the songs and the characters you’ve come to expect of Disney.
Disney had a way of taking classic books and remodeling them into his own world. To the point that I bet Disney’s versions of Alice in Wonderland, Snow White and Sleeping Beauty are more familiar to us then the original incarnations. These stories along with memorable songs, beautiful animation and those enduring characters makes these films live on and on.
Walt Disney’s The Jungle Book is no exception and the Platinum Edition has arrived with all the bells and whistles you have expected from Disney’s DVD’s. This 2-disc set brings a whole new digital restoration with a look and sound that is perfection. The colors pop out of the screen and the songs make you want to get up and dance (I’ve had “The Bare Necessities” and the Oscar nominated tune “I Wan’na Be Like You” in my head for the last few days).
The extras appear mostly on disc two but make sure you don’t miss the few that are on the first disc with the feature. They include a deleted scene of the lost character Rocky the Rhino (who was eventually cut do to too many action sequences) that appears in a six minute scene in rough sketches. Also an audio commentary by the voice of Mowgli (Bruce Reitherman), one of the film’s composer, Richard Sherman, Disney’s current animator, Andreas Deja and audio clips by the original creative team as well. Like any commentary, it’s a nice way to watch the film a second time around.
On disc two is where the plethora of bonus features appears. In the Main Village (Backstage Disney) section we have a five documentaries, everything from an almost hour long documentary on the making of The Jungle Book, one on Disney’s reinterpreting Kipling, to the original animator’s discussing the characters. Also an image gallery of storyboards, production photos to even the publicity photos.
In the Jungle Fun section, you have a series of games and activities you can play. This is obviously more geared towards children and to be honest I just skipped it but I suspect is perfect to keep you kids busy or fun to play together.
This 1967 film has never looked or sounded better and includes so many extras for the young and old that this is a must for anyone who is a fan of Disney’s animated films. In the sneak previews, I see that Aristocats is next on their releases in their Platinum Editions and I just can’t wait.
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