‘The Jungle Book’ (1967): A Boy and His Beasts
Disney’s animated adaptation of “The Jungle Book”, released in 1967, was the last film overseen by Walt Disney before his death, and the last truly acclaimed Disney movie until the company found its footing again with 1989’s “The Little Mermaid.”
In the near half-century since its release, “The Jungle Book” has become a benchmark in character animation, visual storytelling and breezy, fun musicality. It has inspired countless animators and filmmakers in its wake. Spurred by Disney’s recently released live-action remake, I decided to revisit the animated version and explore what makes it such a memorable, timeless experience.
“The Jungle Book” is, of course, the story of little Mowgli, a boy raised by a pack of wolves in the Indian wilderness. When the cunning tiger Shere Khan returns to the jungle intent on killing Mowgli, the boy must leave his wolf family and, with Bagheera the panther as his guide, make his way safely to human civilization. Like so many of Disney’s best, “The Jungle Book” is a coming-of-age story, a tale of a young hero looking for his place in the world (or in this case, looking for a new world entirely).
Right out of the gate, the film is visually beautiful. Disney’s character animation has rarely been as expressive or as fluid as it is here, and every pencil stroke is visible in the rippling, living outlines so emblematic of pre-digital Disney animation. Every frame is thick with atmosphere, largely thanks to the color palette: dark greens, blues, ochers and browns combine with George Bruns’ mysterious musical score to create a hazy twilight atmosphere in some scenes and a lively, colorful fantasy tone in others.
But those technical aspects likely have less to do with the film’s lasting appeal than the fact that it’s simply a lot of fun. Later Disney jungle films (like “Tarzan” and “The Lion King”) would veer into more dramatic material, but “The Jungle Book” plants its feet firmly in comic fantasy territory, then proceeds to do a swinging jazz dance right on top of said territory. The songs only add to the movie’s tone — Baloo the bear (voiced by Phil Harris, who would later voice Little John in Disney’s “Robin Hood”) teaches Mowgli all about his freewheeling lifestyle by singing “The Bare Necessities.” I’d go as far as to say there’s not a catchier or more memorable tune in all of Disney’s musical canon.
Fun touches also manifest in the inventiveness of the character animation, making creative use of various animal features to play clever tricks on our eyes. Think of Kaa the python uncoiling his body to make a serpentine case of stairs to catch a falling Mowgli, or King Louie the orangutan hanging from a tree with his hands while using his feet to grab Mowgli by the face. Animators often work from a live-action visual reference; one wonders what possible reference these animators could have had for some elements other than their imaginations.
And then layered right underneath all the breezy fun, there’s a current of melancholy that runs through the whole thing. Disney’s “Jungle Book,” perhaps unlike the Rudyard Kipling fables it’s based on, is primarily a story about growing up and the unwillingness that comes with getting older.
If it seems pretentious to read a message like that from a Disney cartoon, remember that Disney, at its very best, has always woven deep emotions into its animated pictures. They’re the experts on conveying complexity in simple ways that children can understand, and they consistently try to balance levity and humor with character and thematic weight. “The Jungle Book” is one of the best demonstrations of that skill. Before you go see the remake, give the ’67 version a watch. You may be surprised how well you remember the tune to “The Bare Necessities.”
—capnkirk94@gmail.com