The Jungle Book (1967 Film)

''The Jungle Book'' is a 1967 American animated musical adventure fantasy film produced by Walt Disney Productions and released by Buena Vista Distribution. Based very loosely on the "Mowgli" stories from Rudyard Kipling's 1894 book of the same name, it is the final animated feature film to be produced by Walt Disney, who died during its production. It was directed by Wolfgang Reitherman and written by Larry Clemmons, Ralph Wright, Ken Anderson, and Vance Gerry. Featuring the voices of Phil Harris, Sebastian Cabot, Louis Prima, George Sanders, and Sterling Holloway, the film's plot follows Mowgli, a feral child raised in the Indian jungle by wolves, as his friends, Bagheera the panther and Baloo the bear, try to convince him to leave the jungle before the ruthless tiger Shere Khan arrives.

The early versions of both the screenplay and the soundtrack followed Kipling's work more closely, with a dramatic, dark, and sinister tone, which Disney did not want in his family film, leading to writer Bill Peet and songwriter Terry Gilkyson being replaced.

''The Jungle Book'' was released on October 18, 1967, to positive reception, with acclaim for its soundtrack, featuring five songs by the Sherman Brothers and one by Gilkyson, "The Bare Necessities". With a gross of $23.8 million worldwide, the film initially became Disney's second-highest-grossing animated film in the United States and Canada, the ninth-highest-grossing film of 1967, and was also successful during its re-releases. The film was also successful throughout the world, becoming Germany's highest-grossing film by number of admissions. Disney released a live-action adaptation in 1994 and an animated sequel, ''The Jungle Book 2'', in 2003; a live-action/CGI hybrid remake directed by Jon Favreau was released in 2016, with a sequel to that film in development.

Plot

In the jungles of India, Bagheera the black panther discovers an orphaned baby boy and brings him to a pack of wolves, who name him Mowgli. Ten years later, the pack learns that the murderous Bengal tiger Shere Khan has returned to their part of the jungle. Knowing that he hates humans and will stop at nothing to kill Mowgli, the wolves decide that the latter must leave; Bagheera agrees to escort Mowgli to a nearby "man village", though Mowgli is reluctant to go.

Bagheera and Mowgli rest in a tree where Kaa the python attempts to devour Mowgli but is stopped by Bagheera. The next morning, Mowgli encounters Colonel Hathi and his elephant herd. Following an argument where Mowgli refuses to go to the man village, he is abandoned by Bagheera. All alone, Mowgli meets and befriends Baloo, a laid-back and carefree sloth bear who promises Mowgli can stay in the jungle with him. Mowgli is soon kidnapped by monkeys who bring him to their leader, King Louie the orangutan. Louie tries to persuade Mowgli to teach him the ways of man, until Baloo and Bagheera arrive and rescue him, destroying Louie’s temple in the process. Whilst Mowgli is sleeping that night, Bagheera tries to convince Baloo that Mowgli must be taken to the man village. Baloo remains unconvinced until Bagheera reminds him that Shere Khan will try and kill Mowgli, as he is afraid of guns and fire. This persuades Baloo, who tells Mowgli the next morning that he must take him to the man village. Feeling betrayed, Mowgli runs away. Bagheera later finds Colonel Hathi’s herd and seeks their help in finding Mowgli. However, unbeknownst to any of them, Shere Khan has overheard this and now decides to hunt and kill Mowgli himself.

Whilst going through the jungle, Mowgli is ambushed by Kaa once more, who hynpotises him into a sleep, intending to devour him. However, before he can, Shere Khan arrives and tells Kaa that he is looking for a man cub; Kaa manages to hide Mowgli. After escaping Kaa, Mowgli reaches the wastelands of the jungle where he meets and befriends a group of vultures. However, Shere Khan soon arrives and tries to kill Mowgli before Baloo intervenes. Whilst Shere Khan attacks and nearly kills Baloo, Mowgli ties a burning branch to Shere Khan’s tail, forcing him to run away in defeat.

Mowgli now mourns the loss of Baloo; as Bagheera takes Mowgli away, Baloo reveals he is alive, much to everyone’s happiness. As they get closer to the man village, Mowgli becomes smitten with a girl getting water from the river. He follows her into the man village. Content that Mowgli is where he belongs, Baloo and Bagheera return to the jungle.

Voice cast

* Phil Harris as Baloo, a lazy and carefree sloth bear who believes in the importance of letting go of worries and focusing on the simple things in life.
* Sebastian Cabot as Bagheera, a wise and intelligent black panther who discovers Mowgli as a baby and later becomes his main protector. He also serves as the film's narrator.
* Louis Prima as King Louie, a cool and smooth-talking orangutan leader of the monkeys from the ruins of an ancient palace who wants to learn how to make fire.
* George Sanders as Shere Khan, a confident and menacing Bengal tiger who is deeply feared by most of the animals of the jungle.
** Bill Lee was Shere Khan's singing voice, and Jimmy MacDonald provided his roars.
* Sterling Holloway as Kaa, a sly and sinister Indian python who seeks Mowgli as prey, but fails each time he attempts to eat him.
* J. Pat O'Malley as Colonel Hathi, a pompous Indian elephant who leads the Jungle Patrol.
** O'Malley also voiced Buzzie, the leader of the vultures that Mowgli encounters during his journey.
* Bruce Reitherman as Mowgli, also referred to as Man-Cub, a naive and stubborn 10-year-old human boy who was raised by the Seeonee wolf pack and wants to stay in the jungle despite the threat of Shere Khan.
* Verna Felton as Winifred, Colonel Hathi's snarky and outspoken wife and the matriarch of the Jungle Patrol.
* Clint Howard as Hathi Jr., also known as Baby Elephant, the son of Colonel Hathi and Winifred.
* Chad Stuart as Flaps, one of the members of the vulture quartet.
* Lord Tim Hudson as Dizzy, one of the members of the vulture quartet.
* John Abbott as Akela, the leader of the Seeonee wolf pack who sends Mowgli to the Man-Village under Bagheera's guidance.
* Ben Wright as Rama, Mowgli's adoptive wolf father.
* Darleen Carr as the Girl who charms Mowgli into following her to the Man-Village at the film's ending.

Digby Wolfe voiced Ziggy, the fourth member of the vulture quartet. Leo De Lyon, Bill Skiles, Pete Henderson, and Hal Smith voiced King Louie's monkeys.

Production

Early development

Walt Disney first considered making an animated version of Rudyard Kipling's 1894 collection of stories ''The Jungle Book'' in the late 1930s. In the early 1960s, after completing his work on '' The Sword in the Stone'', story artist Bill Peet proposed ''The Jungle Book'' as the studio's next animated feature, seeing it as a "great chance to develop some good animal characters". Disney agreed and acquired the film rights to all thirteen ''Jungle Book'' stories from the estate of Alexander Korda