Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #58 in DVD
• Released on: 2007-11-05
• Rating: Universal, suitable for all
• Aspect ratio: 1.75:1
• Format: PAL
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 2
• Running time: 75 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
Disney's 1967 animated feature The Jungle Book seems even more entertaining now than it did upon first release, with a hall-of-fame vocal performance by Phil Harris as Baloo, the genial bear friend of feral child Mowgli. Loosely based on Rudyard Kipling's original, the film goes its own way as Disney animation will, but the strong characters and smart casting (George Sanders as the villainous tiger, Shere Khan) make it one of the studio's stronger feature-length cartoons. Songs include "The Bare Necessities" and "Trust in Me". --Tom Keogh

Amazon.co.uk Review
One of the very best animated films that the Walt Disney Studio has ever released (and the last to be produced by Walt Disney himself), and as downright brilliant as it was on its debut in 1967, The Jungle Book makes a very welcome return to DVD in this excellent 40th anniversary double-disc set.

Based loosely on the Rudyard Kipling’s book of the same name, the film tells the story of man-cub Mowgli, and the friends he makes in the jungle. And it’s these friends who ignite the film, with some of the most memorable characters and songs that Disney has ever put on the screen. Kings of The Jungle Book are the likes of Baloo the Bear, King Louie the villainous Shere Khan the Tiger, while supporting characters such as Colonel Hathi are just as memorable. It’s astonishing that it packs so much and so many into its relatively short running time.

It’s an amazing achievement too that The Jungle Book bristles with such energy and fun, and that it’s just as likely to enthral the current generation of youngsters as well as those of us who saw it first time round. And when those songs start playing--from Bare Necessities through to I Wanna Be Like You--it'll take some effort to not start tapping your feet. A brilliant, brilliant film, and as vintage as the Disney back catalogue gets. --Simon Brew

Synopsis
The 19th animated feature produced by Disney studios and the last film supervised by Walt Disney himself. This endearing feature is based on Rudyard Kipling's children's story about a boy named Mowgli raised by wolves in the wilderness of India. During his delightful and scary adventures with a series of wild creatures, Mowgli learns he must leave the jungle and be what nature intended him to be -- a man. Delightful jazz-inspired songs make this a Disney classic.

Customer Reviews

A songwriting masterclass
The Disney team have done a fine job of polishing up this 40 year old classic. The picture looks great but the improvement serves to highlight that this is a long way from the highpoints of artwork that was achieved in earlier animation such as "snow white & the seven dwarfs' or 'bambi'. The backgrounds are basic & the characters drawn without much detail. So too the story is extremely basic & ends quite abruptly. So how come this is seen as such a classic? Well for one the characterization is spot on but most of all the songwriting is for my money the best Disney have ever produced & the actors turned each song into a classic. Obviously Phil Harris singing 'Bear neccessities' is memorable but so too are Sterling Holloway,(also the voice of Pooh for Disney), as Kaa the snake slithering his way through 'trust in me', far funnier than you remember & superbly timed. Best of all though are the peerless Louis Prima's impromptu scat on 'King of the swingers' as king Loius which is superb right up to the point when Phil Harris joins in the pair take it to even greater heights with their competing vocals. Quite frankly the DVD is worth the entrance price for this alone.
The sound is an even greater improvement than the picture & the 5.1 mix is vibrant with great use given to the rear surrounds.
The extras are fine, especially the unusually candid commentary & doc.
This deserved a decent release & so this DVD is a pleasure to own.

A Gem Repolished!!!!
It cant get any better than this. Disney beloved animated classic "The Jungle Book" finally gets the long overdue special edition treatment. This new 40th Anniversary release will include an all-new digital restoration of the film and for the very first time ever, this release will feature the movie in 1.75:1 widescreen aspect ratio (Please be aware that "Jungle Book" was filmed in 1.37:1 aspect ratio and was cropped for its theatrical screenings. The movie loses a little from top and bottom here in this restored version so think twice before selling off your old copies which featured the movie in its original fullscreen ratio). Along with a 5.1 Disney Enhanced Home Theater Mix soundtrack, this edition includes a restored original theatrical soundtrack too. French and Spanish language tracks will also appear on the disc. According to dvdtimes, extras on this platinum edition will include:

Audio Commentary - Combines comments from current animators with audio from the original creative team who made the film

The Lost Character: Rocky The Rhino - For the first time ever, the near-sighted, short-tempered rhinoceros named Rocky is brought to the screen using original storyboards and original voice recordings by Frank Fontaine.

The Bare Necessities: The Making of The Jungle Book - A comprehensive look at the last animated film that Walt Disney produced using existing archival footage in addition to new interviews with Richard Sherman, Brad Bird, Glen Keane, Eric Goldberg, James Baxter, Will Fi'nn, Andreas Deja, Burny Mattinson Ted Thomas, Bruce Reitherman, John Culhane, John Canemaker and Neal Gabler--plus a never-before-seen collection of artwork and treatments from the film

Disney's Kipling: Walt's Magic Touch on A Literary Classic - A discarded film treatment from 1963 includes scenes from Kipling's "Mowgli Stories" and more are used to illustrate Walt's interpretation of the literary masterpiece

The Lure of The Jungle Book - Many of today's biggest names in animation were inspired to pursue their careers after seeing The Jungle Book; this feature examines this phenomenon and features new interviews with Brad Bird, Andreas Deja, Sergio Pablo, Will Finn and Eric Goldberg.

Mowgli's Return to the Jungle - Learn about nature filmmaking and the experience of making The Jungle Book firsthand from Bruce Reitherman, the voice of Mowgli.

Baloo's Virtual Swingin' Jungle Cruise - Join everyone's favourite bear in this set-top and DVD-ROM game on an adventure through the jungle: enjoy fun activities and musical challenges, but keep an eye out because there's no telling what's on the other side of the river bend!

English Learning Feature
Still Frame Art Gallery
This 40th Anniversary edition of Jongle Book will be available for a limited time only. So bring home Mowgli, Baghira, Baloo and Shere khan and all the lovable characters we've all grown up with, before they go back to Disney vault again!

You can't go wrong...
This is one of those films that you simply can't go wrong with.

My one year old son calls for "Jungle" on a daily basis and routinely announces the appearance of all the animals... "jungle" (Bagheera the panther), "bear" (Baloo the bear), "phunt" (Elephants), "tiger" (Shere Khan), "neck" (Kaa The Snake), "monkey" (King Louis the orang utan).

As for me, in my thirty-somethings... I just enjoy the story of friendship, loyalty, and down-right wackyness. And I can't help but love the music from the days when Disney films just made toe-tappingly catchy music instead of going for grand-scale Oscar nomination material.

I defy anyone not to have "Bear Necessities", "I Wanna Be Like You" or "Trust In Me" buzzing round their head 24 hours after watching this classic film.

Disney have produced some remarkable films over the years but this must surely feature in anyone's top ten.