One of the most popular Disney films ever, THE JUNGLE BOOK is a song-filled celebration of friendship, fun, and adventure set in a lush and colorful world. Inspired by Rudyard Kipling's "Mowgli" stories, Disney's 19th animated masterpiece was the last animated feature that had Walt Disney's personal touch. The jubilant adventure begins when Mowgli, a little boy raised by wolves, is urged by his friend Bagheera, a wise old panther, to seek safety in the man village. Feeling very much at home in the jungle, Mowgli resists and runs off. Much to Bagheera's dismay, Mowgli meets a new friend with a happy-go-lucky philosophy of life -- Baloo the Bear, a lovable "jungle bum." Together, the three buddies find the journey back to civilization anything but civilized! They encounter a crazy orangutan, the hypnotic and sly snake Kaa, and the menacing Shere Khan! Fully restored for this 30th anniversary edition, this enduring classic swings with jazzy toe-tapping music, including the Academy Award(R)-nominated "The Bare Necessities," and the freewheeling "I Wan'na Be Like You"! A thrilling story for all ages, THE JUNGLE BOOK is an absolute necessity for your video collection. |
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404 of 424 found the following review helpful:
 I love the movie but this DVD is seriously flawedOct 02, 2007
By Michael Baker
"mbaker_jr"
I picked this DVD up today and got it home to find that Disney had altered the original theatrical aspect ratio of 1.33:1 to make the movie "fit" on widescreen TVs. They did this by chopping off the top and bottom of the image. This results in the loss of a good deal of character animation (at least the tops of their heads and their feet). Trust me, I own the original Limited Issue DVD of this film and I did a side-by-side comparison as soon as I got the new Platinum Edition home. If you are a purist about original aspect ratios, please avoid this release and petition Disney to start a free disc replacement program. We should at least have the option of watching the original unaltered film the way that it was meant to be seen.
***NOTE: There are now user images that can be viewed for this product that illustrate the cropping discussed in my review.
119 of 126 found the following review helpful:
 A �Bear Necessity�Apr 30, 2000
By A. Fultz
This movie is more than just another Disney masterpiece. The Jungle Book is a great tale of friendship and adventure. Although almost every animated feature that was created during Walt Disney's life is a classic, this one in particular holds a special place in the heart of many men (and now thanks to video and DVD, boys) who saw it while growing up. There isn't a boy alive who can see this movie and not want to be Mowgli. What a life it would be to live in the jungle, with friends like Baloo and Bagheera. It is every young boys dream to be so free.That is not to say that only boys will love this movie. As with all Disney films, this one will be enjoyed by all members of the family, young and old. I saw it growing up, and never forgot my memories of the movie, and the days afterward, singing the songs and dreaming of adventure. The music in The Jungle Book is some of the best in any Disney movie. "The Bare Necessities" is simply one of the best songs ever. Add in the fantastic animation and the characters that come to life (who wouldn't believe a bear could sing after seeing this?), and you have one of the many classic Disney stories. Starring the voices of Disney regulars Phil Harris and Sterling Holloway, as well as Sebastian Cabot (Mr. French, to those of my generation) and many others, this movie is too good to not buy. Get a copy of this DVD before Disney removes it for another generation. It is the best that Disney has to offer.
110 of 119 found the following review helpful:
Disney's The Jungle Book - Limited Issue DVDAug 19, 2001
When it comes to DVDs, I would probably be the first in line to complain about releases that have mediocre supplements. But I felt like I had to make an exception when it came to Disney. All of their "Limited Issues" seem to have little or no extras at all, but the actual animated classic that the disc holds, for me anyway, more then makes up for it. "The Jungle Book" is one of the first Disney Movies that I watched as a kid. I bought the DVD, and I saw the movie today for the first time in around 12 years. The entertainment value is suprisingly still there, and more over, as a grown up movie fan, I can appreciate the film more as a classic in animated films from Disney & not just a 'cartoon' to pass the time, like I considered it to be as an adolecent. The picture and sound is satisfying for the film's age and genre; the Spanish Dubbing is an excellent addition, for some of my family anyway. But it pales in comparison to the English vocals; The animation is terrific, too bad it wasn't created in a widescreen aspect ratio, it would have been a great visual to have looked at (The film is presented in it's original theatrical aspect ratio, 1.33:1). Now that the announcment of Disney's 10 "Platinum Editions" have been made (The first of the 10 being "Snow White & The Seven Dwarfs", but "Jungle Book" will be one of the other 9), this "Jungle Book - Limited Issue" is a fine way to have the film until the full-fleged "Jungle Book - Platinum Edition" is released sometime in the next decade. Thanks to this DVD, I am now looking foward to add more of Disney's hard-core classics to my DVD collection.
31 of 32 found the following review helpful:
It's just a bare necessity!May 26, 2000
By Ben Elliss
The feature-length cartoons Disney continues to produce are fine films, but nowhere near as good as classics like The Jungle Book. Unburdened by the modern-day Disney habit of giving every film a heavy family-friendly moral message, the Jungle Book is just 100% pure fun, with a cool hero (Mowgli), entertaining friends (especially the bear Baloo) and some great villainous characters (most memorably Shere Khan the tiger). This movie was made years before Phil Collins or Elton John were drafted in as cartoon soundtrack composers, and the songs are just awesome - "The Bare Necessities", "I Wanna Be Like You" and Kaa the snake's hissed encouragement to "Trust in Me". Get this DVD while you can!
85 of 96 found the following review helpful:
A Gem Repolished!!!!Mar 26, 2007
By Mohd Jafar
It cant get any better than this. Disney beloved animated classic "The Jungle Book" finally gets the long overdue Platinum 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
Like all other Platinum editions, even this one 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!
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