From: wallace@titan.trl.OZ.AU (Glenn Wallace)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.disney
Subject: Re: I Love the Jungle Book
Date: 20 Dec 92 22:23:10 GMT
Organization: Telecom Research Labs, Melbourne, Australia

mhaitkin@scott.skidmore.edu (meredith haitkin) writes:

>With all this talk about the Aladdin and Beuty and The Beast and
>various other new Disney Flics I am wondering If anyone out there
>share's my passion for THE JUNGLE BOOK... AS much as I love the whole
>Disey COllection, especially Beauty and The Beast and Whinnie the Pooh
>and others.. I must say that the Jungle Book is by far my favorite.  I
>laugh, I cry and I smile when I watch this.  I love Baloo, Bagera and
>King Louie.  Does anyone out there share my love? 
>			Love, Meri

Do ducks duck? Do bees bee?

"You better believe it and I'm loaded with *both*!"

I was reading "Disney Animation : The Illusion of Life" (Thomas/Johnston) 
and reading about the creation of Baloo, and how they eventually imagined
Baloo as an animator and that they would walk into his office and he'd
have his feet up, the room in a terrible mess, and he'd say "Oh hi,
sure come on in...!" and he's eating and there's crumbs everywhere...
and that Bagheera's office would be all neat and tidy, pencils all lined
up...

I just sat on the floor and cried reading about them talking about the
characters.

They also said that Jungle Book was the FIRST movie since Snow White
where the characters really took over the movie...(can't remember the
exact words, I'll go home and look it up). Their whole description of
the film was very moving.

Once they had the characters down, the interaction was easy!

"..and you're gunna make one swell bear!"

The Sherman Brothers interview on the Jungle Book CD is .. infectious.
Gosh those guys are charming!

"Get mad, baby!"

In the book they also go into detail of the creation of the Kaa scenes,
where all the ideas came from - a lot from Sterling Holloway.

Also mentioned is the initial test recording of Baloo they did with Phil
Harris .... which they played to Walt. Walt got right into it and
started dancing to the words Phil was saying (not even a song!) trying
to explain to the animators how 'animated' Baloo should be!

But my favourite of all favourites HAS to be when King Louie slap Baloo
on the back "one more time!" and Baloo's (rather weak) disguise falls
off and his singing trails off to "dah and bah and uhhhhhh...."

The look on his face is priceless.

The animation and feel of the whole film is great... it starts right at
the intro. The intro gives me the same magic feelings as the BatB intro
.... and the character animation is so fluid!

IMHO the only flaw was reusing the Kaa knotted-tail scene. Quite cheap
but they wanted Kaa to reappear, such a great character.

I have a black cat, and whenever I'm feeling a little crazy - I gently
tug her tail and say "Come on Baggy, get with the beat!"

Also in the book is a great picture (publicity?) of Phil Harris,
Sebastion Cabot and they characters they portray, Baloo and Bagheera.

"Have *two* bananas"

And what about the omitted "I Wanna Be Like You" lyrics...

"I'll ape your mannerisms
 We'll be a set of twins
 No-one will know where man-cub ends
 And orangutan begins.
 And when I eat bananas
 I won't peel 'em with my feet
 Cos I'll become a man, man-cub  (?)
 And get some etti-queete! (sic)

 Singin' ooo ooo oo...."

Enough Jungle Book ramblings... I'm hooked! I throw (gently) the CAV
LaserDisc of the movie on just to see certain scenes again... I love it!

Glenn "it's a blue blue jungle" Wallace

"oh man what a beat!"


Glenn Wallace (g.wallace@trl.oz.au)  == A Man Without a Country

"Could you please direct me to my own reality? I seem to have misplaced
it...."
Newsgroups: rec.arts.disney