Most Disney films get better with age .... most

Rating: 5/10 (18 March 2015)

As a kid, I loved this film. The Jungle Book was one of the first films I ever saw and is probably one the reasons I decided to pursue a career in films and I will always be fond of that. However, today, as a film, it's OK. That's not bad or good; it is just OK.
For one thing, the film is very slow, which for an animated film can be quite tedious at times. My second (and probably biggest) problem with the film is that it simply plays it too safe; I can't help but wish that if this film had come out during the era of the Disney Renaissance (Aladdin, The Lion King etc.) then a few more risks would have been taken, e.g. I felt the climax between Mowgli and Shere Khan was very underplayed and could have been a lot more tense and dramatic, for example, it would have been a lot more powerful if Mowgli had defeated his enemy for good and killed Shere Khan (in the manor that heroes normally defeat their villains in Disney films) or some of the characters could have been a bit more menacing such as Kaa or Louis. I also feel that film tired much too hard to make comedic moments through out the film. The songs themselves did not really measure up to the Disney standard (with the exceptions of The Bear Necessities and I wanna be like you) and felt that they where very dumbed down. I also felt the animation was somewhat lacking and again, I felt could have benefited had this film been made during Disney's golden age in the 1990's.
The film did have some positives as well, the best bit of the film is Shere Khan, and he's just a great villain. George Saunders gets the balance between Khan's sophisticated demeanor and his bloodthirsty intentions, the contrast is very effective and in my opinion, Shere Khan is one of the most memorable villains in Disney history. Baloo the bear was also a lot of fun, and it was really a shame when he appeared to have been killed at the end. Mowgli and the other characters are OK, and they all do their part.
Overall, I won't say I don't like the film or it's not worth watching because I can't imagine that anybody watching it would hate it. However, I can't see anyone today putting it at the top of their film watching priorities. With two film versions of The Jungle Book coming up (one by Disney, the other by Warner Bros.) I will be very interested to see how they deal with their adaptations.