The Jungle VIP Returns!

Rating: 9/10 (23 October 2008)

Walt Disney's animated classic, "The Jungle Book," gets the platinum treatment on its latest appearance on DVD. This wonderful tale, fully restored with vibrant colors and excellent audio, tells the story of Mowgli, a man-cub, and his black panther father-figure, Bagheera (Sebastian Cabot), as the latter attempts to get the boy back to the man-village where he belongs before the wicked and mighty tiger, Shere Khan (George Sanders), can get his claws into him. Along the way they meet up with the one and only jungle VIP, King Louie (wonderfully voiced by Louis Prima), Kaa the python (Sterling Holloway), everybody's favorite bear, Baloo (Phil Harris) and some wisecracking vultures. This platinum edition features an excellent digital restoration, a number of excellent documentaries, games, a visit with "Rocky the Rhino," who found his way to the cutting room floor, and plenty of other extras. There's also a passable Jonas Brothers cover of Louis Prima's "I Wan'na Be Like You" that's sure to attract the attention of pre-teen girls the world over. This particular DVD is also a Disney Movie Rewards disc, meaning that you can gain points for purchasing it. While some squabble over the aspect ratio of the film, I think that the story, music, and characters are far too valuable to pass up because of this. If you don't own "The Jungle Book" and consider yourself a Disney fan, make sure you buy this disc before Disney takes it away again. Highly recommended.