The greatest combination of animation, action and ... music ...

Rating: 10/10 (27 December 2011)

Released at a pivotal time in Disney's history, the difficulty to classify "The Jungle Book" in terms of generation, of eras: not from the Golden Age or Disney Renaissance, gives it a sort of privileged place in Disney's list of animated classics.
Most fans would say this is one of the best Disney films, if not the best, and despite my sentimental weakness for "Aladdin", I concede that "The Jungle Book" is the one I enjoy the most. No other Disney film beats it on the entertainment department: it has the catchiest set of songs: jazzy, swingy, and sometimes hypnotic and the most colorful gallery of characters combining human's stereotypical traits with a realistic drawing. From the villainous Kaa, the sneaky snake and Shere Khan, the evilly refined tiger, to Hathi, the so-military elephant and the groovy vultures, "The Jungle Book" is a Disneyan 'Animalistic Comedy' conducted by animators at the top of their game. But again, as the bare necessity of any Disney film, the movie works thanks to the story.
"The Jungle Book" finds the perfect balance between two universes too often dissociated, humans and animals. Disney films can be divided into two main categories. First, there are the human-centered stories, notably those adapted from fairy-tales like "Snow White" or "Pinocchio" where real animals are reduced to peripheral purposes and hardly communicate. The more defining of Disney touch are the animal-centered films, which feature the world from their perspective and their interaction with humans mostly made of antagonism, to better understand the level of 'humanity' we can learn from those creatures and question ours, three masterpieces come to mind "Dumbo", "Bambi" and "Lady and the Tramp".
"The Jungle Book" transcends this antagonism to a more psychological level, through the story of a little boy, virtually made an animal from his raising by a family of wolves and his tutoring by a black panther named Baghera, who must return back to the men's village to escape from the terrifying Shere Khan, the tiger who made every man a personal enemy, a hatred rooted in his irrational fear of fire: the element that interestingly differentiates humans and animals, fire as synonym of weapon, the same that killed Bambi's mom, or the same fire that almost destroyed the forest when men were hunting. Although Mowgli never learned how to make a fire, because he's still an animal, he carries his own race's dangerous heritage, his life is threatened because of his 'human nature', which makes the assimilation of 'animal culture' totally pointless. The irony is that the 'animal culture' is very similar to humans: elephants constituted an army, monkeys a kingdom, so the line between the two worlds becomes very uncertain.
But "The Jungle Book" insists on making these two worlds totally incompatible through various episodes starting with Mowgli trying to adapt, becoming an elephant, dancing and partying with the monkeys, even standing up to Shere Khan but ultimately, his weakness as a human prevents him from being accepted. This is the point, Mowgli can become stronger only with a human entourage, it's not about differences as weaknesses, but as potential strengths. And Mowgli's coming-of-age can only be achieved when he'll understand the foolishness of wanting to be what we are not, a lesson that should also learn the zany King Louie who wants to know the secret of fire from Mowgli, to be 'just like humans'. Mowgli's dilemma is to accept his own condition and do what nature commands is undermined by an emotional conflict: Baloo vs. Baghera.
During the first act, Mowgli is lead by Bagherra whose mission is to conduct Mowgli to the village. Baghera is a serious and no-nonsense character with an admirable sense of responsibility. But Mowgli chose Baloo as a fatherly figure because Baloo is simply a big kid who takes life just the way it comes. The "Bare Necessities" song is the ultimate hymn for all the lazy, easy-going and positive-attitude guys in the world and this is what drives the bear's life. Baloo and Baghera are the perfect yin and yang for the story, the fun and the serious, the classic polarization of Disney. And this duality made of constant argument reaches its pinnacle in one of my three favorite scenes of the film, when Baloo reassures Baghera that he'll handle everything until the name Shere Khan is mentioned and suddenly, the tone of Baloo dramatically changes, and we can already feel that the two animals are inspired by the same love and desire to protect Mowgli.
My two other favorite moments, although not the most 'impacting' occur when Mowgli finally meets Shere Khan, and is given ten seconds to run away, Mowgli confidently gets himself ready to fight where Shere Khan suddenly jumps roaring at Mowgli's terrified face, in one secondÂ… before Baloo's providential interaction, Mowgli as a vulnerable little child. My last favorite moment is when Baghera starts singing at the end of the film after Mowgli chose to go by himself. It was a nice twist from a very serious character, adding the same level of three-dimensionality than when even the cool and good-natured Baloo decided to take Mowgli to the village. And speaking of the ending, although it's not a canon of adaptation from Rudyard Kipling book, it's morally faithful to the spirit of the film that commands to each creature to be among its own, and Mowgli didn't need to be pushed by Baghera or kept by Baloo, he made his decision alone, after being hypnotized not by a more pleasing form of Kaa-like creatures.
"The Jungle Book" is a cheerful and dazzling celebration of the Disney heritage, talking animals, coming-of-age story, music, dance, thrills and chills and for every laugh, a little tear, but not so much tear in a very feel-good film, except one for the great Walt Disney who couldn't have a greater epitaph honoring his extraordinary contribution on the field of animation and entertainment.