list http://www.spout.com/ Recent community activity around The Jungle Book on Spout Copyright 2005-9 Spout, LLC Spout RSS http://www.spout.com/images/SpoutLogoRSS.jpg http://www.spout.com/ 136 30 http://www.spout.com/films/The_Jungle_Book/18450/default.aspx Title: The Jungle Book
Year: 1967
Director: Wolfgang Reitherman
Plot: The final animated feature produced under the supervision of Walt Disney is a lively neo-swing musical, loosely based upon the tales of Rudyard Kipling. The story takes place in a tropical jungle where people are conspicuously absent. But one day Bagheera the Panther (voice of Sebastian Cabot) discovers a baby in the wreck of a boat. Feeling pity on the child, Bagheera takes him to be raised with the wolves. Ten years later, the child has grown into Mowgli (voice of Bruce Reitherman). Mowgli discovers that his life is in danger because of the return to the area of Shere Khan the Tiger (voice of George Sanders), whose hatred of humans is such that Mowgli faces certain death if discovered. Bagheera agrees to transport Mowgli to the human village, where he will be safe from Shere Khan. Along the way to the village, night falls and Mowgli and Bagheera almost succumb to the man-eating snake Kaa (voice of Sterling Holloway). Escaping Kaa's coils, they run into the lock-step military elephant band of Colonel Hathi (voice of J. Pat O'Malley). Afterwards, Mowgli, who doesn't want to be sent to the human village, runs away from Bagheera and meets up with the fun-loving Baloo the Bear (voice of Phil Harrris). With both Bagheera and Baloo to protect him, Mowgli is saved from several more life-threatening situations -- including a barber-shop quartet of vultures, the crazed King Louie of the Apes (voice of Louis Prima), and Shere Khan himself -- before making it to the village of humans. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
Times Tagged: 20
Number of Lists: 36
Number of blog posts: 76
Number of discussion threads: 2
SpoutRating: 3
]]>Sun, 23 Aug 2009 20:41:14 GMTThe Jungle Book1967Wolfgang ReithermanThe final animated feature produced under the supervision of <a href="/players/P____87871/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Walt Disney</a> is a lively neo-swing musical, loosely based upon the tales of Rudyard Kipling. The story takes place in a tropical jungle where people are conspicuously absent. But one day Bagheera the Panther (voice of <a href="/players/P____10103/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Sebastian Cabot</a>) discovers a baby in the wreck of a boat. Feeling pity on the child, Bagheera takes him to be raised with the wolves. Ten years later, the child has grown into Mowgli (voice of Bruce Reitherman). Mowgli discovers that his life is in danger because of the return to the area of Shere Khan the Tiger (voice of <a href="/players/P____62948/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>George Sanders</a>), whose hatred of humans is such that Mowgli faces certain death if discovered. Bagheera agrees to transport Mowgli to the human village, where he will be safe from Shere Khan. Along the way to the village, night falls and Mowgli and Bagheera almost succumb to the man-eating snake Kaa (voice of <a href="/players/P____32938/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Sterling Holloway</a>). Escaping Kaa's coils, they run into the lock-step military elephant band of Colonel Hathi (voice of J. Pat O'Malley). Afterwards, Mowgli, who doesn't want to be sent to the human village, runs away from Bagheera and meets up with the fun-loving Baloo the Bear (voice of Phil Harrris). With both Bagheera and Baloo to protect him, Mowgli is saved from several more life-threatening situations -- including a barber-shop quartet of vultures, the crazed King Louie of the Apes (voice of <a href="/players/P___107102/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Louis Prima</a>), and Shere Khan himself -- before making it to the village of humans. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide20Tag Target (>10)367623http://www.spout.com/ProductImages/u41118bbsnt.jpghttp://www.spout.com/films/The_Jungle_Book/18450/default.aspxFilm http://www.spout.com/groups/I_Love_Childrens_Movies/Re_Movies_we_loved_as_children/372/38019/1/ShowPost.aspx Post By: QFLW
Post To: I Love Childrens Movies
Post Date: 12/6/2008 3:24:32 PM
Body: Sorry I'm a bit late to this thread; just joined the group. :-) Most of the movies listed I saw (and loved) when I was in my twenties or later, so my most-loved movies as a kid are primarily from the Sixties: Mary Poppins (of course) The Sound of Music Gay Purr-ee Island of the Blue Dolphins The Sword in the Stone The Jungle Book Zotz The Wizard of Oz (1939) But a good many of the movies I loved best as a kid were older films seen on TV that weren't exactly children's movies. I loved most things with Shirely Maclaine in them, like What a Way to Go, or Cary Grant (The Bishop's Wife), Gregory Peck (The World in His Arms), Rex Harrison (The Ghost and Mrs. Muir), John Wayne (The Quiet Man), etc. (Though the version of Dr. Doolittle that Harrison was in was just awful.)
]]>Sat, 06 Dec 2008 20:24:32 GMTQFLWI Love Childrens Movies12/6/2008 3:24:32 PMSorry I'm a bit late to this thread; just joined the group. :-) Most of the movies listed I saw (and loved) when I was in my twenties or later, so my most-loved movies as a kid are primarily from the Sixties: Mary Poppins (of course) The Sound of Music Gay Purr-ee Island of the Blue Dolphins The Sword in the Stone The Jungle Book Zotz The Wizard of Oz (1939) But a good many of the movies I loved best as a kid were older films seen on TV that weren't exactly children's movies. I loved most things with Shirely Maclaine in them, like What a Way to Go, or Cary Grant (The Bishop's Wife), Gregory Peck (The World in His Arms), Rex Harrison (The Ghost and Mrs. Muir), John Wayne (The Quiet Man), etc. (Though the version of Dr. Doolittle that Harrison was in was just awful.) http://www.spout.com/groups/Community_Recommendations/A_good_film_is_in_the_eye_of_the_beholder/643/35868/1/ShowPost.aspx Post By: tadiv
Post To: Community Recommendations
Post Date: 10/3/2008 1:02:36 PM
Body: I'm Tom (I go by "tadiv" online – my initials and I'm "the 4th") and am available for recommendations of "good films". I'll try to steer you away from "bad films" as well. Of course, as noted in the title, "good" and "bad" are personal opinions.I really like Spout's rating system with the third star meaning "neutral about it". For me, that's like "it was just okay" and while it likely will not get a recommendation from me, I will also likely not try to steer you clear of it.Here are the things I like:1)Strong character development;2)Good acting (strong and believable performances); 3)Good cinematography (the images look good);4)Good editing (I hate to see a door opened twice);5)and all the other things that combined make "A story well told".As I find these qualities, I often find myself following particular Actors/Actresses and Directors. I like dramas, "thrillers", westerns, and documentaries more than action/adventure or comedy and I like those more than I do horror or "concert" films – this covers the generas that come to mind at the moment. For the last 9 years I have attended the Telluride Film Festival and I have been a member of the Denver Film Society for about the last 5 years. I have enjoyed movies all my life (the first movie I remember seeing in a theater is the Disney animation Jungle Book). I began to transition from "movies" to "films" in college when I saw Kenneth Branagh's Henry V. Of course, all movies are films in the general sense – even today when some are recorded with digital HD cameras as opposed to film stock. More central to the difference between a "movie" and "film" in my mind is the Director's intent. Is the Director simply presenting a product designed to entertain and make money, or is the Director presenting a product designed to make some impact - not just entertain, but stimulate thought and conversation, evoke a strong emotional response, or make a commentary on the world as he or she sees it? In my view, the first is a “movie” and the second is a “film”. Don't get me wrong – both are works of art, but one is a more serious work then the other.So, now you have some idea of what I think about movies / film. Drop me a note if you're looking for a recommendation. This link will take you to the list of movies to which I have given a high rating. It's not all cut and dry, but generally, I expect that you'll find some trends and get a better idea of the things I like.Enjoy!Tom
]]>Fri, 03 Oct 2008 17:02:36 GMTtadivCommunity Recommendations10/3/2008 1:02:36 PMI'm Tom (I go by "tadiv" online &ndash; my initials and I'm "the 4th") and am available for recommendations of "good films". I'll try to steer you away from "bad films" as well. Of course, as noted in the title, "good" and "bad" are personal opinions.I really like Spout's rating system with the third star meaning "neutral about it". For me, that's like "it was just okay" and while it likely will not get a recommendation from me, I will also likely not try to steer you clear of it.Here are the things I like:1)Strong character development;2)Good acting (strong and believable performances); 3)Good cinematography (the images look good);4)Good editing (I hate to see a door opened twice);5)and all the other things that combined make "A story well told".As I find these qualities, I often find myself following particular Actors/Actresses and Directors. I like dramas, "thrillers", westerns, and documentaries more than action/adventure or comedy and I like those more than I do horror or "concert" films &ndash; this covers the generas that come to mind at the moment. For the last 9 years I have attended the Telluride Film Festival and I have been a member of the Denver Film Society for about the last 5 years. I have enjoyed movies all my life (the first movie I remember seeing in a theater is the Disney animation Jungle Book). I began to transition from "movies" to "films" in college when I saw Kenneth Branagh's Henry V. Of course, all movies are films in the general sense &ndash; even today when some are recorded with digital HD cameras as opposed to film stock. More central to the difference between a "movie" and "film" in my mind is the Director's intent. Is the Director simply presenting a product designed to entertain and make money, or is the Director presenting a product designed to make some impact - not just entertain, but stimulate thought and conversation, evoke a strong emotional response, or make a commentary on the world as he or she sees it? In my view, the first is a &ldquo;movie&rdquo; and the second is a &ldquo;film&rdquo;. Don't get me wrong &ndash; both are works of art, but one is a more serious work then the other.So, now you have some idea of what I think about movies / film. Drop me a note if you're looking for a recommendation. This link will take you to the list of movies to which I have given a high rating. It's not all cut and dry, but generally, I expect that you'll find some trends and get a better idea of the things I like.Enjoy!Tom http://www.spout.com/blogs/spoutblog/archive/2008/8/13/33965.aspx Post By: SpoutBlog
Post To: SpoutBlog on spout.com
Post Date: 8/13/2008 3:01:08 PM
Body: From what I hear, Star Wars: The Clone Wars is really bad. Bad enough for the king of the fanboys, Harry Knowles, to reportedly write, “I hated the film. HATED IT. REALLY HATED IT.” Bad enough that Warner Bros. had the review removed from Aint it Cool News due to a review embargo — though probably it had more to do with it being so damaging to the studio’s marketing of the film (apparently Warners had no issue with Variety publishing its so-so review on the same day). I’m not in the least bit surprised. Most people I know who used to be big Star Wars fans won’t be bothering to see the film. But if it bombs at the box office this weekend, what will that mean for Lucasfilm’s upcoming Clone Wars animated series, which is set to spin off from the movie? The show will probably do OK, thanks to the few geeks who still worship the franchise, but it’s not likely to make my list of best animated series spun off from movies: Muppet Babies - The cute infant versions of Kermit, Miss Piggy, Fozzie and (most of) the others officially debuted in The Muppets Take Manhattan, so this cartoon series counts. Even though my brother disagrees (”the Muppets are a whole entity outside of the movies”). And it’s so good that I’d almost say it’s the best Muppet project ever. It’s at least better than the movie it spun off from. Plus, it was especially entertaining for movie fans. Long before Family Guy did it, the Muppet Babies had their own brilliant animated take on the Star Wars films. Star Wars: Droids - When I was a kid, I definitely preferred the cuter, longer-running Star Wars: Ewoks (both cartoons were later united as Ewoks & Droids Adventure Hour), but looking back, Droids was the cooler series because it retained Anthony Daniels as the voice of C-3PO (R2-D2 was humorously credited as himself) and featured characters like Boba Fett and IG-88. As a bonus, it also featured an awesome theme song co-written and performed by Stewart Copeland. The only theme that might top it is the Fat Boys’ rap for Police Academy: The Series. Back to the Future - I’m a sucker for cartoon spin-offs that feature voices from the original movies, and this one had both Mary Steenburgen (Clara Brown) and Thomas F. Wilson (Biff Tannen) reprising their roles. Strangely enough, the animated Doc Brown was voiced by Dan Castellaneta (also the voice of Homer Simpson), while the live-action Doc Brown, who introduced and closed each episode, was actually played by the movies’ Christopher Lloyd. Someone please put this show on DVD already. Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventures - Even better than BTTF, this cartoon initially featured the voices of the three original stars of Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure, Keanu Reeves, Alex Winter and George Carlin. Unfortunately, the bogus second season of the series screwed everything up with a different production company (DiC instead of Hanna-Barbera), new actors (Evan Richards and Christopher Kennedy, stars of the live-action Bill & Ted series) and a broader premise (the dudes could now travel into literature, TV shows and the human body). At least for awhile, the series was most triumphant. Beetlejuice - Talk about changing the premise. I don’t know what the creators were thinking when they decided to suddenly make Beetlejuice and Lydia best friends, but somehow it works. And, as much as I’d have loved for Winona Ryder to reprise her role, I’m glad Lydia was voiced by one of my favorites, Alyson Court (Jubilee in X-Men: The Animated Series and Veronica in The New Archies). I don’t understand how it really fits with the plot of Tim Burton’s movie anymore than I get why Daniel and Mr Miyagi were suddenly adventurers in the Karate Kid cartoon, but I was at least a big fan of the imaginative Netherworld setting of the Beetlejuice series. The Real Ghostbusters - Like Beetlejuice, this animated version of Ghostbusters turned enemies into friends by making Slimer a cute mascot. In fact, the series was eventually retitled Slimer! and the Real Ghostbusters because of how kids responded to the green guy, with Slimer receiving his own half-hour storylines. This despite the initial attraction of the series having a darker tone than most Saturday morning cartoons. TaleSpin - Forget all the later Disney cartoon series based on animated features, this was the best and most inspired. Maybe because it’s another example in which the premise of the series is completely different than the premise of the films. Aside from starring the characters Baloo, Louie and Shere Khan, it has nothing at all to do with The Jungle Book. And except for the lack of songs performed by Louis Prima, the series is much cooler than the movie. She-Ra: Princess of Power - I’m counting this even though the movie it’s spun off from, The Secret of the Sword, is also the first four episodes of the series. It was released theatrically, though. Besides, including it on the list means I don’t have to choose a best of the three lame Jim Carrey movie spin offs (The Mask; Dumb and Dumber; Ace Ventura), nor do I have to familiarize myself with The Animatrix, which I’m sure has it’s fans, or attempt to justify the cool in theory but terrible in reality Teen Wolf cartoon. Toxic Crusaders - Among all the R-rated movies that were turned into cartoons for kids — including First Blood (Rambo), Highlander, RoboCop and Police Academy – the decision to make an animated series out of The Toxic Avenger is the most questionable and therefore the most ingenious. I doubt something like this could be created today; we kids of the ’80s were just more exposed to inappropriate material and also had room for more sanitized versions. I saw the original, extremely violent movie when I was 8 years old and would have also loved this cartoon back then, despite it’s lack of head-crushings and nudity. Unfortunately, it didn’t debut until I was in my teens, when I was typically sleeping in on Saturday mornings and napping on weekday afternoons. Clerks - I’ve honestly never seen this cartoon, but I have a good reason to include it. While taking a film studies course titled American Film Comedy in college, I had a classmate who literally finished each session — having just watched The Circus, The General, Sherlock Jr., Duck Soup, The Palm Beach Story, It, Trouble in Paradise, Mr. Deeds Goes to Town, His Girl Friday, It Should Happen to You, Tootsie or some other classic — by saying, in all seriousness, “I guess I don’t have the right sense of humor for these movies. I prefer smart comedies like Chasing Amy.” A devout Kevin Smith fan, he also continuously would reference the animated Clerks series, despite the fact that nobody else seemed to have any familiarity with it. For a cartoon spin-off to so completely appease the biggest fan of the movie, it has to be considered a success. Originally posted on:SpoutBlog
]]>Wed, 13 Aug 2008 19:01:08 GMTSpoutBlogSpoutBlog on spout.com8/13/2008 3:01:08 PM From what I hear, Star Wars: The Clone Wars is really bad. Bad enough for the king of the fanboys, Harry Knowles, to reportedly write, “I hated the film. HATED IT. REALLY HATED IT.” Bad enough that Warner Bros. had the review removed from Aint it Cool News due to a review embargo — though probably it had more to do with it being so damaging to the studio’s marketing of the film (apparently Warners had no issue with Variety publishing its so-so review on the same day). I’m not in the least bit surprised. Most people I know who used to be big Star Wars fans won’t be bothering to see the film. But if it bombs at the box office this weekend, what will that mean for Lucasfilm’s upcoming Clone Wars animated series, which is set to spin off from the movie? The show will probably do OK, thanks to the few geeks who still worship the franchise, but it’s not likely to make my list of best animated series spun off from movies: Muppet Babies - The cute infant versions of Kermit, Miss Piggy, Fozzie and (most of) the others officially debuted in The Muppets Take Manhattan, so this cartoon series counts. Even though my brother disagrees (”the Muppets are a whole entity outside of the movies”). And it’s so good that I’d almost say it’s the best Muppet project ever. It’s at least better than the movie it spun off from. Plus, it was especially entertaining for movie fans. Long before Family Guy did it, the Muppet Babies had their own brilliant animated take on the Star Wars films. Star Wars: Droids - When I was a kid, I definitely preferred the cuter, longer-running Star Wars: Ewoks (both cartoons were later united as Ewoks & Droids Adventure Hour), but looking back, Droids was the cooler series because it retained Anthony Daniels as the voice of C-3PO (R2-D2 was humorously credited as himself) and featured characters like Boba Fett and IG-88. As a bonus, it also featured an awesome theme song co-written and performed by Stewart Copeland. The only theme that might top it is the Fat Boys’ rap for Police Academy: The Series. Back to the Future - I’m a sucker for cartoon spin-offs that feature voices from the original movies, and this one had both Mary Steenburgen (Clara Brown) and Thomas F. Wilson (Biff Tannen) reprising their roles. Strangely enough, the animated Doc Brown was voiced by Dan Castellaneta (also the voice of Homer Simpson), while the live-action Doc Brown, who introduced and closed each episode, was actually played by the movies’ Christopher Lloyd. Someone please put this show on DVD already. Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventures - Even better than BTTF, this cartoon initially featured the voices of the three original stars of Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure, Keanu Reeves, Alex Winter and George Carlin. Unfortunately, the bogus second season of the series screwed everything up with a different production company (DiC instead of Hanna-Barbera), new actors (Evan Richards and Christopher Kennedy, stars of the live-action Bill & Ted series) and a broader premise (the dudes could now travel into literature, TV shows and the human body). At least for awhile, the series was most triumphant. Beetlejuice - Talk about changing the premise. I don’t know what the creators were thinking when they decided to suddenly make Beetlejuice and Lydia best friends, but somehow it works. And, as much as I’d have loved for Winona Ryder to reprise her role, I’m glad Lydia was voiced by one of my favorites, Alyson Court (Jubilee in X-Men: The Animated Series and Veronica in The New Archies). I don’t understand how it really fits with the plot of Tim Burton’s movie anymore than I get why Daniel and Mr Miyagi were suddenly adventurers in the Karate Kid cartoon, but I was at least a big fan of the imaginative Netherworld setting of the Beetlejuice series. The Real Ghostbusters - Like Beetlejuice, this animated version of Ghostbusters turned enemies into friends by making Slimer a cute mascot. In fact, the series was eventually retitled Slimer! and the Real Ghostbusters because of how kids responded to the green guy, with Slimer receiving his own half-hour storylines. This despite the initial attraction of the series having a darker tone than most Saturday morning cartoons. TaleSpin - Forget all the later Disney cartoon series based on animated features, this was the best and most inspired. Maybe because it’s another example in which the premise of the series is completely different than the premise of the films. Aside from starring the characters Baloo, Louie and Shere Khan, it has nothing at all to do with The Jungle Book. And except for the lack of songs performed by Louis Prima, the series is much cooler than the movie. She-Ra: Princess of Power - I’m counting this even though the movie it’s spun off from, The Secret of the Sword, is also the first four episodes of the series. It was released theatrically, though. Besides, including it on the list means I don’t have to choose a best of the three lame Jim Carrey movie spin offs (The Mask; Dumb and Dumber; Ace Ventura), nor do I have to familiarize myself with The Animatrix, which I’m sure has it’s fans, or attempt to justify the cool in theory but terrible in reality Teen Wolf cartoon. Toxic Crusaders - Among all the R-rated movies that were turned into cartoons for kids — including First Blood (Rambo), Highlander, RoboCop and Police Academy – the decision to make an animated series out of The Toxic Avenger is the most questionable and therefore the most ingenious. I doubt something like this could be created today; we kids of the ’80s were just more exposed to inappropriate material and also had room for more sanitized versions. I saw the original, extremely violent movie when I was 8 years old and would have also loved this cartoon back then, despite it’s lack of head-crushings and nudity. Unfortunately, it didn’t debut until I was in my teens, when I was typically sleeping in on Saturday mornings and napping on weekday afternoons. Clerks - I’ve honestly never seen this cartoon, but I have a good reason to include it. While taking a film studies course titled American Film Comedy in college, I had a classmate who literally finished each session — having just watched The Circus, The General, Sherlock Jr., Duck Soup, The Palm Beach Story, It, Trouble in Paradise, Mr. Deeds Goes to Town, His Girl Friday, It Should Happen to You, Tootsie or some other classic — by saying, in all seriousness, “I guess I don’t have the right sense of humor for these movies. I prefer smart comedies like Chasing Amy.” A devout Kevin Smith fan, he also continuously would reference the animated Clerks series, despite the fact that nobody else seemed to have any familiarity with it. For a cartoon spin-off to so completely appease the biggest fan of the movie, it has to be considered a success. Originally posted on:SpoutBlog http://www.spout.com/blogs/cinemarian/archive/2008/7/13/32484.aspx Post By: CinemaRian
Post To: CinemaRian Blog
Post Date: 7/13/2008 1:15:51 AM
Body: he Jungle Book will always hold a special place in my cinematic heart, as it's the first movie I ever saw in a theatre. Not on its original run, of course, but during a 1990 re-release, when I was six years old. I hadn't seen the movie since then and its remarkable how much of that early experience came back. I guess I have thing for remembering movies I see. What I remember most about the movie was how I got creeped out by the python, Kaa (voice of Sterling Halloway). The snake has the ability to hypnotize anyone who looks into its eyes, and I was more frightened that the young protagonist, Mowgli (Bruce Reitherman) would forever fall asleep under his influence than be mauled to death by the movie's real antagonist, the tiger Shere Kahn (George Sanders). Not that I wasn't a little disturbed by Shere Kahn as well, but I remember congratulating myself for not getting too scared and running out of the theatre. Had you asked me immediately after I saw the movie in 1990, I surely would have given The Jungle Book four stars (if I knew what a star rating was back then, of course). But it is a good movie if you're not six years old? Well, maybe it's good at seven, eight, or nine, but beyond that the picture has limited value. For those who don't know, it's based on a series of short stories by super racist Rudyard Kipling about the feral child Mowgli, who is raised by wolves in the jungles of India. The wise panther Bagheera (Sebastian Cabot), recognizes that Mowgli must leave the jungle and return to his fellow humans if he is to escape the wrath of Shere Kahn, and he sets out with the boy on the journey to the man village. The setup to the movie is quite well done. There is a real sense of really being the jungle at the character and animation is also strong. It seems the Ralph Bakshi was paying close attention here. But after awile the movie becomes essentially a road film, with one episode after another. The "star" of the film is supposed to be Baloo the bear (Phil Harris), but the character is just annoying. Once the movie abandoned its somewhat serious, naturalistic tone (reminiscent of Bambi) it has a lot of kid stuff in it, which gets grating, long with Baloo, pretty fast. Okay, okay, it's a kids movie, but all of the great Disney films, from Pinocchio to Aladdin are great because they can be enjoyed by people of all ages. The Jungle Book is definitely not in the above films league. Although the animation is excellent, the characters are poorly written, the structure lazy, the songs forgettable. Unless you were me at six, and you just can't get that snake out of your head. The Jungle Book (1967)
]]>Sun, 13 Jul 2008 05:15:51 GMTCinemaRianCinemaRian Blog7/13/2008 1:15:51 AMhe Jungle Book will always hold a special place in my cinematic heart, as it's the first movie I ever saw in a theatre. Not on its original run, of course, but during a 1990 re-release, when I was six years old. I hadn't seen the movie since then and its remarkable how much of that early experience came back. I guess I have thing for remembering movies I see. What I remember most about the movie was how I got creeped out by the python, Kaa (voice of Sterling Halloway). The snake has the ability to hypnotize anyone who looks into its eyes, and I was more frightened that the young protagonist, Mowgli (Bruce Reitherman) would forever fall asleep under his influence than be mauled to death by the movie's real antagonist, the tiger Shere Kahn (George Sanders). Not that I wasn't a little disturbed by Shere Kahn as well, but I remember congratulating myself for not getting too scared and running out of the theatre. Had you asked me immediately after I saw the movie in 1990, I surely would have given The Jungle Book four stars (if I knew what a star rating was back then, of course). But it is a good movie if you're not six years old? Well, maybe it's good at seven, eight, or nine, but beyond that the picture has limited value. For those who don't know, it's based on a series of short stories by super racist Rudyard Kipling about the feral child Mowgli, who is raised by wolves in the jungles of India. The wise panther Bagheera (Sebastian Cabot), recognizes that Mowgli must leave the jungle and return to his fellow humans if he is to escape the wrath of Shere Kahn, and he sets out with the boy on the journey to the man village. The setup to the movie is quite well done. There is a real sense of really being the jungle at the character and animation is also strong. It seems the Ralph Bakshi was paying close attention here. But after awile the movie becomes essentially a road film, with one episode after another. The "star" of the film is supposed to be Baloo the bear (Phil Harris), but the character is just annoying. Once the movie abandoned its somewhat serious, naturalistic tone (reminiscent of Bambi) it has a lot of kid stuff in it, which gets grating, long with Baloo, pretty fast. Okay, okay, it's a kids movie, but all of the great Disney films, from Pinocchio to Aladdin are great because they can be enjoyed by people of all ages. The Jungle Book is definitely not in the above films league. Although the animation is excellent, the characters are poorly written, the structure lazy, the songs forgettable. Unless you were me at six, and you just can't get that snake out of your head. The Jungle Book (1967) http://www.spout.com/blogs/spoutblog/archive/2007/7/16/15086.aspx Post By: SpoutBlog
Post To: SpoutBlog on spout.com
Post Date: 7/16/2007 5:36:42 PM
Body: This series of side-by-side comparisons of frames from various Disney films (via WIRED's Underwire blog) is meant to show how Disney recycles frames from one 2D animated flick to another in order to save time, money and labor value. But more impressively, it's also solid proof of the animation factory's tendency to recycle themes across decades. The tableau above tracks the "nubile nymph dances for plump (read: impotent) male onlookers" theme, first seen in 1937's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, and then resurrected 36 years later for Robin Hood. And surely there are more examples of such a scene playing out across the Disney ouevre--it's been at least 17 years since I've seen it, but The Little Mermaid immediately comes to mind. For all the films collecting dust in the Disney vault, there are really only three or four stories being told--young males, abandoned my their families, turn to nature; stubborn young women find themselves through the action of civilizing one man or a group of them; brutish men demonstrate their strength, only to later face humiliation and comeuppance. Did I miss any? Originally posted on:SpoutBlog
]]>Mon, 16 Jul 2007 21:36:42 GMTSpoutBlogSpoutBlog on spout.com7/16/2007 5:36:42 PM This series of side-by-side comparisons of frames from various Disney films (via WIRED's Underwire blog) is meant to show how Disney recycles frames from one 2D animated flick to another in order to save time, money and labor value. But more impressively, it's also solid proof of the animation factory's tendency to recycle themes across decades. The tableau above tracks the "nubile nymph dances for plump (read: impotent) male onlookers" theme, first seen in 1937's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, and then resurrected 36 years later for Robin Hood. And surely there are more examples of such a scene playing out across the Disney ouevre--it's been at least 17 years since I've seen it, but The Little Mermaid immediately comes to mind. For all the films collecting dust in the Disney vault, there are really only three or four stories being told--young males, abandoned my their families, turn to nature; stubborn young women find themselves through the action of civilizing one man or a group of them; brutish men demonstrate their strength, only to later face humiliation and comeuppance. Did I miss any? Originally posted on:SpoutBlog http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/funny/MemberTagFilms.aspxfunny
Number of films tagged: 608

Number of people who tagged: 316

Number of times used: 941

]]>Fri, 11 Dec 2009 01:28:29 GMT608316941Tag http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/Classic/MemberTagFilms.aspxClassic
Number of films tagged: 816

Number of people who tagged: 312

Number of times used: 1453

]]>Sun, 23 Aug 2009 22:54:36 GMT8163121453Tag http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/Loved-It/MemberTagFilms.aspxLoved-It
Number of films tagged: 509

Number of people who tagged: 179

Number of times used: 921

]]>Tue, 03 Nov 2009 17:56:35 GMT509179921Tag http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/friendship/MemberTagFilms.aspxfriendship
Number of films tagged: 6791

Number of people who tagged: 154

Number of times used: 979

]]>Wed, 09 Dec 2009 05:08:37 GMT6791154979Tag http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/beautiful/MemberTagFilms.aspxbeautiful
Number of films tagged: 259

Number of people who tagged: 149

Number of times used: 416

]]>Wed, 09 Dec 2009 05:08:38 GMT259149416Tag http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/boy/MemberTagFilms.aspxboy
Number of films tagged: 1318

Number of people who tagged: 36

Number of times used: 60

]]>Fri, 26 Jun 2009 13:02:48 GMT13183660Tag http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/jungle/MemberTagFilms.aspxjungle
Number of films tagged: 556

Number of people who tagged: 29

Number of times used: 51

]]>Mon, 14 Sep 2009 20:34:42 GMT5562951Tag http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/king/MemberTagFilms.aspxking
Number of films tagged: 619

Number of people who tagged: 29

Number of times used: 54

]]>Tue, 30 Jun 2009 13:07:18 GMT6192954Tag http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/nature/MemberTagFilms.aspxnature
Number of films tagged: 474

Number of people who tagged: 19

Number of times used: 35

]]>Thu, 09 Jul 2009 13:13:22 GMT4741935Tag http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/bear/MemberTagFilms.aspxbear
Number of films tagged: 446

Number of people who tagged: 12

Number of times used: 27

]]>Thu, 09 Jul 2009 13:13:22 GMT4461227Tag http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/want-it-cant-have-it/MemberTagFilms.aspxwant-it-cant-have-it
Number of films tagged: 46

Number of people who tagged: 9

Number of times used: 53

]]>Mon, 22 Jan 2007 17:30:55 GMT46953Tag http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/tiger/MemberTagFilms.aspxtiger
Number of films tagged: 103

Number of people who tagged: 8

Number of times used: 9

]]>Tue, 24 Nov 2009 20:57:23 GMT10389Tag http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/wolf/MemberTagFilms.aspxwolf
Number of films tagged: 144

Number of people who tagged: 7

Number of times used: 10

]]>Tue, 23 Jun 2009 13:08:16 GMT144710Tag http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/talkinganimal/MemberTagFilms.aspxtalkinganimal
Number of films tagged: 48

Number of people who tagged: 5

Number of times used: 8

]]>Thu, 04 Jun 2009 13:02:33 GMT4858Tag http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/family-movie/MemberTagFilms.aspxfamily-movie
Number of films tagged: 10

Number of people who tagged: 2

Number of times used: 11

]]>Mon, 28 Jul 2008 20:32:34 GMT10211Tag