Mowgli's Brothers

"Mowgli's Brothers" (1976)

“FIRST IMPRESSIONS

This animated short by Chuck Jones is said to be the most faithful adaptation of The Jungle Book to date, telling the first chapter of the book almost word for word. I tried reading the book in my teens, but the writing style lost me very quickly, so I decided this would be a good way to see the original story, how it started out and what Disney changed from the source material.My favourite moment was the explanation for the term "red flower": because the animals are so terrified of fire that they don't like to use its real name.Roddy McDowall tells the story admirably, and of course Chuck Jones' animation is brilliant.The only thing I didn't like was the ending. I get the message it was going for, but I don't understand why Mowgli started acting the way he did” read more

Mowgli's Brothers

“For his final dip into Kipling’s work, Jones decided to tackle the biggest character, and the first story, in The Jungle Book, Mowgli. Nothing against Disney’s film version, but Jones’ television specials are the clearly superior versions. There’s no need to describe the story, as you’re already familiar with it from any of the numerous incarnations of the tale, but Jones’ version sticks closest to the text, restoring characters and relationships to their rightful places after Disney’s mutations of them.   Jones’ love for the source material bristles throughout his three Kipling shorts. Perhaps it’s how pliable they were to the animated form, allowing Jones to explore and expand what a children’s cartoon could look and feel like. It’s certainly true that Mowgli’s” read more