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The last film created during Uncle Walt’s lifetime, The Jungle Book moves at the quickest, jazziest pace of any films during the Silver Era. This is only a good thing, as this version of The Jungle Book is light on the darker plot machinations of Rudyard Kipling’s source material, using the Mowgli stories as an excuse to string together several comedic bits together. There’s a lot of action happening, but little of it is actual plot. No matter, when something is working as well as this film works.
One of the best things about this version of Kipling’s immortal stories is the character animation. Each character possess a distinct gait and body language, many of them adopted from their respective voice actors. Louis Prima’s facial features and performing style are transplanted directly into King Louie, the lone original creation from the Disney studios. Granted, placing an orangutan in the Indian jungle is amusing for the simple fact that they are not native to that part of the world, but that's Disney for you.
But back to the main thought, characters like Shere Khan and Baloo are so memorable because their live action references are evident in characters. George Sanders droll, acerbic wit and effete gestures are all over Khan’s purring villainy. While Phil Harris would go on to voice several more characters for Disney in the following years, no other character merged as well with his voice as Baloo. In Kipling’s original text Baloo is a more serious character, but Disney’s slacker variation is goofy and lovable thanks to Harris’ inviting take on “The Bare Necessities,” which sounds like a solid pun during the scene, and penchant for confusing the fun thing to do with the right thing.
That last bit extends to the film itself. The Jungle Book, for all of its enjoyable and whimsical joie de vivre, is missing a certain spark that makes the likes of 101 Dalmatians a masterpiece – a hint of danger or something at risk. The quest to get Mowgli back to the village is frequently side-lined by various supporting players, and this encapsulates the entirety of the plot, but none of these diversions really provide moments of terror or real danger. Kaa, changed from Kipling’s friendly if feared ancient python, is too comedic a creation to be a most pleasing villain. “Trust in Me” is a gorgeous bit of character animation, but Kaa’s always the patsy in a joke. And Shere Khan is all build-up with no payoff. Sanders delivers great menacing and bitchy vocal work, could one expect anything less from him? But the film doesn’t deliver on the promise, giving him three scenes, one in which he plays a passive listener, a second in which he interrogates Kaa, and the third has him finally coming face-to-face with Mowgli. This isn’t enough to make him a truly fearsome or memorable villain, but he should be. The Jungle Book needed a stronger center on which to pivot.
While this may not be a top-shelf Disney film for me, I cannot deny how fun, charming, vibrant, and engaging the whole thing is. It works so well and moves so smoothly. There are problems here, to be sure, but a strong ensemble of lovable characters, catchy songs, and strong character animation easily overpowers them.
