The Jungle Book (1967) on Netflix
Approved19671h 18mAdventureAnimationComedy
Mowgli, raised by wolves, must leave the jungle for a Man-Village now that the tiger Shere Khan has returned. Bagheera the panther escorts him, but Baloo the bear wants him to stay.
- Netflix3.9/5
- IMDb7.6/10215,664 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes86%
Trailer
Plot summary
Bagheera the panther finds a baby boy alone in the jungles of India and carries him to a wolf pack, which raises him as Mowgli. A decade passes, and the pack learns that the tiger Shere Khan is back in their territory. Because Shere Khan hates humans, the wolves decide the boy must go, and Bagheera agrees to take him to a Man-Village. Mowgli does not want to leave the only home he has known, and he is not afraid of the tiger. On the way he meets Kaa, a python, and Colonel Hathi with his elephant herd. When Bagheera leaves him, Mowgli falls in with Baloo, a sloth bear who tells him he can stay in the jungle.
Cast
Show all 20 cast
- Digby Wolfeas Ziggy (voice) (uncredited)
- Pete Hendersonas Bandar-Log (voice) (uncredited)
- Bill Skilesas Bandar-Log (voice) (uncredited)
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about The Jungle Book (1967)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- It was the last animated feature to carry Walt Disney's own touches: he died on 15 December 1966, before the film was finished.
- Story man Bill Peet had spent over a year on a dark treatment, and refused when Disney demanded something lighter for families. Peet quit on 29 January 1964 after another row, this one over the test recording for Bagheera's voice and Disney telling him to go and see Mary Poppins for real entertainment.
- Disney handed Peet's replacement, writer Larry Clemmons, a copy of Rudyard Kipling's book with the instruction: the first thing to do was not to read it.
- The four vultures were drawn to look and sound like The Beatles, mop-top haircuts included, and the band was to voice them and sing "That's What Friends Are For". The plan collapsed because John Lennon refused to work on animated films.
- Child actor David Bailey was cast as Mowgli but hit puberty during production and his voice broke. Director Wolfgang Reitherman replaced him with his own son Bruce, fresh from voicing Christopher Robin in Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree.
- King Louie's manner was built on his voice actor, the Italian American jazz musician Louis Prima. Louis Armstrong had been briefly considered for the part, but the filmmakers backed away once they saw the racist implications.
- Terry Gilkyson wrote a full set of songs close to Kipling's book, but Disney found them too dark and brought in the Sherman Brothers for a complete rewrite. Only Gilkyson's "The Bare Necessities" survived into the film.
- Germany has never taken more tickets for any film: The Jungle Book sold 27.3 million admissions there, nearly 10 million more than Titanic's 18.8 million.
