Disney Era Analysis – The Jungle Book
As mentioned in the first blog post in this series, I’ll be writing analysis content on all 60+ Disney animated feature films and their film making eras.
The third era is the Silver Age, which ran from 1950 to 1967 and started with Cinderella. As mentioned in a previous blog post, the Silver Age is also known as the “restoration age,” as the films during this era returned to Disney’s roots of feature-length narratives and adaptations of famous narratives, having high-art animation, being approachable (cartoonish gags, music from contemporary artists, and a lighter approach to storytelling), steering clear of intense scenes, and being heartwarming with happy endings, good morals, and catchy songs.
So how well did The Jungle Book measure up to these famous features, and was it the right film to end the Silver Age?
Returning to Disney’s roots of feature-length narratives and adaptation of famous narratives:
The Jungle Book is loosely based on the “Mowgli” stories from Rudyard Kipling’s 1894 book of the same name.
Having high-art animation:
Like the Silver Age’s predecessor films, the animation was done by xerography, with some of it based on real-life landmarks and animals. For example, the waterfall was based on footage of the Angel Falls, and Baloo’s animation was based on footage of real-life bears. Some of the animation was also recycled, such as the scene showing the wolves jumping on and licking Mowgli, which was recycled from 101 Dalmatians.
According to the film’s IMDb page, Shere Khan’s stripes proved to be a nightmare for the animators. Shere Khan was also made to resemble his voice actor, George Sanders.
According to the film’s Wikipedia page, the backgrounds (with the exception of the waterfall) were hand painted, with scenery used in both foreground and the bottom to create depth. The animators also visited real jungles in India and studied wildlife there to illustrate and animate the story’s setting correctly.
On a personal note, one of my favourite animation moments in the film was the subtle transition from night to morning when Baloo and Bagheera discuss what’s best for Mowgli.
Being approachable (cartoonish gags, music from contemporary artists, and a lighter approach to storytelling):
Cartoonish gags:
There were plenty of cartoonish gags throughout the film that I felt were cartoonish due to the score or music that accompanied them. For example, Kaa being forced out of trees and loosening his tail, only for it to be squashed against him, being paired with accordion music.
Other examples of cartoonish gags throughout the film include: music building up and abruptly stopping when Baloo teaches Mowgli to growl only for Mowgli’s growl to be small, the music when Baloo accidentally pushes Mowgli too hard, the monkeys throwing fruit at Baloo, Baloo trying to disguise himself as a monkey, and the whole chase scene between the monkeys, Baloo and Bagheera.
Music from contemporary artists:
The film’s score was composed by George Bruns, with songs written by Terry Gilkyson and the Sherman Brothers.
Some of the musical cues were reused from previous films, and most of the songs were written to match the story and advanced the plot, which was achieved by having the Sherman Brothers attend storyline sessions.
A lighter approach to storytelling:
I believe that the lighter approach to storytelling was achieved through the light-hearted and catchy songs, and the cartoonish gags accompanied by amusing but matching music and score.
Steering clear of intense scenes:
The film didn’t steer clear of intense scenes, with the climax of Shere Khan and Baloo’s battle being intense with the music, animation, and the colour palette of the film adjusted to match the scene’s intensity.
Being heartwarming with happy endings, good morals, and catchy songs:
According to the film’s IMDb page, Ollie Johnston, one of the film’s animators, hated the ending of Mowgli being enticed into the man village by a girl, as he felt it was lazy and tacked on. However, he ended up loving the ending and felt it was the right one after working hard on it. The film’s IMDb page also stated that the film’s concluding song, ‘My Own Home’ is woven throughout the film, providing subtle foreshadowing of the ending.
I personally felt that the film was heartwarming overall with the love the wolves had for Mowgli like he was one of their own, Mowgli’s optimism, Baloo’s wanting to be a father figure to Mowgli, and Mowgli’s ability to easily make friends. I personally felt that the ending was happy and fitting.
The good morals present throughout the film included facing your fears, being teachable, not to hold grudges, and the importance of family.
There were plenty of catchy songs in the film, my personal favourite (and I believe the most catchy) were: “Colonel Hathi’s March,” “The Bare Necessities,” and “I Wan’na Be Like You.”
My overall thoughts:
Full disclosure, The Jungle Book was the first Disney film I saw in my life, and I’ve loved it ever since and have watched it repeatedly throughout my life, and my bias did win out when watching it as part of my Era Analysis project.
In terms of the film being the right one to end the Silver Age, I believe it was due to its art and animation reverting back to the art and animation style of the earlier Silver Age films, as well as being the last film Walt Disney was involved in, before his death in 1966, with The Jungle Book being released the following year. There was a lot of uncertainty when he died in terms of what the fate of the animation department would be, but thankfully, due to the film’s success, the animation department’s future was safe.
The next part of the Disney Era Analysis series will focus on the Bronze Age and the first film within that era, The Aristocats.
Fun Facts and Trivia:
- According to the film’s IMDb page, Bruce Reitherman, who voiced Mowgli, became a wildlife documentarian. He is also the son of the film’s director, Wolfgang Reitherman.
- Some of the animal’s names are related to the Hindi words for their species. Also, the name of the wolf pack leader is Akela which means “alone” in Hindi, and the mother wolf is called “Raksha,” which means protection.
- John Wayne was Walt Disney’ personal choice to voice Baloo. When he wasn’t able to commit to the role, Wayne suggested his close friend, Phil Harris, who would go on to voice Baloo.
- Apart from the first scene, the film takes place over two days and three nights.
References:
Loveday Writing 