The Jungle Book (1967)

The Jungle Book is the nineteenth animated feature in the Disney animated features canon. It was first released on October 18, 1967, and was the last animated feature produced by Walt Disney, who died during its production. It was based, rather loosely, on the stories about the feral child Mowgli from the book The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling. The movie remains one of Disney's most popular, and contained a number of classic songs, including "Bare Necessities" and "I Wanna Be Like You". Most of the songs are by Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman. The film was directed by Wolfgang Reitherman, and Mowgli was voiced by his son, Bruce Reitherman.

There are two villains, Kaa (voiced by Sterling Holloway, known largely for his voice work on Winnie the Pooh), a hypnotizing snake; and Shere Khan (voiced by George Sanders), a tiger.

The song "Trust in Me" is based upon a song entitled "Land of Sand" which had been written for, but not used in, Mary Poppins.

Part of "Bare Necessities" was remixed for the theme song of its short-lived 1990s TV spin-off, Jungle Cubs. The characters of Baloo, Shere Khan, and King Louie were also featured in the television series TaleSpin.

The Jungle Book theatrical release history

 * October 18, 1967 (original release)
 * June 9, 1978
 * July 27, 1984
 * July 13, 1990

Worldwide release dates

 * Argentina: December 7, 1967
 * Japan: August 24, 1968
 * France: December 4, 1968
 * Sweden: December 6, 1968
 * Italy: December 9, 1968
 * West Germany: December 13, 1968
 * Spain: December 16, 1968
 * Finland: December 20, 1968
 * Denmark: December 26, 1968
 * Norway: December 26, 1968

The Jungle Book home video release history
NOTE: A Platinum Edition is expected to be released on DVD by Walt Disney Home Video in October 2007.
 * May 3, 1991 (VHS)
 * October 14, 1997 (VHS)
 * December 7, 1999 (VHS and DVD)

Voice cast

 * Bruce Reitherman as Mowgli
 * Phil Harris as Baloo
 * Sebastian Cabot as Bagheera
 * Louis Prima as King Louie
 * George Sanders as Shere Khan
 * Sterling Holloway as Kaa
 * J. Pat O'Malley as Colonel Hathi and Buzzy
 * Verna Felton as Winifred
 * Clint Howard as Junior
 * Chad Stuart as Flaps
 * Lord Tim Hudson as Dizzy
 * Digby Wolfe as Ziggy
 * John Abbott as Akela
 * Ben Wright as Rama
 * Darleen Carr as Shanti
 * Leo Delyon as Monkey
 * Bill Skyles as Monkey
 * Hal Smith as Monkey
 * Peter Henderson as Monkey
 * Frank Thomas as Rhinoceros
 * Terry-Thomas as Vulture and Elephant
 * Bob Holt as Mooses

Crew members

 * Directed by Wolfgang Reitherman
 * Produced by Walt Disney
 * Story by Larry Clemmons, Ralph Wright, Ken Anderson and Vance Gerry (inspired by the Rudyard Kipling "Mowgli" stories)
 * Directing animators Milt Kahl, Ollie Johnston, Frank Thomas and John Lounsbery
 * Character animation Hal King, Eric Cleworth, Eric Larson, Fred Hellmich, Walt Stanchfield, John Ewing and Dick Lucas
 * Effects animation by Dan MacManus
 * Background styling by Al Dempster
 * Background by Bill Layne, Ralph Hulett, Art Riley, Thelma Witmer and Frank Armitage
 * Production manager Don Duckwall
 * Sound by Robert O'Cook
 * Film editors Tom Acosta and Norman Carlisle
 * Music editor Evelyn Kennedy
 * Music by George Bruns
 * Orchestration by Walter Sheets
 * Songs by Robert B. Sherman and Richard M. Sherman
 * "Bare Necessities" by Terry Gilkyson; sung by Phil Harris

Songs and music

 * Jungle Book Overture - (instrumental)
 * Colonel Hathi's March - Colonel Hathi and the elephants
 * Bare Necessities - Baloo and Mowgli
 * I Wan'na Be Like You - King Louie and Baloo
 * Colonel Hathi's March (reprise) - Colonel Hathi and the elephants
 * Trust in Me - Kaa
 * '' Mooses Are Free.-Mooses and Mowgli
 * That's What Friends Are For - The Vultures, Mowgli and Shere Khan
 * My Own Home - Shanti

Titles in different languages

 * Bosnian: Knjiga o džungli
 * Bulgarian: Книга за Джунглата
 * Cantonese: 小泰山
 * Croatian:    Knjiga o džungli
 * Czech:          Kniha Džunglí
 * Danish:        Junglebogen
 * Dutch:          Jungle Boek
 * Finnish:      Viidakkokirja
 * French:        Le Livre de la Jungle
 * German:        Das Dschungelbuch
 * Greek:          Το Βιβλίο της Ζούγκλας
 * Hebrew:        ספר הג'ונגל
 * Hungarian:  A Dzsungel Könyve
 * Icelandic: Skógarlíf
 * Italian:      Il libro della giungla
 * Lithuanian: Džiunglių knyga
 * Mandarin Chinese:      森林王子
 * Norwegian:  Jungelboken
 * Polish:        Księga Dżungli
 * Portuguese: O Livro da Selva (Portugal); Mogli - O Menino Lobo (Brazil)
 * Russian:      Книга джунглей
 * Serbian:      Књига о џунгли
 * Slovenian:      Knjiga o džungli''
 * Spanish:      El Libro de la Selva
 * Swedish:      Djungelboken
 * Vietnamese: Cậu Bé Rừng Xanh (Boy of the Jungle)