The Jungle Book (40th Anniversary Platinum Edition)

I picked this DVD up today and got it home to find that Disney had altered the original theatrical aspect ratio of 1.33:1 to make the movie "fit" on widescreen TVs. They did this by chopping off the top and bottom of the image. This results in the loss of a good deal of character animation (at least the tops of their heads and their feet). Trust me, I own the original Limited Issue DVD of this film and I did a side-by-side comparison as soon as I got the new Platinum Edition home. If you are a purist about original aspect ratios, please avoid this release and petition Disney to start a free disc replacement program. We should at least have the option of watching the original unaltered film the way that it was meant to be seen.
***NOTE: There are now user images that can be viewed for this product that illustrate the cropping discussed in my review.

This movie is more than just another Disney masterpiece. The Jungle Book is a great tale of friendship and adventure. Although almost every animated feature that was created during Walt Disney's life is a classic, this one in particular holds a special place in the heart of many men (and now thanks to video and DVD, boys) who saw it while growing up. There isn't a boy alive who can see this movie and not want to be Mowgli. What a life it would be to live in the jungle, with friends like Baloo and Bagheera. It is every young boys dream to be so free.

That is not to say that only boys will love this movie. As with all Disney films, this one will be enjoyed by all members of the family, young and old. I saw it growing up, and never forgot my memories of the movie, and the days afterward, singing the songs and dreaming of adventure.

The music in The Jungle Book is some of the best in any Disney movie. "The Bare Necessities" is simply one of the best songs ever. Add in the fantastic animation and the characters that come to life (who wouldn't believe a bear could sing after seeing this?), and you have one of the many classic Disney stories.

Starring the voices of Disney regulars Phil Harris and Sterling Holloway, as well as Sebastian Cabot (Mr. French, to those of my generation) and many others, this movie is too good to not buy.

Get a copy of this DVD before Disney removes it for another generation. It is the best that Disney has to offer.

When it comes to DVDs, I would probably be the first in line to complain about releases that have mediocre supplements. But I felt like I had to make an exception when it came to Disney. All of their "Limited Issues" seem to have little or no extras at all, but the actual animated classic that the disc holds, for me anyway, more then makes up for it.

"The Jungle Book" is one of the first Disney Movies that I watched as a kid. I bought the DVD, and I saw the movie today for the first time in around 12 years. The entertainment value is suprisingly still there, and more over, as a grown up movie fan, I can appreciate the film more as a classic in animated films from Disney & not just a 'cartoon' to pass the time, like I considered it to be as an adolecent.

The picture and sound is satisfying for the film's age and genre; the Spanish Dubbing is an excellent addition, for some of my family anyway. But it pales in comparison to the English vocals; The animation is terrific, too bad it wasn't created in a widescreen aspect ratio, it would have been a great visual to have looked at (The film is presented in it's original theatrical aspect ratio, 1.33:1).

Now that the announcment of Disney's 10 "Platinum Editions" have been made (The first of the 10 being "Snow White & The Seven Dwarfs", but "Jungle Book" will be one of the other 9), this "Jungle Book - Limited Issue" is a fine way to have the film until the full-fleged "Jungle Book - Platinum Edition" is released sometime in the next decade. Thanks to this DVD, I am now looking foward to add more of Disney's hard-core classics to my DVD collection.

It cant get any better than this. Disney beloved animated classic "The Jungle Book" finally gets the long overdue Platinum treatment. This new 40th Anniversary release will include an all-new digital restoration of the film and for the very first time ever, this release will feature the movie in 1.75:1 widescreen aspect ratio (Please be aware that "Jungle Book" was filmed in 1.37:1 aspect ratio and was cropped for its theatrical screenings. The movie loses a little from top and bottom here in this restored version so think twice before selling off your old copies which featured the movie in its original fullscreen ratio). Along with a 5.1 Disney Enhanced Home Theater Mix soundtrack, this edition includes a restored original theatrical soundtrack too. French and Spanish language tracks will also appear on the disc. According to dvdtimes, extras on this platinum edition will include:

Audio Commentary - Combines comments from current animators with audio from the original creative team who made the film

The Lost Character: Rocky The Rhino - For the first time ever, the near-sighted, short-tempered rhinoceros named Rocky is brought to the screen using original storyboards and original voice recordings by Frank Fontaine.

The Bare Necessities: The Making of The Jungle Book - A comprehensive look at the last animated film that Walt Disney produced using existing archival footage in addition to new interviews with Richard Sherman, Brad Bird, Glen Keane, Eric Goldberg, James Baxter, Will Fi'nn, Andreas Deja, Burny Mattinson Ted Thomas, Bruce Reitherman, John Culhane, John Canemaker and Neal Gabler--plus a never-before-seen collection of artwork and treatments from the film

Disney's Kipling: Walt's Magic Touch on A Literary Classic - A discarded film treatment from 1963 includes scenes from Kipling's "Mowgli Stories" and more are used to illustrate Walt's interpretation of the literary masterpiece

The Lure of The Jungle Book - Many of today's biggest names in animation were inspired to pursue their careers after seeing The Jungle Book; this feature examines this phenomenon and features new interviews with Brad Bird, Andreas Deja, Sergio Pablo, Will Finn and Eric Goldberg.

Mowgli's Return to the Jungle - Learn about nature filmmaking and the experience of making The Jungle Book firsthand from Bruce Reitherman, the voice of Mowgli.

Baloo's Virtual Swingin' Jungle Cruise - Join everyone's favourite bear in this set-top and DVD-ROM game on an adventure through the jungle: enjoy fun activities and musical challenges, but keep an eye out because there's no telling what's on the other side of the river bend!

English Learning Feature
Still Frame Art Gallery

Like all other Platinum editions, even this one will be available for a limited time only. So bring home Mowgli, Baghira, Baloo and Shere khan and all the lovable characters we've all grown up with, before they go back to Disney vault again!

The feature-length cartoons Disney continues to produce are fine films, but nowhere near as good as classics like The Jungle Book. Unburdened by the modern-day Disney habit of giving every film a heavy family-friendly moral message, the Jungle Book is just 100% pure fun, with a cool hero (Mowgli), entertaining friends (especially the bear Baloo) and some great villainous characters (most memorably Shere Khan the tiger). This movie was made years before Phil Collins or Elton John were drafted in as cartoon soundtrack composers, and the songs are just awesome - "The Bare Necessities", "I Wanna Be Like You" and Kaa the snake's hissed encouragement to "Trust in Me". Get this DVD while you can!

I had anticipated this for many months, and am now disappointed. I noted the cropping to make it "widescreen" -- even though I understand that it was "masked" to be shown that way in theatres, as many theatres did. Both versions should be included -- is Disney ignoring today's media trends?

I went and bought the old 1999 version from a used seller instead, and I recommend that if you're a true Disney animation fan, then you do the same. Cutting off characters' heads for the sake of our HD TVs is not an improvement, and this isn't the 1970s or 1980s anymore. We have choices now, and Disney should be following suit.

They cropped (or left out) the top and bottom of the picture to accommodate the new wide screen Tvs. Not good! This makes the earlier release on DVD an instant collectors item. It's a shame too because the rest of the restoration is beautiful. Walt Disney would be rolling over in his grave to see how they mangled one of his masterpieces. Give us the movie as it was originally intended please.

Disney Studios has become infamous for repeatedly revamping and re-releasing its most celebrated titles. THE JUNGLE BOOK is the current title on this marketing merry-go-round, and the question inevitably arises: should you replace your earlier DVD with this the new "Platinum Edition?" The answer is a firm "maybe."

Certainly there's no question about the film itself. Released in 1967, THE JUNGLE BOOK really is one Disney's finest, a very free adaptation of the Kipling tale of a child who is raised by wolves and must break with the jungle in order to enter human society. Beautifully animated in the classic hand-rendered style and brilliantly voiced by the likes of Phil Harris, Sebastian Cabot, Louis Prima, and George Sanders, this is a film certain to charm children and adults alike--and it is among the handful of Disney films that I have gone out of my way to keep in my library.

But do I really need all the bells and whistles of the current edition? The re-master is nice, but I have to note that THE JUNGLE BOOK was never actually in need of a major restoration in the same way that SNOW WHITE, FANTASIA, or PETER PAN were. It looks great, yes, but you may not notice much difference in picture and sound between the earlier DVD release and the current one. As for the special features--I enjoyed the audio commentary and the "making of" feature; I was also amused by the "lost scene." But I could not care less about the rest of the content, which ranges from the kiddie-silly to the uninspired.

Ultimately, your decision to purchase the Platinum Edition of THE JUNGLE BOOK rests on how much of a Disney fan you actually are. If you can't bear to let a single item go buy, or if you are particular fan of this title, by all means purchase it--you'll find it worth the money. And if you don't own it at all, or if you're still making do with an old VHS copy, obviously this is the way to go. But if you do own the earlier DVD edition and you are happy with it, don't feel you have to make this "Platinum Edition" a priority.

Five stars for the film in and of itself!

GFT, Amazon Reviewer

my advice is - dont bother! this dvd is exacty it`s the same as the vhs version! .it is NOT dolby surround as stated but only stereo and there are no extras on the disc at all.the colour and sound are the same as the vhs version-not re-mastered or enhanced at all for dvd.if you have it on vhs dont waste your money!

I agree with some of the other reviews - especially that the DVD does not offer anything more! In fact, the VHS copy I have has a "Making of" which is not on the DVD! Disney has priced this DVD too high with nothing extra. The movie itself is classic and if you don't have it on VHS, get it on DVD. Still, I feel Disney is milking too much out of these limited re-issues; at the very least they could include extra features on the DVDs (I bet they will issue special edition DVDs down the road so that we will have to buy another copy!).