The Jungle Book
Alright, let’s get an animated Disney pick out of the way early just because it’s one of the more obvious choices, but out of their whole collection, I always turned to The Jungle Book as a child. There’s something about a boy being raised in the wild by talking animals that had me addicted, not to mention it sports one of the best Disney soundtracks ever. Like, in the history of time.
Mowgli’s (Bruce Reitherman) journey is one full of adventure, laughter, lessons, and love, as our “man-cub” encounters many animal friends on his journey to joining human civilization. Befriending a bear named Baloo (Phil Harris) and a panther named Bagheera (Sebastian Cabot), they must keep the boy safe from a man-eating tiger named Shere Kahn (George Harris), as well as traverse numerous other obstacles that lay in their path.
My favorite part as a child of course is when the zany orangutan King Louie (voiced by musician Louis Prima) meets Mowgli, doing his cooky song and dance, making me bust out laughing every single time. But the danger was also exciting, as Mowgli had to avoid the hypnotizing stare of Kaa the Snake (Sterling Holloway) and Shere Kahn’s stealthy advances, putting Mowgli against the odds.
The thing is, with such colorful animation and iconic voice acting, it’s hard for anyone to deny Disney’s adaptation of the fabled story, as the film delivers one of the greatest animated family movies of all time. Go ahead, just try not to sing along as King Louie croons “I Wanna Be Like You” – I dare you.
