The Jungle Book (1967)

86% of critics liked it
(29 reviews)
70% of users liked it
(639,278 ratings)

The final animated feature produced under the supervision of Walt Disney is a lively neo-swing musical, loosely based upon the tales of Rudyard Kipling. The story takes place in a tropical jungle where people are conspicuously absent. But one day Bagheera the Panther (voice of Sebastian Cabot)… More The final animated feature produced under the supervision of Walt Disney is a lively neo-swing musical, loosely based upon the tales of Rudyard Kipling. The story takes place in a tropical jungle where people are conspicuously absent. But one day Bagheera the Panther (voice of Sebastian Cabot) discovers a baby in the wreck of a boat. Feeling pity on the child, Bagheera takes him to be raised with the wolves. Ten years later, the child has grown into Mowgli (voice of Bruce Reitherman). Mowgli discovers that his life is in danger because of the return to the area of Shere Khan the Tiger (voice of George Sanders), whose hatred of humans is such that Mowgli faces certain death if discovered. Bagheera agrees to transport Mowgli to the human village, where he will be safe from Shere Khan. Along the way to the village, night falls and Mowgli and Bagheera almost succumb to the man-eating snake Kaa (voice of Sterling Holloway). Escaping Kaa's coils, they run into the lock-step military elephant band of Colonel Hathi (voice of J. Pat O'Malley). Afterwards, Mowgli, who doesn't want to be sent to the human village, runs away from Bagheera and meets up with the fun-loving Baloo the Bear (voice of Phil Harrris). With both Bagheera and Baloo to protect him, Mowgli is saved from several more life-threatening situations -- including a barber-shop quartet of vultures, the crazed King Louie of the Apes (voice of Louis Prima), and Shere Khan himself -- before making it to the village of humans. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: G, 1 hr. 18 min.
Directed By: Wolfgang Reitherman, Stephen Sommers
Genres: Action & Adventure, Animation, Kids & Family, Romance, Musical & Performing Arts

In Theaters: Oct 18, 1967 Wide
On DVD: Dec 7, 1999
Studio: Buena Vista Pictures

Critic Reviews

Variety Staff, Variety
The standout song goes to Harris, a rhythmic 'Bare Necessities' extolling the value of a simple life and credited to Terry Gilkyson.
Dave Kehr, Chicago Reader
A serious disappointment, recommended only for inveterate Disney fans and very young people.
David Nusair, Reel Film Reviews
...a sporadically entertaining yet hopelessly uneven bit of animated filmmaking.
Michael Scheinfeld, Common Sense Media
Jaunty animation meets jazzy songs in Disney classic.
Tim Brayton, Antagony & Ecstasy
It's not merely disappointing but frankly soul-wracking that The Jungle Book isn't any better than it is.
, TV Guide's Movie Guide
A witty animated feature from Disney based on the famous Rudyard Kipling stories.
Ian Nathan, Empire Magazine
It's a slight tale, of course, and incredibly short, but the characters and songs are pretty much perfect viewing time and again.
Neil Smith, Film4
Ridiculously entertaining.
Ryan Cracknell, Movie Views
With an ensemble cast of memorable characters, catchy tunes and lots of zaniness, it's hard not to love the Kipling adaptation.
Eric Henderson, Slant Magazine
Fantasmoland for the rugrat set. It deserves to be rescued from the garbage heap where most other Disney movies ought to be dumped.
Eric Henderson, Slant Magazine
The literally last-minute stab at domestic foreplay is simply unbelievable, but Baloo's lip-licking post-mortem ("I still think he'd a made one swell bear") is what sticks.
Brian Webster, Apollo Guide
The two-disc 'platinum edition' DVD is loaded with extras.
Brian Webster, Apollo Guide
Reflects a conservative, imperialist, 'don't mix the races/species' worldview. Yet it's also about friendship and truthfulness, and it's just plain fun.
Kevin Carr, 7M Pictures
The roughness around the edges of The Jungle Book are part of what makes it such a classic.
John J. Puccio, Movie Metropolis
...an amiable, easygoing tale, long on charm if short on edge, excitement, or suspense. (Platinum Edition)
John J. Puccio, Movie Metropolis
...the characters, music, and animation more than make up for any shortcomings, and the result is pleasant entertainment for everyone.
Brian Orndorf, DVDTalk.com
Whatever it lacks in heroic reach it more than makes up for in sociable personality and devastatingly expressive animation from the Disney masters, making it an underground classic that's impressively stood the test of time.
, Time Out
It's also got great knockabout visual gags, mercifully little cutey-poo sentiment, and reasonable songs.

Read all 18 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

Jeff "

This is one of the Disney films that I used to watch several times as I was a kid. In fact it was a personal favorite of mine growing up, and is actually what I think, the best Disney animated feature along with The Lion King. The Jungle Book is a solid fun family film filled with… More
This is one of the Disney films that I used to watch several times as I was a kid. In fact it was a personal favorite of mine growing up, and is actually what I think, the best Disney animated feature along with The Lion King. The Jungle Book is a solid fun family film filled with comedy and is the type of film anyone of all ages will enjoy. The film contains some memorable characters and is simply a classic. This is a film that brings lots of memories from my childhood, and when I think of The Jungle Book, it brings back the good memories. This is a great film with great voice talents. This is a highly entertaining film that will definitely appeal to anyone looking for a fun film to watch. This is the perfect family oriented film. I very much enjoyed this film, and is for me, a personal favorite from Disney. This is a film that the entire family will enjoy. The Jungle Book is one of the funnier Disney films, and that's quite a statement because they've made very funny films over the course of the studios existence. This film is a classic. The Jungle Book is an essential Disney film to watch this film will always bring good memories from my childhood. And it is one of the best films that Disney has produced over the years, and it remains a solid, entertaining film that will appeal to people of all ages.
Bethany M

A childhood favourite and a classic!
Brad W

A childhood favorite
Michael E

the songs are great, the animation is great, the comedy is great, and the characters are great my favorite being Kaa the snake mainly for being voiced by the voice of Winnie the Pooh Sterling Holloway
AJ V

This movie has a great cast and a good story and kids will really enjoy it, but it's not my favourite Disney movie personally. There are some good songs, though.
erika b

one of the best Disney film of all time. the whole film is above what a ok Disney film has,
Richard C

i hate this movie. D
Film C

another disney classsic thats funny, enjoyable and has brilliant songs that get stuck in your head all day long! very entertaining animated classic well worth the watch!!
KJ P

A movie with heart! A film that nobody should dislike!
Conner R

A little bit too much music for a novel adaption, but it's still a classic and one of my favorite disney movies. Something about a child growing up by the help of wolves is fascinating. Baloo is one of the all time tough guys, but it wasn't properly shown until Tale-Spin.
♥˩ƳИИ &

Bruce Reitherman, George Sanders, Louis Prima Bagheera the Panther and Baloo the Bear have a difficult time trying to convince a boy to leave the jungle for human civilization. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ This is my favorite Disney movie.… More
Bruce Reitherman, George Sanders, Louis Prima Bagheera the Panther and Baloo the Bear have a difficult time trying to convince a boy to leave the jungle for human civilization. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ This is my favorite Disney movie. Growing up I wasn't into the whole princess movies. I was a bit of a tom boy. So when I first saw this movie I immediately loved it. The characters, the music, and just the story. Loved it all. Had no "happy endings" with a prince coming to sweep the damsel in distress away. Love Baloo. He was my favorite animal character in the movie. If you haven't seen this cartoon you should. It is just a fun watch and for me, takes me back to when I was younger.
Anthony L

'I wanna be like you hoo hoo!'
Jason O

Mowgli was raised by wolves and now he's growing up in the jungle. He's been in the jungle all his life, so he doesn't know what it's like to even be around another person. But it's not as bad as it sounds, Mowgli has tons of great friends such as the… More
Mowgli was raised by wolves and now he's growing up in the jungle. He's been in the jungle all his life, so he doesn't know what it's like to even be around another person. But it's not as bad as it sounds, Mowgli has tons of great friends such as the hilarious Baloo the bear. But he also has a few enemies, mainly a gruesome tiger named Shere Khan, who doesn't like humans at all. It's up to Mowgli to survive in the wilderness, and with the aid of his friends, he'll have a good chance of not having to worry about Shere Khan. But will Mowgli ever find out what it's like to be around other people? "The Jungle Book" is a good movie. It has good animation, it's entertaining with the animated drama and the hilarious antics of Baloo, and it has some of the best songs out of any of the Disney movies, such as "Bear Necessities." I recommend anybody who likes animated movies to take a walk in the jungle and give "The Jungle Book" a chance. NOTE: That was my Amazon review from the year 2001. Also check out this movie's awesome sequel!
Thomas B

just a joy of a movie
Tim S

Baloo was my hero for a long time.
danny d

brought us a classic like talespin, one of the best disney films.
Stephen M

This was the last animated film overseen by Disney himself. I find this one a bit overrated; the animation is kinda drab.
moon r

hey...it's a cute kid movie
Dean !

A walt Disney classic and one of my favourites of the earlier films.
Dan S

I have other favorites.