Jungle Book, The (DVD)

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Video:
Disney engineers restored and digitally remastered the film to look like new, and one cannot fault any part of it. The picture size fills out a widescreen TV, and the high-bit-rate, anamorphic transfer is clear and clean. Colors are bright, and there is nary an age spot in sight. If the filmmaker had made the movie yesterday, it wouldn't have looked any better. I have to admit that the newer, 2003 sequel looks a bit crisper, but that doesn't mean it looks better.

Audio:
The audio people refurbished the sound in a Dolby Digital 5.1 Home Theater mix that sounds as though they could have recorded it yesterday, too. There isn't a lot of rear-channel action, but everything else is beyond criticism. We get a wide front-channel stereo spread; a smooth, well-balanced overall frequency response; a solid bass; and a strong dynamic impact. Where would Disney music be without good sound?

Extras:
We've come not only to expect good picture and sound on one of Disney's Platinum Editions, but a good bundle of extras as well. This Platinum Edition is no exception. It's one of those sets where the movie is little more than an hour and a quarter, but it will take you a week and a half to watch all the bonus items.

Disc one of this two-disc set contains the main feature; English, French, and Spanish spoken languages; English captions for the hearing impaired; Sneak Peeks at nine other Disney and Pixar productions; an index of contents; twenty-four scene selections; and an informational booklet insert and chapter guide.

In addition, we get an audio commentary from one of the movie's stars, Bruce Reitherman (Mowgli), one of the film's composers, Richard Sherman, and one of Disney's current animators, Andreas Deja. If that isn't enough, from time to time we also get to hear some audio clips from the original creative team who made the film. After that, there is a deleted scene, "The Lost Character: Rocky the Rhino," six-and-a-half minutes in rough sketches; a "Disney Song Selection," thirteen minutes comprising four selections from the movie that you can play with optional on-screen lyrics. Following that are seven deleted songs, twenty-one minutes' worth in audio only and monaural. Then there is a three-minute music video, "I Wan'na Be Like You," performed by one of Disney's kid bands, the Jonas Brothers, in rock style. I hated it. And, finally, on disc one there is a plug for the Disney Wildlife Conservation Fund, which helps ensure "a future for wildlife and wild places."

Disc two contains the rest of the extras. Things begin with the kind of documentary that Disney does so well. It's a forty-six-minute affair called "The Bare Necessities: The Making of The Jungle Book," divided into five chapters with a "Play All" feature. In it, Disney says he wanted the film to be happy and have heart. I think he succeeded. Next is the fifteen-minute "Disney's Kipling: Walt's Magic Touch on a Literary Classic," a segment on adapting the book to the screen. For good or for bad, I'd say most people in the world know some literary classics through Disney movies rather than having read the original sources. It's better than nothing. After that is "The Lure of The Jungle Book," nine minutes about the film's influence on subsequent animators; "Mowgli's Return to the Wild," five minutes on how actor Bruce Reitherman became a wildlife filmmaker; "Frank & Ollie," a four-minute vintage piece with Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston, two of the film's original animators talking about character animation; and six separate still-frame art galleries.

Lastly, for the kids there are two games, "Baloo's Virtual Swingin' Jungle Cruise" and "The Jungle Book Fun With Language Games," followed by DisneyPedia: "Junglemania!" A double slim-line case encloses the two discs, the case further enclosed by a handsomely embossed, high-gloss slipcover. Disney's Platinum Editions are always class acts.

Parting Thoughts:
"The Jungle Book" isn't quite in the top echelon of Disney favorites like "Snow White," "Pinocchio," "Fantasia," "The Lion King," "Aladdin," or "The Little Mermaid." But it's close, thanks largely to the voice talents, the music, and, of course, the animation. It's still a charmer.

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