The Jungle Book (1967)
- Before Bruce Reitherman was cast, several major A-list stars turned down the lead role because they felt the script was too risky.
- Wolfgang Reitherman originally wanted a completely different ending for the film, but test audiences preferred the one we see today.
- The incredible score for The Jungle Book was composed in just a few weeks after the original composer dropped out.
The Jungle Book is a 1967 American animated musical comedy produced by Walt Disney Productions, the last animated film personally supervised by Walt Disney before his death in December 1966. Based loosely on Rudyard Kipling's stories, the film follows Mowgli, a young boy raised by wolves in the Indian jungle who must be escorted to the human village by the stern panther Bagheera after the tiger Shere Khan returns to the jungle. Along the way, Mowgli encounters the carefree bear Baloo, the hypnotic snake Kaa, a troop of monkeys led by King Louie, and the regimented elephants led by Colonel Hathi.
Walt Disney personally directed the creative approach, instructing the team to abandon the darker tone of Kipling's stories in favor of character-driven comedy and memorable songs. The Sherman Brothers and Terry Gilkyson composed songs that became Disney standards: "The Bare Necessities," "I Wanna Be Like You," and "Trust in Me." Phil Harris's laid-back vocal performance as Baloo established a template for the celebrity voice casting that would become standard in animation decades later. The Jungle Book earned $378 million in cumulative worldwide releases.
