Last week I got my hands on a copy of the new The Jungle Book DVD. The Jungle Book is one of my favorite movies, which I feel weird about saying for some reason, possibly because it hampers my legendary image of being a reckless badass. But still: Ever since I was five or six and first saw it, I’ve always thought The Jungle Book was the best Disney movie, and arguably just one of the best kids’ movies, period, and I’ve always loved the films’ characters, esp. Bagheera and Baloo, to a pretty intense degree. Rewatching it on this DVD 20 years later—and 40 years after it was made—reaffirmed those thoughts. It’s still as charming, cool, heartfelt, and funny as ever.

Anyway, a quick DVD review after the jump. Also, a YouTube of the best song from the movie. You can sing along if you want.

Okay, first let's do that YouTube action: "I Wanna Be Like You," which is just awesome. Brad Bird (who wrote and directed two of the best animated films in recent memory, The Incredibles and Ratatouille) says on one of The Jungle Book DVD's special features that the film isn't "the flashiest story [Disney] did, it’s not the most grand artistically. But I don’t think there’s ever been a better showcase for character animation.” Yes. Proof:

That clip's quality is for shit, of course, and it honestly kind of hurts to watch it after seeing the beautifully restored version of the film that's on the DVD. The movie is gorgeous, with killer character designs, animation that pops off the screen, and some really amazing backgrounds, and the DVD does it justice. For visuals alone, it's worth watching--luckily the story, the music, and everything else make it worth watching for a ton of other reasons, too.

The special features on the disc are shaky, straddling the line between stuff designed for kids (who, yes, okay, are who the movie is for), and adults who're gonna buy this out of nostalgia (ahem). The kiddie stuff is mostly games and goofy, fluffy bullshit, and it's largely disposable unless you're in the market for an electronic babysitter. A few of the more grown-up documentaries, though, are definitely worthwhile. Most important is "The Making of The Jungle Book," a doc that comes in at just under an hour, but follows the film from its conception to its release.

If there's one legit complaint about all of the special features, it's that they display an almost creepy reverence toward Walt Disney. Granted, the dude created an empire, but there are a lot of indications--even on this disc alone--that his touch wasn't as magic as everybody seems intent on making it out to be. Disney's longtime and talented writer, Bill Peet, butted heads with Disney on adapting Rudyard Kipling's stories to the extent that he left the studio and never worked with Disney again. Disney's insistence on fun and character also overrode what he discomfortingly called "the icky-sticky story stuff," meaning most of Kipling's dark, smart story elements got trounced in favor of singing, dancing, and slapstick. Not that I'm complaining--see the clip above--but it's weird to have everybody on this disc fawning over Disney, when a more nuanced look at the making of the film would have been just as, or more, interesting. Also, I never noticed this before, but Disney totally has this weird molester 'stache, and I don't like it at all.

Seriously, would you trust that guy with your kids?

Anyway.

There are a bunch of cool bits of knowledge in the "making of" featurette: That the vultures were supposed to be voiced by a certain singing group, but "they couldn't get the Beatles"; that the original voice for Mowgli got fired when his voice cracked halfway through production; that "The Bare Necessities" is the only song remaining by the film's original composer, who was fired because Disney thought his songs--like Peet's script ideas--were too dark. (Also: The scariest character actor in the world voiced the baby elephant when he was a little kid, which is weird. And scary.)

There are also some pretty killer galleries of concept artwork, character sketches, and matte paintings. These are gorgeous. I have a soft spot for films' concept artwork, and these cement the fact that back in the '60s, some of the best artists working were at Disney. I included one above, but here are some character sketches of Baloo:

The jazz-influenced music is key here, too, both in the excellent soundtrack and in the casting of a few key voices (like the great Phil Harris as Baloo and Louis Prima as King Louie). The music's never sounded better than it does on this disc.

I should probably stop, because I can get nostalgic and giddy over The Jungle Book for hours, but the point is this: If you have fond memories of the flick from when you were a kid, check out the new DVD. You won't be disappointed. If you don't have fond memories of the film, you're an emotionless, subhuman monster, and I hate you.