The Jungle Book Review

Most people don't have the time, money, or energy to watch a lot of movies, so when you do get a chance to watch something, you want it to be good. That's why Rotten Tomatoes exists: to give a snapshot of whether a movie is worth your time. But does it always work? I'll be watching all of Rotten Tomatoes’ Certified Fresh movies from this Wikipedia list starting in the year 1990, the decade I was born, and we'll see if these movies are really worth the hype.

Movie 11 of 1990:

The Jungle Book, directed by Wolfgang Reitherman, was originally released in 1967, but had a re-release in 1990. I'm not exactly sure why this was the time for such a release, but this is a Disney classic, so I'm sure it made money. I liked this movie all right as a kid, but it was never one of my favorites. It's been a while since I've seen it, so it was a fun thing to revisit.

The best part of this movie is definitely the music. “I Wanna Be Like You” and "The Bare Necessities" are absolute classics. The latter was even nominated for an Oscar. I also really enjoyed the score in general. It really added to the environment being portrayed, matching the essence of the jungle.

The plot isn't very deep. While there is the overarching plot line of whether Mowgli will wind up in the jungle or the human Village, most of the film plays as a series of vignettes with different animals. It really seemed like a showcase for the animators to flex their skills, and animals are bound to draw the attention of small children. My personal favorite bits of animation were the scenes where Kaa the snake was using hypnosis. The colors there were different from anything else used in the film, which really made it stand out.

The relationship between Bagheera and Baloo was also very heartwarming. Even when they were at odds, they still came together to help Mowgli. There really is a nice story here about a little boy finding acceptance with a found family, and that's always a good theme to showcase in a children's movie.

This probably isn't something I would revisit often, but I'm glad to have seen it as an adult. I do, however, think that the better telling of this story is the 2016 remake. That film is visually stunning and really added where it needed to, while also cutting some of the more frivolous sequences and characters.

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 88%

Is it worth the hype?:

Mostly for the legacy. The animation was awe-inspiring for the time, and still is today. Hand-drawn animation is so stunning, and this isn't an exception. The songs are classics, the characters are fun, and this is, at its core, a solid children's movie. Give it a watch if you love animation, but if that's not your thing, stick to the 2016 version.