The Jungle Book: Critic Reviews

A serious disappointment, recommended only for inveterate Disney fans and very young people.

The standout song goes to Harris, a rhythmic 'Bare Necessities' extolling the value of a simple life and credited to Terry Gilkyson.

Jaunty animation meets jazzy songs in Disney classic.

It's not merely disappointing but frankly soul-wracking that The Jungle Book isn't any better than it is.

Ridiculously entertaining.

A witty animated feature from Disney based on the famous Rudyard Kipling stories.

It's a slight tale, of course, and incredibly short, but the characters and songs are pretty much perfect viewing time and again.

With an ensemble cast of memorable characters, catchy tunes and lots of zaniness, it's hard not to love the Kipling adaptation.

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.

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.

The roughness around the edges of The Jungle Book are part of what makes it such a classic.

...the characters, music, and animation more than make up for any shortcomings, and the result is pleasant entertainment for everyone.

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.

It's also got great knockabout visual gags, mercifully little cutey-poo sentiment, and reasonable songs.

Fun characters, irresistible songs -- a Disney classic.

Pretty good, but not great later Disney effort.

I'll never get that "Bear Necessities" song out of my head, ever. I guess that's a testament to the movie.

The Jungle Book isn't without its rough spots, but on the whole it's fully deserving of its place in the Disney canon.

The background animation is embarrassing, but the songs are fun.

..an uneven episode in the Disney legacy, without much shape and substance beyond the concept of jumping from one scene to the next in order to get to the next musical number.

The Jungle Book is fun, cheerful animation; high on hummable songs and comedy; and low on scary moments.