On 6 Apr 1962, LAT announced that animation mogul Walt Disney had acquired rights to produce a cartoon adaptation of the “Mowgli” stories featured in Rudyard Kipling’s The Jungle Book (1894) and its follow-up, The Second Jungle Book (1895). According to a 12 Nov 1967 LAT article, Disney spent ten years locked in negotiations with the estate of late director Alexander Korda, who had made a live-action version of the tales in 1942, titled Rudyard Kipling’s Jungle Book (see entry). Around this time, Walt Disney Productions was releasing a new cartoon picture every three to four years, and the animation team began development of The Jungle Book in 1963, as they neared completion on The Sword in the Stone (see entry).
       Despite his ambition to leave filmmaking to pursue a career writing children’s books, One Hundred and One Dalmatians (1961, see entry) and The Sword in the Stone writer Bill Peet agreed to stay on at Disney to develop the story. After several meetings, however, Disney declared that Peet’s ideas were “too serious,” including the disposition he assigned to the character of “Baloo,” the bear. While Peet felt the guardian to young Mowgli would adhere to “the law of the jungle,” Disney cast Phil Harris to provide the voice, conveying a bear with a more carefree philosophy of life. Peet left the project in early 1964, at which point Larry Clemmons took over as the team’s head writer. The sequence between Mogwli and “Kaa,” the snake, was reportedly one of the few scenes from Peet’s treatment that remained in the final film.
       Although a storyline had not yet been solidified, the 9 Jun 1965 Var indicated that production was underway. A 7 Dec 1965 DV article estimated the budget at $4 million, with 160 crewmembers contributing to the animation. Several characters were reportedly removed or changed throughout the process, such as a rhinoceros and tickbird, voiced by Frank Fontaine and Jimmy Durante. The four vultures Mowgli encounters during the storm were originally designed to resemble members of The Beatles, but Disney felt the reference would date the film and hurt its playability in re-release. Additionally, Disney requested that Mowgli’s Indian features be “Americanized” to increase the character’s appeal in the U.S. market. While busy planning his second theme park in central Florida, Disney met with the writers to conceive the story’s ending shortly before his death in Dec 1966. A 15 Mar 1967 Var brief indicated that production was nearing completion, after roughly two and a half years.
       According to the 28 Jun 1967 Var, advanced screenings were held for exhibitors and their families on 28-29 Jun 1967 at the Disneyland park in Anaheim, CA. Due to its seventy-eight-minute running time, the 23 Aug 1967 Var stated that Disney would package the film with a companion short, as was customary for the company’s shorter releases. The Jungle Book played in theaters with Charlie, the Lonesome Cougar, a forty-seven minute live-action featurette.
       A 11 Sep 1967 LAT news item announced that the world premiere was set to take place at Grauman’s Chinese Theatre on 18 Oct 1967, with proceeds benefitting the Greater Los Angeles Zoo Association. The picture opened citywide on 20 Dec 1967, followed by a New York City debut two days later. The 17 Jan 1968 Var indicated that earnings were projected to surpass all first-run totals for any previous Disney animated feature, and by 5 Apr 1968, LAT reported domestic rentals of $10.5 million. The Jungle Book went on to become the second highest grossing picture of 1967.
       In his 23 Dec 1967 LAT review, Howard Thompson called the film “simple, uncluttered, straight-forward fun,” which many critics attributed to the unique characters and creative voice casting. The musical elements were also well loved, and a 3 Dec 1967 NYT item announced the release of two soundtrack LPs featuring songs and dialogue from the movie. Terry Gilkyson’s “The Bare Necessities” received an Academy Award nomination for Best Music (Song).
       In 1998, Walt Disney Pictures released the live-action, direct-to-video remake titled The Jungle Book: Mowgli’s Story. The Jungle Book 2 (see entry), an animated sequel to the 1967 picture, opened in theaters in 2003, but was not well received. In 2016, Disney “rebooted” the property with another live-action remake directed by Jon Favreau, which contained three songs from the original film. Warner Bros. Pictures began a concurrent adaptation of Rudyard Kipling’s stories, but as of the writing of this Note, release has been pushed to 2018.