The story begins in a jungle in India. A black panther named Bagheera hears a baby crying, which he is not familiar with. At first, he decides to walk away. But then he realizes that the infant needs help. So, he finds a family of wolves which has pups and drops the baby off there. The mother wolf happily raises him.

Years have passed since then. The boy whom the wolves raised, whose name is Mowgli, is happy to live in the jungle. However, there is a dangerous tiger called Shere Khan, who wants to kill him. Not only that, Bagheera is aware that Mowgli isn’t a wild animal. Therefore, he does not belong in the jungle.

He tries to take Mowgli to the man village nearby. But Mowgli resists several times. He also believes that he’ll be able to fight against Shere Khan or at least talk him out of hurting him. But Bagheera tells him that that’s not possible.

At some point, Mowgli encounters Kaa the snake. He hypnotizes Mowgli to “help” him. But Mowgli doesn’t trust him.

The next morning, Mowgli and Bagheera are awakened by the elephant military. Curious, Mowgli watches it. He then gets intrigued when he sees a small elephant and tries to befriend him.

Shortly after, the other elephants notice that Mowgli isn’t one of them. Bagheera apologizes for that.

Sometime later, Mowgli meets this black bear called Baloo. At first, he doesn’t like him. But that changes very quickly. Mowgli forms a bond with Baloo during the musical number, “Bare Necessities.”

However, a bunch of monkeys kidnap him and take him to their master, King Louie. King Louie makes a deal with Mowgli to let him stay in the jungle. But Mowgli isn’t sure if he can promise it.

Later, Baloo and Bagheera find him and try to rescue him. But they end up fighting with the monkeys until they win.

That night, Bagheera talks to Baloo about how Mowgli needs to go to the village. Baloo is resistant to that at first. However, the next day, he attempts to tell Mowgli, who still thinks he wants to have a good time with him. Once Baloo finally informs him about going to the village, Mowgli runs away.

During his escape, Mowgli comes across a few vultures, who try to cheer him up. After they succeed, however, Mowgli encounters Shere Khan. And he is in peril.

Like with a lot of Disney classics, this one kept me engaged all the way through. There were many parts that I enjoyed.

The songs were a major strength. I, especially, loved “Bare Necessities.” I even snapped my fingers along with it.

The characters were all well-developed. I particularly adored Mowgli’s friendship with Baloo.

Bagheera was more of a gray character for me since he was not always fair to Mowgli. But I understand he was doing what was best for him.

Mowgli was also likable. The vultures, despite being minor characters, were admirable, as well.

Although Kaa wasn’t exactly a good character, I did appreciate how he protected Mowgli from Shere Khan while he was on the run. That surprised me.

The pacing was also quick. And the amount of scariness in the film was practically none.

However, even though I like when movies are fast-paced, I considered this one to be a bit rushed too much. There could have been more time for some scenes, and the film could have been around 10 minutes longer.

Some parts were also a little dated. For example, when Colonel Hathi of the elephant military refused to help find Mowgli when he learned that he was lost, his wife, Winifred, threatened to take over his herd. And he was against the idea of a female being in charge. That moment might be considered sexist for today’s audiences. Yet it may have been normal in the 1960s.

Overall, though, I enjoyed The Jungle Book. It was a good movie that people of all ages can enjoy.

I give it 4 out of 5 stars.