My Favourite Disney Movie

Most girls loved the princess stories the most; Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Beauty and the Beast, Snow White, and so on. Me? I was never into princesses when I was little. I was always about the animals. When I was really young, my go-to Disney movie was The Jungle Book. I would watch it nonstop. Literally…like it never, ever left the VCR. This daily ritual not only lead to the memorization of the whole movie, but to my love of Baloo, the affable big bear that takes care of Mowgli in the jungle. He was single-handedly responsible for the start of my love of all Disney pictures and nearly everything the Walt Disney Company created.  

The original concept for the Disney film was inspired by the Mowgli stories that were written by Rudyard Kipling, a greatly celebrated English writer who was born in India. (Nobel Prize Foundation) To find out more about Kipling, click here.

The animated film adaptation is nothing like the stories it was inspired by, but it was still a great story.

Although Mowgli is a feral child raised by wolves, the perceptions the animals of the jungle have of him and mankind become apparent. Even though Mowgli feels that the jungle is his home, he seemingly stands out and is seen as a threat to the safety of the other wildlife.  While other animals may see him as a threat, a sloth bear, Baloo takes the boy under his wing and a fast friendship is formed. Baloo quickly becomes protective of Mowgli and teaches him how to survive and be like a bear. Very interesting concepts come to life in this movie. The Jungle Book really reflects how we can project stereotypes onto others and shows how fears can cause violence.