Disney's The Jungle Book

The Jungle Book ~ I had the pleasure of seeing this one again as an in-room movie while on the TCM Classic Cruise on board the Disney Magic. The 1967 animated Disney version of The Jungle Book is probably one of my favorite Disney features, and it was probably one of my first as well. Quite honestly I can't remember if I did see it in theaters at the time or not (I have been assured that I did), but I do know that my big sister bought me the soundtrack record that came with a storybook. I knew all the songs, I knew all the corresponding scenes as well, and I loved it.

This is one of those movies that when it comes on, I just have to stop and watch it. As I said, the music was ingrained in me at an early age, and even today with the original tunes, or with covers like "Bear Necessities" by Harry Connick Jr. or "I Wanna Be Like You" by the Jonas Brothers, I still love it. The flick has a great soundtrack, probably the last full soundtrack to be so cool as a whole until the late eighties.

It is notable that The Jungle Book was the last film that Walt Disney had a hand in personally, and it was also the beginning of a new era of animation for the company. I call it the Don Bluth era myself, even though Bluth wasn't involved in every facet of that era, but his style was prevalent. Many of his tricks are evident here, such as the fake out death of Baloo, and the look of some of the characters. Some of the scenes here are even repeated in 1973's Robin Hood.

The Jungle Book stands out among other Disney animated features for a number of reasons, not the least of which is its stunning voice cast. In a

day when voice actors weren't a big deal, it was here. There was Disney regular Sterling Holloway, Phil Harris, George Sanders, Sebastian Cabot, Louie Prima, Clint Howard, English rock and roll disc jockey Lord Tim Hudson, and Chad Stuart of Chad and Jeremy. And then there's also the matter of the multiple villains - Shere Khan, Kaa, King Louie - something rarely seen in Disney films of the time.

In many ways, despite my love for this film, I kinda dig the 1942 Sabu version more, but still this is one of my favorite Disney features, and an important piece of my childhood. Five stars all around.

Reality Burnout

The season finales for both "Survivor" and "American Idol" were last night, and while I have been a hardcore fan of both in the past, I really didn't give a rat's backside last night, this season, or quite frankly, several seasons. Both of these shows, along with "Big Brother" and "The Amazing Race," are really dependent on the contestants, and that gene pool has been iffy of late.

Of course there's also the attraction of a potential train wreck, and I do love a good train wreck. "The Amazing Race" is more The Bride's wheelhouse than mine but I was digging the mental and relationship breakdown of former "Big Brother" winners Brendon and Rachel. Now that was a train wreck.

However that kind of hot messiness couldn't seem to save "American Idol" this year. I lost interest early in the season when the show refused to highlight the usual freakshow of audition rejects in the cause of positivity. Let's face it, for every Kelly Clarkson, we can list five William Hungs or Ben Haars. That is what makes the show.

Getting back to train wrecks and "Idol," I couldn't believe who the two finalists were this season. Caleb had a strong rocker voice but he had some trouble on Twitter calling his fans the R word. One would think that would be enough to keep him from winning, but I guess the Bible Belt "AI" voters who kept Adam Lambert from winning probably don't care much about being politically correct.

I still don't know how Jena made final ten, let alone final two. Every time I saw her perform she was always butchering one song or another. And none if these judges have courage enough to tell the truth. Harry Connick Jr. comes close at times, but what "Idol" really needs is for Simon Cowell to return. It hasn't been the same, or as good, since he left.

I'm not sure what to watch in the reality TV realm any more. "America's Got Talent" has become a freakshow, and not in a good way, and "The Voice" has always bored me. Well, let's just hope the next bunch on "Big Brother" aren't just another group of vapid model wannabes, but have a but more personality or psychosis than usual.

Idol's Last Hurrah

Even with Syria the top story in the news (and no, I still won't be writing about it), today was a relatively slow news day, and still keeping a low profile amidst the lack of news was the final announcement of the judges on the upcoming thirteenth season of "American Idol."

To make it official, Ryan Seacrest will continue to host the Fox series, and along with returning judges from last season, Randy Jackson and Keith Urban, he will be joined by the returning Jennifer Lopez from season ten, and longtime "AI" friend and fan Harry Connick, Jr. So no Dr. Luke as rumored, no Mariah Carey, and saddest of all, for me at least, no Nicki Minaj.

Without Simon Cowell, the show lost most of its punch and charisma as far as I was concerned, and Nicki Minaj made it worth watching for me. Even the contestants were bland last season, Idol's lowest rated season ever, and Nicki made it entertaining for me, and really she was the only reason to watch. With the new/old crew set for season thirteen, I don't know about you, but I'm not feeling it, and I might not be watching.