The Jungle Book 1967

Media Industries: The Jungle Book 

Notes from the documentary:
Walt’s ‘holy grail’ was to make great pictures 
The Jungle Book would be one of the last animated sequences he would make
Bill Peate was a main animator who Walt turned to greatly. He single handedly created 101 dalmations, sword in the stone and proposed The Jungle Book to Disney. 
The Sword in the stone was unsuccessful before The Jungle Book
Disney did not like the way JB was turning out. Peate then left the studio and never returned. 
Lary Clemence was then hired. His charisma and entertainment value led to a change in project. 
Bill Harris became ‘Baloo’
Towards the end of the production there was a lack in a true ending. Walt then decided to create a love story between Mowgli and a girl from the man village which did not disrupt his relationship with Baloo. 
Frank Thomas and Oliver Johnston were the main animators during the production.
The voice castings were particularly important. Many of the voices were recognisable Hollywood actors. Many of the things in the film voice actors improvised with which shaped characteristics in the characters synonymously with the actors. 
There are certain cultural links relating to the 60s. The vultures were greatly based upon The Beatles due to the popularity they had in the period. That led to northern voice actors being chosen. 
Walt was diagnosed with lung cancer towards the end of the Jungle Book production. 


Ownership, distribution and marketing 

Walt Disney was personally at the centre of most of the decision making. He was interested in all stages of production and distribution. His company had diversified in the previous decade, developing theme parks, television series and live action films. Disney’s own politics were rather conservative, right-wing and undoubtedly this affected the representations constructed within the film. The film went on to be re-released over three times in box office theatrical release. 
The Jungle Book was an enormous box office smash and easily recouped the original investment by Disney: the budget was $4 million but the Jungle Book has now made $141 million in the US alone. Walt Disney Home Entertainment released it on VHS in 1991 (and in the UK 1993) and on DVD in 2007. It was re-released several times on DVD and Blu-ray - with extras or different packaging in order to pick up new buyers. Occasionally Disney films are ‘vaulted’ meaning they are not available for purchase which pushes up the demand. Vinyl copies of the soundtrack were also released and was the first record to achieve gold status in the USA. 
Disney produced a live-action version in 1994 and an animated sequel, The Jungle Book 2. 


Regulation  

On January 1, 2019, every book, film, and song published in 1923 will fall out of copyright protection. The US Copyright Amendment Act of 1998 gave protection for works published before January 1, 1978, increasing coverage works of corporate authorship by 20 years to a total of 95 years from their publication date. Walt Disney actively lobbied for the amendment of the copyright law since 1990 and this extension of copyright delayed the entry into the public domain of the earliest Mickey Mouse movies, hence the Act’s nickname, ‘The Mickey Mouse Protection Act’. Disney's lobbying may have occurred due to prior issues when producer Mintz stole Disney's idea of 'Oswald' and most of Disney’s animators. Disney was very protective over the characters his studio created in order to continue the authenticity of his studios. The extended act allowed Disney to protect the assets from duplicates hence why the studio was lobbying for the 'Mickey Mouse Act'. The 'Mickey Mouse Protection act', effectively "froze" the advancement date of the public domain in the United States for works covered by the older fixed term copyright rules. Under this Act, works made in 1923 or afterwards that were still protected by copyright in 1998 will not enter the public domain until 2019 or later. Mickey Mouse specifically, having first appeared in 1928, will be in a public domain work in 2024 or afterward (depending on the date of the product) unless the owner of the copyright releases them into the public domain before then. 

Maintaining Audiences

Disney was highly aware of how to build and maintain audiences nationally and globally, from the shaping of the original product to appeal more to a family audience, the marketing and distribution by its own company, merchandising etc. Disney was an early master of synergy, persuading companies to tie in with their film’s release, running a character merchandising department. ‘In addition to pioneering synergy, branding and merchandising beginning in the 1930s, Walt Disney also developed the idea of synergy between media consumption and theme park visits in the 1950s. The producer of animated films used the popularity of his famous cartoon characters for a weekly show on ABC that served as an advertisement for his theme park. In turn, visiting Disneyland helped secure customers’ brand loyalty to the Disney trademark for the future. This strategy of cross-promotion... has become a basis for the Walt Disney Company’s rapid growth.’