rudyard kipling – The Animation Commendation

Sorry for the long delay! We are now at Disney’s 19th animated feature and the last one that he personally worked on before he died!

Don't hold back those tears now! — Don’t hold back those tears now!

Released in 1967, “The Jungle Book” was both a commercial and critical success. It was so good that Gregory Peck tried his hardest to get this film to be nominated for the “Best Picture” award at the Oscars! Unfortunately, the erroneous idea that animated films are “kiddie flicks” and incomparable to live-action movies was present and his efforts were shut down.

"Members of the Academy, if you grant me that nomination, that'll be the end of it. I will not look for you, I will not pursue you. But if you don't, I will look for you, I will find you, and I will kill you!" — “Members of the Academy, if you grant me that nomination, that’ll be the end of it. I will not look for you, I will not pursue you. But if you don’t, I will look for you, I will find you, and I will kill you!”

It wouldn’t be until 1991 that an animated film would get nominated for the “Best Picture” Oscar! We’ll come to that one when we get there in our project. Continue reading “Disney Canon-Forgotten/Minor Characters #19: Akela and Rama”