Oftentimes, a beloved childhood favorite can reveal previously undetected subtext when viewed through adult eyes. Such is the case with The Jungle Book. Disney's classic musical adventure, recently re-released on DVD in a Platinum Edition (click here for my full Toon Talk review).First of all, there are the two fey villains of the piece: Shere Khan the tiger (a clear predecessor to The Lion King's prissy Scar) and Kaa the (phallic?) python, who even has a lisp. Both of these characters have one thing in mind: to eat the "man cub". Yikes. I'll just leave it at that ...
Then there is Baloo, a freethinking bear obsessed with party beats who, when the occasion calls for it, isn't afraid to throw on a little drag. It doesn't take much to associate this Disney bear with a gay bear, especially when he and the prim and proper panther Bagheera finally get Mowgli to the "man village". Baloo has a hard time letting his "Little Britches" go, and his jealousy is pretty obvious when a flirtatious female lures the kid away; he gets over it pretty quickly, though, when he hauls "Baggy" back into the jungle to the tune of "The Bare Necessities". And that, it seems, is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.
Click here to purchase The Jungle Book
on DVD from Amazon.com.Links via Imdb.com, LaughingPlace.com and YouTube.com.
1 comment:
Thank God that I'm not the only person in the world that have the opinion that Disney's "Jungle Book" is sooo gay. I've recently watched it and when I saw the bear, the bitchy snake... Thrilling, yes.
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