Jungle Cat

I was a little surprised to see how low the rating for Walt Disney's Jungle Cat was. We are a little spoiled with the creation of shows like Planet Earth and the advancements in technology. In my opinion, for a film from 1959, Jungle Cat is a pretty cool documentary. In just over an hour, you are introduced to a number of different animals, and you get to observe quite a few unique situations. If you combined today's technology with the scenes that were captured in '59, I think you would have some much better viewer ratings. If you are a Disney history nerd, you've got to imagine Jungle Cat is exactly what Walt set out for in his nature films. Jungle Cat is well worth the watch (so long as you don't constantly compare it to Planet Earth).

Mainly because of diminishing returns, "Jungle Cat" was the last of Disney's "True-Life" feature length nature documentaries. Though I think another reason for that was that the makers of these movies had pretty much run out of techniques and tricks to really captivate the audience. Don't get me wrong, the documentary does educate, and some of the footage is fairly impressive. But even though the documentary is only seventy minutes in length, it often feels slow and sluggish. The movie seems to be repeating itself over and over. One reason for this may be that there is a significant lack of focus. Though the title of the documentary proclaims it is about the South American jungle cat, the movie keeps jumping back and forth from that subject to focus on other animals in the Brazilian rain forest. It might have worked slightly better had the movie given every focused animal a brief look, then jumped to another animal and not looked back. I realize I seem to be portraying this movie as being really bad. It really isn't; it could have been a lot worse. But all the same it eventually overstays its welcome.

Saw this film back in the 60's, when I was around 8/9 years old, and I was very impressed by the amazing filming of two jaguars hunting together and tackling crocodile,anteater and anaconda. Back then such footage was very rare and this film became a top favourite of mine- 10/10 . But, as an adult I now believe that it must surely have been staged and, as jaguars are such hard to film creatures, then perhaps more than two animals were filmed and lots of smart cutting and editing used. But, still... 7/10...

I give it a high rating considering that Disney was a pioneer in nature films as family entertainment. Decades before the Discovery Channel, Disney and his filmmakers were winning awards for these films. Cinematography has come a long way in the ensuing 58 years, but this film captures close ups and action shots of the wildlife without giving the viewer headaches. Just compare anything Disney did in the 40s and 50s to the entertaining 1974 nature film "Animals are Beautiful People". I loved the jokes, but I hated the headache I got from the blurred photography that simply could not keep up with the motion of the animals. Now back to the story.

The film's main focus is a spotted female jaguar living in the South American jungle who chooses a black male jaguar as a mate and produces two cubs - one being identical to dad and one identical to mom. They are portrayed as being a family unit throughout the film, probably to humanize them so people could relate, even though jaguars actually separate after mating.

To supplement the footage of the jaguars, there is a discussion of many of the animals living in this ecosystem including the otter, the capybara ( a rodent), the monkeys - who are vegetarians and live in the treetops - who tease the sloth, and the tapir, which is a favorite prey of the jaguar. It is these other animals who, though fascinating, act as filler for the story of the jungle cat. The finale of the film shows the adult male jaguar in a face off with a giant boa constrictor, and where they fight very definitely determines the outcome of the battle.

I'd recommend this one as it is still entertaining today both in its form and substance.

Absolutely love all the short films in the fascinating True Life Adventures series from Disney (seven altogether), more so than the feature films. Also really like, if not quite as much the feature length films, all but one ('White Wilderness' being the exception). 1960's 'Jungle Cat' being the last of the seven feature length films and the last of the series. This time it focuses on jaguars, very interesting animals and not talked about enough in nature documentaries inexplicably.

'Jungle Cat' is another very good entry in the series and a very good way to end the True Life Adventures series. It is not one of the series' best, but everything that is so winning about it and all the short and feature films is here. Anybody who has a fascination with jaguars should definitely see 'Jungle Cat' as documentaries on them don't come more comprehensive than this, and those not so familiar but is interested in learning them and loves nature documentaries in general should see it also.

It is not perfect, other films in the True Life Adventure series are better paced, a few sluggish stretches here and there here.

On occasion the narration overdoes it on the jokiness, a common problem with the feature films in the series but surprisingly not a problem at all in the short ones.

However, a lot is fantastic here. 'Jungle Cat' looks wonderful, the colour photography is so vivid in colour and never static. Showing the majestic scenery, both beautiful and uncompromising, in all its glory. You'd be hard pressed to find more majestic and expressive jaguars anywhere else. Really liked the music on the whole, which was a mix of grand and catchy even if it occasionally over-emphasised the humorous moments. The animals, wonderfully varied, are a mix of adorable, sinister and fun to watch.

Every one of the series' feature length films had at least one memorable sequence, in 'White Wilderness' case it was for the wrong reason but for the right reasons in the case of the other six. The jaguar and anaconda sequence in 'Jungle Cat' is unforgettable and how it was even filmed with that much impact was truly astonishing. Epic is the perfect way to sum it up. Also learnt a lot, a good deal of the information was unfamiliar to me and it was written in a way that was very informative and accessible.

The footage is so beautifully filmed, emotionally varied and so easy to be captivated by. The jaguar is so easy to identify with without feeling manipulated into doing so. The comedy on the whole is playful and good natured and the tenderness is poignant, the more violent moments like the aforementioned standout sequence are positively unflinching. Actually rarely had a problem with Winston Hibler's narration delivery throughout the series, and it is nicely delivered here.

Concluding, very good. 8/10.