“The Jungle Book” was the first movie I went to…and I do not remember seeing it.  That experience is only remembered by my mother as I was 4 years old at the time.

“Why are you writing about this?”

Technically, this is my first experience at the theater with film.  My mother’s verbal history on it is all I have to go on; and I did eventually see “The Jungle Book” later at a point in which I could recollect the story and images which will be used to make this a little better (don’t hold your breath).

According to my mother:

My mom and I went with a friend from our local church who brought their two children that were my age.  My mother’s big recollection is that her little angel (me) watched the entire film from beginning to end credits, while the other “children” (sometimes she refers to them as “monsters”) would not sit and watch it and ran up and down the aisles, asking for pop corn, soda, the bathroom, etc.

Now, whether I was a perfect child or not, I feel that the engagement of the film itself had to do with my ability to sit and watch it.

After hearing this story a number of times throughout my life, I always wanted to see “The Jungle Book” again because I was curious about those images I could not remember that would keep me so focused.  Years later when I was in elementary school and the VCR was invented, I was able to view it.

It delivered.

I have talked to a number of people that have viewed the movie and watched it when they were younger and we all agree on the best scenes: “Bear Necessities” and “I Want to be Like You”

I prefer the latter.  King Louie made me laugh, hard.  Not only was he funny, I think he had the best song/montage in the film.  So, he’s funny and I enjoyed the song.

Hearing what my mother said about how I reacted, I want to believe that I couldn’t look away from “I Want to be Like You” even if I wanted to.  This is the power that film can have on someone and I enjoy the escape that it provides.  I started at a young age, and to this day, have not gotten enough.

Next up will be a film that I do remember seeing in the theater at a very young age, and one that will ALWAYS have a special place in my heart…

Now that’s a damn tease! 😉

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