More to do with the Disney version?

I gotta say I'll be the first to admit I'm no fan of the orginal Kipling novel. Never liked it's tone or content. I'm perplexed people think this movie is a faithful adaptation of the book. It's anything but. However bizaare as it may seem it's more linked with the Disney animated version than people prefer to talk about.

Here in the UK back when this was released I remember the marketing draw of this movie was that it was a live action version of the Disney 1967 cartoon. Perhaps it was promoted differently in the states as is often the case with movies. There was even a special trailer made on Disney VHS (which you can find on youtube) mixing the animated and this live action one. After all it was Disney who produced this Jason Scott Lee one.

Obviously this film is darker and more adult but there are plenty of references to tie in with the Disney animated version. King Louie was never in the book (think Kipling would name a orangutan Louie!!? lol). Yet he was in the cartoon and was named Louie because of his vocal actor, Louis Prima. They even go to the trouble in this live action one of explaining why his name is Louie. John cleese quotes The Bear Necessities. I think at one point even the soundtrack was to feature cover songs of the animated films theme songs in particular "Trust in me" by a band named Blues Traveler whose version remains unreleased.