Words fail to describe what this series meant to me but I must tell you that nothing defines my childhood more than this series.
From what I have heard from the other reviewers on this site and elsewhere, in most of the countries the series was shown in the early hours of the day, which worked to its advantage and most of us saw it before heading off to our schools. I remember how I myself used to get up early in the morning with my younger sisters just to watch this live on television and, during each episode, we always used to be at the edge of our seats hoping that Mowgli would triumph and would fear that no one would get killed.
I remember how terrible I felt when Alexander, Mowgli's adopted wolf father, died very early in the series. It was even worse when Akela died towards the very end.
But believe me when I say this - if you like Jungle Book but have not seen this series you really do not know what you are missing! This is the ultimate Jungle Book animation series and stays true to Kipling's books. I would even go as far as to rate it a hundred times better than the version Disney tried to push at us! Sadly, this series has never gained fame the way it deserves, largely owing to licensing problems, and since it has never been properly shown in the US. But this series and its songs (in English, Hindi, Japanese and other languages) are the stuff of legends in India and in many countries across the world.
I am really disappointed that there was no sequel to the series and I am bewildered that it is not shown on television anymore, especially when it is so much better than anything else running on the channels these days. I really think it is a great disservice to the young children all over the world that this series is not being shown to them! Everything about this series (the story, the songs, the scenery) were of top quality and I would recommend this to everyone as a must watch!
From what I have heard from the other reviewers on this site and elsewhere, in most of the countries the series was shown in the early hours of the day, which worked to its advantage and most of us saw it before heading off to our schools. I remember how I myself used to get up early in the morning with my younger sisters just to watch this live on television and, during each episode, we always used to be at the edge of our seats hoping that Mowgli would triumph and would fear that no one would get killed.
I remember how terrible I felt when Alexander, Mowgli's adopted wolf father, died very early in the series. It was even worse when Akela died towards the very end.
But believe me when I say this - if you like Jungle Book but have not seen this series you really do not know what you are missing! This is the ultimate Jungle Book animation series and stays true to Kipling's books. I would even go as far as to rate it a hundred times better than the version Disney tried to push at us! Sadly, this series has never gained fame the way it deserves, largely owing to licensing problems, and since it has never been properly shown in the US. But this series and its songs (in English, Hindi, Japanese and other languages) are the stuff of legends in India and in many countries across the world.
I am really disappointed that there was no sequel to the series and I am bewildered that it is not shown on television anymore, especially when it is so much better than anything else running on the channels these days. I really think it is a great disservice to the young children all over the world that this series is not being shown to them! Everything about this series (the story, the songs, the scenery) were of top quality and I would recommend this to everyone as a must watch!