Jungle Book (1942)

 So many celebrities were stacked up to be in the  Disney live-action remake of the 1967 animated "Jungle Book." It's weird that not so many people remember the original, live-action movie version of the Killing story from 1942. Directed by Zoltan Körda, it's so vibrant and beautiful. It must have really wowed the audiences back in the earlier says of Technicolor. The visuals of the Disney cartoon version surely borrowed from this one. It's a million times better than the mechanical 2016 CGI version. There is a lot of brownface in this movie. A product of its time in Hollywood. But the lead and the best part is Sabu, the young Indian star, who I was shocked to find is no longer the top result for Sabu on Google (that honor goes to a wrestler apparently). Sabu had a lively charm and charisma that makes him so fun to watch - not just in this but everything he was in, especially "The Thief of Baghdad," which Disney also stole freely from for its Aladdin animation and then also retreaded in charmless live action. It's hard to overstate how much better the originals are and how much more craftsmanship and originality went into these old films vs. the new cash grab versions. Anyway, Sabu was great and the old Jungle Book holds up great. Also, forget all the dumb celebrity voices in the 2016 version. Mel Blanc does voices in the 1942 one!

Lively Sabu is Mowgli in the 1942 Jungle Book.