There's no singing and dancing in this live action version of Kipling's famous story, meant as a prequel to the familiar Disney cartoon.

However, we have excellent performances from Jamie Williams, as the man-cub Mowgli, and a host of trained animals: Baloo the bear, Shere Khan the preying tiger and a few new ones such as a python and a monkey belonging to a tracker and a hurdy-gurdy player respectively.

In a plot where monkeys and an agent of PT Barnum try to kidnap Mowgli, there's plenty of action, with dramatic chases through the jungle, no mean feat for a small boy, though Roddy McDowall somewhat unnecessarily appears at one point as King Murphy of the Lost City of Apes.

The animals may not talk, but it's still an entertaining adventure movie for kids and adults alike.