Jungle Book: Jon Favreau explains Easter egg in Blu-ray bonus video

For his live-action retelling of The Jungle Book, filmmaker Jon Favreau borrowed more than a page from Disney’s 1967 animated classic — he used the actual book.

In an exclusive bonus feature from the upcoming Jungle Book home video release, Favreau explains how he got his hands on the original leather-bound storybook used in the opening titles of the previous film.

“The first movie opens with the book opening up on blue velvet, you go into an illustration, and it transitions into the scene,” the director recalls. In a fitting coda, Favreau’s Jungle Book ends with the book closing, and then springing back to life as the end credits roll.

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“We had to go to Disney to shoot it,” visual effects supervisor Robert Legato says, “and only the archivist could touch that book.”

“With white gloves,” Favreau adds.

Watch the video above to learn the low-tech secret to making the book dance. The Jungle Book arrives Aug. 23 on digital HD and Aug. 30 on Blu-ray, DVD, and VOD.