The Jungle Book 2 (2003)

Mowgli, missing the jungle and his old friends, runs away from the man village unaware of the danger he's in by going back to the wild.

Director:

Steve Trenbirth

Writers:

Karl Geurs (screenplay), Carter Crocker (additional written material),

Stars:

John Goodman, Haley Joel Osment, Mae Whitman

1 win & 9 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
John Goodman	...	Baloo (voice)
Haley Joel Osment	...	Mowgli (voice)
Mae Whitman	...	Shanti (voice)
Connor Funk	...	Ranjan (voice)
Bob Joles	...	Bagheera (voice)
Tony Jay	...	Shere Khan (voice)
John Rhys-Davies	...	Ranjan's father (voice)
Jim Cummings	...	Kaa / Colonel Hathi / M.C. Monkey (voice)
Phil Collins	...	Lucky (voice)
Jeff Bennett	...	Additional voices (voice)
Veena Bidasha	...	Additional voices (voice)
Brian Cummings	...	Additional voices (voice)
Baron Davis	...	Additional voices (voice)
Bobby Edner	...	Additional voices (voice)
Jess Harnell	...	Additional voices (voice)

Storyline

Jungle boy Mowgli (voiced by Osment) decides to forsake civilized village life for the "bare necessities" of the wild with his old friends. However, the evil tiger Shere Khan is looking for a little payback after Mowgli's last adventure. Trouble's a-brewing!

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Plot Keywords:

jungle | village | tiger | shadow puppet | revenge | 

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Taglines:

Baloo er tilbage![Denmark]

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Genres:

Adventure | Animation | Family | Musical

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Certificate:

G

Details

Official Sites:

Disney

Country:

USA Australia

Language:

English

Release Date:

14 February 2003 (USA)

Also Known As:

Das Dschungelbuch 2

Box Office

Budget:

$20,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$943,710 (Spain) (18 April 2003)

Gross:

£8,171,735 (UK) (6 June 2003)

Company Credits

Production Co:

DisneyToon Studios, Walt Disney Animation Australia, Walt Disney Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

72 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

When Shanti goes to get water for the first time, and Mowgli and Ranjan sneak out to follow her, she seems to be humming the song that first lured Mowgli into the village in the first place: My Own Home.

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Goofs

Several times Shanti has to go to the river for water, yet, near the end of the movie, a woman can clearly be seen dipping a container of water out of what seems to be a fountain or pool in the center of the village.

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Quotes

Baloo: In case you haven't noticed, kid, I'm no wild animal. Except at parties.

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Crazy Credits

Part of the end credits cast shadows on a backdrop, similar to Mowgli's shadow-puppets in the beginning of the film.

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Connections

Referenced in Goedemorgen Nederland: Episode dated 20 February 2003 (2003)

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Soundtracks

"Jungle Rhythm"
Words and Music by Lorraine Feather and Paul Grabowsky
Performed by Haley Joel Osment, Mae Whitman, and Connor Funk
Arranged, Orchestrated and Conducted by Martin Erskine
Choral Arrangement by Doug Besterman
Chorus: Colin Davis, Jon Robert Hall, D.J. Harper, Karen Harper, Luana Jackman, Meagan Moore, Bobbi Page, and Ayana Williams

User Reviews

So this got the big-screen treatment?

Review Summary: A dull Disney effort that should have been released straight to video.

It's sounds rather strange that Disney was once the maker of all these childhood treats, yet know, it seems that they are also the makers of these nightmares. Cash-grabs that is! How do you explain JUNGLE BOOK 2? It's a movie so desperate in its attempt to cash in on the audiences of the oft-called classic original that it forget that it should have been released straight to video, not that it matters. Either way it's just bad, really bad. Kids may love it though. God help us! I should say this sequel picks up where the original left off, but I should be honest. This is nothing more than a rehash of the first film, with more gratuitous musical numbers, more annoying talking animals and even sillier slapsticks, Disney-style. Since we left Mowgli (voiced by Haley Joel Osment), he was finally at home in the "Man-village" while Baloo (voiced by John Goodman) and Bagheera (voiced by Bob Joles) are safely back in the jungle, away from the menacing Shere Khan (voiced by Tony Jay). Of course, in any sequel, no story comes to a close for long. Pretty soon, little Mowgli longs to be back in the jungle. Luckily, good ol' Baloo is missing him badly and decided to pay him a little visit. And not so luckily, Shere Khan's back with a vengeance.

The animation, despite a few bright spots, has nothing to it. It's just pedestrian. But the animation is the least of the problems. How about story? About a fresh new take on the characters? How about a wider appeal? Nothing. Just pure cornball Saturday-matinée animation for the kids. The voice cast is pretty good, but they give nothing to the picture they serve on. Goodman's good-guy voice is just getting really tiresome now. The late Tone Jay does provide a nice accent on the villainy of Shere Khan, too bad it's just regrettably forgettable.

It sure ain't worth on the big screen, but is it worth a rental? Unless it's the only family movie available other than BABY GENIUSES or the like, you might as well.

Rating: * out of 5.