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53 reviews in total

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18 out of 21 people found the following review useful:
Pretty good stuff... too short, 14 February 2003
Author: birdlandcc from movieland

I was pretty entertained by this sequel. What I found most impressive was the excellent voice-over work. I have gone back and checked what the deal was and found it very interesting that both the Winnie the Pooh crews (new and old) were very much involved in the Jungle Books.

Kaa the snake was my main interest, being done by the same voice over guy who now does Winnie the Pooh (Jim Cummings). Just as the original Kaa the snake, Sterling Holloway, was also the same guy who did the original Winnie voice .

The other was the Black Panther, Bageera, originally done by Mr. French of Family Affair, the great Sebastian Cabot... now being done so well by Bob Joles who also narrates the Winnie series these days, just as Mr Cabot did in his day. Haley Joel Osment did a fantastic job of being Mowgli as well. John Goodman... good I guess... but the original Phil Harris just had that fluid jazz scat thing DOWN. So Baloo just isnt as cool as he used to be. No offense John, I seriously can't think of anyone who could have done better. But sometimes greatness is just great, and can't be duplicated. Nice try though.

Sure the story wasn't really all that rivoting, the animation wasn't as full or rich in color. And no King Louis, but then again... the elephant marching army and the Beatles Buzzards were so great and are back again.

Jungle Book was a great classic, certainly my favorite of all Disney animations... but Jungle Book 2 is certainly worth seeing for the next bunch of little guys who need that Disney fix.

I have to agree with another critic in here... they should have spent a little more time and added a few more minutes of something. 70 minutes... and 15 of it in shadow puppet credits... stop short changing the Disney legacy with trying to reissue a cheaper version of the actual foundation that Disney was built on. Walt is shedding a few tears where ever he is.(actually I guess he sheds ice cubes, isn't he frozen somewhere?) Eisner, get with the program already.

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12 out of 15 people found the following review useful:
I was disappointed., 17 February 2003
Author: Eduardo Sanabria from Oklahoma City

I will have to agree with some commentators here that The Jungle Book 2 was a very big disappointment.

Disney Corp. should hire a team of movie experts and analyze the elements of the first movie and then repeat them again, with changes.

The only good part in my opinion was the new vulture played by Phil Collins, he was funny. Otherwise, the music which in version 1 was completely enchanting, and delightful is missing from version 2. Also they left out one of the best characters, King Louie, and above all, there was no plot at all. Alas! William, are there no more writers like thou?

Disney would die again if he saw this movie.

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8 out of 9 people found the following review useful:
made for video...., 14 February 2003
Author: butlers-1 from Buenos Aires, Argentina

We just took our two daughters (ages five and four) to their first cinema experience...The Jungle Book 2. Though it had a few scary parts (Shere Khan close ups), overall it was pleasant and didn't contain the violence that has characterized a number of other childrens videos that we've rented.

The above experience not withstanding, as I watched the film I kept thinking that this movie should not have gone to the theaters, but should have been sent straight to video. When you look at the voice talent (John Goodman, Phil Collins, Haley Joel Osment), you initially expect big gun entertainment. It is later that it dawns on you that you've paid cinema prices for a film that lasts only around 75 minutes and has a plot that is more concerned with having the original cast make almost forced appearance (look! Here is the snake! We've come across the monkeys! Are those elephant noises I hear?), rather than bringing them all back as part of a well devised plot. The film develops well in the village with Mowgli recounting his jungle life. Once the village is left, however, you feel pushed along. The most forced of the whole group are the buzzards, who go from being significant in the first film to basically showing up here and watching Lucky, the new vulture addition, ham it up. I guess Col. Hathi's wife knew better. She doesn't even appear in this one!

The weak plot aside, there was something unusual for me in returning to these characters so many years later and seeing that they have not aged a bit....only in animation! Seeing this film from the 60s brought back with updated music, was enjoyable. Perhaps that is why the buzzards weren't really needed. Audiences of the first film would have been thinking "Ringo" during the buzzard scenes, here the Smash Mouths sing on the soundtrack. Some things just don't cross time well.

So... as a sequel the film is weak. But it is enjoyable to watch...on video. Some sequels are a waste even in the 99 cent bin (Beethoven 3, anyone?), while others are worth the sitting (Homeward Bound 2). Disney has given us a sequel designed for a family with little kids, but its theatrical run shows a greed that does not fit well with the reputation for quality that Walt Disney was given.

ps. We watched the film here in Argentina, so it was in Spanish. Lucky is presented as a doof whose Spanish has the thickest North American accent I've ever heard. Hmmmm.

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6 out of 7 people found the following review useful:
Pointless, but not too bad, 11 January 2008

Author: Kristine (kristinedrama14@msn.com) from Chicago, Illinois

A few weeks ago, they re-released The Jungle Book on Disney DVD and I watched it after not seeing it for years and I just forgot how much I loved it. I saw that it had a sequel and I figured it might be worth a look. I watched it tonite and even though it wasn't a bad attempt, it was not really necessary to make it. The first Jungle Book ended so well and had a perfect happy ending, this was just a strange continuation on the story. They do bring back our favorite characters which I loved, like the snake, he's so cheesy, but he always cracks me up. Bagera, the panther, once again, I just love him, he tries to do right all the time, but he always gets hurt in the process. And of course Baloo is always there to bring some life and fun to the story with the simple bare necessities.

Maugli is living in the village with a new family and life. But it's not the life he's always wanted, it has work and rules. He tells the other kids about the jungle, but they don't believe on how fun it is. Baloo and Bagera are in the jungle and Baloo just misses Maugli so much and brings him back to the jungle. But they're in big trouble, Shanti and her little brother(children from Maugli's village) follow Maugli and they are all being followed by Sher Kahn who wants revenge on Maugli for making a fool out of him.

The Jungle Book 2 is a cute Disney sequel, but for those who love the original, it doesn't hold a candle up to the first Jungle Book. But for the kids and just a regular family film for the afternoon. I have to admit that there was a scene that definitely made me laugh, when the snake sees Shanti and tries to eat her, but her little brother beats him up, pretty good too, I couldn't help but laugh out loud. There are some fun moments, so it's worth a look, but I do of course prefer the first Jungle Book.

4/10

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4 out of 6 people found the following review useful:
Return to the Indian jungle, 9 September 2007

Author: theclimbdestroyedmylife from Norway

You can say what you want about sequels, but some movies are suitable for them. That's the case of "Jungle Book", one of my dearest childhood memories. Although the Disney's sequels have earned a bad reputation (which it's understandable, but that's another discussion for now).

SPOILER) It's ironic that they took almost 36 years to make a sequel, but the movie takes place not many days after Mowgli came to the man village (SPOILERS OVER).

The story works actually better in this movie, the script is more tight and that's makes this movie watchable and enjoying. Mowgli's emotional journey is more well portrayed in this feature and almost (mark my word; almost) every character from the first movie appears again, which is nice. The new characters are also acceptable.

But the new songs and the humor are terrible and annoying. The animation is colorful, but I don't quite understand why this movie was released on theaters, when it has almost the same quality than a directly to video/DVD feature. Maybe the directors wanted this film to reach a bigger audience? Well, that's another discussion for now.

For those who like sequels; this is a okay movie and exiting movie.

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8 out of 14 people found the following review useful:
Utter, utter, utter rubbish!, 10 June 2003

Author: Rob Taylor (Rob_Taylor) from London

Recipe for Jungle Book 2:

Take one classic animated movie, loved by millions the world over.

Carefully remove the plot.

Add a couple of inconsequential new characters.

Simmer gently without much loving care for very little time in a studio.

et voila!

You have the most pointless sequel I have seen in a long time. This is a shameless and charmless cash-in on the original Jungle Book. All the characters are there (with the exception of King Louie - who is absent for no explained reason) but they are there just because they were in the first film. No other reason at all.

The plot isn't. There is no plot! Some vague hokum about how Mowgli misses the jungle, and that's it. Dull, dull, dull, dull, dull!

You have to admire Disney's inattention to detail, though. For example. Mowgli, having been transplanted to the man village, has to obey all the rules of civilised society. Except, he still gets to wear his loincloth like some Tarzan wannabee. No smart man clothes for you, jungle boy! Just that raggedy old cloth! Haha! You're in the man world now, but we'll cruelly let you wear your rag to constantly remind you of the fact that you were once in a real movie with heart!

And what's with everyone in that village? They are deathly afraid of the "jungle" and its inhabitants. So much so that they've placed convenient stepping stones across the river so that they can get to it anytime they like. Bah!

There's one new song of any note "Jungle Rythym" which is OK, but that's it. Otherwise it's just an endless rehash of "Bare Necessities" several times during the picture. Talk about a one-song movie.

The voices are done reasonably well, though how they roped John-Rhys Davies into this I'll never know. Mowgli (Haley Joel Osment) and Baloo (John Goodman) are particularly good.

But otherwise its just rubbish really. Little kids will enjoy it, but it's a shame Disney didn't add a few more "adult" oriented gags into it. The only one of note was the vultures being portrayed as the Beatles. Even that wasn't funny the second time around. I can imagine parents the world over, having taken their kids to see this, dreading the little 'uns wanting to go again.

Oh, and Disney guys? Just because Lilo and Stitch was a good film, doesn't mean you have to try and sneak the two main characters into every movie from now on. Shanti and the intensely irritating Ranjan are practically clones of Lilo and Stitch, but without the charm of either.

The final insult was, after sitting through the movie and listening to far too many reprisals of "Bare Necessities" and NOT having King Louie in it at all, the end credits played out to "I Wannna be Like You". Yeah, that makes tons of sense Disney. Not have a major character in the movie, then use his theme song at the end.

What a crock! Not so much of a straight-to-video production as it should have been a straight-to-the-cheap-bin-in-the-video-shop effort.

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2 out of 3 people found the following review useful:
So this got the big-screen treatment?, 4 April 2009

Author: vip_ebriega from Philippines

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.

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The simple bare necessities of scam, 2 March 2012

Author: Steve Pulaski from United States

The Jungle Book 2 is one of Disney's most artificial movies in the last few decades and one of the most shameless cash-ins on a story, already more than thirty years old. The film is thin, vacant, free of substance, laughs, and fun. At a mere sixty-six minutes, minus credits, it somehow managed to get a theatrical release, and still charge you for a full length experience.

The film doesn't even try to hide the fact it is a cash-in because it repeats the same old story, with the same old song. Mowgli (now voiced by Haley Joel Osment) is now living in the Man Village with his crush Shanti, her brother Ranjan, and their parents. Despite being fond of his new home, he still misses the atmosphere and free spirit of the jungle and the friends he made there.

What does he do? After getting in trouble, Mowgli is frustrated (even though he was wrong in the first place) and runs away to search for his friends in the jungle. He runs in to good ol' Baloo the Bear (voiced by John Goodman), and they're off to have a number of adventures involving excitement in peril, or, whatever you can really do sixty-six minutes.

If you don't knock it for rehashing the old formula, you can at least say the film is dull and noneventful more than it should be. The first twenty-five minutes are nothing close to exciting, and the danger isn't as frightening as the film would like to believe. It's monotonous, dry, and utterly predictable.

When it comes to voice acting, the film vaguely redeems itself. Osment does a nice job as Mowgli, and while Goodman is welcomed as Baloo, it isn't close to the original Phil Harris voice, which was deep, insightful, and addicting. Not to mention, the colors are vibrant and welcoming, giving the false impression they are used in the efforts to create a fun and memorable experience.

The problem with films like The Jungle Book 2 is that they aren't healthy for children, and are relentlessly boring for adults. Mainly because they are sugarcoated, lack insight and whimsicality, mistake a gentle appearance for a sense of wholesomeness, and are too short to even find compelling or enjoyable. The original Jungle Book is a wonderful film, mainly because it is soft, fresh, and simple. The only thing hurting it is Disney's inability to keep a DVD of their classics out for more than a year before they are sealed back in "The Disney Vault" only to be seen online, commanding outrageous prices. The Jungle Book 2 is nothing more than an unnecessary rehash that should've and would've been bound for an immediate DVD release had not Disney seen dollar signs in front of the film's poster.

Voiced by: Haley Joel Osment, John Goodman, Mae Whitman, Connor Funk, Bob Joles, and Tony Jay. Directed by: Steve Trenbirth.

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Not On Par With The Original, But Not Too Out Of League., 13 August 2011

Author: Dawalk-1 from Hialeah, Florida

I agree with the reviewer of the DVD to this Disney sequel on the Ultimate Disney site (now more commonly known as DVDizzy): It's not on the same level as the first movie, but simultaneously it isn't that bad either and I still find it enjoyable, despite the flaws there may be. Someone mentioned that this is just a rehash of the original film. I didn't quite get what that other viewer meant or what that other reviewer was talking about at first, but I guess it is somewhat, in a few ways, but not all that much I don't think. Believe it or not, this is actually one of the few Disney sequels I was feeling to a degree. Those who think this is very bad, I can think of other movies that are much worse, such as the straight-to-VHS Bar-B-Q and I rather watch Jungle Book 2 again than that or before ever watching that again, looking back on it. To anyone who may be reading this, y'all might want to rent for yourselves or watch it online first though. I don't think I'll even bother bringing up what has already been elaborated by the other reviewers about this on here nor try to discuss what hasn't already been discussed on this. Anyway, I say it's worth giving a whirl and hopefully at least some will be on the fence with it like I am.

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mildly entertaining, 11 April 2010

Author: disdressed12 from Canada

this sequel pales in comparison to the classic and much loved original.the story(such as it is)is pretty lame,and doesn't really have a point,and most of the songs are lacklustre.still,the movie was mildly amusing and had a few funny moments.since it was released about thirty six years after the original,some of the original characters from the the first movie did not have the same voice talents,which is a shame.anyway,in my opinion,they should have just stuck with the original classic,instead of releasing a lacklustre sequel.though,to be fair,this sequel is not as bad as many of the direct to video sequels that Disney has and will continue to churn out.so i guess that's something.then again,this one should not have been released theatrically either.for me,The Jungle Book 2 is a 5/10

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