Aus dem Dschungel, in den Dschungel

A bit clumsy and odd but definitely not as bad as others said! Tim Allen is great at least in my opinion. Incredible scenery/ cinematography throughout which is always nice! I kinda understand the hate a little but I think Jungle 2 Jungle deserves better.

This movie is solid fun. It's typical Tim Allen, which means that if you like him you should enjoy the movie. He employs lots of quick wit, sarcasm, and slapstick self-deprivation. The son does a mostly believable job with the typical fish out of water story. He climbs out on the ledge of a Manhattan skyscraper and also climbs to the top of the statue of liberty to see the "fire up the sky's butt". The supporting cast puts in workman quality acting as well. The real mom (JoBeth Williams) is believable as a post 60's Peace Corp leftover and villain played by David Ogden Stiers (M*A*S*H) is terrific as a scary and quirky Russian mafia boss. It is a down the middle Disney pre-teen movie and fun.

I first watched this live action Disney flick shortly after it came out in video in 1997. It was around the time of my eleventh birthday, and I was very pleased with the film, enough to watch it more than once. I don't know exactly how many times I watched it, but definitely several times. Years later, after seeing that the IMDb rating for "Jungle 2 Jungle" was low, I finally watched it again, for the first time in I don't know how long, and like I expected, it no longer meant much to me.

Michael Cromwell is a commodities broker in New York. It has been years since his wife, Patricia left him, and he now has a new fiancé, but before they can marry, he must go down to the Amazon (where his first wife now lives), to make the divorce official. While there, Michael learns that he has a son, who is part of the primitive tribe that Patricia now lives with! His name is Mimi-Siku, and while Michael is stuck on the island, the boy turns thirteen, the age which he is considered a man in this tribe. Mimi is assigned by the tribe's chief to go to New York and get the fire from the Statue of Liberty, so Michael reluctantly takes his son home with him. Mimi-Siku has always lived very primitively, and has never experienced city life, so while in New York, he is bound to unintentionally cause trouble!

Watching "Jungle 2 Jungle" after my adolescent years had come and gone, I didn't find it very funny at all. I smiled a few times (mostly the parts where Richard Kempster, Michael Cromwell's co-worker, played by comedian Martin Short, throws fits) but if I ever actually laughed, it was very slight, and if I saw the gag again, I probably wouldn't laugh at all. For the most part, I kept a straight face, and found most of the movie quite simply boring. There are also some jokes that are a tad embarrassing, such as Michael Cromwell lying awake in his hammock on the island while others around him are constantly farting in their sleep, and quite a few embarrassing quotes that are supposed to be funny.

It appears that Tim Allen has starred in a lot of movies that haven't been too well received. "Jungle 2 Jungle" is one of those movies, and right now, I can understand why. Overall, this is a mediocre Disney feature in my opinion, though many consider it lower than that. After enjoying this movie when I was eleven years old, then watching it again after growing up and not thinking much of it, I would say that it's definitely for the younger folk, and for adults, there are definitely comedies of this kind (ones about someone living a primitive lifestyle somewhere in the world and coming to a city for the first time in their lives) that are much more likely to impress you.

Tim Allen made this film at the height of his fame,and this is probably one of his better films.

The story itself is pretty simple. Business man learns he has a son raised in the jungle and then has to adapt to the son living with him in the city.

Allen plays a similar sort of character to the one he did in 'The Santa Clause' and the film really plays to his strengths. Although he has tried to do more edgy films (Crazy on the outside, which was pretty poor) Allen has always produced his best work with Disney and with John Pasquin as director.

The film also features a not well explored relationship between Allen's character and his love interest but far more interesting is the chemistry between Allen and Martin Short. They play of each other so well that it makes you wonder what went so wrong when 9 years later they teamed up for 'The Santa Clause 3'.

Overall if you're looking for a good Tim Allen film then look no further.

Silly fantasy movie as usually Disney's pattern family soft comedy, in a nutshell an average presentation, unpretentious clash of cultures, a teenager boy Mimi Siku (Huntington) raised in a jungle by his mother Dr. Patricia (JoBeth Williams) who works in a small native community at Venezuela, when he knows almost accidentally his unknown father Michael (Tim Allen) a workaholic commodities seller at Wall Street, who flying there just trying get the pappers of the divorce from his mother, the boy wants to know the big apple for stay a while, that is about marry again with the fancy snobbish model Charlotte (Lolita Davidovich) that stays baffled to know his fiancé already had a grow up son.

What supposedly an easy matter to overcame becomes a true nightmare with the wildest boy raising hell with Michael's bride and friends, likes as poisoned spider, darts, arrow and others oddities, also Michael has a partner with the crazy Richard (Martin Short) which both are involved in a risky bet with tons of coffee beans, which the price is in freefall after they had lost the opportunity to sell for fair price, under pressure Richard finds a buyer, Michael realizes that such man is Russian's mobster, he wants wash the money paying in cash for the commodities, Michael advises against the sale, however is too late.

Michael even knowing about his unknown son whom his former wife hides the truth, slowing he will getting attached with the naïve boy, also Tim Allen has enough gift to make comic pictures, this one has some moments as in the hut bachelor when at night excess of gas are easy flowing, harmful and easy to watch, with breathtaking landscape at Amazon's Tepuis at plateau borderline between Venezuela and Brazil on opening scenes, let it see!!

Thanks for reading.

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First watch: 1998 / How many: 2 / Source: Cable TV-DVD / Rating: 6.5.