Das Dschungelbuch 2

Jungle Book 2 is a pretty decent movie. It doesn't compare to the original but it does pay some respect to it. I gave a lot of credit to Jungle Book 2 because making a sequel to that classic movie is anything but easy.

The plot is surprisingly good and makes sense. It introduces problems to Mowgli as he misses his life in the jungle. Meanwhile Shere Khan is lurking in the jungle, looking for revenge.

I really don't think that a sequel to the masterpiece Jungle Book could of been better than this movie. In other words this movie was doomed from the start but it didn't fail.

I can't really describe what is bad about Jungle Book 2. What I can say is that it was missing key elements that made the original so great. This movie did have some good scenes and did keep me interested.

Overall I actually enjoyed this movie and my advice to future viewers is to not expect something as good as the original. The 5.2 rating is out of place for Jungle Book 2, it deserves better.

My rating: 6.9/10

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.

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

Average.

'The Jungle Book 2' doesn't come close to the film it follows, but there's enough to gain enjoyment from. The animation is satisfactory, while there are a few good voice cast additions.

John Goodman makes for a perfect Baloo. Phil Harris (1967) and Bill Murray (2016) do great in their respective films, but I think Goodman is my favourite in the role. Phil Collins is amusing as Lucky, a new character.

Other expanded/new characters, namely Shanti (Mae Whitman) and Ranjan (Connor Funk), don't add all that much though. Any scene with those two is way less interesting than the ones with Baloo, Bagheera etc.

The music is definitely the biggest gap that this has between the original production, with none of the the music standing out at all. To conclude, it's all OK but is probably a sequel that isn't needed.

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.