De jungla a jungla

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.

It would be a natural assumption that since Tim Allen is the main character in this movie, and that since this movie IS supposed to be a comedy, that some of Tim Allen's lines would have at least some humorous content to them. About 90% of his lines were flat and were spoken like they were SUPPOSED to be funny, but just weren't. As for the rest of the movie, why is it that since someone is raised in the jungle, they are complete idiots? His son could speak two languages, seemed rather intelligent, and yet, he'd kill someone elses fish and eat them, steal catfood from the cat and eat it, and do other stupid things that someone with common sense wouldn't do. The things he did were more embarrasingly stupid then funny and just didn't create all that many laughs. Now if we want to look at the point of view of the movie being meaningful as far as a father/son relationship...well...ok, a big time, job oriented guy with a hot new girlfriend finds out he has a son (with his devorced wife, who is of course, really cool) and the two don't get along until then end, when they suddenly do. Like we haven't seen that story before. All in all, just not all that well done. I think the idea could have worked but it was just a poor choice of a final script. Rent if you're bored, it'll entertain you, just don't expect anything all that good.

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.

The first time I saw this movie was in the cinnima theatre. I found this film to be surprisingly enjoyable and entertaining. It was funny and stupid sometimes. The best quality this film has is its replay value. You can watch it several times and not get bored with it. Also, this movie really makes New York city look a lot friendlier than it really is (We all know New York is a hell hole). This movie is great to watch on a rainy day when you have nothing to do.

My Rating: 9 out of 10 or A-

I loved this movie as a Kid. Watching it as an adult I see its errors, but its still enteraining. The movie is very unrealistic in almost every way, but it's packed full of humor and still manages to give a good overal message in the end. It was fun seeing a wild jungle kid try to adapt to normal life. If your a big fan of Tim Allen and his humor style then he doesnt fail to entertain on this movie. Its also a great clean film that can be enjoyed by all family members.