The Second Jungle Book: Mowgli & Baloo

The answer to the question above is of course this outstanding movie.

I could be boasting about the great animals, trained to ... well, whatever they do in this movie. I would be bragging about how great mr Williams is in the role as Mowgli. I should proudly present to you the wonderful nature and magnificant surrounding. But I don't have to. All I have to do is to tell you to watch the movie.

Also, it's much better than it's forerunner. And that's all I had to say about that.

We picked this for family movie night this past Friday.

Afterwards, I turned to my husband and said, "I'm sure this could have been worse, but I can't imagine how." Our sons, five and nine, didn't seem to mind, but we didn't like the idea of them being exposed to such rot. This may go down in movie history as Roddy McDowell's "Trog" ; the unlamented last film that Joan Crawford made.

Bad story, badly written, poorly acted, chimpanzees _in India_, rewriting Kipling - it never stopped. I can't think of much more to say, but the system requires additional lines.

Pass it up.

I bought this movie in the $5 bin at Wal-Mart & did not know what to expect. Well, I found it charming! I have read Kipling within the last few years and cite the Jungle Books as an example of children's books that are of absorbing interest to adults, as well. I do not find that true of, say, the Harry Potter series. Kipling is a surpassing genius; he did not pander to the reader or to children. He tells a heartfelt naturally symbolic tale that is pure and powerful. As to this movie: it is a hodge-podge of Kipling's plots. But, man, is it beautiful and that little kid is so good and believable as Mowgli. Without being true to any one of the books, it seems to me perfectly true to the spirit of Kipling. The cinematography and the beautiful animals are, in themselves, worth the price of admission. I loved it!

EPIC FAIL. On every level, this god-awful piece of crap is just muddled, stupid, and unnecessary trash. The plot was incredibly cliché-ridden, boring and uncreative, the acting was as lame as possible, the direction and set direction were dreadful, and the movie was also extremely racist. The movie borrowed from various other films, and they were so noticeable it was pathetic. Once again, the storyline was unbearably painful and annoying, I felt like throwing up at the end. I could really go on for hours about just how stupid and atrocious this crap is. Also, what's with the chimpanzees? Not only were they unbearably unnecessary and aggravating, but chimps don't even live in Asia! The film weakly tried to be funny in parts - but in instead of even feeling at all motivated to laugh, I just rolled my eyes, gritted my teeth and tried not to vomit. This hopeless, abominable and insulting film is definitely one of the worst movies ever made, and please spare yourself having to sit through it. 0%

Jamie Williams, then 12 years old, stars as the man-cub Mowgli in this movie adaptation of the classic Rudyard Kipling story. He is supported by an outstanding cast of animals, such as Baloo the bear, Baghera the panther, and Shere Khan the tiger.

The story is too well know to bear repeating. But playing against Williams are characters representing the Yankee "collector" for P. T, Barnum's circus (Bill Campbell), a couple of eccentric British army officers and their wives, an Indian hurdy-gurdy player complete with trained monkey, an Indian prince who is really Mowgli's uncle, and a positively weird tracker with his trained python.

There is also an appearance by Roddy McDowall, who was himself a very famous child star (How Green Was My Valley, Kidnapped (1948)) with over 158 movie appearances in his career.

The boy-cub, his wolf brothers, and all the animals out shine and out star the adults in this movie. The animal trainers are the invisible stars, directing the animals in major roles, not just quick appearances.

Williams is exceptional in his role as Mowgli. I wonder at his stunt abilities. It must be hard to use a body double for a 12 year old boy. See him climb and leap about in trees, run with the animals, dive into rivers, and clamber around on the roof of a moving train.

And he's cute, to boot! Tanned, smooth skinned, and lithe. With a grin to light up a city. It's a joy to watch him run though the jungle swinging from tree to tree. A young Tarzan comes to mind. Maybe in a few more years when his body has filled out, Williams could replace Johnny Weismuller?

Watch this movie as an antidote to the dreadful cartoon version of the novel, with the singing bear. It is an extremely realistic portrayal of a feral boy, his jungle friends, the jungle itself, and those adults who would wish him ill. It belongs in that category of serious movies that star children, but are not just children's stories.

This story was not one of Kipling's best, in my opinion. It is rather fantastic. For his best story made into a movie, I refer you to "Captains Courageous" which was filmed in three versions.