The Jungle Book 2
Year: 2003
Directed by: Steve Trenbirth
Starring: John Goodman, Haley Joel Osment, Bob Joles & Mae Whitman
Runtime: 72 mins
BBFC: U
Published: 16/05/22
Directed by: Steve Trenbirth
Starring: John Goodman, Haley Joel Osment, Bob Joles & Mae Whitman
Runtime: 72 mins
BBFC: U
Published: 16/05/22
So far in my review of the Disney Animated Sequels, all of them have been created by Walt Disney Television Animation. However, they haven’t been alone in creating these often-underwhelming films, often receiving help from DisneyToon Studios. Well the time has come for DisneyToon to step up to the plate for their first solo venture into animated sequel territory with The Jungle Book 2. Do they fare better than WDTVA usually do?
Mowgli (Haley Joel Osment) has been adopted by a family in the man village he discovered at the end of the original Jungle Book. He struggles to fit into normal human life after living in the jungle for so long, and his friend Shanti (Mae Whitman) disapproves of his animalistic behaviour. Baloo (John Goodman) misses Mowgli dearly, despite Bagheera’s (Bob Joles) best attempts to help him to move on. But when word gets out that Shere Kahan (Tony Jay) is looking to exact revenge on Mowgli, Baloo smuggles him back into the jungle in an attempt to keep him safe.
Mowgli (Haley Joel Osment) has been adopted by a family in the man village he discovered at the end of the original Jungle Book. He struggles to fit into normal human life after living in the jungle for so long, and his friend Shanti (Mae Whitman) disapproves of his animalistic behaviour. Baloo (John Goodman) misses Mowgli dearly, despite Bagheera’s (Bob Joles) best attempts to help him to move on. But when word gets out that Shere Kahan (Tony Jay) is looking to exact revenge on Mowgli, Baloo smuggles him back into the jungle in an attempt to keep him safe.
Similar to my thoughts on Lady and the Tramp II, The Jungle Book 2’s need to exist is called into question as to why it took almost forty years for a sequel to be made to the original film. That being said, similar to Lady and the Tramp II, The Jungle Book 2 isn’t a particularly bad film. Jungle Book 2’s biggest issue is that it is pretty much a remake of the first film, but this time with more characters.
I liked the messages of responsibility, finding your home, and moving on from your past, but it’s kind of ironic that those are the messages the film is trying to convey yet at every given opportunity it’ll try and rehash the past.
Visually, The Jungle Book 2 is reasonably good. It doesn’t quite reach the same highs as Return to Neverland, but it’s considerably better than the majority of the other Animated Sequels. For a low budget film you can clearly see that all of the money went into the voice cast and the animation because it looks and sounds very good. But the story and the songs do fall by the wayside slightly. The first song, ‘Jungle Rhythm’ is fine but unfortunately Joel Hayley Osmond can’t sing particularly well and it does hold it back.
The Jungle Book 2 is good enough that fans of the original film will likely get some enjoyment out of it, but not good enough that I would say it’s worth seeking out unless you’re a major Jungle Book fan. It never excels in any particular area, but it’s never outright bad either. It’s kind of the perfect middling sequel that didn’t need to exist, but it has at least had some effort put behind it.
I liked the messages of responsibility, finding your home, and moving on from your past, but it’s kind of ironic that those are the messages the film is trying to convey yet at every given opportunity it’ll try and rehash the past.
Visually, The Jungle Book 2 is reasonably good. It doesn’t quite reach the same highs as Return to Neverland, but it’s considerably better than the majority of the other Animated Sequels. For a low budget film you can clearly see that all of the money went into the voice cast and the animation because it looks and sounds very good. But the story and the songs do fall by the wayside slightly. The first song, ‘Jungle Rhythm’ is fine but unfortunately Joel Hayley Osmond can’t sing particularly well and it does hold it back.
The Jungle Book 2 is good enough that fans of the original film will likely get some enjoyment out of it, but not good enough that I would say it’s worth seeking out unless you’re a major Jungle Book fan. It never excels in any particular area, but it’s never outright bad either. It’s kind of the perfect middling sequel that didn’t need to exist, but it has at least had some effort put behind it.