The Jungle Book 2 is a 2003 animated film produced by the Australian office at DisneyToon Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures and Buena Vista Distribution. The theatrical version of the film was released in France on February 5, 2003, and released in the United States on February 14, 2003. The film is a sequel to Walt Disney's 1967 film The Jungle Book, and stars Haley Joel Osment as the voice of Mowgli and John Goodman as the voice of Baloo. The film was originally produced as a direct-to-video film, but was released theatrically first, similar to the Peter Pan sequel Return to Never Land. It is the third animated Disney sequel to have a theatrical release rather than going direct-to-video after The Rescuers Down Under in 1990 and Return to Never Land in 2002. The film is not based on The Second Jungle Book. However, they do have several characters in common. The film received negative reviews directed towards the animation and similarity in plotline to the first film. However, it was a box office success, grossing $135.7 million against a $20 million budget.
Plot
Mowgli lives in the "Man-Village" with the girl who lured him in, Shanti, his adopted brother Ranjan, and Ranjan's parents. However, Mowgli wants to return to the chaotic adventures of the jungle, and after nearly leading the other children in the village into the jungle, is punished by his adopted father for putting them in danger. Meanwhile, in the jungle, Shere Khan has returned to Baloo and Bagheera's part of the jungle, seeking revenge on Mowgli for humiliating him. Baloo enters the Man-Village and persuades Mowgli to come back into the jungle; however, unbeknownst to them, Shere Khan has followed Baloo into the village, only to be chased off by the villagers. In the ensuing battle, Shanti and Ranjan sneak into the jungle to rescue Mowgli, believing that Baloo is a rabid animal who has kidnapped him. Bagheera learns of Mowgli's escape from the village when the humans search the jungle for him, and immediately accuses Baloo. Mowgli instructs Baloo to scare off Shanti should she appear, and bemoans about his minutiae life in the Man-Village. Baloo and Mowgli journey to King Louie's old temple, for a party. However, when the animals of the jungle mock Shanti and other aspects of Mowgli's life in the Man-Village, Mowgli angrily leaves. He finds Shanti and Ranjan, but Baloo scares Shanti. When the truth comes out that Mowgli ordered Baloo to scare her, Shanti and Ranjan run away, abandoning Mowgli. Baloo realizes that Mowgli misses his old life, but when Mowgli tries to make amends with his human friends, they are cornered by Shere Khan. The tiger chases Mowgli and Shanti to an abandoned temple built above a lake of lava. Baloo instructs Bagheera to protect Ranjan while he goes to save Mowgli and Shanti. After confusing Shere Khan by banging several different gongs, Shanti's presence is revealed to Shere Khan. Baloo tackles Shere Khan to the ground, allowing Mowgli and Shanti enough time to escape, but the tiger chases them to a statue across a pit of lava. Shere Khan is trapped within the statue's mouth, and it plummets onto a large stone that resides in the lava below. With his nemesis finally defeated, Mowgli returns to the Man-Village with Shanti and Ranjan. Ranjan's father apologises to Mowgli for failing to understand that the jungle was part of who he was. The children return to visit Baloo and Bagheera in the jungle on a daily basis.
Voice cast
Haley Joel Osment as Mowgli, a young boy raised in the jungle, who wants to return there. He was voiced by Bruce Reitherman in the original film, who in turn replaced David Bailey.
John Goodman as Baloo, a lazy-yet-good-hearted bear and Mowgli's best friend. He was voiced by Phil Harris in the original film.
Mae Whitman as Shanti, a young girl who is Mowgli's love interest. Darleen Carr provided her singing voice at the end of the original film, and she was also unnamed.
Bob Joles as Bagheera, a panther and Mowgli's friend, who is determined to stop Baloo from getting Mowgli out of his village. He was voiced by Sebastian Cabot in the original film.
Tony Jay as Shere Khan, a man-eating tiger who wants revenge on Mowgli. He was voiced by George Sanders in the original film. Jay reprises his role from the TV seriesTaleSpin.
Phil Collins as Lucky, a dim-witted vulture who mocks Shere Khan.
Jim Cummings as Kaa / Colonel Hathi / M.C. Monkey. In the original film, Kaa was voiced by Sterling Holloway, Hathi was voiced by J. Pat O'Malley and M.C. Monkey was voiced by Leo De Lyon and known as Flunkey. Cummings reprises his role as Kaa from the TV series, Jungle Cubs.
Additional voices provided by Jeff Bennett, Baron Davis, Jess Harnell, Devika Parikh, Veena Bidasha, Brian Cummings, and an uncredited J. Grant Albrecht. ;Hidden appearances
During one attempt at the classic song The Bear Necessities from the first film, two prickly pears land on and stick to Kaa's head, making him look like Mickey Mouse. This is an example of a Hidden Mickey.
During "W-I-L-D", Timon and Pumbaa can briefly be seen dancing until Baloo bounces them off with his backside.
In the 1990s, screenwriting duo Bob Hilgenberg and Rob Muir submitted a Jungle Book 2 screenplay in which Baloo ventured to save his romantic interest from a poacher. Disney ultimately went in a different direction for the sequel. John Goodman recorded his voice work inNew Orleans while Haley Joel Osment recorded his in California. Due to a legal dispute, the character of King Louie from the original Jungle Book could not be included in this film. However, he makes a non-physical appearance as a shadow puppet in the beginning of the film and is briefly mentioned in the middle of the film. The decision was made to keep Shere Khan in shadow during the beginning of the film to "reflect his 'wounded pride'".
Release
Critical reception
The Jungle Book 2 received generally negative reviews from critics. On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film received an approval rating of 19% based on 91 reviews, with an average rating of 4.4/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "This inferior rehash of The Jungle Book should have gone straight to video". On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 38 out of 100 based on 24 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews".
Box office
The film was released on February 14, 2003 and opened at #4 in its 4-day opening weekend with $14,109,797. At the end of its run, the film grossed $47,901,582 in the United States and $87,802,017 in foreign countries totaling $135,703,599 worldwide. It could be considered a box office success, based on its $20 million budget.
Home media
The Jungle Book 2 was released on both VHS and DVD on June 10, 2003. The bonus features included the behind-the-scenes, some music videos, "W-I-L-D", "I Wan'na Be like You" and "Jungle Rhythm", and deleted scenes. It was re-released again on June 17, 2008 on "Special Edition" DVD. In the United States, the 2008 DVD release sold 126,593 units and grossed in two weeks. The film was released on Blu-ray on March 18, 2014, following its predecessor's first HD Blu-ray release.
