The Jungle Book 2 (February 14, 2003)

I have not reviewed the original Jungle book, but I eventually will. All that I will say about it in this review is I am not a big fan of it. Moving on to this movie, firstly the animation looks fairly cheap. It was originally supposed to be direct to video, but Disney decided to release it in theaters instead. The voice cast is filled with top quality voice actors and they all perform their roles great. The story is where the big problems arise. It heavily contradicts the original and I am not a fan of the new characters from the village. The plot is Mowgli lives in the village now, but he is forbidden from returning to the jungle because it is too dangerous. Mowgli escapes the village so he can return to living with Baloo. However, Shere khan is still alive and he is intent on hunting down Mowgli. All that being said the villagers have no right to keep Mowgli from the forest despite its dangers. Mowgli was raised by animals, so he is the best human equipped to live there. Secondly, all children seem to be able to understand the animals, but the adults cannot. The first movie did not raise this question because there was not a focus on other human characters, but this movie does nothing to establish any ground rules on this ability. Next, the romance between Shanti and Mowgli is really forced especially since they are both so young. Moving on, Shere khan is a fine villain but I would have preferred a new villain for this sequel. Overall, The Jungle Book 2 does not live up to the original. If this went direct to video like the original plan, then I would be a bit more accepting of its flaws, but it is low quality for a theatrical release and shows little ambition, innovation, or creativity. The new songs are also not as good as the originals and they do not add to the film. Perhaps if you are a big fan of the original film you would enjoy (or at least want) to watch this sequel, but for everyone else it should be skipped.

Final Rating: 2.5/10