The Jungle Book 2


The Jungle Book 2 is a 2003 animated movie produced by DisneyToon Studios. It was released by Walt Disney Pictures and Buena Vista Distribution on May 5, 2003. It is the sequel to Walt Disney's 1967 movie The Jungle Book. Haley Joel Osment did the voice of Mowgli, and John Goodman did the voice of Baloo. The movie was going to be a direct-to-video movie, but it was released in theaters first. The movie is not based on The Second Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling (published in 1895). However, they do have some of the same characters. When released, the movie was criticised mainly for its bad animation and a story similar to the original movie. Disney released the VHS and DVD versions on July 4, 2004. On June 17, 2009 a Special Edition DVD was released.

The Jungle Book 2
Directed bySteve Trenbirth
Produced byChristopher Chase
Mary Thorne
Written byKarl Geurs
StarringJohn Goodman
Haley Joel Osment
Mae Whitman
Connor Funk
Bob Joles
Tony Jay
John Rhys-Davies
Jim Cummings
Phil Collins
Music byLorraine Feather
Terry Gilkyson
Paul Grabowsky
Patrick Griffin
Joel McNeely
Richard M. Sherman
Robert B. Sherman
Edited byChristopher K. Gee
Peter Lonsdale
Production
company
Distributed byBuena Vista Pictures
Icon Film Distribution/Igor Entertainment/Beacon Pictures (Australia)
Release date
May 5, 2003
Running time
72 minutes
CountryUnited States
Australia
LanguageEnglish
Budget$20 million[1]

The story

Mowgli feels unwelcome and out of place in the human village where he now lives. When Baloo arrives for a visit, Mowgli leaves with him to go back to the jungle. However, his friend Shanti thinks he was kidnapped. She follows him into the jungle. Shere Khan is still hunting for Mowgli, which puts him, as well as Shanti and Baloo, in danger. Mowgli must decide whether he wants to live in the jungle with Baloo, or stay in the village with Shanti.

Voice Cast

Additinal voices were provided by an uncredited J. Grant Albrecht, and various voice actors: Bob Bergen, Corey Burton, Cam Clarke, Jennifer Darling, Darin De Paul, Debi Derryberry, Paul Eiding, John Fiedler, Nicholas Guest, Jess Harnell, Denis Leary, Jay Leno, Sherry Lynn, Tress MacNeille, Danny Mann, Mona Marshall, Mickie McGowan, Laraine Newman, Ryan O'Donohue, Patrick Pinney, Phil Proctor, Philece Sampler, Kath Soucie, Tara Strong, Clive Swift, Frank Welker and Mae Whitman. ADR loop group voices were provided by W.K. Stratton, David Cowgill, Aareale Davis, Jay Dogra, Moosie Drier, Cedric the Entertainer, Jackie Gonneau, Nicholas Guest, Bridget Hoffman, Mark Myers, Jonathan Osser, Melissa Osser, Kane Ritchotte, Dina Sherman, Aaron Spann, Melanie Spore, Doug Stone, Shaheen Vaaz and Wajid.

Production

  • John Goodman recorded his voice work in New 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 movie. However, he makes a cameo in the prologue of the movie and is briefly mentioned in the middle of the movie.
  • The decision was made to keep Shere Khan in shadow during the beginning of the movie to "reflect his 'wounded pride'".[2]

Characters

Returning from the first movie

New in this movie

Additional voices provided by Jeff Bennett, Baron Davis, Jess Harnell, Devika Parikh, Veena Bidasha, Brian Cummings, and an uncredited J. Grant Albrecht.

Animals featured

  • Human (Mowgli, Shanti, Ranjan, Ranjan's Father, Messua, Nathoo & Other Villagers)
  • Sloth Bear (Baloo)
  • Black panther (Bagheera)
  • Tiger (Shere Khan)
  • Indian Python (Kaa)
  • Asian Elephant (Colonel Hathi, Hathi Jr. & Elephant Patrol; Some seen in King Louie's former palace)
  • Indian vulture (Buzzie, Flaps, Dizzie, Ziggy & Lucky)
  • Baboon (Flunkey)
  • American bison (Seen in King Louie’s former palace)
  • Indian Rhinoceros (Seen in King Louie's former palace)
  • Parakeet (Seen in King Louie's former palace)
  • Ankylosaurus (Seen in King Louie’s former palace)
  • Moose (Seen in King Louie’s former palace)
  • Hippopotamus (Seen in King Louie's former palace)
  • Indian mongoose (Seen in King Louie's former palace)
  • Ocelot (Seen in King Louie's former palace)
  • Water rat (Seen in King Louie's former palace)
  • Insect (Seen in King Louie's former palace)
  • Llama (Seen in King Louie’s former palace)
  • Earthworm (Seen in King Louie's former palace)
  • Triceratops (Seen in King Louie’s former palace)
  • Crane (Seen in King Louie's former palace)
  • Bull (Seen in King Louie’s former palace)
  • Cuckoo (Seen in King Louie's former palace)
  • Kookaburra (Seen in King Louie's former palace)
  • Zebra (Seen in King Louie’s former palace)
  • Apatosaurus (Seen in King Louie’s former palace)
  • Flamingo (Seen in King Louie’s former palace)
  • Gazelle (Seen in King Louie's former palace)
  • Hyena (Seen in King Louie’s former palace)
  • Langur (The Bandar-log)
  • Owl (Seen by Shanti in the jungle and King Louie’s former palace)
  • Wildebeest (Seen in King Louie’s former palace)
  • Vampire bat (Seen attacking Shanti and King Louie’s former palace)
  • Macaque (Seen in King Louie's former palace)
  • Lemur (Seen in King Louie’s former palace)
  • Honey badger (Seen in King Louie’s former palace)
  • Meerkat (Seen in King Louie's former palace)
  • Warthog (Seen in King Louie's former palace)
  • Alligator (Seen in King Louie’s former palace)
  • Camel (Seen in King Louie’s former palace)
  • Kangaroo (Seen in King Louie’s former palace)
  • Giraffe (Seen in King Louie’s former palace)
  • Dinosaurs (Seen in King Louie’s former palace)
  • Penguin (Seen in King Louie’s former palace)
  • Oryx (Seen in King Louie’s former palace)
  • Lion (Seen in King Louie’s former palace)
  • Ostrich (Seen in King Louie’s former)
  • Water Buffalo (Seen in King Louie’s former palace)
  • Rabbit (Seen in King Louie’s former palace)
  • Impala (Seen in King Louie’s former palace)
  • Beaver (Seen in King Louie’s former palace)

Hidden Appearances

  • During one of attempts at the classic musical number "The Bear Necessities" from the first movie, 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, Pumbaa can briefly be seen dancing until Baloo bounces them off with his backside.

Soundtrack

The band Smash Mouth recorded a cover of the Sherman Brothers song, "I Wanna Be Like You" (originally from the 1967 musical movie), which is featured on this movie's soundtrack.

Trivia

  • This is the second Disney sequel to take place right after the ending of the first movie since The Lion King II: Simba's Pride, which took place right after the ending of the original.
  • Kaa is the second character to originally be played by Sterling Holloway and then taken over by Jim Cummings, the first being Winnie-the-Pooh.

Reception

Criticism

Many people thought that The Jungle Book 2 was too much like the original 1967 classic. Many people thought it should have gone direct-to-video like what it was originally made for. On Rotten Tomatoes, the general opinion is "This inferior rehash of The Jungle Book should have gone straight to video." Based on 86 reviews, the movie has a "rotten" 19%, with an average score of 4.4.[3] In the "cream of the crop" division, the movie has a 17% with an average score of 4.1.[4] In the RT Community, it has a 30%, with an average score of 3.7.[5]

Box office

The movie has made a total domestic gross of $47,901,582.[1]

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 "The Jungle Book 2 (2003) - Box Office Mojo". www.boxofficemojo.com.
  2. Tracy, Joe. "A Look at The Jungle Book 2". Digital Media FX. Retrieved 2008-09-11.
  3. "The Jungle Book 2 (2003)" – via www.rottentomatoes.com.
  4. "The Jungle Book 2 (2003)" – via www.rottentomatoes.com.
  5. "The Jungle Book 2". Rotten Tomatoes. Archived from the original on 2005-01-09. Retrieved 2008-11-01.

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