My Review of The Jungle Book 2 · 12:10am Jul 17th, 2021
Rating Scale:
12/10—a complete masterpiece; flawless and outstanding
11/10—Excellent, near-perfect film
10/10—the standard rating; awesome film with a couple of flaws
9/10—a wonderful film with several flaws
8/10–a great film with numerous flaws but not enough to ruin it
7/10—a fun and entertaining movie; not great but still enjoyable
6/10—a slightly above average film; it is something I might watch again
5/10—mediocre movie; not awful but not great either
4/10—a below average film; it could have been much better
3/10—a bad film; poorly written and poorly executed
2/10—a very bad movie; the few good things in the movie overshadowed by the bad things
1/10—a terrible movie; a total waste of time
0/10—a worthless piece of abomination; should have never been made
Greetings, my fellow viewers! This is yours truly back with another movie review on a Disney Friday! This evening, I will be covering the direct-to-video sequel to the first film: The Jungle Book 2. In my opinion, this movie was better than its predecessor in terms of the animation, the story, and the high stakes it contained. I enjoyed every aspect thereof, and this is something which I find quite rare for a Disney sequel film. As a matter of fact, this is one of those few Disney sequels out there that are actually good and worth watching. Plus, this film contains an excellent list of voice actors some of which I actually admire more (no disrespect to the original voice cast).
Mowgli (voiced by Haley Joel Osment) is now living in his new home, but he has a hard time adjusting to his new surroundings while also missing his jungle home so much. Thankfully, he is not alone as a girl named Shanti (voiced by Mae Whitman) tries to be a good friend and means of support to him. But even though the "man cub" is finally in his new homeland, he is still not free from danger. Shere Khan returns as the main antagonist with a fiery vengeance against Mowgli with no one stopping him. I love the fact that he is a lot more ferocious and slightly more threatening than he was in the first movie. He even roars like a real tiger too. The late Tony Jay did a wonderful job voicing him which gave him a much more intimidating personality and no-nonsense attitude. Every time I watch him in this movie, I imagine Frollo being reincarnated as a tiger to fight a duo of children and a bear instead of finding Esmerelda. lol
John Goodman was perfect for the role of Baloo as well as Jim Cummings as Kaa and Colonel Hathi. Did I also mention that I love this film's animation style? Considering this came out in 2003, it would make sense to improve the animation quality to make it more visual appealing. That was the main aspect which made this better than the first movie in my opinion, besides the plot and the high stakes.
However, it would have been a lot cooler if the animals of the jungle interacted with the humans in some way. I know, animals have a natural fear and distrust of humans, but Mowgli himself could be the means through which the inhabitants of the village and the animals can make peace with each other. I feel like it's a missed opportunity that these Jungle Book films often ignore. Maybe it's just me or my wishful thinking.
Overall, the voice acting and the story were amazing which makes the movie itself a pleasure to watch. I give this a solid 10/10, the score which the majority of other Disney sequels are unworthy of. Oh, and Lucky was the best humorous part of the movie, and he must be defended at all costs. Great job, Phil Collins!
Peace!
This movie is an undeniable guilty pleasure of mine. I didn’t think it was perfect or as great as its predecessor, but I found it to be absolutely fun and worthwhile regardless.
It’s funny, really. For me, personally, the casting of John Goodman as Baloo was one of the only elements I was critical towards. I liked that he was giving his all and was trying to capture the spirit of the overall character, but at the same time...he seemed completely miscast. As a successor to the late Phil Harris, Goodman just wasn’t right for the part. His performance also made me long for hearing Harris’s voice, which is why I can’t help but wish that they had gotten a voice actor who could impersonate Harris to a tee.
The animation quality was likewise a 50/50 venture for me. There were several aspects I was impressed by, but for a modern animated movie there also seemed to be a sense that the animators weren’t giving their all. Like they weren’t putting in enough dedication.
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In my opinion, trying to impersonate a voice actor isn't really a good factor because, to me, you have to make sure that you are giving your own take on the character's voice without carbon-copying someone else's voice. I see where you are coming from, and I can understand that totally, but while you maintain the character's personality (as one should), you have to also be yourself and learn how to give your own take on it without sounding completely cringey or off-track. But that's just me.
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That’s true. Still, I can’t help but wish they had found someone who could both mimic Harris’s voice while making the character his own instead of only the latter. Like how Jim Cummings frequently fills in for Sterling Halloway, really.
Other than that, I enjoyed the performances of the rest of the cast. The story itself also wasn’t without a sense of creative inspiration, in that there were elements of the first film that were perfect for building a sequel on and giving expansion for.
Ok, so I´m more familiar with this movie because I had this one instead of the original movie (the reason why, nobody knows). It´s a legit movie.
I personally loved Shere Khan in this movie. As you said he´s more intimidating in this movie because he´s actually bloodthirsty. In the original, I feel like he saw killing Mowgli as means to an end, but in here, it´s more personal. Plus, I love Tony Jay. I might not have grown up hearing his voice but he´s one of my favourite voice actors. His voice is so regal and deep.
Wow, your idea sounds really great! It would have wrapped the story better, but I guess it´s because they had a sequel planned but it was cancelled. But it would have been really cool to see that!
My only wish is that they had given Bagheera a more prominent role instead of just the blank of all the jokes.
Those are my thoughts!
I have a question:
Are there any aspects of the animation that you think could’ve used some polishing before the film was completed and released?
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None. It looks perfect to me.
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I was just wondering.
One issue I had was that the skin and hair colorings of some of the characters appeared to be completely different from how they looked in the first film, most notably Baloo and Kaa. I can’t help but wonder what the reason for that could be.
I know I've already expressed most of what I think of this movie, but...would you be interested in checking out my review on this film at some point? Along with my analysis of its predecessor?