We just took our two daughters (ages five and four) to their first cinema experience..The Jungle Book 2. Though it had a few scary parts (Shere Khan close ups), overall it was pleasant and didn't contain the violence that has characterized a number of other childrens videos that we've rented.
The above experience not withstanding, as I watched the film I kept thinking that this movie should not have gone to the theaters, but should have been sent straight to video. When you look at the voice talent (John Goodman, Phil Collins, Haley Joel Osment), you initially expect big gun entertainment. It is later that it dawns on you that you've paid cinema prices for a film that lasts only around 75 minutes and has a plot that is more concerned with having the original cast make almost forced appearance (look! Here is the snake! We've come across the monkeys! Are those elephant noises I hear?), rather than bringing them all back as part of a well devised plot. The film develops well in the village with Mowgli recounting his jungle life. Once the village is left, however, you feel pushed along. The most forced of the whole group are the buzzards, who go from being significant in the first film to basically showing up here and watching Lucky, the new vulture addition, ham it up. I guess Col. Hathi's wife knew better. She doesn't even appear in this one!
The weak plot aside, there was something unusual for me in returning to these characters so many years later and seeing that they have not aged a bit..only in animation! Seeing this film from the 60s brought back with updated music, was enjoyable. Perhaps that is why the buzzards weren't really needed. Audiences of the first film would have been thinking 'Ringo' during the buzzard scenes, here the Smash Mouths sing on the soundtrack. Some things just don't cross time well.
So.. as a sequel the film is weak. But it is enjoyable to watch..on video. Some sequels are a waste even in the 99 cent bin (Beethoven 3, anyone?), while others are worth the sitting (Homeward Bound 2). Disney has given us a sequel designed for a family with little kids, but its theatrical run shows a greed that does not fit well with the reputation for quality that Walt Disney was given.
ps. We watched the film here in Argentina, so it was in Spanish. Lucky is presented as a doof whose Spanish has the thickest North American accent I've ever heard. Hmmmm.

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I was pretty entertained by this sequel. What I found most impressive was the excellent voice-over work. I have gone back and checked what the deal was and found it very interesting that both the Winnie the Pooh crews (new and old) were very much involved in the Jungle Books.
Kaa the snake was my main interest, being done by the same voice over guy who now does Winnie the Pooh (Jim Cummings). Just as the original Kaa the snake, Sterling Holloway, was also the same guy who did the original Winnie voice .
The other was the Black Panther, Bageera, originally done by Mr. French of Family Affair, the great Sebastian Cabot.. now being done so well by Bob Joles who also narrates the Winnie series these days, just as Mr Cabot did in his day. Haley Joel Osment did a fantastic job of being Mowgli as well. John Goodman.. good I guess.. but the original Phil Harris just had that fluid jazz scat thing DOWN. So Baloo just isnt as cool as he used to be. No offense John, I seriously can't think of anyone who could have done better. But sometimes greatness is just great, and can't be duplicated. Nice try though.
Sure the story wasn't really all that rivoting, the animation wasn't as full or rich in color. And no King Louis, but then again.. the elephant marching army and the Beatles Buzzards were so great and are back again.
Jungle Book was a great classic, certainly my favorite of all Disney animations.. but Jungle Book 2 is certainly worth seeing for the next bunch of little guys who need that Disney fix.
I have to agree with another critic in here.. they should have spent a little more time and added a few more minutes of something. 70 minutes.. and 15 of it in shadow puppet credits.. stop short changing the Disney legacy with trying to reissue a cheaper version of the actual foundation that Disney was built on. Walt is shedding a few tears where ever he is.(actually I guess he sheds ice cubes, isn't he frozen somewhere?) Eisner, get with the program already.

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A few weeks ago, they re-released The Jungle Book on Disney DVD and I watched it after not seeing it for years and I just forgot how much I loved it. I saw that it had a sequel and I figured it might be worth a look. I watched it tonite and even though it wasn't a bad attempt, it was not really necessary to make it. The first Jungle Book ended so well and had a perfect happy ending, this was just a strange continuation on the story. They do bring back our favorite characters which I loved, like the snake, he's so cheesy, but he always cracks me up. Bagera, the panther, once again, I just love him, he tries to do right all the time, but he always gets hurt in the process. And of course Baloo is always there to bring some life and fun to the story with the simple bare necessities.
Maugli is living in the village with a new family and life. But it's not the life he's always wanted, it has work and rules. He tells the other kids about the jungle, but they don't believe on how fun it is. Baloo and Bagera are in the jungle and Baloo just misses Maugli so much and brings him back to the jungle. But they're in big trouble, Shanti and her little brother(children from Maugli's village) follow Maugli and they are all being followed by Sher Kahn who wants revenge on Maugli for making a fool out of him.
The Jungle Book 2 is a cute Disney sequel, but for those who love the original, it doesn't hold a candle up to the first Jungle Book. But for the kids and just a regular family film for the afternoon. I have to admit that there was a scene that definitely made me laugh, when the snake sees Shanti and tries to eat her, but her little brother beats him up, pretty good too, I couldn't help but laugh out loud. There are some fun moments, so it's worth a look, but I do of course prefer the first Jungle Book.
4/10

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Even though this film was made over thirty years later, it is a sequel to the 1967 Disney flick, 'The Jungle Book', the last animated feature produced by Walt Disney himself, which was released the year after he died. I watched the 1967 film from beginning to end for perhaps the first time in January this year (I definitely saw at least SOME of it in my childhood, but I'm not sure exactly how much), and was not let down, as my review of it will tell you. It's been nearly three months since then, and it's taken me this long the get around to watching and reviewing this 2003 sequel, 'The Jungle Book 2', made after so many other animated features produced by the Disney company after the man's death in 1966. I've seen several direct-to-video Disney sequels, most of which have been pretty bland, and this is a bland theatrical Disney sequel.
Mowgli now lives in the 'man village' with adoptive parents and a younger stepbrother named Ranjan. He is good friends with Shanti, the girl who lured him out of the jungle and into this village. However, he misses the jungle and his old friend, Baloo, and the friendly bear happens to be missing him. Baloo manages to make his way to the village, escaping from the elephants who try to stop him. Mowgli is obviously glad to see him, but when Shanti sees the bear, she thinks he means harm and screams for help! Baloo runs back into the jungle with Mowgli on his shoulders, and Shanti thinks her friend has been kidnapped, so she follows them. Mowgli and his bear friend are now back together, while Shanti and Ranjan search through the jungle for the boy. Unfortunately, the evil Shere Khan is also looking for the jungle boy, seeking revenge on him! Another problem for Mowgli on this adventure is that he finds himself unsure of whether he wants to live in the jungle with Baloo or in the village with Shanti and his adoptive family.
A major problem with this sequel, one it didn't take long at all for me to notice, is definitely the humour. The film starts with Mowgli in the village, and nothing here made me laugh or even smile. When we see the jungle animals in this film, it's still not funny, even with the return of such characters as Baloo, Kaa, and the vultures. Sure, we have more of their antics here, but unlike before, they're not funny. In fact, nothing in the entire film made me laugh or smile at all, even if I may have very seldom come close! Another complaint I have about this 'Jungle Book' sequel is that the Ranjan character is too noisy! I guess this is supposed to be funny as well, but it's not. Around the beginning, after Mowgli and Ranjan trick Shanti and make her fall in the water, she calls them, 'Horrible, stinky boys!' What a cheesy line! Throughout the film, I did not find myself very interested in the plot (it may copy that of the original a little too much), and I think I had trouble following the 'W-I-L-D' song because it was so uninteresting to me. There may be some mild suspense towards the end, and some parts later on may even be fairly poignant (or at least close to it), but these things are certainly not enough to make 'The Jungle Book 2' worth watching.
The first sequel to an animated Disney feature was 'The Rescuers Down Under' from 1990. That film was released in theatres, but most of the animated Disney sequels have been direct-to-video, starting with 'The Return of Jafar', the first of two sequels to 1992's 'Aladdin'. 'The Jungle Book 2' was released the year after 'Return to Never Land', which I haven't seen, but I know that it's a sequel to the 1953 Disney feature, 'Peter Pan'. Unlike most other Disney sequels, these two actually had a theatrical run, and I don't know about the 'Peter Pan' sequel (though it wouldn't surprise me if I saw that it's the same as most of them), but this 'Jungle Book' sequel is just like another direct-to-video one and probably should have been just that. As one would expect, since this sequel was made decades after the original, the animation is more advanced here, but it's so bland compared to its predecessor that I don't really care. I'm not sure whether I should be giving this a 4 or a 5 out of 10, but neither of those are high ratings. 1967's 'The Jungle Book' is good animated family entertainment for many of those who want that, but this 2003 sequel might be just for kids.

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Recipe for Jungle Book 2:
Take one classic animated movie, loved by millions the world over.
Carefully remove the plot.
Add a couple of inconsequential new characters.
Simmer gently without much loving care for very little time in a studio.
et voila!
You have the most pointless sequel I have seen in a long time. This is a shameless and charmless cash-in on the original Jungle Book. All the characters are there (with the exception of King Louie - who is absent for no explained reason) but they are there just because they were in the first film. No other reason at all.
The plot isn't. There is no plot! Some vague hokum about how Mowgli misses the jungle, and that's it. Dull, dull, dull, dull, dull!
You have to admire Disney's inattention to detail, though. For example. Mowgli, having been transplanted to the man village, has to obey all the rules of civilised society. Except, he still gets to wear his loincloth like some Tarzan wannabee. No smart man clothes for you, jungle boy! Just that raggedy old cloth! Haha! You're in the man world now, but we'll cruelly let you wear your rag to constantly remind you of the fact that you were once in a real movie with heart!
And what's with everyone in that village? They are deathly afraid of the 'jungle' and its inhabitants. So much so that they've placed convenient stepping stones across the river so that they can get to it anytime they like. Bah!
There's one new song of any note 'Jungle Rythym' which is OK, but that's it. Otherwise it's just an endless rehash of 'Bare Necessities' several times during the picture. Talk about a one-song movie.
The voices are done reasonably well, though how they roped John-Rhys Davies into this I'll never know. Mowgli (Haley Joel Osment) and Baloo (John Goodman) are particularly good.
But otherwise its just rubbish really. Little kids will enjoy it, but it's a shame Disney didn't add a few more 'adult' oriented gags into it. The only one of note was the vultures being portrayed as the Beatles. Even that wasn't funny the second time around. I can imagine parents the world over, having taken their kids to see this, dreading the little 'uns wanting to go again.
Oh, and Disney guys? Just because Lilo and Stitch was a good film, doesn't mean you have to try and sneak the two main characters into every movie from now on. Shanti and the intensely irritating Ranjan are practically clones of Lilo and Stitch, but without the charm of either.
The final insult was, after sitting through the movie and listening to far too many reprisals of 'Bare Necessities' and NOT having King Louie in it at all, the end credits played out to 'I Wannna be Like You'. Yeah, that makes tons of sense Disney. Not have a major character in the movie, then use his theme song at the end.
What a crock! Not so much of a straight-to-video production as it should have been a straight-to-the-cheap-bin-in-the-video-shop effort.

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This is one of the many sequels that Disney attempted in the new millennium, which marked the end of the Disney Renaissance era. Some of them were merely shadows of the original versions and many felt like someone had taken a straw from the originals, sucked it through and then vomited them out, leaving behind a total mess.
In this case, it's the latter. I can't even begin to count how wrong this sequel is on so many levels. The plot is riddled with clichés and is basically the same as the 1967 version, with the original characters brought back, but with not as much action or development. The new human characters are overtly annoying, especially the psychopath-in-making Ranjan, not to mention the father basically echoing the same thing almost every father in a Disney film says ('I'm very disappointed in you.' 'I shouldn't have been so hard on you.') If I had a nickel for every time someone said that, I'd be able to finance my own movie.
Another terribly written scene involves Kaa, who, after being needlessly and brutally abused every time he goes near a man-cub, meets Shere-Khan again. You would think after everything that happened during the limited time he was on screen, he would have wanted to rid the world of man cubs and tell Shere-Khan, who is bent on revenge, where to find Mowgli. But instead he lies to him, which makes absolutely no sense. Kaa had no reason whatsoever to lie to him. As I said, the writers were taking everything from the plot of the first film and put it into this one, having nothing glue together as it should.
The songs are also rubbish and highly forgetful, and John Goodman can't bring back Baloo to life as Phil Harris did. Goodman is no bear. He's a Sullivan.
Although the animation is much better, it cannot save the fate of how pointless this sequel is.

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I will have to agree with some commentators here that The Jungle Book 2 was a very big disappointment.
Disney Corp. should hire a team of movie experts and analyze the elements of the first movie and then repeat them again, with changes.
The only good part in my opinion was the new vulture played by Phil Collins, he was funny. Otherwise, the music which in version 1 was completely enchanting, and delightful is missing from version 2. Also they left out one of the best characters, King Louie, and above all, there was no plot at all. Alas! William, are there no more writers like thou?
Disney would die again if he saw this movie.

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The Jungle Book 2 is by far one of the worst sequels (whether Disney or Non-Disney) I have ever seen. It has a weak storyline, below average songs and terrible animation.
I remember when I heard that there was going to be a sequel to the Jungle Book (one of my favourite Disney films), I was extremely excited: my excitement went to waste. What makes this film even worse is how great the first Jungle Book film was. I think the same can be said for most Disney sequels (e.g. Pocahontas 2, The Hunchback of Notre Dame 2 etc).
Quite frankly, I like to imagine that this sequel does not exist.

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The original is one of my favourites, with the great songs, originality, memorable characters and its good nature. Other than the existence of the characters, this sequel fails everywhere else, so is definitely inferior in comparison. I can't believe some people thought the original was racist, I personally think someone's ethnicity should not be an issue when talking about voice work. Another problem with the sequel was that the characters, who were funny and memorable in the original, were not very likable at all, not even Baloo. Though Phil Collins makes a brief and amusing appearance as a vulture. The biggest flaw, was the plot. It seemed non-existent, and if there was one, it was very uninteresting with no heart, fun or charm at all, all of which were in the original. It also felt too much of a re-hash, a similar problem I had with Little Mermaid 2. The pace was very limp, although the film is quite short.(some sequels like King of Thieves, Enchanted Christmas and Simbas's Pride were surprisingly good despite their short durations) The voice talents try their best, but with a very bad script, and they sounded too similar to the original voices. Haley Joel Osment does his best, but his Mowgli had no personality, likewise with John Goodman as Baloo. Bagheera, Kaa and Ranjan provide some laughs, halfway through, after a very slow beginning. One of the original's highlights was George Sanders' Shere Kahn. Whilst suave and charismatic, Sanders brought a sense of menace to the character. That said, I was deeply disappointed in Tony Jay as Shere Kahn, though it isn't his fault at all; the material they gave him was very bad indeed. He was amazing as the character in Talespin, why did the script writers decide to ruin him, by making him rather empty as a villain? Jay is a truly talented voice actor, like Tim Curry, evident in Beauty and the Beast, Talespin and Hunchback of Notre Dame, but through no fault of his, Shere Kahn was nowhere near as menacing as he was in the original. The songs from the original were legendary, here they were eminently forgettable, and slowed the film down quite considerably. Bare Neccessities even managed to be very badly sung. Though on a positive note, some of the animation was average, and there was at least some attempt at humour. I don't think it is as bad as Cinderella 2, but nevertheless it is very thinly-plotted. 4/10 Bethany Cox.

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I agree with the reviewer of the DVD to this Disney sequel on the Ultimate Disney site (now more commonly known as DVDizzy): It's not on the same level as the first movie, but simultaneously it isn't that bad either and I still find it enjoyable, despite the flaws there may be. Someone mentioned that this is just a rehash of the original film. I didn't quite get what that other viewer meant or what that other reviewer was talking about at first, but I guess it is somewhat, in a few ways, but not all that much I don't think. Believe it or not, this is actually one of the few Disney sequels I was feeling to a degree. Those who think this is very bad, I can think of other movies that are much worse, such as the straight-to-VHS Bar-B-Q and I rather watch Jungle Book 2 again than that or before ever watching that again, looking back on it. To anyone who may be reading this, y'all might want to rent for yourselves or watch it online first though. I don't think I'll even bother bringing up what has already been elaborated by the other reviewers about this on here nor try to discuss what hasn't already been discussed on this. Anyway, I say it's worth giving a whirl and hopefully at least some will be on the fence with it like I am.

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Once again, new Disney reel out a sequel to a timeless classic that is not only flimsy, inconsistent rubbish, but comes dangerously close to trashing the first one beyond redemption as well.
It is understandable that the actors who voiced the original, rich characters from Kipling's timeless tale could not be recalled, seeing as the film is a good many decades old, but the change in Baloo's voice spoilt the character, making him change from a easy going, fun loving bear to one who seems to have questionable substances flowing through his dopey veins. Also, Shere Khan is not Shere Khan without Geoge Sanders purring away behind him.
As with all Disney sequels, this film contains a severely annoying character who is loud, states the obvious, has a voice that grates through your bones, and stubbornly refuses to leave the screen. It was there as the batty old housekeeper in Pocohontas 2, the parrot in 102 dalmatians, and this time, takes the from of a brattish, babbling child, who you immediately and fervently wish to stay firmly in their cot rather than tailing the main characters around with their irritating quips and songs.
Overall, a highly appalling piece of animation. Disney, LEAVE THE CLASSICS ALONE!

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A project designed simply to milk little kids parents of their money. The plot? Nothing happens !!! This is especially bad because of the quality of the first film. Straight to video instead? No, straight in the bin, where people who dream up these sort of vacuous non-entity efforts should also find themselves.

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You can say what you want about sequels, but some movies are suitable for them. That's the case of 'Jungle Book', one of my dearest childhood memories. Although the Disney's sequels have earned a bad reputation (which it's understandable, but that's another discussion for now).
SPOILER) It's ironic that they took almost 36 years to make a sequel, but the movie takes place not many days after Mowgli came to the man village (SPOILERS OVER).
The story works actually better in this movie, the script is more tight and that's makes this movie watchable and enjoying. Mowgli's emotional journey is more well portrayed in this feature and almost (mark my word; almost) every character from the first movie appears again, which is nice. The new characters are also acceptable.
But the new songs and the humor are terrible and annoying. The animation is colorful, but I don't quite understand why this movie was released on theaters, when it has almost the same quality than a directly to video/DVD feature. Maybe the directors wanted this film to reach a bigger audience? Well, that's another discussion for now.
For those who like sequels; this is a okay movie and exiting movie.

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This one is mostly for your inner little kid. If you saw the first movie, and is going to watch this one mainly to compare them, my advice is to stay at home. Really. This film is not to be taken seriously, unless taking all movies seriously is your only idea of having fun. If so, then by all means get ready to criticize and go see it at once!

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The Jungle Book 2 is one of Disney's most artificial movies in the last few decades and one of the most shameless cash-ins on a story, already more than thirty years old. The film is thin, vacant, free of substance, laughs, and fun. At a mere sixty-six minutes, minus credits, it somehow managed to get a theatrical release, and still charge you for a full length experience.
The film doesn't even try to hide the fact it is a cash-in because it repeats the same old story, with the same old song. Mowgli (now voiced by Haley Joel Osment) is now living in the Man Village with his crush Shanti, her brother Ranjan, and their parents. Despite being fond of his new home, he still misses the atmosphere and free spirit of the jungle and the friends he made there.
What does he do? After getting in trouble, Mowgli is frustrated (even though he was wrong in the first place) and runs away to search for his friends in the jungle. He runs in to good ol' Baloo the Bear (voiced by John Goodman), and they're off to have a number of adventures involving excitement in peril, or, whatever you can really do sixty-six minutes.
If you don't knock it for rehashing the old formula, you can at least say the film is dull and noneventful more than it should be. The first twenty-five minutes are nothing close to exciting, and the danger isn't as frightening as the film would like to believe. It's monotonous, dry, and utterly predictable.
When it comes to voice acting, the film vaguely redeems itself. Osment does a nice job as Mowgli, and while Goodman is welcomed as Baloo, it isn't close to the original Phil Harris voice, which was deep, insightful, and addicting. Not to mention, the colors are vibrant and welcoming, giving the false impression they are used in the efforts to create a fun and memorable experience.
The problem with films like The Jungle Book 2 is that they aren't healthy for children, and are relentlessly boring for adults. Mainly because they are sugarcoated, lack insight and whimsicality, mistake a gentle appearance for a sense of wholesomeness, and are too short to even find compelling or enjoyable. The original Jungle Book is a wonderful film, mainly because it is soft, fresh, and simple. The only thing hurting it is Disney's inability to keep a DVD of their classics out for more than a year before they are sealed back in 'The Disney Vault' only to be seen online, commanding outrageous prices. The Jungle Book 2 is nothing more than an unnecessary rehash that should've and would've been bound for an immediate DVD release had not Disney seen dollar signs in front of the film's poster.
Voiced by: Haley Joel Osment, John Goodman, Mae Whitman, Connor Funk, Bob Joles, and Tony Jay. Directed by: Steve Trenbirth.

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Review Summary: A dull Disney effort that should have been released straight to video.
It's sounds rather strange that Disney was once the maker of all these childhood treats, yet know, it seems that they are also the makers of these nightmares. Cash-grabs that is! How do you explain JUNGLE BOOK 2? It's a movie so desperate in its attempt to cash in on the audiences of the oft-called classic original that it forget that it should have been released straight to video, not that it matters. Either way it's just bad, really bad. Kids may love it though. God help us! I should say this sequel picks up where the original left off, but I should be honest. This is nothing more than a rehash of the first film, with more gratuitous musical numbers, more annoying talking animals and even sillier slapsticks, Disney-style. Since we left Mowgli (voiced by Haley Joel Osment), he was finally at home in the 'Man-village' while Baloo (voiced by John Goodman) and Bagheera (voiced by Bob Joles) are safely back in the jungle, away from the menacing Shere Khan (voiced by Tony Jay). Of course, in any sequel, no story comes to a close for long. Pretty soon, little Mowgli longs to be back in the jungle. Luckily, good ol' Baloo is missing him badly and decided to pay him a little visit. And not so luckily, Shere Khan's back with a vengeance.
The animation, despite a few bright spots, has nothing to it. It's just pedestrian. But the animation is the least of the problems. How about story? About a fresh new take on the characters? How about a wider appeal? Nothing. Just pure cornball Saturday-matinée animation for the kids. The voice cast is pretty good, but they give nothing to the picture they serve on. Goodman's good-guy voice is just getting really tiresome now. The late Tone Jay does provide a nice accent on the villainy of Shere Khan, too bad it's just regrettably forgettable.
It sure ain't worth on the big screen, but is it worth a rental? Unless it's the only family movie available other than BABY GENIUSES or the like, you might as well.
Rating: * out of 5.

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36 years since the original film (the last to be overseen by Walt Disney), a live action remake, and many spin-offs (e.g. George of the Jungle), surely they would have realised to leave it there, but no, there came this completely unnecessary sequel. Basically Mowgli (Haley Joel Osment) is now living with his own kind in the man village with that girl he fell for, Shanti (Mae Whitman), along with Ranjan (Connor Funk) and his father (John Rhys-Davies). He keeps talking about his time in the jungle (it wasn't that long, at least that we saw), and he often wishes to go back. In the jungle itself meanwhile, Baloo the Bear (John Goodman, I do like him, but he is not as good as the original Phil Harris - the first singer to voice a Disney cartoon) is wishing he'd come back. Eventually both get their wish and are reunited when Shere Khan (Tony Jay, the only one who sounds similar to the original actor) has returned to get his revenge. The rest of the film is basically some bonding, near-misses, the final battle, and a happy ending that could have been in the first film, but better it is the crap film. Also starring Bob Joles as Bagheera, Jim Cummings as Kaa, Colonel Hathi and M.C. Monkey, and Phil Collins as Lucky. The story is unoriginal, the new songs are really lame, well actually, the whole film is mega lame, it should be thrown in the sewer and never heard of again, but of course, it's there and we can't get rid of it. If you like the original film, I implore you never see this complete piece of crap sequel. Very poor!

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Okay, so I'm a HUGE fan of the original movie - it's right up there in my top 30! And yes, this one misses a lot of the originality, personality and timelessness of the original.
But putting that aside, this isn't a too bad little movie in its own terms. John Goodman and Haley Joel Osment put a lot of heart into their characters. I still can't believe Haley could pull off a musical comedy type role, where he actually sings **in character**, with a toe-tapping style and loads of charisma. Never figured the critically-acclaimed tyke had it in him.
And overall, the voice casting is pretty much on par with imitating the original. Maybe the script is a bit to contemporary and clichéd, with the action story feeling a bit ham-fisted. Shanti does feel a bit too contemporary to the story. And the resolution for Mowgli between settling down with the humans and having his animal friends in the jungle does seem a bit too pat. But at least it's fairly watchable. A bit above the cheesy TV cartoons that are mass-produced now. If only slightly.

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I saw this movie with my 1 and a half year old daughter and i must say she loved it, but fell asleep around half but i stayed watching it..The Jungle Book 2 is another great disney adventurer..Good Job!

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The surprisingly good 'Return to Neverland' suckered me into thinking that this Jungle Book sequel might be worth seeing. I was wrong. It's a real mistake to essentially copy a classic Disney movie if you're not even going to bother trying for quality. The shoddiness of the animation in JB2 was just painful, as it was so easy to compare it to the original. The characters are drawn with thick, clumsy black outlines, like Hanna-Barbera cheapos; the scene with Mowgli walking across the floor of his room to look out the window is so poorly done, it looks like a cutout figure is being pushed across on a stick. The shadow puppets Mowgli makes at the beginning are more interesting. The background is static and without any of the nuance of the first Jungle Book, where the different parts of the jungle were lovingly drawn in depth and varied colour, and the fronds and leaves even MOVED. The new characters are just weird: the Indian father looks like they've recycled Stromboli from 'Pinocchio', and just slapped a smile and a turban on him. And Disney now seems to have a habit of uglifying any character too young to look sexy; it started with the pudgy (but still likeable) Lilo, and now we've descended to the absolutely porcine Ranjan. Apart from the crude look of the movie, the plot, as other people have noted, is non-existent, and the whole film is essentially an exercise in parasitism. Get the original 'Jungle Book' and forget about this junk.

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I fail to see the point of this movie. I can't help think it's merely a cynical exercise in money making. Don't go expecting anything to happen .. at all! I gave this a 3 purely because it held my three year old's attention for thirty minutes.

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What a bad film! I took my 3 year old son to watch it (he loves the first one as do I) and was sorely dissapointed. The new songs are extremely bad, there isn't a shred of originality in the whole movie, the only good parts are the ones that were copied from the first one (like Balu and Mowgli singing the Bear Necessities). I just can't believe how bad the movie is. It's as if they took the worst writers in Disney and put them on this project, I mean not a creative second in the whole movie. The characters have no personality at all. Baghira is my favorite character from the first movie, in this one, he's just an extra. And no sign of King Louie.
I'm not a huge fan of Disney, but some of their movies really are great, like Jungle Book 1, Emperor's New Groove, Lion King. It's incredible they could release this crap and charge for it. I want my money back!

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This was by far one of the worst money making schemes I've ever witnessed. After seeing this movie, I've decided that Disney is a company out to make money. [smirk..sorry, had to put that one in there..we ALL KNOW Disney is not about making money, it's about making Michael Jackson happy..so there]. Goodman was just awful..he was far better in 'Monsters, Inc.' My 7 year old daughter liked it, which is I think why Disney put the movie in theaters instead of straight to video. The small child in the movie was awful, and looked like he needed some serious limit setting..he WAS NOT entertaining. As a parent, I think it went right along with teaching our children to runaway from our parents..we can fend for ourselves..don't listen to our parents..don't follow rules..it was a little much. I'm not buying the video/dvd. I bought 'Return to Neverland' as I think it's better written and drawn. Overall, a far better movie than this stinker..by far.

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I had the opportunity to see a preview of JB2 in a Zurich theater together with my 5 year old daughter. Having seen JB1 the first time when I was just a little bit older than my daughter is now, I was wondering what the sequel, one generation later, could add to the original mood.
To make it short: It is just as I feared. A rehash of the original motives, same characters, same songs, no surprises. Even my daughter has been slightly bored most of the time: She said there's much more happening in the first movie. It is also possible that the german dubbing didn't help matters - perhaps I will rent this film when it is out on DVD, just to see how it sounds in the original language.

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The Jungle Book 2 (2003): Dir: Steve Trenbirth / Voices: Haley Joel Osment, John Goodman, Mae Whitman, David Ogden Stiers, Phil Collins: Why did The Jungle Book need a sequel? The dreary setup has Mowgli established in his village where his guardians insist that the jungle is off limits. Of course, he misses his jungle friends especially Baloo the bear. Baloo makes several attempts to locate the boy but is always interceded by Bagheera the wise panther. Central plot has all the energy of a three-toed sloth. Mowgli and Baloo reunite and Shere Khan the tiger prowls for revenge. It all concludes on a deceiving note when Mowgli sneaks into the jungle against the will of his parents. Directing by Steve Trenbirth is fine and the animation is okay but characters are props. Baloo is voiced by John Goodman who was a hit with the song 'The Bare Necessities' but here it goes way into overkill. Mowgli is voiced by Haley Joel Osment basically goes through the same plot line as the original only this time everyone already knows who he is. Mae Whitman voices a village girl. Phil Collins voices a character named Lucky and it would seem apparent that his music career proves that luck is in the form of a superior job. Lifeless sequel that will not likely appeal to anybody, and it comes off as lazy. It is so boring that it would likely send animals into hibernation. Unfortunately the dreadful memory remains. Score: 2 / 10

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