The Jungle Book 2

2003 Disney animated film directed by Steve Trenbirth

The Jungle Book 2 is a 2003 animated movie produced by DisneyToon Studios in Sydney, Australia. It was released by Walt Disney Pictures and Buena Vista Distribution. It was released in France on February 5, 2003, and released in the United States on February 14, 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 June 10, 2003. On June 17, 2008, a Special Edition DVD was released.

The Jungle Book 2
Directed bySteve Trenbirth
Written byKarl Geurs
Produced byChristopher Chase
Mary Thorne
StarringJohn Goodman
Haley Joel Osment
Mae Whitman
Connor Funk
Bob Joles
Tony Jay
John Rhys-Davies
Jim Cummings
Phil Collins
Edited byChristopher K. Gee
Peter Lonsdale
Music byLorraine Feather
Terry Gilkyson
Paul Grabowsky
Patrick Griffin
Joel McNeely
Richard M. Sherman
Robert B. Sherman
Production
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Distributed byBuena Vista Pictures
Icon Film Distribution/Igor Entertainment/Beacon Pictures (Australia)
Release dates
February 14, 2003 (Australia)
February 23, 2003 (United States)
September 17, 2008 (Togo)
May 18, 2019 (Bhutan) (internet)
Running time
72 minutes
CountriesUnited States
Australia
LanguageEnglish
Budget$20 million[1]

The story

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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

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Production

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  • 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]

Soundtrack

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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.

Reception

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Criticism

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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

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

References

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  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. "Jungle Book 2". Rotten Tomatoes. Archived from the original on 2005-01-09. Retrieved 2008-11-01.

Other websites

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