I had a chance to attend a test screening of Jungle Book II last Saturday morning. I have to admit that my expectations were very low... after all, this is yet another of those stupid direct-to-video sequels which they are now releasing on big screens to get some extra $.
While this movies no different, I found that it did have a heart, especially for its target audience (younger kids). I know my 5 yo DD loved the movie (we had watched the original the previous night to make sure she could follow the story). All in all, I won't say it's good, because this is no masterpiece, but I found it to be a bit more digestible than the previous sequels. The animation is a bit rough sometimes, but it is better than the saturday morning cartoons look of some of these movies.
The basic premise is that Mowgli misses life in the jungle and Baloo misses his man-cub. After an attempt by Mowgli to escape from the man-village, Baloo breaks in to get him. The only problem is that Shere-Khan also goes onto the village seeking revenge. In the mayhem that follows, Mowgli and Baloo escape to the jungle, while a couple of kids follow to "find and save" Mowgli. Along the way, all the characters from the original appear (Kaa is the best of the bunch). The only non-returning character is King Louie -I'm sure most of you know why. At one point, Baloo says King Louie "left the jungle"... The story can get a bit sugary at times.
While this movies no different, I found that it did have a heart, especially for its target audience (younger kids). I know my 5 yo DD loved the movie (we had watched the original the previous night to make sure she could follow the story). All in all, I won't say it's good, because this is no masterpiece, but I found it to be a bit more digestible than the previous sequels. The animation is a bit rough sometimes, but it is better than the saturday morning cartoons look of some of these movies.
The basic premise is that Mowgli misses life in the jungle and Baloo misses his man-cub. After an attempt by Mowgli to escape from the man-village, Baloo breaks in to get him. The only problem is that Shere-Khan also goes onto the village seeking revenge. In the mayhem that follows, Mowgli and Baloo escape to the jungle, while a couple of kids follow to "find and save" Mowgli. Along the way, all the characters from the original appear (Kaa is the best of the bunch). The only non-returning character is King Louie -I'm sure most of you know why. At one point, Baloo says King Louie "left the jungle"... The story can get a bit sugary at times.
