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After Shere Khan disrupts Mowgli’s seemingly idyllic life in the man village, he takes to the jungle with his papa bear Baloo and decides that the jungle is where he belongs.  The only problem is, Shere Khan lurks in the bush, looking for revenge…

After his time in the jungle with Baloo (John Goodman) and Bagira, Mowgli (Haley Joel Osment) was adopted by a happy couple from the man village where he lived with his new little brother Ranjan and his best friend Shanti.  But the humdrum life in the village makes Mowgli long for his friends and life at play in the jungle. 

Baloo is missing his man cub just as much and steals away against the advice of Bagira and the Colnol and his elephant troops and heads toward the village to see Mowgli.  Unfortunately he isn’t the only one hoping to get a piece of Mowgli.  Shere Khan slinks into the village at night to exact his revenge for the humiliation he received at the hands of Mowgli.  Thankfully, the villagers discover Shere Khan and chase him away before he can do any damage, but in the chaos Mowgli goes missing—escaping with Baloo. 

Shanti and Ranjan are worried about their friend and trek into the depths jungle to rescue him.  Meanwhile, Mowgli is having the time of his life, singing and dancing with his jungle family, only to run into Shanti.  Baloo scares her and she tries to run away.  Mowgli chases after her, but they run into Shere Khan who chases Mowgli into King Louie’s abandoned castle, followed by Baloo and Shanti. 

Together, Mowgli and his friends from the jungle and the village, must outsmart Shere Khan and escape from danger. 

The Jungle Book 2 is yet another fun-filled adventure from Disney and a good follow-up to the classic first Jungle Book.  With toe-tapping new musical numbers and the ones we know and love from the first film, this sequel is definitely entertaining.  The animation is perfect contemporary Disney 2-D and the characters are very well voiced. 

The theme of adoptive family is not one that is often told in animated films, but the Jungle Book stories do it justice.  Mowgli the orphan may not know exactly where he comes from, but the family and friends he’s made both in the jungle and in the village let him know that he’s home.

The film does seem to lack a bit of tension.  Shere Khan is always a threat lurking around the corners and Mowgli and Shanti don’t see eye to eye on where he belongs, but there aren’t any real new conflicts, just a continuation of the existing ones. 

While it won’t win any awards or break any technical barriers, The Jungle Book 2 is a darling, entertaining film about a boy finding his true family.  Its sure to have you and the little ones in your life singing along. 

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