Based on the classic Rudyard Kipling story Jungle Book 2 starts basically where the 1967 original left off. Having been lured into the human village by a beautiful young girl Mowgli (voiced by Haley Joel Osment) is now living the life of his people. No more bumping bananas out of a tree swingin’ with the monkeys or singing about the “bare necessities” with his old friend Baloo the bear (voiced by John Goodman). Mowgli doesn’t mind living with his own kind despite their rules and restrictions especially when he can hang out with the beautiful girl Shanti (voiced by Mae Whitman) but he still misses the wild times he had in the jungle. So does Baloo who pines for his little buddy but is told again and again by the wise panther Bagheera (voiced by Bob Joles) that Mowgli is where he belongs. Even the malevolent tiger Shere Khan (voiced by Tony Jay) would like to get his hands on the man-cub–for a little payback. Finally Mowgli is fed up with the village rules and sneaks off into the jungle with Baloo while Shanti thinks he is being abducted by a wild animal and goes off to rescue him. Egad! Now there’s two unsuspecting kids in the jungle. What to do? It’s a chase to see who gets to Mowgli first–the man-eating tiger his old pals or his new human friends and family.
Everyone associated with this sequel makes a valiant effort to re-create the indelible character voices from the original but unfortunately just miss the mark. Goodman who will forever be the lovable James P. “Sully” Sullivan from Monsters Inc. can’t quite capture the same magic the late Phil Harris had when he brought the big-hearted Baloo to life. Try and imagine someone else playing Sully. See what I mean? The same goes for attempting to top the 1967 originals Sebastian Cabot as the harried Bagheera Sterling Holloway as the villainous snake Kaa (remember “Trusssssst in Me”?) and George Sanders as the ultra-cool Shere Khan. These guys made the Kipling characters their own. Trying to imitate them in Jungle Book 2 doesn’t work. At least the sequel has enough smarts to leave out the swingin’ orangutan King Louie altogether who was voiced in the original by jazz musician Louis Prima. No one could have even touched that performance. Osment who is making a name for himself in the Disney voice-over community after doing the lead in The Country Bears does a fine job as Mowgli.
The one thing you can say about this sequel is that it tries too hard to be like its ultra-hip predecessor. When the original The Jungle Book was released in 1967 Disney had a vision of Kipling’s story as a jazzy jungle romp with great songs such as “Bare Necessities” and “I Wan’na Be Like You’ and incorporated some of the era’s coolest beatniks including Prima and Harris. Jungle Book 2 isn’t as toe-tappin’ and fans of the original may think the new musical numbers a little cheesy especially the big one in the jungle ruins with Baloo and company. It can’t hold a candle to the King Louie number from the original. Still the film doesn’t fail completely. The continuing story of Mowgli’s life is engaging as we watch him cope with his new surroundings realizing he truly can’t be a jungle boy forever.
