The Second Jungle Book: Mowgli & Baloo

Last updated

Rudyard Kipling's The Second Jungle Book:
Mowgli & Baloo
The Second Jungle Book- Mowgli & Baloo VideoCover.jpeg
DVD cover
Directed by Dee McLachlan [lower-alpha 1]
Written by Bayard Johnson
Matthew Horton
Based on The Jungle Book
by Rudyard Kipling
Produced by Raju Patel
Mark Damon
Starring
Cinematography Adolfo Bartoli
Edited byMarcus Manton
Music by John Scott
Production
companies
Distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing
Release date
  • May 16, 1997 (1997-05-16)
Running time
90 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$346,056 [1]

Rudyard Kipling's The Second Jungle Book: Mowgli & Baloo is a 1997 American adventure film starring Jamie Williams as Mowgli, with Roddy McDowall and Billy Campbell in supporting roles. It is a live action adaptation of Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book (loosely based on The Second Jungle Book , as its title would suggest). The film was adapted for the screen by Bayard Johnson and Matthew Horton. [2] [3]

Contents

It was shot in Kandy Central Hills, Sri Lanka in July to September 1996 and features some well known Sri Lankan actors like Wijeratne Warakagoda, Sunil Hettiarachchi and Raja Sumanapala.

Plot

10-year-old Mowgli has been raised amongst a wolf pack as well as Baloo the bear and Bagheera the panther in the Jungles of India. Mowgli is the target of the notorious bandar-log (monkey people) who frequently attempt to kidnap him to teach them the ways of man. However, his greatest enemy is Shere Khan the tiger, who killed the boy's father.

Mowgli is soon spotted by an American traveler named Harrison, who wishes to take the man-cub to his circus in America. Mowgli escapes from Harrison and brings along Timo, the pet monkey of Harrison's companion named Chuchundra. Harrison enlists the help of a wealthy man named Buldeo to help him find Mowgli. Buldeo is none other than Mowlgi's paternal uncle - Mowgli is the rightful heir to his father's inheritance. For this reason, Buldeo seeks a snake charmer named Karait who owns Kaa the python, in order to kill Mowgli, pretending to use the snake to simply track the boy.

Mowgli is banished by the wolves for bringing home Timo, who is believed to be a cousin of the bandar-log. Timo is later kidnapped by the bandar-log - Baloo and Mowgli arrive at the Ancient City, the home of the bandar-log to save Timo but Baloo is trapped in the process. Harrison, Buldeo, Karait and Chuchundra successfully capture Mowlgi and bring him to their camp. At night, Shere Khan attacks the camp and Mowgli escapes when fighting him off. However, he is ambushed by Buldeo who attempts to kill him but fails thanks to Harrison's intervention. Baloo escapes from the bandar-log and rescues Mowgli. The two then return to the Ancient City and manage to save Timo whilst encountering King Murphy who wishes to make Mowgli king. The four men arrive at the Ancient City and split up to find Mowgli. Harrison attempts to help Mowgli but is injured by Buldeo who finally reveals his true intentions of wanting to murder his nephew.

Buldeo is confronted by Baloo and Bagheera who arrive to help Mowgli with the wolves. He hides in a canon which is lit by the bandar-log, being sent to the other side of the jungle where he is killed by Shere Khan. Meanwhile, Mowgli is rescued by Harrison and returns Timo to Chuchandra. Harrison offers to take Mowgli back to raise him as his own, having changed his mind about wanting the boy to be living in a circus. Mowgli instead decides to run with the wolves with Harrison and Chuchandra bidding him farewell.

Cast

Reception

The film mostly received negative reviews from critics. McDowall was nominated for Worst Supporting Actor for this film at the 1997 Stinkers Bad Movie Awards but lost to Jon Voight for Anaconda .

Notes

  1. Credited as Duncan McLachlan.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mowgli</span> Fictional character created by Rudyard Kipling

Mowgli is a fictional character and the protagonist of the Mowgli stories featured among Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book stories. He is a feral boy from the Pench area in Seoni, Madhya Pradesh, India, who originally appeared in Kipling's short story "In the Rukh" and then became the most prominent character in the collections The Jungle Book and The Second Jungle Book (1894–1895), which also featured stories about other characters.

<i>The Jungle Book</i> 1894 childrens book by Rudyard Kipling

The Jungle Book (1894) is a collection of stories by the English author Rudyard Kipling. Most of the characters are animals such as Shere Khan the tiger and Baloo the bear, though a principal character is the boy or "man-cub" Mowgli, who is raised in the jungle by wolves. Most stories are set in a forest in India; one place mentioned repeatedly is "Seeonee" (Seoni), in the central state of Madhya Pradesh.

Raksha (<i>The Jungle Book</i>) Fictional character

Raksha is a fictional character featured in Rudyard Kipling's Mowgli stories, collected in The Jungle Book and The Second Jungle Book.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Baloo</span> Fictional sloth bear

Baloo is a main fictional character featured in Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book from 1894 and The Second Jungle Book from 1895. Baloo, a sloth bear, is the strict teacher of the cubs of the Seeonee wolf pack. His most challenging pupil is the "man-cub" Mowgli. Baloo and Bagheera, a panther, save Mowgli from Shere Khan the tiger, and endeavor to teach Mowgli the Law of the Jungle in many of The Jungle Book stories.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bagheera</span> Fictional panther from Kiplings Jungle Book

Bagheera is a fictional character in Rudyard Kipling's Mowgli stories in The Jungle Book and The Second Jungle Book. He is a black panther who serves as friend, protector and mentor to the "man-cub" Mowgli. The word bagheera is Hindi for panther or leopard, although the root word bagh means any form of panthera and is nowadays mostly used to refer to the Royal Bengal tiger.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kaa</span> Fictional animal character

Kaa is a fictional character from The Jungle Book stories written by Rudyard Kipling. He is a giant snake who is 30 feet long.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shere Khan</span> Fictional tiger and main antagonist from author Rudyard Kiplings "The Jungle Book"

Shere Khan is a fictional Bengal tiger in Rudyard Kipling's Jungle Book and its adaptations, in which he is often portrayed as the main antagonist. The name roughly translates as tiger ruler, with shere being the Persian word for 'tiger' and khan being used as a title of distinction among the Turco-Mongol peoples, usually meaning chief or ruler. According to The Kipling Society, the name "show[s] that he is the chief among tigers".

<i>The Jungle Book</i> (1994 film) 1994 American film

Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book, also known as The Jungle Book, is a 1994 American adventure film co-written and directed by Stephen Sommers, produced by Edward S. Feldman and Raju Patel, from a story by Ronald Yanover and Mark Geldman. It is a live-action adaptation of the Mowgli stories from The Jungle Book (1894) and The Second Jungle Book (1895) by Rudyard Kipling. Unlike its counterparts, the animal characters in this film do not talk.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bandar-log</span> Fictional term from The Jungle Book

Bandar-log is a term used in Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book (1894) to describe the monkeys of the Seeonee jungle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mowgli's Brothers</span> 1894 short story by Rudyard Kipling

"Mowgli's Brothers" is a short story by Rudyard Kipling. Chronologically, it is the first story about Mowgli although it was written after "In the Rukh", in which Mowgli appears as an adult.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kaa's Hunting</span> Short story by Rudyard Kipling

"Kaa's Hunting" is an 1893 short story by Rudyard Kipling featuring Mowgli. Chronologically the story falls between the first and second halves of "Mowgli's Brothers", and is the second story in The Jungle Book (1894) where it is accompanied by the poem "Road Song of the Bandar-log".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hathi</span> Jungle Book character

Hathi is a fictional character created by Rudyard Kipling for the Mowgli stories collected in The Jungle Book (1894) and The Second Jungle Book (1895). Hathi is an elephant that lives in the Seeoni jungle. Kipling named him after hāthī (हाथी), the Hindi word for "elephant".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Letting in the Jungle</span> 1894 short story by Rudyard Kipling

"Letting In the Jungle" is a short story by Rudyard Kipling which continues Mowgli's adventures from "Mowgli's Brothers" and "Tiger! Tiger!". The story was written at Kipling's parents' home in Tisbury, Wiltshire, and is therefore the only Mowgli story not written in Vermont.

<i>Rudyard Kiplings Jungle Book</i> 1942 film by Zoltan Korda

Jungle Book is a 1942 independent Technicolor action-adventure film by the Korda brothers, loosely adapted from Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book (1894). The story centers on Mowgli, a feral young man who is kidnapped by villagers who are cruel to the jungle animals as they attempt to steal a dead king's cursed treasure. The film was directed by Zoltán Korda and produced by his brother Alexander, with the art direction by their younger brother Vincent. The screenplay was written by Laurence Stallings. The film stars Indian-born actor Sabu as Mowgli. Although the film is in the public domain, the master 35mm elements are with ITV Studios Global Entertainment. An official video release is currently available via The Criterion Collection.

<i>Adventures of Mowgli</i> 1967 Soviet film

Adventures of Mowgli is an animated feature-length story originally released as five animated shorts of about 20 minutes each between 1967 and 1971 in the Soviet Union. It is based on Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book. They were directed by Roman Davydov and made by Soyuzmultfilm studio. In 1973, the five films were combined into a single 96-minute feature film. The Russian DVD release of the restored footage, distributed by "Krupnyy Plan" and "Lizard", separates the animation into the original five parts.

<i>The Jungle Book</i> (1989 TV series) Italian-Japanese anime television series

The Jungle Book is an Italian-Japanese anime adaptation of Rudyard Kipling's original collection of stories, The Jungle Book. It aired in 1989, and consists of a total of 52 episodes.

<i>The Jungle Book: Mowglis Story</i> 1998 American film

The Jungle Book: Mowgli's Story is a 1998 American adventure film directed by Nick Marck, produced by Mark H. Orvitz and written by José Rivera and Jim Herzfeld. It is the third film adaptation by The Walt Disney Company of the Mowgli stories from The Jungle Book (1894) by Rudyard Kipling. It stars Brandon Baker, and features the voice work of Brian Doyle-Murray, Eartha Kitt, Clancy Brown, Peri Gilpin, and Sherman Howard.

<i>The Jungle Book</i> (2010 TV series) 3D CGI animated television series

The Jungle Book is a 3D CGI animated television series co-produced by DQ Entertainment International, MoonScoop, Ellipsanime Productions, ZDF, ZDF Enterprises, TF1 and Les Cartooneurs Associés. It is based on the Rudyard Kipling book of the same name.

<i>Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle</i> 2018 film directed by Andy Serkis

Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle is a 2018 adventure drama film directed by Andy Serkis with a screenplay by Callie Kloves, based on stories collected in All the Mowgli Stories by Rudyard Kipling. The film stars Rohan Chand, Matthew Rhys, and Freida Pinto, along with voice and motion-capture performances from Christian Bale, Cate Blanchett, Benedict Cumberbatch, Naomie Harris, and Serkis. In the film, an orphaned human boy who was raised by wolves, sets out on a journey to find a human village while evading Shere Khan.

References

  1. The Second Jungle Book: Mowgli and Baloo (1997) - Box Office Mojo
  2. "Are Films Using Names in Vain?". The Los Angeles Times . Retrieved November 22, 2010.
  3. Barnes, Mike (February 12, 2016). "Bayard Johnson, 'Tarzan and the Lost City' Screenwriter, Dies at 63". The Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved March 5, 2016.
  4. Jayasekera, Bandula (August 23, 1998). "Grover: bad man turns good". Colombo, Sri Lanka: The Sunday Times (Sri Lanka) . Retrieved April 21, 2023.