Rating: Summary: Disney Makes Excellent Movies!! Review: (...) When I watch this movie in my basement, it's great, and I also put subtitles on the screen. This movie is kind of reminds me of the Harry Potter series, because when Mowgli was a baby, he was orphan, just like Harry Potter is orphan since he was a baby. (...) You should rent or buy this movie and watch it!
Rating: Summary: Kids will dig it, Adults will hate it Review: A die-hard Disney fan, I grew up with the original Jungle Book. The music, the voices, and the animation entrenched themselves so deeply into my psyche that no sequel could have done the original justice. The producers of this one must have understood that there are many like myself. So instead of tackling the challenge of producing a film to rival Walt's original masterpiece, Disney took the easy road. The result is no more than a delightly animated saturday morning kids cartoon that will keep a kid busy for an hour but will leave their parents rather frustrated. If you're looking for a tribute to- or even a continuation of- the original Jungle Book, you won't find it in this film.First let me tell you what I liked about the movie: The animation is great! In this aspect (and this aspect only) the producers have replicated and improved on the animation of the first. The jungle is enchanting as ever, the leaves greener. Also brilliant is the voice of Jim Cummings as Kaa and Col. Hathi. Non voice-buffs will never be able to tell the difference between Cummings and the legendary Sterling Holloway of the original. I have never seen a voice duplicated so well. Cummings himself has cut himself out to be a modern Disney classic. But other than those two things, JB2, however nicely animated, is a case of misguided nostalgia. Either the writers have never seen the original JB, or they have completely ignored its story. While my 2-yr-old is bedazzled by the dancing animals, I scratch my head as the list of inconsistancies gets longer and longer. We are told by one of the producers in a bonus feature on the DVD that JB2 takes place just 5 days after the original ends. How then, after living 8 years in the jungle with animals, has Mowgli completely adapted to human life? I mean, they could have cut out 2 minutes of the dancing animals and explained to me how Mowgli learned the man language just 5 days after meeting a human for the first time. Keep in mind also that Mowgli would have known Baloo for a measely couple days- yet in risking his life to re-enter the jungle, he has no desire whatsoever to revisit the pack of wolves that protected and raised him in the jungle for 8 years. Also frustrating is the utter lack of musical creativity. I counted 2 original songs here- Osment's butchering of the lackluster "Jungle Rhythm," and the song the animals dance to at King Louie's (who, mysteriously, doesn't bother to make an appearance in this sequel). You'd think that in the 36 years that separate these films, the folks at Disney might be able to come up with some decent music. Nah, Disney's musical genius has been lagging behind for several years now, and JB2 is living proof. My last beef with this movie- John Goodman as Baloo. Ok, I know he did a great job as Sully on Monsters, Inc., but he doesn't hold a candle to the brilliance of Phil Harris. Not that anybody could, but you think with their pool of talent they could at least come close. Goodman has talent, yes. Unfortunately it's not in cartoon voicing or singing. Goodman seems lost with Baloo; the character completely eludes him. This could be because he was the wrong voice for the character. Ed Gilbert, who voiced Baloo in the "Tail Spin" cartoon, could have done a whole lot better. Bottom line: Rent it for your kid, but be ready to cringe. Another awful Disney sequel.
Rating: Summary: 'Jungle Book 2' DVD (Walt Disney Studios) Review: Can the Walt Disney people still assemble a good animated movie or what?I've just recently even become aware of this sequel to the 1967(was it?)original.Well,THAT movie will always have a special place in my heart as I remember seeing it when it first came out when I was,like ten.The 'Jungle Book 2',I thought had a real good storyline and production.Most of the beloved jungle characters return here,like Baloo,Bagheera,Kaa,Sonny(the baby elephant),Shere Khan and the two vultures(did they even have names?).The animation is(as always,of course)top rate.My two favorite scenes were where Mowgli and Baloo step over to King Louie's temple to join everyone else for a memorable dance number while there were animals strutting their stuff on EVERY square inch of the temple's foundation and the dramatic/eerie scene where Mowgli,the girl and Baloo try to draw Shere Khan away by secretly banging on the temple's ancient gongs and the tiger ends up being trapped...(you'd have to see the movie yourself).Their remake of "The Bare Necessities" was good.A movie that the whole family could enjoy on especially a rainy night.By the way,whatever happened to King Louie?
Rating: Summary: Nothing special about it... a waste of time Review: For being the sequel to the last movie that Disney himself was involved in, this movie doesn't help itself much. Save for the voices of the actors and the extended color palette (that's what the two stars are for), for the most part the movie is a poor extension of the original without anything to add to it. As a matter of fact, the storyline is very much a refried version of the original: no new villains, no new challenges, still Mowgli confronting his nemesis Shere Khan the tiger, even the monkey scene is refried, but mimicking it with children this time. Not worth renting, much less buying.
Rating: Summary: The 5 stars is to even out my 2 star prereview (I'd put 4) Review: Hi, I'm Chen, In February 2003, I went to the movie theater with my mom and my two sisters, and it was great! I bought the DVD in June 2003 when it first came out. When I got home, I watched it in my PS2 system, and it was GREAT! This movie is so awesome. I will have some of my friends come to my house and watch it if they liked it. I also like the songs in this movie. I know how to sing "Jungle Rhythm". I also seen the original The Jungle Book like hundreds of times since when I was like age 5. The original The Jungle Book is great, too! But I think the second one is better than the original Jungle Book, because especially Shanti, the little girl, she reminds me of my girlfriend. This movie also kind of reminds me of the Harry Potter series. YOU SHOULD GET THIS MOVIE ON DVD SOMEDAY.
Rating: Summary: Disney Makes Excellent Movies!! Review: Hi, I'm Chen, In February 2003, I went to the movie theater with my mom and my two sisters, and it was great! I bought the DVD in June 2003 when it first came out. When I got home, I watched it in my PS2 system, and it was GREAT! This movie is so awesome. I will have some of my friends come to my house and watch it if they liked it. I also like the songs in this movie. I know how to sing "Jungle Rhythm". I also seen the original The Jungle Book like hundreds of times since when I was like age 5. The original The Jungle Book is great, too! But I think the second one is better than the original Jungle Book, because especially Shanti, the girl, she reminds me of my girlfriends. This movie also kind of reminds me of the Harry Potter series. YOU SHOULD GET THIS COPY SOMEDAY.
Rating: Summary: A Very Poorly Made Disney Sequel. Review: I actually purchased this movie after hearing the decent reviews it received. It admittedly wasn't the most horrible sequel ever. But it came pretty close. The story is all rehash. The one quote by Mowgli's foster father: "YOU DELIBERATELY DISOBEYED ME!" is ripped right from the "Lion King," where Mufasa tells Simba the same exact thing. The story itself is feeble at best. Shanti is a shallow character who can't really remind you of anyone becuase she's just...there. There's no feeling or creativity in her. I have seen decent Disney sequels with characters I've actually been able to feel for (ie, "101 Dalmatians II" & "Cinderella II"), but this unfortunately isn't one of them. The songs are...how shall we put this, corny? Cheesy? One of those food-related words that generally means "bad" but not "painful to listen to, just annoying." Okay, the one song with the monkeys (WHY did they not include King Louie, I liked him?!) is all right. Kind of catchy--if I remember correctly. I can't think of the tune right now. But the voice of John Goodman as Baloo just doesn't fit. He's done alot of characters and done them well (ie, Sulley from Monsters Inc, NOT MIKE WAZOWSKI, who was played by Billy Crystal), but Baloo's character doesn't mesh with his voice; the two don't work together. *shrug* It's difficult to explain. It just does not sound right, it's not a good mix. Ths plot is basically just a redo of the original, with Shere Kahn out stalking Mowgli for revenge and a pretty dumb new vulture named Lucky. The humor is almost not present; I can't remember laughing. It kept me moderately entertained for maybe an hour, then I kinda wished it was over, then I decided I'd probably never end up watching it again and regretting that I'd bought the thing! This movie did have a FEW things going for it, I do know that much....I just can't seem to recall what they were. Which means it gave me a bad impression. Which means it was pretty awful overall.
Rating: Summary: Better then the Country Bears Review: I bet a lot of people are wondering, when is Disney going to get tired of making sequels? I don't know for sure, or when they will get tired of making sequels. While the orginal was out in 1967, this movie was released this year. The movie takes place after Mowgli has left the jungle and moved to a man villiage. The movie has 2 songs from the first movie, and one of them is I want to be like you peformed by Smashmouth. And it has new songs like Jungel Ryhtem. And both Baloo and Mowgli doing solos. As the movie opens, Mowgli (Haley Joel Osment) is telling his life story, as much as he knows of it. And he is missing the jungle, and he is not allowed to cross the water. While in the jungel, Baloo (John Goodman) is missing Mowgli, and can't not cross the water to visit or bring Mowgli back to the jungle. When a girl named Shanti (Mae Whitman) catches Mowgli crossing the river, with kids including his step-brother (Connor Funk), she screams stop, and then Mowgli's father comes running, and orders the kids back to the land including Mowgli, and when Mowgli does follow his father's orders, he grounds Mowgli to his room without his supper. Almost every character from the first movie, is back expect for King Louie, and a lot of them has a bigger part including Shere Khan (Tony Jay) who is back in the jungel, looking to get revenge on Mowgli.
Rating: Summary: pleasantly surprosed Review: I bought JB2 for my pre-schooler and she loves it. It has some old favorites (songs) from the original plus some pretty good new songs. Over all, we enjoy watching it at least once a week and so far it hasn't gotten on my nerves, which I think says a lot...being a parent of a young child who loves to watch movies over and over! I liked the original JB and I like the sequel equally well.
Rating: Summary: I can't believe this. Review: I can't believe Disney had the gall to do this. I am judging the concept only, as I have not seen the movie (I don't even think it's ouy yet). This won't even SOUND similar to the first! Just look at those big names for the voiceovers. I'm sorry, but I really don't think John Goodman can fill Phil Harris' shoes when it comes to the voice of Baloo. There actually was a second jungle book by Rudyard Kipling, but judging by what I see on the promotional poster, this will have nothing to do with it. I liked the original Jungle Book movie by Disney, even though it was not faithful to Kipling's tales (which are beyond compare). Disney's lust for money from sequels is just going too far.
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