The Second Jungle Book: Mowgli & Baloo

For other uses, see The Jungle Book (disambiguation).

The Second Jungle Book: Mowgli & Baloo
Directed by	Duncan McLachlan
Produced by	Raju Patel Mark Damon
Written by	Bayard Johnson Matthew Horton Rudyard Kipling (characters)
Starring	Jamie Williams Roddy McDowall Billy Campbell
Music by	John Scott
Cinematography	Adolfo Bartoli
Editing by	Marcus Manton
Studio	MDP Worldwide
Distributed by	TriStar Pictures
Release date(s)	May 16, 1997 (1997-05-16)
Running time	88 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

The Second Jungle Book: Mowgli & Baloo is a 1997 American adventure film starring Jamie Williams as Mowgli, and Roddy McDowall and Billy Campbell. The film was adapted for the screen by Bayard Johnson and Matthew Horton.

It was shot in Kandy Mountain, Sri Lanka.

Plot

The film opens with Mowgli being chased by two chimps who intend to kidnap him. When Mowgli is breathless and can't run any further, his friends, Baloo the bear, Bagheera the panther and Mowgli's wolf mother Raksha come to his defence. This scares off the banderlog ("monkey people").

One day, whilst by the river, Mowgli is chased off by the ferocious tiger, Shere Khan, who had killed the man cub's father. Mowgli ends up on a train track. When a train stops in front of Mowgli, he is spotted by a passenger named Harrison, who works for the P.T. Barnum Circus. Harrison forcibly takes Mowgli onto the train, wishing to make him a circus attraction. Mowgli escapes, however, with a small monkey named Timo, the pet of another passenger named Chuchandra and he is left behind being hooked on a tree branch, as Chuchundra panics about dangerous things in the jungle he falls from the tree and lands on his musical instrument.

Harrison still wishes to capture Mowgli for the circus. He gets off the train at the next town and seeks the aid of a wealthy man named Buldeo to procure a jungle guide. Buldeo tells Harrison that the wild jungle boy is possibly his nephew Mowgli, who was presumed dead after his parents (Buldeo's brother and sister-in-law) were killed in the jungle. Buldeo had become wealthy after his brother's death by inherting his fortune; if Mowgli is still alive then he is the true heir, so Buldeo secretly wants to kill Mowgli. Buldeo offers Karait, who has Kaa the python as a pet, as a jungle guide, and also offers to join in the search for Mowgli. They find Chuchandra in the jungle, who is searching for Timo, and the four men form a search party together.

Back at the jungle, Mowgli's family (the mother wolf and her cubs) learn that he has brought home a member of the banderlog family (Timo) and turn against him. The banderlog kidnap Timo and bring him to the remains of a deserted city where they all live. Mowgli and Baloo find the city, but Baloo is caged there by the banderlog. The next day, the four men find Mowgli in the jungle. Here Buldeo makes his first attempt to kill Mowgli by shooting him, but is prevented by Chuchandra. When Mowgli falls asleep in a tree, they use Kaa the python to tie him up and catch him in a net. They take Mowgli to their camp and put him in a cage. Shere Khan the tiger approaches their camp and Mowgli uses a stick with fire to scare him off and, in the process, escapes. Later, Buldeo finds Mowgli and attempts to kill him until Harrison arrives and puts Mowgli back in the cage. Mowgli howls for help and the next morning Baloo, who is now free, comes to his help. He gets the boy out and they escape.

They run off to the Monkey City, where Mowgli finds Timo and also encounters King Murphy (Roddy McDowall), an eccentric who has made himself king of the banderlog. He was the one who had sent the chimps to kidnap Mowgli, because he wants Mowgli to become prince and eventually replace him as king. Meanwhile, the four men have arrived in the City and are on the look out for Mowgli. Harrison finds him trapped in a pit full of cobras and attempts to help him - before he can do this, Buldeo arrives and stops him, he and Harrison engage in a fight until Buldeo pushes Harrison down some stairs, causing him to have an injured leg. Buldeo then attempts to kill Mowgli but fails when Baloo and Bagheera arrive and scare him off.

Mowgli is rescued from the cobra pit when Karait lowers Kaa into the pit as a rescue rope. Buldeo hides in a cannon to escape the animals, then gets an unexpected ride through the air when two chimps light the fuse on the cannon. Buldeo is stranded hanging from a tree while Shere Kahn prowls beneath.

Harrison now realizes that Mowgli does not belong in a circus, and expresses his desire to take Mowgli with him and give him a home. When he sees Mowgli interacting with his animal friends, Harrison realizes that Mowgli is where he belongs. Chuchandra also realizes that Timo is much happier in the wild, and allows him to stay with Mowgli in the jungle.

External links

• The Second Jungle Book: Mowgli & Baloo at the Internet Movie Database
• The Second Jungle Book:
  Mowgli & Baloo at AllRovi