neumu [ cinematronic ]




	The Jungle Book 2
	Steve Trenbirth John Goodman, Haley Joel Osment, Mae Whitman, Connor Funk, Phil Collins, John Rhys-Davies, Tony Jay, Jim Cummings 2003		For "The Jungle Book 2," Disney leaned on "The Bare Necessities" and "I Wanna Be Like You," the tunes that are the most beloved elements of the company's cartoon adaptation of Rudyard Kipling's "The Jungle Book." It wasn't such a hot idea to extend the story of Mowgli — the little boy raised in the wild by wolves — beyond his return to human society, which is where "The Jungle Book" ended with grace. But the Disney bosses never met a successful brand they wouldn't exploit. Sadly, a new version of "The Bare Necessities," sung by Phil Harris in the first movie and reprised by John Goodman in "The Jungle Book 2," is the best this flimsy sequel has to offer. Goodman is now the voice of Baloo the Bear, Mowgli's best friend. Baloo misses Mowgli (voiced by Haley Joel Osment), who's bored by village life, so the bear leaves the jungle to entice the boy back into the wild. However, vicious tiger Shere Khan craves revenge against his enemies Mowgli and Baloo and hunts Mowgli's human friends when they wander away from the village. Other than "Jungle Rhythm," the sequel's new songs fall flat. It all looks OK, but "The Bare Necessities" ain't enough.