Taglines: Born of men. Raised by animals. Destined for adventure.
The Jungle Book movie storyline. An adaptation of Rudyard Kipling’s classic tale of Mowgli the jungle boy who is raised by wolves after being lost when a tiger attacked an encampment and killed his father. Years later he finds himself re-united with his childhood love Kitty and back in the “civilization” of Colonial India which he finds far less civilized then his jungle haunts. The search for a lost treasure shows who the truly civilized members of society are.
The Jungle Book is a 1994 live-action 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 the second film adaptation by The Walt Disney Company of the Mowgli stories from The Jungle Book and The Second Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling.
The film stars Jason Scott Lee and Lena Headey, and co-stars Cary Elwes, Sam Neill, John Cleese and Jason Flemyng. In this version, the animals do not speak. Released on December 25, 1994, by Walt Disney Pictures, the film received positive reviews and grossed $43.2 million in theaters against a $30 million budget.
About the Story
In 1886, during the British Raj in India, Mowgli (Sean Naegeli) is the 5-year-old son of the widowed Nathoo, whose wife died in childbirth. Nathoo works as a tour guide. On one of his tours, he is leading Colonel Geoffrey Brydon (Sam Neill) and his men as well as Brydon’s 5-year-old daughter Katherine (Joanna Wolff).
That night, the deadly tiger Shere Khan attacks the encampment, intent on killing a trio of soldiers who had been shooting several animals for fun in the jungle earlier, which had enraged him. He kills the first two hunters, but when he tries to kill the third hunter, Buldeo, Nathoo defends Buldeo, who ungratefully leaves him to be mauled to death by the tiger. In the confusion, Mowgli is lost in the jungle with his pet wolf cub, Grey Brother. Brydon and his men believe Mowgli has been killed too. Mowgli is taken by Bagheera, a gentle black panther, to the wolf pack. Mowgli also befriends a bear cub named Baloo.
Twenty years later, Mowgli, now a young man, discovers Monkey City, a legendary ancient city filled with treasure belonging to King Louie the Orangutan, who has his treasure guarded by Kaa the python. Forced to fight for his life, Mowgli succeeds in wounding the snake with a golden dagger that he retrieves from the treasure horde. Winning King Louie’s respect, Mowgli keeps the dagger as a trophy. Elsewhere, Katherine and her father are still stationed in India. She and Mowgli meet again, but neither recognize the other. Katherine is also in a relationship with one of Brydon’s soldiers, Captain William Boone.
Mowgli enters the village in search of Katherine. Boone and his men manage to capture him and find the golden dagger from Monkey City in his possession. Katherine discovers an old bracelet of her mother’s; one she gave to Mowgli when they were children, and instantly realizes who Mowgli is. She and Dr. Julius Plumford (a good friend of Brydon’s) decide that they must re-introduce Mowgli to civilization. In doing so, Mowgli and Katherine fall in love, much to Boone’s displeasure.
Eventually, Boone convinces Mowgli to tell him of Monkey City and the treasure hoard that it holds, but refrains from revealing its location to him upon realizing his lack of respect for the jungle. Boone later proposes to Katherine and she accepts. Around this time, Mowgli returns to the jungle as he does not feel at home in the village. After Boone’s cruel treatment of Mowgli, Katherine realizes she cannot marry Boone, so she decides to go back to England to get away from him.
Meanwhile, Boone and his associates (Lieutenant Wilkins and Sergeant Harley) team up with Buldeo and his confederate Tabaqui. The men gather some bandits to capture Mowgli in order to find out where the treasure is. Wilkins and Boone shoot Baloo when he comes to Mowgli’s defense, much to Mowgli’s distress. Buldeo, Tabaqui, and the bandits then ambush Katherine and her father (who is shot and wounded in the process).
Even though Mowgli, along with Bagheera, Grey Brother, and the rest of the wolves, attack and kill most of the bandits, Tabaqui and Buldeo manage to capture Katherine and her father and hand them over to Boone, Wilkins, and Harley who plan to use them as blackmail: if Mowgli leads them to the treasure, Katherine and her father shall live. That night, the group learns that Shere Khan has returned to the area and is following them.
The Jungle Book (1994)
Directed by: Stephen Sommers
Starring: Jason Scott Lee, Cary Elwes, Lena Headey, Sam Neill, John Cleese, Jason Flemyng, Stefan Kalipha, Ron Donachie, Faran Tahir, Rachel Robertson, Liza Walker
Screenplay by: tephen Sommers, Ronald Yanover, Mark Geldman
Production Design by: Allan Cameron
Cinematography by: Juan Ruiz Anchía
Film Editing by: Bob Ducsay
Costume Design by: John Mollo
Set Decoration by: Crispian Sallis
Music by: Basil Poledouris
MPAA Rating: PG for action/violence and some mild language.
Distributed by: Buena Vista Pictures
Release Date: December 25, 1994
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