The Second Jungle Book: Mowgli & Baloo facts for kids

The Second Jungle Book: Mowgli & Baloo
DVD cover
Directed by	Duncan McLachlan
Produced by	Raju Patel Mark Damon
Written by	Bayard Johnson Matthew Horton
Starring	Billy Campbell Roddy McDowall Jamie Williams David Paul Francis
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	90 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Money made	$346,056

The Second Jungle Book: Mowgli & Baloo is an American adventure film from 1997. It stars Jamie Williams as Mowgli. Other actors include Roddy McDowall and Billy Campbell.

This movie is a live-action version of Rudyard Kipling's famous book, The Jungle Book. Its title suggests it's also based on The Second Jungle Book. Bayard Johnson and Matthew Horton wrote the movie script. The film was shot in Sri Lanka in 1996. It features some well-known Sri Lankan actors.

Mowgli's Jungle Life

Mowgli is a 10-year-old boy. He grew up deep in the Indian jungle. His best friends are animals. These include a wolf pack, Baloo the bear, and Bagheera the panther.

But Mowgli also has enemies. One is Shere Khan, a fierce tiger. Shere Khan killed Mowgli's father. Another enemy is the Bandar-log, a group of monkeys. Other jungle animals do not like these monkeys.

A Close Call with Monkeys

The movie begins with two monkeys spotting Mowgli. They want to kidnap him. They think Mowgli can teach them "the ways of man." They chase Mowgli through the jungle. They almost catch him in a tree. Mowgli escapes by jumping down. But the monkeys still grab him.

Mowgli struggles to get free. Luckily, Baloo, Bagheera, and the wolf pack arrive. They quickly rescue Mowgli from the monkeys.

Mowgli Meets Humans

The next morning, Mowgli goes hunting with the wolf pack. Shere Khan spots him. To escape, Mowgli jumps into a river. The strong current carries him away. Downstream, he grabs a vine and climbs out. He finds himself on a bridge with railroad tracks.

Mowgli follows the tracks. He then sees a train coming. He has never seen a train before. Mowgli stands in its path. The driver sees him and stops the train. Mowgli is trapped under the front of the engine.

Captured by Harrison

Mowgli has never seen other humans. He growls at the passengers. An American circus scout named Harrison sees Mowgli. He wants to take the "wild boy" to a circus in America. Harrison knows how to handle wild animals. He thinks he can handle Mowgli too.

Harrison and other men try to capture Mowgli. Mowgli fights back, kicking and growling. The men hold his arms and legs tightly. They carry the scared boy into the train's luggage car. Two women on the train watch. One asks them to be careful with the boy.

Escape from the Train

Inside the train, the men try to tie Mowgli with ropes. But Mowgli is too quick. He escapes to the passenger cars. He pulls one captor with a rope tied around his chest. Mowgli then climbs onto the roof of the moving train. A passenger's pet monkey, Timo, joins him.

Harrison sees Mowgli escaping. He follows him to the roof. Timo's owner, Chuchandra, follows too. Mowgli then jumps off the moving train with Timo. They escape back into the jungle.

New Friends and Dangerous Encounters

Mowgli brings Timo to his wolf pack. But the wolf brothers see Timo as a Bandar-log monkey. They chase Timo away. Mowgli is upset. He runs off to find Timo with Baloo's help.

The Hunters' Plan

Meanwhile, Harrison wants to catch Mowgli. He asks for help from Buldeo. Buldeo is a rich jungle guide. He believes Mowgli is his nephew. Buldeo secretly wants Mowgli dead. He thinks Mowgli is the only thing stopping him from getting his family's money.

Buldeo hires Karait, a snake charmer. Karait pretends to be a tracker. His real job is to kill Mowgli. The three men, Harrison, Buldeo, and Karait, start their search. They later meet Chuchandra in the jungle.

Trapped by Monkeys and a Snake

Mowgli and Baloo search for Timo. Their search leads them to an old, abandoned city. This city is the home of the Bandar-log. The monkeys trap Baloo in the city's dungeon. Mowgli escapes. He runs to a tree outside the city. But his four hunters spot him.

Mowgli is tired. He climbs the tree and takes a nap. While he sleeps, Karait sends his python, Kaa, up the tree. Kaa drops onto the sleeping boy. The snake slowly wraps around Mowgli's body. Mowgli is in a deep sleep. He doesn't feel the snake at first.

Kaa tightens its grip around Mowgli's waist. The coils squeeze him very hard. Mowgli finally opens his eyes. He sees the huge python. He screams and wakes up. The four men rush to the tree. They unroll a giant net. Buldeo says, "We've got him."

Mowgli struggles to get out of Kaa's strong grip. He slowly pulls away from the snake. But he ends up dangling from the tree by one foot. Kaa loosens its hold. Mowgli falls into the net below. The men wrestle with him. They wrap him tightly in the net.

Buldeo recognizes Mowgli as his long-lost nephew. Harrison gives Mowgli something to help him rest. Mowgli, tired from escaping and the snake's squeeze, falls asleep. The men carry him to their campsite.

A New Plan for Mowgli

The men unwrap the sleeping boy. They check him for injuries. They wonder how he survived in the jungle. As Mowgli wakes up, he bites Buldeo's finger. When he is fully awake, Harrison ties Mowgli's foot to a tree with a rope.

Mowgli pulls on the rope. He sees a chance to escape. He tries to run but hits the ground hard. Harrison tries to calm Mowgli. He explains his plan. Harrison wants to make Mowgli famous in an American circus. Mowgli would be known as the "Wolf Boy." He would do acts like climbing into a lion's pen.

Karait starts setting up a cage. This cage is for any other animals Harrison might find.

Shere Khan's Arrival

Later, Harrison and Buldeo leave the campsite. They go to a stream to wash. Chuchandra and Karait watch Mowgli. Suddenly, Shere Khan arrives. The tiger scares off Chuchandra and Karait. Only Shere Khan and Mowgli are left. Mowgli is still tied to the tree.

In the fight that follows, the rope on Mowgli's foot breaks. Mowgli runs free into the jungle. Harrison runs back to the campsite. Buldeo stays behind. Mowgli unknowingly stops near Buldeo. Buldeo throws a blanket over Mowgli's head. He slams Mowgli to the ground.

Buldeo rips the blanket from Mowgli's face. He tells Mowgli he plans to kill him. Mowgli struggles to get free. Buldeo pulls out his knife. He gets ready to strike. Just then, Harrison runs by and stops him.

The Escape and Final Choice

The two men carry Mowgli back to the campsite. They decide to lock him in the cage. Harrison slams the door shut. Karait ties it. Buldeo reminds Karait that he was hired to have Kaa kill Mowgli.

Mowgli now knows his only relative wants him dead. He howls for his friends. Baloo, who escaped his dungeon, hears Mowgli. He arrives at the campsite at dawn. Baloo cracks one of the cage bars. Chuchandra wakes up. Baloo quickly runs away. Mowgli squeezes through the gap in the cage. He follows Baloo.

The Cobra Temple

Mowgli and Baloo continue their search for Timo. They head back to the abandoned city. The four men also go to the same city. Mowgli and Baloo get separated again. Mowgli can fit into small spaces that Baloo cannot.

Mowgli finds Timo. But he realizes he is in an underground temple. This temple is full of deadly, poisonous cobras. Harrison climbs to the top of the temple. He sees Mowgli in danger through broken windows. He calls out to Mowgli. Harrison has tied a rope to the roof. It hangs just above the ground. He begs Mowgli to climb up. Mowgli is hesitant. But he knows climbing up is his only chance to survive.

A Change of Heart

As Mowgli reaches the top of the rope, Buldeo arrives. He hits Harrison with his rifle. Harrison falls unconscious. Buldeo then turns to Mowgli. Mowgli is still dangling from the roof. Buldeo pulls out his knife. He slowly saws through the rope. Mowgli barks like a monkey. He falls to the bottom of the temple. He lands hard on his back.

Buldeo mocks Mowgli. A cobra strikes at Mowgli. Harrison wakes up. He fights Buldeo. Harrison gets badly hurt. Buldeo returns to see if Mowgli is dead. He finds Mowgli alive. Buldeo aims his rifle at Mowgli. Just before he shoots, Buldeo hears a roar. Mowgli's friends, Bagheera and Baloo, have come to rescue him.

Buldeo runs away. He hides inside a cannon. The Bandar-log monkeys find him. They fire him out of the cannon. He lands deep in the jungle. He hangs from a tree. Shere Khan is nearby.

Harrison slowly limps back to the roof. Karait has Kaa attached to the roof. The snake slithers down to Mowgli. Kaa wraps around Mowgli's chest and arms. Kaa pulls Mowgli to safety on the roof. Harrison grabs Mowgli. He carefully sets him down.

Harrison begs Mowgli to come with him. He says he has changed his mind. He no longer wants to take Mowgli to the circus. Instead, he wants to take Mowgli to his home in America. He wants to raise him and teach him to speak. He wants to give Mowgli a normal life.

Mowgli thinks about the offer. But he decides to return to his wolf pack in the jungle. Soon after, Chuchandra finds Timo safe with Mowgli and Harrison. Karait, Chuchandra, and Harrison watch Mowgli run with the wolves. He goes back into the deep Indian jungle.

Meet the Cast

• Jamie Williams - Mowgli
• Billy Campbell - Harrison
• Gulshan Grover - Buldeo
• David Paul Francis - Chuchundra
• Dyrk Ashton - Karait
• Roddy McDowall - King Murphy
• Cornelia Hayes O'Herlihy - Emily Reece
• B. J. Hogg - Colonel Reece
• Amy Robbins - Molly Ward
• Raja Sumanapala - Buldeo's Servant

See also

In Spanish: The Second Jungle Book: Mowgli & Baloo para niños