Wednesday, April 13, 2016
The Jungle Book (2016) Adoption Movie Review
Disney revisits its retelling of Rudyard Kipling’s tale of
Mowgli, Baloo and Bagheera in The Jungle Book. Mowgli is a young human boy who
was found, abandoned, by a panther named Bagheera. Bagheera brought Mowgli to the
wolves Akela and Rashka, who raised him as their own. However, when a drought
brings all of the animals together for water, Mowgli is discovered by Shere
Kahn, a tiger who hates humans because a human (acting in self-defense) burned
Shere Kahn’s face. Shere Kahn promises that the jungle will not be safe until
Mowgli is dead. Akela and Rashka entrust Mowgli to Bagheera, and Bagheera sets
off to return Mowgli to the human village. When they are separated, Mowgli
falls into peril, but is rescued by the carefree bear Baloo. Mowgli wants to
stay in the jungle, but it’s uncertain whether he fits in, and it’s quite
certain that he is not safe.
*Please Note: Spoilers ahead the rest of the way*
The Adoption
Connection
Mowgli is raised by Akela and Rashka. He also finds parent
figures in Bagheera (who also takes credit for raising Mowgli), and to some
extent in the carefree Baloo. Mowgli was found abandoned because his human
father was killed by the tiger Shere Kahn. Mowgli was very young when the incident
occurs, but a villain brings images of the attack and death to Mowgli’s mind,
and to the movie screen.
In order to keep the pack and Mowgli safe, the wolves that
have raised him consider whether he should leave the pack. In a departure from
the original film, Mowgli volunteers to leave to keep the pack safe. Although his mother Rashka protests, Mowgli
leaves.
Shere Kahn says some awful things about adoption that I’ll
cover later in this review.
In the original film, Mowgli returns to the human village,
and Bagheera and Baloo are content that he has gone where he belongs. In this
film, Mowgli protests deeply, suggesting that Bagheera can’t be returning
Mowgli to his home, since the jungle is his home. In both films, Bagheera and
Baloo both urge Mowgli towards the man village over Mowgli’s protests. ** BIG
SPOILER – in this version, Mowgli does ultimately stay in the jungle. **
Strong Points
Mowgli is ultimately accepted by the jungle family as one of
their own, and also appreciated by the jungle family for his human identity.
This seems to be a significant improvement over the original film. Mowgli is
able to be both fully human and fully part of the jungle; both parts of his
identity are honored by the end of the story.
Mowgli is able to find success when he incorporates the
skills he has because he is human (rather than wolf); he is also able to
express that he identifies as a part of the jungle society and the wolf family,
rather than part of the man village.
Mowgli clearly asserts his discomfort with Bagheera’s
attempt to bring him to the man village. He explains, “I don’t know man,” and “This
is my home, I want to stay.” He also chastises Bagheera, saying “it’s not fair;
there’s lots of stuff you’re not telling me.”
Even in Mowgli’s absence, members of the pack wonder whether
they could have saved him, and they express their regret that he is gone.
Rashka, Bagheera, Mowgli’s birth father, and Baloo all demonstrate
their deep love for Mowgli, and all act unselfishly for him, although Baloo
takes a while to get there. When Mowgli does leave the pack, Rashka reminds
him, “You’re mine… No matter where you go or what they call you, you will
always be my son.”
Challenges
As some characters struggle with Mowgli’s identity, some
things are said which could be hard for some viewers touched by adoption. One
character comments that even though Mowgli wasn’t “born a wolf” he need to at
least “act like one.”
Akela tells Mowgli not to do any human “tricks.”
Interestingly, it’s a human trick that ultimately saves Mowgli.
For a brief moment, it seems as though Mowgli’s wolf
siblings are unsure of whether to accept him.
Weak Points
Mowgli experiences much loss of fathers. His birth father
and his adoptive father are both murdered (on screen or just slightly off-screen)
by Shere Kahn. He is also separated from Bagheera, and rejected at one point by
Baloo. Akela’s death is startling and violent. Mowgli is also forced to revisit
his father’s murder.
Perhaps the most potentially damaging parts of the film are
words spoken about adoption by Shere Kahn. He asks Akela, “When was it that we
came to adopt man into the jungle?” In an attempt to turn the wolf cubs against
Mowgli, Shere Kahn tells them a story. I can imagine it being very painful and
potentially damaging to young viewers touched by adoption. The story is about a
cuckoo bird. According to Kahn, the cuckoo puts his eggs into the nests of
other birds. Then, the other mother hatches the cuckoo, and treats it as her
own bird. However, the other chicks do not have enough food because their
mother is taking care of the cuckoo chick. Kahn ends his story, saying that “her
own chicks starve and die all because a mother loved a chick who was not her
own.” The lines are spoken by a villain,
but the sharpness of them could still surprise some viewers.
Recommendations
There isn’t an easy answer for The Jungle Book. This
retelling of the story does an excellent job of leaving Mowgli at a healthy
place – fully human, fully part of the jungle. It also has some very traumatic
parental deaths, and perhaps the unkindest words about adoption in recent
movies. Some viewers, regardless of age, will be put off by some aspects of
this film. On the other hand, the film does end up in a healthy spot. I wouldn’t
recommend it for kids under 9; kids 9 and up could enjoy it with parental
supervision and discussion, but parents might want to watch this one ahead of
time, before sharing it with their kids.
Questions for
Discussion
Is Mowgli a human or a wolf? Or, in which ways is he each?
Do you think that he belongs in the man village or the
jungle? How can he tell?
What’s a good response to Shere Kahn’s story? Why did he say
it?
How many different characters were like a parent to Mowgli?
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Just out of curiosity, Do they show the discovery of Mowgli as a baby in the beginning or is it a flashback scene? Also did they ever mention Mowgli's birth mother?
ReplyDeleteGood questions!
DeleteMowgli's discovery is a flashback scene (Mowgli sees it in Kaa's eyes while Kaa is trying to distract him so she can eat him).
Mowgli's birth mother wasn't mentioned at all.
This is a good discussion on adoption. Was Mowgli's mother mentioned in the original story (the book)? If so, is it just a habit of Disney retelling to leave out mothers? I noticed a trend in many Disney films that the original mother is often absent (Alladin, Chicken Little, Cinderella, The Little Mermaid).
ReplyDeleteHi Natalie!
ReplyDeleteYou make an interesting observation about Disney movies leaving out original mothers. Im wondering if more recent films are different from older ones? Tangled comes to mind as a recent film that did include the original mother, but that's just one movie, but it would be interesting to do some research... I'm not familiar with Rudyard Kipling's book, unfortunately...
Thanks for commenting!