The Jungle Book

**The Jungle Book** is a 2016 film starring Bill Murray, Ben Kingsley, Idris Elba, Lupita Nyong'o, Scarlett Johansson, Giancarlo Esposito, Christopher Walken and Neel Sethi, directed by Jon Favreau, written by Justin Marks and produced by Favreau and Brigham Taylor.

The film was a financial success as it generated a profit of $133 million.

## Plot

Mowgli is a "man cub" raised by the wolf Raksha and her pack, led by Akela, in an Indian jungle ever since he was brought to them as a infant by the black panther Bagheera. Bagheera trains Mowgli to learn the ways of the wolves, but the boy faces certain challenges and falls behind his wolf siblings, while Akela objects of him using human "tricks", like building tools, instead of learning the ways of the pack.

One day, during the dry season, the jungle animals gather to drink the water that remains as part of a truce during a drought that enables the jungle's wildlife to drink without fear of being eaten by their predators. The truce is disrupted when a fire-scarred Bengal tiger named Shere Khan arrives, detecting Mowgli's scent in the large crowd. Consumed by a vendetta on humans for scarring him with fire during a hunt, he threatens to kill Mowgli at the end of the drought. After the drought ends, the wolves debate whether they should keep Mowgli or not. Mowgli decides to leave the jungle for the safety of his pack. Bagheera agrees with the decision and volunteers to guide him to the nearby man village.

En route, Shere Khan ambushes them and injures Bagheera, but Mowgli manages to escape amidst a buffalo stampede. Later, Mowgli meets an enormous python named Kaa, who hypnotizes him. While under her influence, Mowgli sees a vision of his father being killed by Shere Khan while protecting him, which also warns of the destructive power of the "red flower" (fire). Kaa attempts to devour Mowgli, but she is attacked by a himalayan brown bear named Baloo who rescues the unconscious Mowgli. Mowgli later awakens and retrievies some difficult-to-access honey for Baloo as repayment, with the two bonding in the process. Mowgli agrees to stay with Baloo until the winter season arrives. Meanwhile, upon learning that Mowgli has left the jungle, Shere Khan throws Akela off to his death and threatens the pack to lure Mowgli out.

Bagheera eventually finds Mowgli and Baloo and is shocked that Mowgli has not joined the humans as he had agreed, but Baloo calms him down and persuades both of them to sleep on it. During the night, Mowgli finds a herd of Indian elephants gathered around a ditch and uses vines to save their baby. Although Baloo and Bagheera are impressed, Baloo realizes that he cannot guarantee Mowgli's safety after learning that he is being hunted by Shere Khan. Baloo agrees to push Mowgli away to get him to continue onward to the man village.

Mowgli is kidnapped by a gang of monkeys known as the "Bandar-log", who present him to their leader, a deranged Gigantopithecus named King Louie. Assuming that all humans can make fire, King Louie offers Mowgli protection from Shere Khan in exchange for it. Baloo decoys King Louie while Bagheera tries to sneak him out, but their plan is found out. As King Louie chases Mowgli through his temple, he informs Mowgli of Akela's death. King Louie's rampage eventually causes his temple to collapse on top of him.

Furious that Baloo and Bagheera neglected to tell him about Akela's death, Mowgli goes to confront Shere Khan alone. He steals a lit torch at the village to use as a weapon and heads back to the jungle, accidentally starting a wildfire in the process. He confronts Shere Khan, who argues that Mowgli has made himself the enemy of the jungle by causing the wildfire. Mowgli throws the torch into the water, giving Shere Khan the advantage. Baloo, Bagheera, and the wolf pack intervene and hold Shere Khan off, giving Mowgli enough time to set a trap. He lures Shere Khan up a dead tree and onto a branch, which breaks under the tiger's weight, and Shere Khan falls into the fire to his death. Mowgli then directs the elephants to divert the river and put out the fire. In the aftermath, Raksha becomes the new leader of the wolf pack. Mowgli decides to utilize his equipment and tricks for his own use, having found his true home and calling with his wolf family, Baloo and Bagheera.