Back when Disney made unnecessary sequels for an entire decade. Except they made the mistake of not releasing this straight to DVD. The voice work is okay at least.

Ok for kids, but frankly this sequel was not asked for.

★★★☆☆ (3/5) A light and playful return to the jungle that sticks closely to the original’s formula. The familiar songs and character dynamics bring a dose of nostalgia. It doesn’t add much new to the story, but the animation is colorful and the energy stays upbeat. Enjoyable for what it is, even if it never quite escapes the shadow of the first film.

Another fairly bland sequel adding little but cashing in on nostalgia. The plot of Mowgli trying to reconcile his identity and upbringing could have been great, but this hardly did that and wasted time on filler scenes. Also how come the other kids understand the animals? I always thought only Mowgli could due to being raised by them, which is still fantastical but less so than talking animals who communicate with people as well.

Average. 'The Jungle Book 2' doesn't come close to the film it follows, but there's enough to gain enjoyment from. The animation is satisfactory, while there are a few good voice cast additions. John Goodman makes for a perfect Baloo. Phil Harris (1967) and Bill Murray (2016) do great in their respective films, but I think Goodman is my favourite in the role. Phil Collins is amusing as Lucky, a new character. Other expanded/new characters, namely Shanti (Mae Whitman) and Ranjan (Connor Funk), don't add all that much though. Any scene with those two is way less interesting than the ones with Baloo, Bagheera etc. The music is definitely the biggest gap that this has between the original production, with none of the the music standing out at all. To conclude, it's all OK but is probably a sequel that isn't needed.