Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle is a 2018 adventure fantasy film directed by Andy Serkis. The cast of the film consists of Christian Bale, Cate Blanchett, Benedict Cumberbatch, Naomie Harris, Serkis, Matthew Rhys, Freida Pinto, and Rohan Chand.
Plot[]
In the jungle, Kaa, an enormous Indian python seer, watches as Shere Khan, a Bengal tiger with a crippled leg, breaks jungle law by hunting down a family of humans, with only a child escaping. She witnesses Bagheera, a panther drawn to the scene, rescues the man-cub, Mowgli, and takes him to a family of Indian wolves being raised by Nisha and Vihaan, only for Tabaqui, Shere Khan's hyena lieutenant, to find the boy before he is chased off. They take the infant Mowgli before the wolf council and Akela, the leader of the pack, to decide his destiny with Bagheera buying his life with a kill and Baloo, A Brown bear, strong-armed into agreeing. Shere Khan arrives to kill Mowgli, but Akela stops him, saying the boy is now under the protection of the pack and forces Shere Khan to leave. Shere Khan swears he would return.
For many years after, Mowgli lives amongst the wolf pack. One day, Mowgli goes swimming alone and encounters Shere Khan. He manages to escape the tiger but then falls into a pit and is saved by Hathi, an Indian elephant missing a tusk. Bagheera finds Mowgli and takes him home. Though Bagheera reveals to Mowgli that he is a human and he will be safe if he goes to the Man-Village, Mowgli declares that he wishes to be a wolf. He declares that he will only go if he fails the pack's trial, which would determine if he can become a full member of the pack.
During the trial, Bagheera, acting as a predator to chase the young wolves and test their strength, continually chases Mowgli and causes him to fail when he would have come in first. As Baloo falls out with Bagheera over the issue, Mowgli is kidnapped by the Bandar-log, a gang of Hanuman langurs & macaques, on Tabaqui's orders for Shere Khan. Shere Khan attempts to kill Mowgli while he is unconscious but is stopped by Baloo and Bagheera. During their battle with Shere Khan's monkey minions, they are overwhelmed only for Kaa herself to break in, knock Shere Khan back and save Mowgli by wrapping her coils around the rocks he is on. She orders Mowgli to be left alone, flicking her prehensile tongue as she hisses. Khan leaves and Kaa devours the monkeys off screen.
After being healed by Baloo, Mowgli goes to Kaa’s lair where the python is waiting for him. Kaa slithers around asking the boy if he is afraid of her. When he replies no, the huge snake slithers right into his face, saying sometimes fear is the only intelligent response. She smiles and asks if he thinks so, but Mowgli is to scared now. Kaa tells him to say something or she’d get bored. Kaa seductivly slithers around him, along herself and back to his face, saying if she gets bored, she gets hungry, as her massive lips near his face. Worried she’d actually eat him if he doesn’t answer, Mowgli asks if it is true that she knows the past and future. Avoiding the question, Kaa leans into his face and slithers around asking what he wanted from her. When he asked why she saved him from the monkeys, Kaa replies by asking why the Hathi saved him from the pit. Kaa seductively wraps him in her coils saying the whole jungle was watching him and explains not everyone is unusual. As she slithers around, Kaa tells Mowgli that he isn’t quite a wolf, a man, or neither, or both. Then she lifts him up and wraps him up completely in her coils as if he was her prey. Mowgli tries to pry free, but Kaa’s grip is to strong. Kaa tells Mowgli that they can both agree that he is some the jungle hasn’t seen before, and she releases him. Kaa backs him up to the wall of her lair and reveals that she believes he can restore harmony to the jungle. Mowgli learns that Kaa has been watching him the whole time and that she believes that he has the power to change the jungle. She then directs him to face Shere Khan, who is again challenging Akela for Mowgli. Kaa tells him she’ll be watching.
Mowgli stops the tiger and Akela's challengers with fire taken from the Man-Village but shames himself in Akela's eyes and is forced to leave for the Man-Village. Mowgli is captured by the villagers, including the British colonial hunter John Lockwood and placed in a cage. Bagheera visits him and sadly tells him to stay, encouraging the boy to gain their trust, as Bagheera once did to escape captivity when he was young. Mowgli slowly comes to enjoy human and village life, being raised by the kindly Meshua and learning hunting skills from Lockwood.
However, Mowgli's attitude towards Lockwood changes when he sees that Lockwood hunts for sport and has killed Bhoot, an albino wolf cub friend of Mowgli. He also learns that Shere Khan has driven the wolves loyal to Akela to the edge of the jungle after being informed by Gray Brother. Mowgli meets with Baloo, Bagheera, and the wolf pack, declaring that Shere Khan must die. The animals feel obligated to remain out of the conflict as it would break jungle law to fight Shere Khan. Regardless, Mowgli proceeds with his plan and lures Shere Khan to the edge of the village, where with the help of the bull elephants, he mortally wounds the tiger while Tabaqui flees. However, Lockwood accidentally injures Mowgli with a bullet while trying to kill the tiger and shoots Akela when the wolf saves Mowgli from Shere Khan. Lockwood is stopped and wounded by the broken-tusked elephant before he can do more harm and the other animals rally to Mowgli upon seeing his resolve.
Akela gives Mowgli his blessing to lead the jungle's creatures and the wolf pack before he dies peacefully. Mowgli decides to leave the village behind and returns to the jungle, where Kaa watches as he stabs the wounded Shere Khan, finally killing the tiger and ending his reign of terror. Mowgli is re-accepted as a member of the jungle. Kaa goes on to say that with Shere Khan and Lockwood gone, Mowgli gave the jungle a voice. As long as Mowgli lived and watched over it, there was peace in the jungle.
Cast[]
- Christian Bale as Bagheera the Panther
- Cate Blanchett as Kaa the Python
- Benedict Cumberbatch as Shere Khan the Tiger
- Naomie Harris as Nisha the Wolf
- Andy Serkis as Baloo the Bear
- Matthew Rhys as John Lockwood
- Freida Pinto as Messua
- Rohan Chand as Mowgli
Videos[]
Trailers[]
Mowgli Legend of the Jungle Official Trailer HD Netflix
Official Trailer