Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle

Story:

Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle is a 2018 adventure drama film directed by Andy Serkis with a screenplay by Callie Kloves, based on stories collected in All the Mowgli Stories by Rudyard Kipling. The film stars Rohan Chand, Matthew Rhys, and Freida Pinto, along with voice and motion-capture performances from Christian Bale, Cate Blanchett, Benedict Cumberbatch, Naomie Harris, and Serkis. In the film, an orphaned human boy who was raised by wolves, sets out on a journey to find a human village while evading Shere Khan.

PLOT

In the jungles of India, the gigantic Indian python seer Kaa watches as Shere Khan, a sadistic Bengal tiger, breaks “jungle law” by killing a family of humans. The panther Bagheera finds a surviving infant boy and takes him to Nisha and Vihaan’s family of Indian wolves, but the child is spotted by Tabaqui, Shere Khan’s hyena lackey.

The “man-cub” is brought before the wolf council, where Bagheera strong-arms Baloo, a Himalayan brown bear, into serving as his fellow guardian. Shere Khan arrives to kill the child, but Akela, leader of the wolves, declares that the boy is under the pack’s protection. Shere Khan warns that when Akela misses his prey, he will return to kill the boy.

The child, now known as Mowgli, is adopted by Nisha and raised with the wolves. Years pass, and Mowgli encounters Shere Khan, who has antagonized the nearby “man-village” by killing their cattle. Mowgli falls into a tiger trap set by the villagers, but is saved by Hathi, an Indian elephant missing half a tusk.

Bagheera reveals to Mowgli that he is human, but Mowgli is determined to complete “the Running” – the trial to earn full membership in the pack. Bagheera urges Mowgli to leave the jungle for the village, where he will be safe from Shere Khan; watching the village from afar, Mowgli learns of the existence of fire.

During the Running, as Bagheera chases the young wolves to prove their skill, Mowgli uses his ability to climb and run upright to gain the lead. Desperate to keep him safe, Bagheera unfairly foils Mowgli and is confronted by Baloo. Mowgli is kidnapped by the Bandar-log tribe of monkeys and brought to Shere Khan, but Baloo and Bagheera arrive to save him. They are overwhelmed by the monkeys, and Mowgli is rescued by Kaa. Having failed the Running, an angry Mowgli rejects the friendship of Bhoot, the albino runt of the wolf cubs, and visits Kaa, who believes he can restore harmony to the jungle.

While hunting, the aging Akela fails to bring down his prey, leading Shere Khan to remind the pack they must now challenge him for the role of leader. As the wolves fight, Mowgli steals a burning branch from the village and repels Shere Khan and the challengers, but shames Akela and is exiled from the pack. A feral Mowgli is captured by the villagers and John Lockwood, a British hunter. Bagheera tells Mowgli that he must stay with the villagers and gain their trust, as he once did to escape captivity himself.
Mowgli comes to enjoy life in the village, cared for by the kindly Messua and learning hunting skills from Lockwood, who is tracking Shere Khan. Mowgli’s wolf-sibling Gray Brother informs him that the tiger has driven away the wolves loyal to Akela and continues to kill cattle, endangering all the jungle’s animals, but Mowgli refuses to help.

While the villagers celebrate Holi, Mowgli learns that it was Lockwood who shot off Hathi’s tusk and discovers his hunting trophies, including the head of Bhoot. Returning the tusk to Hathi, Mowgli offers him the hunter in exchange for ridding the jungle of Shere Khan.

Mowgli meets with Baloo, Bagheera, and the wolf pack, who refuse to go against jungle law to help him defeat Shere Khan. Undeterred, he lures Shere Khan to the edge of the village, where the tiger is surrounded by Hathi’s elephant herd. Lockwood shoots at Shere Khan but wounds Mowgli instead, and Akela sacrifices himself to save the boy, while Lockwood is killed by Hathi.

The other animals come to Mowgli’s aid, forcing Shere Khan to retreat, and the dying Akela names Mowgli as his successor. With Messua and the village watching, Mowgli returns to the jungle and slays the mortally wounded Shere Khan. Kaa explains that with Shere Khan and Lockwood gone, Mowgli has given the animals a voice and brought peace to the jungle.