A Canadian cheapie and TV movie to boot. It's essentially a JUNGLE BOOK rip-off with a Mowgli stand-in helping an anthropologist get the better of a treasure hunter. Cheesy and trite dialogue throughout and embarrassing scenes of talking animals which don't come across very well. This was shot in India so there's some local scenery which looks nice but that's really all it has going for it.
5 Reviews
Pretty good family adventure
vchimpanzee4 February 2010
Archaeologist John Geller narrates this tale, telling us there have been many tales of its type told, except this one is true! (Suuure it is.) During a celebration of the jungle spirit Dava, in what is supposedly India even though the area is still ruled by a king, a boy named Suresh disappears into the forest. His mother wants to search for him but is told it is too dangerous. Suresh is rescued from Sabre the leopard by the elephant Bono and the monkey Mantoo, and like Dr. Dolittle, he is given the ability to communicate with the animals. He is named "Manling" and raised by the forest creatures.
As an adult, Manling (now called Krishna) must battle Sabre, but when he defeats Sabre in a manner that violates the rules, he is told to go out on his own. Geller and his pretty niece Anna find him and take him in, teaching him English and how to be human. He learns fast because he knew human ways at one time.
Geller is looking for a treasure found in the forbidden forest, but so is Rajah Singh, who claims the treasure belongs to his family and hires John Hook to find it. Hook will use any means necessary, even killing, to make sure he gets not only the treasure, but also his share of the money from finding it.
Anna and Krishna seem to like each other, so there is the potential for romance here. But there is also plenty of action and getting killed is certainly a possibility.
No one will ever accuse this movie of being an Oscar contender, except possibly for the visual effects. But it's a pleasant enough family film with talking animals and silly humans.
I would question the G rating, however, given some of the violence. With the font that was used for the V-chip rating when I saw it, movies given a plain-vanilla TV-PG rating often have content that would have demanded more on network TV. And when a V or other content indicator is used with this font, I can tell you it's bad. So whoever uses this font is being conservative, and you can only know that the film is family-friendly but not necessarily for younger kids.
It's nothing spectacular like the similar "Jungle Book" movies, but it's worth seeing.
As an adult, Manling (now called Krishna) must battle Sabre, but when he defeats Sabre in a manner that violates the rules, he is told to go out on his own. Geller and his pretty niece Anna find him and take him in, teaching him English and how to be human. He learns fast because he knew human ways at one time.
Geller is looking for a treasure found in the forbidden forest, but so is Rajah Singh, who claims the treasure belongs to his family and hires John Hook to find it. Hook will use any means necessary, even killing, to make sure he gets not only the treasure, but also his share of the money from finding it.
Anna and Krishna seem to like each other, so there is the potential for romance here. But there is also plenty of action and getting killed is certainly a possibility.
No one will ever accuse this movie of being an Oscar contender, except possibly for the visual effects. But it's a pleasant enough family film with talking animals and silly humans.
I would question the G rating, however, given some of the violence. With the font that was used for the V-chip rating when I saw it, movies given a plain-vanilla TV-PG rating often have content that would have demanded more on network TV. And when a V or other content indicator is used with this font, I can tell you it's bad. So whoever uses this font is being conservative, and you can only know that the film is family-friendly but not necessarily for younger kids.
It's nothing spectacular like the similar "Jungle Book" movies, but it's worth seeing.
Awful
TheLittleSongbird20 August 2012
I saw Jungle Boy by chance, and also that I am a sucker for adventure-fantasy movies. But I found it an awful movie with few if any redeeming qualities. The scenery lacks lushness, while the effects are slapdash and lack finesse. At best the soundtrack is forgettable, at worst it's generic and not very original-sounding. The script is very cheesy, all the humorous parts fall flat due to over-the-top delivery or that the writing is just plain bad. The story is predictable, unexciting and also quite rushed as well. It is also unoriginal, having a mix of The Jungle Book, George of the Jungle and Tarzan, except never once on the level of those entertaining stories, having no real energy or fun. You don't care an ounce for the characters, you've seen them all before and in more likable fashion. The acting is terrible, the lead is uncharismatic and the animals are annoying rather than colourful or interesting.
Overall, an awful movie and not recommended. 1/10 Bethany Cox
Overall, an awful movie and not recommended. 1/10 Bethany Cox
Just one word for the movie 'Trash'
sauravjoshi856 April 2019
Warning: Spoilers
This is a movie without any concrete plot. Acting is weird so the screenplay. The direction is directionless and movie looses it's plot. You will see a stone faced hero who goes to jungle and becomes jungle boy. He uses ropes to jump from one tree to another instead of branches. The climax is unnecessary stretched and is painfully irritating. This is a movie without any storyline or sense. Better avoid this trash
Nice coming of age movie.
slitviak20 July 2001
In the tradition of "Babe" meets "The Jungle Book", this movie is about a boy raised by the wild animals of India. As the boy becomes a young man, he is discovered by the visiting daughter of an anthropologist. It's a tale of their friendship with some action. The humor is a bit corny, but all in all it's pretty good.
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