I am the jungle's eyes.
I can see the past,
and the future.
It is I, Kaa,
who witnessed the coming of man,
and the jungle,
trying to survive.
I saw chaos
and darkness come to our lands.
I saw the tiger, Shere Khan,
killing man
and breaking the jungle's ancient law.
And then,
one fateful night,
I saw the jungle place its hopes
into the hands
of a small creature,
the like of which,
it had never seen before.
How did it get here?
I don't know.
Is it hurt?
There's no wound.
It's on its own.
I've never seen a man-cub before.
It's so...
small.
It doesn't fear us.
What are we going to do with it?
Evening, Nisha.
Vihaan.
It's a lovely night, isn't it? What is it that you want, Tabaqui?
What's that I smell? Fresh kill?
If it's bones you're after, look elsewhere.
We have enough mouths to feed.
I meant no harm, Nisha.
Your master calls.
You best go quickly.
He sounds in ill temper tonight.
That he does. That he does.
And with good reason.
I found the man-cub! I found the man-cub!
Finish cleaning him off.
Nisha. Clean him!
Where are you going? To Akela.
A council must be held if we are to keep him.
Keep him? Don't let him out of your sight.
We can't keep him!
Nisha, you have called council.
What's the matter at hand?
We've found...
a man-cub.
That's not a wolf.
That doesn't belong here. A man-cub!
Outrageous.
Well, this is most unusual indeed.
Nisha, you wish to raise this cub as if he were your own?
I do.
And Vihaan?
You, too?
I do.
It's a man-cub!
You know the law.
This cub was not born among us.
So who here,
speaks for the cub?
I speak for the cub.
The law states, that the life of a cub,
may be bought,
for a price.
I brought my payment.
We have one.
Who else will speak for the cub?
Baloo does.
Baloo?
Bagheera. He's not a wolf.
He has no say.
He was the teacher of your cubs. That makes him a member of the pack.
I aingt speaking for no...
man-cub.
Bagheera, have you lost your mind?
A man-cub living in a jungle?
Akela,
his parents will come.
His parents are dead.
I killed them.
There is no one to come looking for him.
This is not your concern, Shere Khan.
The cub is mine.
I have already tasted its mother's blood.
It is my right.
Your right according to who's law?
Best you leave now.
Careful, Akela.
You do not want to challenge me.
This cub...
is under the protection of the pack.
Should you decide to take me,
you take on the pack.
All of us.
As long as I am leader,
this part of the jungle is closed to you.
You cannot be leader forever.
The day you miss your kill,
the man-cub's blood
will run down my chin.
The cub is spoken for.
He is one of us.
You will teach him as you would your own.
As long as I am alive,
the pack will stand by the man-cub.
Hunting is sacred, little brother.
It is our right.
But we never do it for sport.
Wait. Wait.
We look them in the eye,
so that the soul,
doesn't depart alone.
Bagheera.
How old is the jungle, Bagheera?
The jungle has been here since before you were born
and it will be here...
after you die.
The jungle is eternal.
Bagheera...
why am I different to the other wolves?
You are no different,
little brother.
You are special.
Of course you're different.
That's why you need special training.
You know what your trouble is?
Lack of focus.
Baloo,
how many ants can you fit in your mouth?
Ants are really small,
and your mouth is really big.
I bet... Mowgli, will you concentrate?
Do...
not...
move.
Why do I have to do this?
Because I said so.
Tell me the three laws, now.
No wolf shall have contact with man.
Next. Baloo?
What happened to your tail?
Next!
No wolf shall hunt man's animals.
Above all, the cow, which is sacred!
Did it fall off?
Is that why you don't have one?
What? Why haven't you got a tail?
I don't know.
I never really thought about it.
Third law.
Now!
No wolf shall kill man in the jungle,
for killing man only brings danger.
Well. Least you know your laws.
Now, we just got to get you to run as fast as the other wolves.
Don't let your guard down.
All right, that's enough for today, Mowgli.
Straight back to the caves. No wandering.
Run like a wolf, do you hear?
I can't hear you!
Mowgli!
Hey, Mowgli.
Bhoot! What are you doing?
Nothing. Hey, do you want to play?
Got ya!
I nearly had you.
You're good at hiding.
Mum taught me how to hide.
She shows me loads of tricks.
So I can protect myself.
She says, others can mistake,
individuality for weakness.
That's why they have a go at me sometimes.
Yeah.
Me, too.
Come on. I'll race you home.
On my call.
Go!
Hey.
Hey, brother.
What did Baloo make you do today?
Put a scorpion on me and told me not to move.
He says I lack focus.
Baloo says that to all of us.
How was your lesson?
Fine.
Your brother tells me you're getting faster.
He can nearly keep pace with me.
He can almost beat Bhoot.
Yeah, he should just race with his freak friend!
It's only natural they spend so much time with each other.
Freaks have to stick together.
That's enough.
That really hurt.
Inside, now.
Thanks.
You shouldn't let them pick on you like that.
We were only playing.
Better go home, Bhoot.
Bye, Mowgli!
I meant what I said to Mum.
You are getting faster.
Your father was never much of a runner either.
It's true.
I was the slowest in my group.
I never thought I was gonna complete in the Running. I was sure I would fail.
You're going to be late.
Have a good hunt, Father.
Before you know it, you'll be coming along with me.
All of you!
Good hunting! Good hunting all!
This is the jungle!
In the jungle, we all hunt.
And...
we are all hunted.
You see what that means.
It means that you...
you don't want to get caught.
That's why you can't join the pack,
until you have passed the Running. Pay attention!
What's the Running, Baloo?
The Running is the hunt where you...
are the prey.
Now, Bagheera here.
You all know Bagheera, don't you?
Yeah, Bagheera, friendly Bagheera.
In the Running,
Bagheera will hunt you,
and if he catches you...
you fail.
What happens if you fail, Baloo?
You don't join the pack!
But I've never had one of my cubs fail.
And I'm not gonna start now.
Good.
Let's practice, shall we?
On my call.
Wait.
Go!
Come on, now!
Pick up the pace!
Come on!
Faster!
You were with the monkey-people,
again.
The monkey-people have no law,
they're unpredictable,
and they can't even speak proper.
I think they're funny.
There's nothin funny about them.
You keep away, do you understand?
I'm not afraid of them.
Only fools feel no fear, Mowgli.
The monkey-people are especially foolish.
There's nothing they're afraid of.
Well, except Kaa.
Oh, they can't even lay eyes on her.
Who's Kaa?
Oh, you don't want to meet Kaa.
Kaa the Python,
is as old as the jungle.
She sees the past...
and the future.
Turn around!
Eyes forward.
The cow had been killed and left there to be found.
It's the tiger! He's come back!
Only Khan woul kill man's cattle.
One man-cub will bring more men!
It's Shere Khan!
Akela, we knew this would happen! We told you!
Can't you see, Akela, the man-cub is putting us all in danger.
You were wrong to ever take him in!
We should give him to the tiger!
Akela, no! Save the pack!
Please.
He is one of us.
I will see to this matter.
Go!
Shere Khan wants to bring war to the jungle.
War?
With man?
Is he out of his mind?
War with me.
He knows I'm getting old.
This is his way of bringing chaos to the pack.
Khan wants the boy.
We can protect him.
You know there is only one way to protect him.
He must go to the man village.
You're forgetting Bagheera,
this was always more than just a good deed.
The jungle is changing.
Man is taking more of it as each season passes.
And the boy,
may just be our only hope of survival.
The jungle is no longer safe for him.
The pack won't accept him.
They will if he passes the Running.
Baloo, is he ready?
Of course he's not ready. He's not a wolf.
Then make him ready.
Right, no more messing about.
Can you run as fast as a wolf?
No, you can't.
You've got hands with fingers on the ends, so let's use them.
What?
Now jump, to there.
Come on, hurry up.
Again.
Oh, nearly!
Yes! Baloo!
What happened?
Come on, little brother.
Time to go home.
Do you know why those men have come?
They've come to hunt the tiger that steals their cattle.
Will they kill him?
It won't be easy.
Shere Khan is clever.
Very dangerous.
Mowgli...
the jungle is no longer safe for you.
But if you were to be in a place where Shere Khan would never go,
then you would be safe.
Where does Shere Khan never go?
You know, the man village.
Why would I go there?
Because you are a man-cub.
I have seen the way you look at the village.
You are one of them.
I'm a wolf.
Mowgli.
He wants your blood, little brother.
It was Shere Khan who killed your man-parents
all those seasons ago,
and now he wants to kill you.
The pack will protect me.
If you fail the Running...
I won't fail.
You won't...
be able to join the pack.
I won't fail!
Then promise me this.
If you do fail...
you will go to the village.
Promise me Mowgli.
Good evening!
Don't worry. I'll kill your tiger.
How many's he taken this time?
Careful!
Quickly, now. Come on.
Did you smell the blood, man-cub?
What is it?
The creature that did that to your tail.
It's called fire.
It's hotter than the sun.
And it's quicker than the panther.
Your kind use dark magic, man-cub.
They're not my kind.
Sometimes...
I dream I'm a tiger.
But I always wake up a hyena.
You should try and get some sleep.
You'll want to be rested for tomorrow.
What's bothering you, my love?
All I've ever wanted...
my whole life...
is to be a wolf.
For the others to see me as an...
equal.
This is my chance to prove myself.
To prove that I'm one of them.
To prove that I belong.
You belong.
You belong, Mowgli.
Don't ever let anyone make you think otherwise.
You will always be my son, Mowgli.
Nothing can ever change that.
You are about to take part,
in one of our oldest traditions.
The Running of the Pack.
Those of you who pass the test...
will have earned the right...
to join us...
in the night hunt.
As is customary...
Bagheera will perform his task as chaser.
Mowgli!
Good luck, Mowgli!
Face the hill.
Good luck, brother.
I must warn you,
Bagheera has been told not to hold back.
On my call.
Go!
Bagheera.
If you will.
Out of my way, freak!
Let him go, Bagheera.
Bagheera...
Get up.
You let your guard down.
I told you, never let your guard down.
He was only chasing me.
He targeted me.
He knows I'm the weakest.
All of your lessons...
they mean nothing!
Mowgli!
Bagheera!
He's fine.
Let him be.
See you, freak!
Hey, Mowgli.
I saw that look in your eye,
when you were standing over him.
I did what I did because I had to.
Do you think I am stupid?
I saw what you did!
Help! Help! Help!
He was in the lead!
I trained that boy!
Why did you have to do that?
He had to fail!
Why can't you see how much danger he's in?
The pack would have protected him!
Khan will kill him and tear the pack apart.
You are not the only one
who cares about the boy.
All you care about is that he passed.
That is because it's my job!
Bagheera! Baloo! Up here!
Mowgli's been taken by the monkey-people!
Mowgli!
Let go!
Let me go!
My, my.
How you've grown.
And how much chaos you brought upon the pack.
So much more...
to come.
Just...
a little taste.
Mowgli!
Bagheera!
Let the man-cub alone.
He belongs...
to us.
Kaa...
She saved me.
Why?
Good hunting!
Good hunting all!
Good hunting!
Good hunting all!
Mowgli!
Hey, Mowgli.
Don't worry.
We'll get to join them soon enough.
I just know it.
Mum says, some wolves just need more time.
It doesn't mean we're not good enough.
Hey, why don't we have our own night hunt?
Just you and me. What do you say?
You've been spending a lot of time on your own since the monkey-people.
It's not good to be alone.
Wolves are supposed to be with other wolves.
I'm not a wolf.
Of course you are, Mowgli.
You're the best wolf I know!
Why do you always want to be around me, Bhoot?
Because you're my best friend, Mowgli.
I understand what it's like.
For nobody to want you.
I don't have any friends neither.
But...
we have each other.
And we're kind of same, you and me.
We're not the same.
Of course we are.
Because you're special and I'm special.
We're not special!
Don't you get it?
We'll never be one of them! We're freaks!
You're not special, Bhoot!
It's just something your mother tells you to make you feel better about yourself,
because you came out wrong!
Bhoot...
Bhoot, I'm sorry.
Kaa?
Well,
look who's here.
It's the man-cub,
his destiny still uncertain.
Are you afraid of me, man-cub?
No.
Sometimes, fear...
is the only intelligent response.
Don't you think?
Say something...
or I shall get bored.
And when I get bored...
I get hungry.
Is it...
Is it true that you know the past and the future?
What is it you want from me,
man-cub?
Why did you save me from the monkey-people?
Why do you think the elephant saved you from the tiger pit?
The whole jungle has been watching you, man-cub.
Why?
Even you must know you are unusual.
Not quite a wolf,
not quite a man...
or neither...
or both.
I think we can both agree, Mowgli,
that you are something the jungle has never seen before.
Every day,
you grow a little older.
Every day,
you come a little closer.
One day you will fight...
and kill.
One day you will speak...
and the jungle will listen.
What will you say then, man-cub?
Do you hear?
The entertainment,
commences.
I shall be watching.
You have no right to be here, Shere Khan!
Well, I think you'll find I stay where I please.
You kill man's cattle. You poison the jungle.
You're the reason man is here!
But you permitted man to live among you.
You pretend he is a wolf.
When we both know that is the one thing he will never be.
He will always be,
a man.
You...
poisoned the jungle.
But you're no longer leader now,
are you?
You missed your kill.
By your law...
your pack...
must challenge you.
Akela's missed his kill!
As is our tradition,
whoever defeats me...
will become leader of the pack.
What's happening?
Mowgli!
It's the law.
Who's next?
No!
Mowgli!
No!
If I ever see you here again,
I will set your hide ablaze,
and watch you burn alive!
I will taste your blood,
man-cub.
Leave.
What?
You have...
turned the weapons of man...
upon us.
You have brought the pack great shame.
You have brought me...
great shame.
Leave.
Bagh...
Hello, little brother.
I knew you'd come.
I knew you'd rescue me.
Mowgli...
I have not come to rescue you.
I've come to tell you to stay.
What?
You must stay in the village.
You must not come back to the jungle.
But the jungle is my home.
No, it isn't. Not anymore.
I can't stay here.
Yes, you can.
I can't.
You will learn to understand their ways.
You may even grow...
to like it.
It will be all right,
little brother.
How do you know?
You've never spent a day outside the jungle.
I was born among man.
I bear the marks of a collar.
Under my chin.
I lived in a king's palace in a cage just like this.
Fed through a slot.
Man's entertainment.
I only heard stories about the jungle.
When I found you...
all those seasons ago...
I saw something in you.
And I thought I could teach you. I thought I could...
teach you how to belong.
To be like everyone else.
But I was wrong, Mowgli.
You weren't wrong.
I was wrong.
Bagheera!
I love you.
I was another panther...
in that cage, Mowgli.
I bit...
and I scratched...
and I spent my entire life fighting.
Until one day...
I just stopped.
I stopped fighting.
And I gained their trust.
Gain their trust, little brother.
Bagheera!
Don't leave me here.
Come back!
Hey!
You're a fast learner.
Prefer mine cooked.
I noticed your scar.
Tiger.
Looks like we've both got the same enemy.
It's nothing to worry about.
It's all right, it's nothing.
Here, you can keep this one.
It's so, you can hunt.
There.
Hello, brother!
Hello, Mowgli.
You look different.
Why are you here?
It's Shere Khan.
He's taken over.
We've had to leave home.
Those of us who still stand by Akela, anyway.
And, the others?
They come in groups,
in the night.
Threaten us.
Our own people.
It's not my problem anymore.
Mowgli.
It's not my problem.
We've been pushed to the very edge of the jungle.
And Khan won't stop killing man's cattle.
Brother.
We're afraid of what man might do to us.
The pack needs you, Mowgli.
They didn't need me when I was cast out.
Please!
Come home.
This is my home now.
Lockwood,
when will you kill the tiger? He has killed many cattle.
A clever beast.
Knows how to cover his tracks.
Have you ever missed?
Just once,
just once.
Tiger? Tiger?
Elephant.
I did get one of his tusks, though.
I have never missed a kill since.
I will get your tiger.
I have no doubt, I will get him.
I will get him.
Beautiful...
isn't he?
My first albino.
And this
is my own personal menagerie.
You don't understand
a word I'm saying,
do you?
We can't all be scholars.
Because God knows I'm not.
I will show you the hunter who took this...
if you help me rid the jungle of the tiger.
Shere Khan has brought us nothing but chaos.
Akela, we must kill the tiger.
I would rather die,
than break with the laws of the jungle.
And our people...
your friends...
are with me.
But I'm not bound by those laws anymore, Akela,
and this is not the jungle you once knew.
When you were a cub,
I looked you in the eye and saw no fear.
I believed then,
that one day,
you would bring peace to the jungle.
But you have become a man now, Mowgli.
I am not a man.
But neither am I a wolf.
Which of you will follow me?
We can't, Mowgli.
The jungle law, is sacred.
Bagheera.
Tomorrow, the tiger dies.
Khan!
The boy needs us, Akela.
Here I am!
Khan!
Look at you,
using a man's tool to do your killing.
What would Baloo and Bagheera think?
What's he doing?
There's your hunter!
Let's go.
You know, I can still hear
your mother's screams
the night I took her life.
Akela!
Forgive me for doubting you, Mowgli.
It is your time now.
Lead them.
Sleep now, Shere Khan.
Be angry no more.
With the tiger and the hunter now gone,
the future shimmered from darkness...
into light.
Mowgli,
man and wolf,
both and neither,
had given the jungle a voice.
And for as long as he stood watch,
it would speak a lasting peace.
By LESAIGNEUR Sync & corrections December 2018