The Jungle Book 2 (G, 2003)

Well, in addition to being fairly boring, this movie doesn't have much to recommend it. As far as scariness, there are some suspenseful bits with Shere Khan lurking and threatening; a somewhat scary scene when the villagers chase Shere Khan out with spears and torches, and then a more intense scene near the end when Shere Khan chases the kids across a lava pit (they dangle, fall, but are saved by Baloo, and Shere Khan ends up on a rock at the bottom of the lava pit, trapped but not hurt.) It is a bit scarier than the first Jungle Book, but not much. However, two issues in particular mean that my daughters (4 and 7) won't watch it again. 1) Shanti, a responsible, rule-following girl, is set up as the enemy for much of the film and Baloo and Mowgli are dismissive of her and frequently refer to her as "that girl", with "girl" sounding about as appealing as "cockroach." And 2) near the end, Mowgli must decide whether to stay with Baloo or go back to the village with Shanti, and he initially chooses Baloo and Shanti is clearly sad and hurt by this. My girls ended up crying because he didn't choose her and she was so sad. Mowgli does eventually choose to leave Baloo and go back to the village, and then the kids find a way to visit with Baloo and Bagheera in the jungle so that everyone gets a happy ending. Granted, my kids are fairly sensitive, but they were still crying during the credits and needed a major distraction afterwards.