3 min readMay 29, 2026 02:16 PM IST
Return of the Jungle movie review: I had gone in with a degree of skepticism into ‘Return of the Jungle’. The title itself sounded generic, coming on the back of multiple Indian animation flicks, heavy on mythological figures, blaring background music, and an overarching preaching-from-the-pulpit tone.
While the 93-minute ‘Return of the Jungle’ is also dotted with several ‘teachable’ moments, it never forgets to add in the fun bits, and that’s where it scores. Once I got drawn in, it was clear that the film has more than a few things going for it. Playful animal characters, school kids who feel like they could exist out of the frame, relatable ‘problems’ that feel like they could be fixed, and, glory be, not a single mythological figure lurking in the jungle.
The parallels are drawn neatly. In the Kendriya Vidyalaya, where our characters study (specifically in class 1V B, nice touch) there’s your nice young boy and his pals, facing off a bully. A wise thatha (grandfather) is roped in for advice, and practical help; said grandpa does his job well by coming up with a folk tale, the kind where Goliaths defeat Davids.
A fancy dress competition blows up into a battle between the bully and nice boy. A cricket match, executed with impressive detailing– someone clearly knows their game– becomes another round between the nice guys and the not-so-nice ones. What’s nice is that the scale of the villainy– a Superman-like superhero vs a very-green dinosaur– is playful, and then the good guys win, which of course they do, everyone, including the bully boy, cheers.
What’s even more impressive is that the team knows the ethos of the KVs well: the kids are from different backgrounds and religions, and it feels good to see the reflection of a composite India, featuring a Rahul and an Ali among others, when so much of it is being erased from mainstream cinema.
It did strike me that the insistence on creating confluence makes it problematic to figure out exactly where the film, with its efficient animation, is set: a house on stilts, very North-East like, music from all over, with the Tamilian thatha listening to a suprabhatam, a dargah being the setting of a predictable but rousing qawwali, plus a lush jungle with cute critters winning over a scary hunter. But you can safely ignore such niceties, because overall, the film stays light and entertaining, perfect for the little ones.
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Bits of Panchatantra, bits of Bollywood, and a lot of fun, ‘Return Of The Jungle’ is a fun desi alternative to the Hollywood superheroes crowding our canvas.
Return Of The Jungle movie director: Vaibhav Kumaresh
Return Of The Jungle movie rating: Three stars
