Journal - Week 2 - Morality and The Jungle Book

Disney's The Jungle Book is a tale which explores a coming of age story and teaches that growing up requires responsibility. The character who undergoes this process in the film is Baloo the Bear.

Though Baloo is already physically grown he has not yet grown to act as a 'proper' adult member of the jungle society at the beginning of the film. Baloo is a "jungle bum" who floats around without a care in the world living on the bare necessities for life. He has no responsibility, no work, no purpose in his life but to be lazy. However, when Baloo decides to try and raise Mowgli as his own, a whole new world of adulthood and parenthood fall upon him. Baloo struggles to keep Mowgli safe from the various creatures in the jungle including monkeys, snacks, and Shere Khan the Tiger. Baloo fails at first in protecting Mowgli, who is kidnapped by monkeys and runs to Bagheera for help.

Baloo's childish behavior is juxtaposed with Bagheera's authoritative presence of knowledge and wisdom. Bagheera scoffs Baloo's "jungle bum" behavior of executing the bare necessities in life and had warned him that wouldn't work if he choose to help Mowgli out. Baloo begins to understand this warning when Mowgli is captured by the monkeys and then asks for the help of Bagheera. Bagheera  could be seen as a type of grandfatherly figure through out who generously helps out the first time parent/s.

It is from Bagheera that Baloo comes to understand what it means to be responsible for another. This is shown in Baloo's sacrifice of injury to save Mowgli from Shere Khan. And for a while, the filmmakers let us to believe that Baloo gave the ultimate sacrifice of his life. This makes the connection that parents will give there lives for there children and that this is the weight of the responsibility of parenthood. This also correlates to Mowgli's biological parent's death. Overall, the filmmakers are illustrating that parenthood requires the responsibility and strength of one's whole life.

Baloo's character continues to grow at the end of the story when he has to come to accept that Mowgli must move on. That Mowgli will eventually have a family of his own with his own and his own responsibilities like Baloo did.

Overall, this film explores the dynamics of maturing to adulthood specifically parenthood through the development of the character Baloo and his story of parenting the Man Cub Mowgli. The film demonstrates that with growing up one must be responsible for one's actions and potentially for the actions of others. The film teaches one to be responsible and proactive as one grows older.