Based on Rudyard Kipling’s timeless stories, The Jungle Book is an all-new live-action epic adventure about Mowgli (newcomer Neel Sethi), a man-cub who’s been raised by a family of wolves. Urged to abandon the only home he’s ever known, Mowgli embarks on a captivating journey of self-discovery, guided by his mentor the panther Bagheera and the free-spirited bear Baloo. “If only all blockbusters could be this exciting, engrossing, and beautiful.” - The Village Voice. (English spoken)
the story
Mowgli (Neel Sethi) is a man-cub raised by the Indian wolf couple Raksha (Lupita Nyong'o) and Akela (Giancarlo Esposito) ever since he was brought to them as a baby by Bagheera, the black panther (Ben Kingsley). Bagheera trains Mowgli to learn the ways of the wolves but Mowgli faces certain challenges and lags behind that of his lupine wolf sublings, and Bagheera admonishes him for using human tricks like tool building, instead of learning the ways of the pack.
One particular year, during the dry season, all the animals in the jungle gather at the Water Truce to drink the last remaining waters while abiding the "Law of the Land" not to devour each other. When the fearsome scarred Bengal tiger Shere Khan (Idris Elba) scents Mowgli's presence and threatens his life since man isn't allowed in the jungle, a debate and argument arises among the wolf pack whether or not they should keep Mowgli. But before a general consensus is made, Mowgli voluntarily decides to leave the jungle for the betterment of himself and the others. Bagheera also volunteers to guide him to the human civilization.
However, en-route, Shere Khan ambushes them, injuring Bagheera while Mowgli manages to escape with the help of a herd of buffaloes. Mowgli, now alone, stumbles upon a thick, canopy forest where he meets Kaa (Scarlett Johansson), an enormous Indian python who tries to devour him by hypnotizing him, but he is rescued by Baloo the bear (Bill Murray). In exchange for saving Mowgli's life, Baloo demands Mowgli to fetch him honey which is at the top of the cliff which Mowgli willingly agrees. Together, they form a close bond and Mowgli decides to stay with Baloo until the winter season arrives.
Meanwhile, back in the jungle, Shere Khan – acting all oblivious – visits the wolf pack and kills Akela by throwing him off the cliff. He demands the boy be handed over to him, but Raksha reminds him that he has left the jungle. Confident that Mowgli will return again, he appoints himself the new leader of the pack since the alpha has been killed.
When Bagheera returns to fetch Mowgli, he finds out that Mowgli has decided to live with Baloo. With Bagheera's telling, Baloo unwillingly confronts Mowgli and lies to him that he never considered him as a friend so that Mowgli can change his mind about staying with him. However, Mowgli is suddenly abducted by a group of monkeys who take him to an ancient ruined temple and present him to King Louie (Christopher Walken), a Bornean orangutan-resembling Gigantopithecus who tries to coerce Mowgli into giving up the secret to the elusive and deadly "red flower"; fire. Bagheera and Baloo arrive just in time to distract the monkeys and manage to fight them off while Mowgli flees. King Louie chases him but is killed by the falling temple, but not before informing Mowgli of Akela's demise.
Furious by the fact that Bagheera and Baloo didn't inform him about Akela’s death, Mowgli decides to return back to the jungle to confront Shere Khan and put an end to his tyranny. But first, Mowgli ventures into the village where the humans lived and for the first time he witnesses his own kind from afar and gazes at them in amazement. He steals one of the burning torches and heads back to the jungle, but accidentally starts a fire. Bagheera and Baloo follow him in close pursuit.
When the news broke that a man with the "red flower" is making its way into the jungle, all the animals gather at the Water Truce. Mowgli confronts Sheer Khan, but throws his torch into the water. Sheer Khan attacks Mowgli, but Bagheera, Baloo and the wolf pack manage to hold him off and buy Mowgli enough time to set a trap in the burning jungle. He lures Khan onto a tree and tricks him into falling to his death in a pit of fire. The elephants later help to extinguish the fire.
A few years later, Raksha becomes the new alpha and leads the wolf pack, and Mowgli now accepts that he is not a wolf but a man and decides to do things the "human way."
source: Wikipedia