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Heartwarming / The Jungle Book (1994)

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  • A young Mowgli watches as his widowed father Nathoo gives a red flower to a woman and kisses her gently before winking at Mowgli while the other women giggle.
  • Following Nathoo's death, a young Mowgli and Grey Brother are taken to a wolf pack by Bagheera in the jungle, and the wolves surround both Mowgli and Grey Brother in a peaceful nature, implying that they are willing to take in the orphaned boy and wolf cub as their own.
    • Afterwards, the young Mowgli finds a young Baloo with his head stuck in a log begging for help. Mowgli manages to free Baloo from the log, and Baloo gratefully develops a friendship with Mowgli, Bagheera, Grey Brother and the wolves.
  • Young Mowgli and Kitty fall in love, and are reunited later in life against all odds.
  • The montage of Kitty and Dr. Plumford teaching Mowgli how to interact with society again. It beautifully evolves from a pet project into a friendship with him. Even Baloo, Bagheera, Grey Brother and the wolves start to grow accustomed to Kitty's presence during her visits to the jungle with Mowgli.
  • The dinner ballroom scene. Mowgli, dressed in a nice white nehru suit with a white turban, genuinely thanks Dr. Plumford for inviting him over. Mowgli starts to enjoy the song (The Blue Danube Waltz) that the band is performing, right before Kitty offers to dance with him. Mowgli happily engages in dancing with Kitty, reflecting on the time when they hang out as children.
    • Unfortunately, this quickly turns into a Tear Jerker courtesy of a jealous Boone, who gets Brydon to announce the engagement between Kitty and Boone while Wilkins and several of Boone's men humiliate Mowgli by knocking him into a table of food, provoking an ashamed Mowgli to return back to the jungle. On the plus side, this also demonstrates Kitty's loyalty to Mowgli, as she crossly breaks off her relationship with Boone for humiliating Mowgli.
  • After Mowgli saves Colonel Brydon's life, Colonel Brydon gratefully affirms to Mowgli that any man that can count Mowgli as a friend is very fortunate. This was lampshaded earlier in the film when a young Mowgli managed to save Brydon's life by calming down the elephant that Brydon was riding on when Shere Khan roared in anger over Buldeo's actions, prompting an impressed Brydon to thank the boy for his bravery. Even better, Brydon considered Nathoo to be a close friend who died protecting others. It wouldn't be outlandish to believe he sees a bit of Nathoo in Mowgli.
    • It's a small moment, but before they part ways, Brydon instructs Mowgli to bring his daughter back. There's a brief pause before he realizes how demanding the tone sounds and adds a humble "...please". Brydon's not usually one to show vulnerability, but not only is he swallowing his pride for the sake of his daughter, but it's also to acknowledge Mowgli as a friend than if he were a mere foot soldier.
  • Even though it's in the midst of learning Sher Khan is on the prowl, there's a tender moment when Mowgli whispers to Kitty that he plans to escape so he can draw the tiger away from her. He then assures her he'll come back for her when this is all over.
    • We also get this exchange between her and Boone when their party number is dwindling, strongly implying that she has that much faith in Mowgli to not be afraid she'll go the way of Boone's men:
    Boone: You could die too, you know.
    Kitty: (Unfazed) He won't let me.
  • Due to his developing respect towards Mowgli, King Louie gives his support towards Mowgli when the latter fights against Boone in the treasure cavern; he even gets discomforted when Boone almost sliced Mowgli with his sword. After Mowgli defeats Boone, King Louie happily applauds for a job well done before summoning Kaa (who has recovered from his stab wounds) while allowing Mowgli to escape with Kitty. Following Mowgli and Kitty's departure, King Louie even gives Boone a Death Glare before Kaa finally attacks and kills Boone for good.
  • Mowgli's ultimate confrontation with Shere Khan. After Mowgli engages him in a roaring contest, Shere Khan settles down and lets him and Kitty pass without incident - in Mowgli's own words, the tiger acknowledges him as a fellow resident of the jungle.
    • What's more, when Shere Khan sees Mowgli as a resident of the jungle, he chuffs. When tigers chuff, it's a non-aggressive greeting. If anything, this is a lovely, subtle indication that his accepting Mowgli is not with reluctance. Aside from the chuffs, Shere Khan also moans as an apology for killing Nathoo, assuring that it was Nothing Personal.
    • In this film, Shere Khan is more of an Anti-Villain, whose attacks on the camp at the beginning were either that of a predator killing for food, or an act of punishment against the camp's hunters for killing for sport instead of necessity.
  • Baloo survives being shot in the end. It's a wonderful reveal with Dr. Plumford remarking that he was a "very good patient", even Mowgli is very happy to hear about this.
  • Kitty giving Mowgli the red flower before kissing him, symbolic of how she's requited his feelings for her.

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