The Sun's Tear
is a 2D animated web film created by Kaa VFX, based very loosely on The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling. It was released to YouTube on March 17, 2022.
The story follows Sanaya, a human girl who was left in the jungle as a child and raised by a wolf pack. Now a teenager, Sanaya seeks revenge on the tiger Shere Khan for killing her adopted father and scarring her face. To gain the wisdom she needs to defeat Shere Khan, she seeks out the giant python Kaa. Mysteries come to light as Sanaya learns of the power of the Sun's Tear, though the danger grows every moment as she is unable to tell if Kaa is a friend or foe.
Tropes presented in the film:
- Adapted Out: Baloo, the Bander-log, Hathi, and Tabaqui, all major characters from the book, never appear in this adaptation.
- Adaptational Villainy: Kaa takes cues from the Disney versions and is presented as a malicious manipulator.
- Ambiguous Ending: The film ends after Sanaya slays Shere Khan and gets a vision of Kaa as the forest burns down around her. Whatever happens next is left to the viewer's imagination.
- Animal Talk: All the animals and the human Sanaya can speak to one another.
- The Bad Guy Wins:
- In the end, Kaa succeeds at using both hypnosis and manipulation to utilize Sanaya as a weapon to take Shere Khan out and set the jungle aflame.
- To the lesser extent, Shere Khan himself manages to get the last laugh by proving that Sanaya had become even worse than him by having her strike him down while controlled by Kaa.
- Brainwashed: Kaa can hypnotize victims with her eyes. She uses this to dominate her subjects' minds and even take manual control if she pleases. All this happens to Sanaya throughout the film.
- Cats Are Mean: Shere Khan is just as much of an angry, vicious brute as he ever was.
- Deal with the Devil: Sanaya makes deals with Kaa for wisdom and guidance, in exchange for "pieces of her soul". Though Sanaya initially believes these payments to be metaphorical, it is later revealed that she is giving up her free will and control.
- Evil All Along: Downplayed with Kaa. Her menacing nature always presented her as a suspicious character, but the more she aids Sanaya and gives her wisdom, the more she comes off as an ally. Later, however, it is revealed that she is just as evil as suspected, and more so.
- Evil Laugh: With Shere Khan dead and the jungle burning, Kaa lets out a wicked cackle.
- Evil Versus Evil: Kaa wants Shere Khan dead as much as Sanaya does, but for her reasons: the two fought in the past and Shere Khan was victorious, leaving Kaa scarred.
- False Friend: Kaa pretends to be a mentor and ally to Sanaya, but only sees her as a slave and tool.
- Gender Flip:
- Mowgli, the boy from the original stories, is replaced by Sanaya, a teenage girl who fills largely the same role.
- Kaa is reimagined as female.
- Grave-Marking Scene: Sanaya goes to visit her adoptive father's grave, an upright stone on top of a hill, to apologize for not avenging him.
- He Who Fights Monsters: Downplayed. Sanaya becomes so fixated on her revenge against Shere Khan that she burns the jungle to draw him out. Shere Khan even calls her out on this, saying that her actions have made her a far greater monster than he ever was. However, Sanaya was tricked by Kaa into believing rain was coming to put the fire out, and further controlled by Kaa into murdering Shere Khan.
- Humans Are the Real Monsters: The reason Shere Khan hates humans. He speaks of their mastery over the elements of Fire, Ice, Lightning and how they hurt animals, and states that Sanaya, despite being raised in the jungle, is no better than them because she burns the jungle.
- Hypnotic Eyes: Kaa's eyes are hypnotic and give her the ability to brainwash and control victims.
- Kill Me Now, or Forever Stay Your Hand: With the jungle on fire and nowhere to turn, Shere Khan invites Sanaya to kill him, and forever prove herself worse than himself. She unwillingly complies.
- Manipulative Bastard: Kaa proves to be this when it is revealed that she only sees Sanya as a tool, and was just charming the girl into thinking of her as an ally.
- Mind-Control Eyes: On top of Kaa's eyes using colorful spirals to hypnotize victims, the victims' eyes reflect the same.
- More than Mind Control: Though Kaa's hypnotic powers assist her in taking over Sanaya's mind, it is the constant manipulation and promises of knowledge that keep Sanaya coming back to Kaa, and eventually making her essentially addicted to the hypnosis.
- My God, What Have I Done?: Sanaya, after realizing that Kaa tricked her into burning the jungle down, weeps and says "What have I done?" as she watches her home burn.
- Revenge: Sanaya's main drive and reason to kill Shere Khan. Kaa takes that to her advantage.
- Surprisingly Realistic Outcome: The prologue shows that an ordinary human hunter would have little hope of successfully defeating a much more experienced and ferocious tiger. Sanaya finds this out the hard way when Shere Khan quickly turns the tables on her and nearly kills her. The only reason she survives in the first place is that Shere Khan decides to show Cruel Mercy to her. Even during the second fight, Sanaya only manages to kill Shere Khan because a) Kaa brainwashed her into doing so and b) Shere Khan himself was goading the jungle girl into finishing him off to show she was not that much different than him.
- Suspiciously Similar Substitute: Sanaya is a stand-in for the original character of Mowgli, replacing the young boy with a teenage girl.
- Villain Song: "You'll Be Mine", performed by Kaa as she finalizes her control over Sanaya's mind and gloats about it.
- Wise Serpent: Kaa is a massive python rumored to have special powers and a large amount of wisdom. Protagonist Sanaya seeks her help on how to defeat Shere Khan, and Kaa leads her to a force she calls the "Sun's Tear". She also proves to be deceptive and cunning, as she tricks Sanaya into giving up her free will and becoming her slave.
- You Killed My Father: Sanaya wants revenge on Shere Khan for him killing her adoptive wolf father.
