5 Lessons From The Jungle Book
The new version of Disney’s Jungle Book has enchanted both children and adults. It is a well-known story that seems to span generations and never seems to fail, regardless of whether the music and the characters change. But why do we like this story so much? Why is it exciting and inspiring for people of all ages?
The answer lies in its glorious and timeless message: it is a story about respecting the environment and everything that lives in it, peppered with adventure, friendship and fighting spirit, which children like so much.
It is a fantastic story that draws parallels to reality. Mowgli’s story reminds us of true counterparts, such as the story of the wild child l’Aveyron or the passionate story of Rodríguez Pantoja – the child who grew up with wolves in Sierra Morena, Córdoba. Such stories have been filmed.
If we go back to The Jungle Book , there is something that would make you enjoy it even more if you saw it again: to see it with children and enjoy how the characters’ adventures, and therefore their lessons, have become classic stories. Let’s take a look at some of them:
The Jungle Book explains how humans are just one species of many who inhabit the Earth, and that we should respect both the environment and the rest of the species that inhabit it. Each species fulfills its own function in the circle of life. Each species is skilled at certain things and incapable of doing others.
As children we believe in this, but as adults we realize that neither the environment nor the animals are respected. Instead, they are often used and mistreated. This is how it is for people who hide hidden ambitions and participate in power struggles where the environment is sacrificed.
Humans can benefit from their rational side – a key difference between us and other species. Unfortunately, this capacity for reasonableness tends to value personal motives over things that would benefit our entire species and those around us. We forget that we do not own the nature that surrounds us; we are just guests.
Little Mowgli arrived in the jungle protected by the panther Bagheera and was adopted by the wolf Raksha, who raised him as a member of the herd. The animals in the jungle knew that he was human and that this was not necessarily their job. But they did it anyway.
Mowgli believes that this is his mother, the one who licked his wounds, who took care of him, who showed him how to do things, who guided him towards safe paths so that nothing would hurt him. Without belonging to the same bloodline or even species, Raksha is a mother who perfectly exemplifies how everyone needs a happy upbringing, full of love, tenderness and education. The rest of the variables are secondary.
If there is one thing we should appreciate, it is the beauty and resources we get from nature. It is a luxurious source of life, health and happiness that gives us peace and tranquility. It helps us shape our ideas and capture the most important moments in our lives.
As children, we enjoy it to the fullest without looking at the clock, and we get excited when we can enjoy longer days with more light.
The film’s message regarding nature is the same as we have received continuously: “you have to look for it, follow it and push your problems aside.” Enjoy its light and its sound, because you only live once, and if you do it surrounded by nature, your life will be more complete and happy.
The character Shere Khan is a tiger who, after a bad experience with humans – specifically with Mowgli’s father – believes that all humans are his enemies. He warns the rest of the animals that they should hate Mowgli because the “human puppy” will grow up and stop being a child, and when he does, he will be as ruthless as the rest of the humans.
Shere Khan can not understand that a few people hurt him at one time, but that does not mean that the rest will act in the same way. But his resentment is so strong that the tiger’s main goal is to kill the human puppy, no matter who gets upset about it. Children need to understand that resentment is too heavy a burden to bear.
There is nothing better than having friends, and if you can enjoy their company in an environment as authentic as the jungle, or at least somewhere in nature, the bonds will be so much stronger. When we were kids, we knew it. Mowgli meets different animals from different species in the film, but the bear Baloo and the panther Bagheera are his faithful friends.
They guarantee each other’s safety, take care of each other and remain united so that Shere Khan does not kill Mowgli. Everyone challenges each other’s abilities and risks their lives for each other over and over again. But most importantly, they do not betray each other.
Mowgli knows that his knowledge as a human being can be used both to improve and destroy an entire ecosystem, and he is not prepared to destroy the environment in which he and all his friends live. Everyone can make the decision to do the right thing.
