The Jungle Book- The Legend of Mowgli

Trouble In The Jungle

A Review of The Jungle Book- The Legend of MowgliThe Jungle Book- The Legend of Mowgli

Tina Velgos

If you want to explore the literary magic of Rudyard Kipling’s The

Jungle book, don’t waste your time with Hollywood Interactive Digital

Entertainment’s CD-ROM storybook version, The Jungle Book – The Legend of

Mowgli.

Although this software provides kids with a narrated line-by-line text of

The Jungle Book, there’s something lost in this electronic translation of

the classic book. An animated version of Mowgli, the jungle boy raised by

wolves, dances in the opening screen. Very similar to the dancing

characters in the Living Book series, although Mowgli’s animation is stiff

and not too entertaining.

Call me old-fashioned! I think classic literature is best in book form. If

your children aren’t old enough to read, you should sit them on your lap

and read to them instead of plopping them down to an electronic abbreviated

version of a literary classic. Just throwing in a game or two doesn’t

automatically make a good literary interactive CD-ROM.

Although kids can also read the facts on author Rudyard Kipling and guide

their way through a photo tour of India, most of this information is

available on CD-ROM encyclopedias. 11-year-old Stefanie proclaimed the

entire section to be “really boring”.

Unfortunately, there’s not much to love about the Top Banana game, either.

This lame animated game features a slingshot, equipped with a banana. Yes,

you read right! Kids use their mouse to aim the banana-powered slingshot

at hungry jungle monkeys who swing from tree to tree. When their aim is on

target, a screen message proclaims “You are Top Banana”. I don’t know

about you, but I don’t care for the slingshots and kids combination.

In the New Adventures of Mowgli section, kids can select from a 3-part

screen, some of which features live action digital video. Clicking on the

moving feet icons was a little odd, and although you can learn some facts

about jungle animals, I had a hard time concentrating on the split-screens

and would have liked to view the videos on a larger screen.

This title, which I tested in a CD-ROM hybrid version, seemed to run slower

than normal, even on a 33MHz Mac Performa. Although the software is

relatively inexpensive, you can do better with a book version and a library

card.

School House Scorecard

Product:	The Jungle Book- The Legend of Mowgli
Company:	Hollywood Interactive Digital Entertainment 12420 Montague St., Suite B Arleta, CA 91331 E-Mail: HIDE@EARTHLINK.COM Internet: www2.earthlink.net/~h_i_d_e

Cost:

$19.90

Windows:
IBM PC or compatible, 386 DX, Windows 3.1, 4 MB RAM,
8 MB RAM preferred, SVGA color monitor,
256 colors at 640 x 480 resolution,
Mouse or other Windows-compatible pointing device,
Double speed or faster CD-ROM drive and ".wav" sound card

Macintosh:
Apple Macintosh computer, System 7.5, 4 MB RAM,
8 MB RAM preferred, 4 MB free storage space,
13″ or larger monitor, 256 colors at 640 x 480 resolution or higher
and a double speed or faster CD-ROM drive.