Return of the Jungle(2026)
Nine year old Mihir and his friends are faced with the daunting task of outwitting the biggest, meanest bully in school, Rahul Malhotra. To help them ride through this impossible journey, they turn to Thatha and his fantastic tales of inspiration from the ancient Jungles of India. Together, they must build a ruthless dinosaur, fight a nerve- racking game of cricket and travel all the way to Rajasthan, to rediscover the power of friendship, compassion and determination.
Quick Facts
- Theatrical Release
- 29 May 2026
- Director
- Vaibhav Kumaresh
- Language
- Hindi
- Runtime
- 1h 45m
Storyline
A nine-year-old boy and his friends try to defeat their school's biggest bully. They get help from an elder's inspiring stories about ancient Indian jungles. Their adventure involves building a dinosaur, playing a tense cricket match, and traveling to Rajasthan to learn about friendship and courage.
“Friendship's roar conquers the schoolyard jungle.”
Film Details
Parental Guide
Vibe & Tags
Cast & Crew
Trivia
- The film's director, Vaibhav Kumaresh, is a veteran animator known for creating the iconic 'Simpoo' character for Indian television.
- It is one of the few Indian animated films to directly incorporate elements of Indian mythology and folklore into a contemporary school story.
- The animation style blends 3D characters with detailed, painterly backgrounds inspired by different Indian landscapes like Rajasthan.
- The voice cast includes veteran actor Anjan Srivastav as Thatha, known for his roles in classic Hindi comedies like 'Wagle Ki Duniya'.
- The film was produced by Cinemantra Studios, a company that has primarily focused on live-action films before this animated project.
- A key theme is the 'Jungle Book' trope, but it is reversed by having jungle wisdom solve modern urban problems like school bullying.
- The cricket match sequence is a detailed animated set-piece, which is a common but challenging element to animate in Indian films.