Jungle Book
Inspired by Kipling's version of Odysseus
EST V ACT domestic box office revenue
$315 – 385MM V $368MM
Mythosis universal quests used
4
Audience appeal
11.25 – 13.75%
Script Score
0.39
Jungle Book movie directed by Jon Favreau is based on the book by Rudyard Kipling. The story crafted by Justin Marks follows Mowgli the man-cub being hunted Shere Khan the tiger. The movie explores basic human desires of Preservation, Tranquillity, Family & Accumulation. Mythosis uses 4 mythological tales to extract the plot structure of the movie.
1. The invisible plot structure of Jungle Book
1A. The script of Jungle Book borrows 94% of its events from 4 mythological tales
Shere Khan’s quest is driven by the desire to survive a threat and mirrors the tale of Kans from Hindu mythology. Both Kans & Shere Khan fail to prevent their nemesis from escaping.
Mowgli’s quest is driven by the desire to be in secure surroundings and mirrors the tale of Odysseus from Greek mythology. Both Odysseus & Mowgli survive multiple obstacles before returning home.
Bagheera’s quest is driven by the desire to protect loved ones and mirrors the tale of Demeter from Greek mythology. Both Demeter & Bagheera recover their lost loved ones.
Baloo’s quest is driven by the desire to accumulate & own and mirrors the tale of Valmiki from Hindu mythology. Both Valmiki & Baloo give up their selfish endeavours to help others.
Raksha, Kaa & King Louie have underdeveloped quests. They mirror supporting characters in the tale of Odysseus and are subsumed in the quest of Mowgli.
NOTE: Detailed mirroring of each character’s primary quest to their respective mythological tales is in section “3A. Quests of characters and their mythological counterparts”
Mythosis plot structure
# 657,101
Tales interweaved
Kans, Demeter, Odysseus & Valmiki
I. How does interweaving mythological tales lead to infinite story plots?
II. Can the pursuit of a Desire have more than one quest?
2. The potential of Jungle Book’s plot structure: $315 – 385MM
The interweaving of 32 mythological tales can generate a billion unique stories. By using these 32 tales, we can extract the plot structure of any story across various genres. Our study of blockbuster, hit, and flop plot structures led to the discovery of the Mythosis Code, a set of principles for creating compelling stories. The plot structure of a story is analyzed to see how well it adheres to these storytelling principles.
2A. Plot structure evaluation of Jungle Book
- All Blockbusters have at least 3 universal quests. Jungle Book uses 4 universal quests of Preservation, Tranquillity, Family and Accumulation.
- In Blockbusters, each universal quest is mirrored by ONLY ONE character. Shere Khan mirrors the quest of Preservation. Mowgli mirrors the quest of Tranquillity. Bagheera mirrors the quest of Family whereas the Baloo mirrors the quest of Accumulation.
- Every Blockbuster character borrows at least 35% of the universal quest. Shere Khan borrows 36% of events from the quest for Preservation. Mowgli borrows 39% of events from the quest of Tranquillity. Bagheera borrows 16% from the universal quest of Family. Baloo borrow 19% from the universal quest of Accumulation.
- Blockbusters have a quest interweaving threshold of 0.5. Interweaving occurs when events of 2 quests occur simultaneously in the story. The quest interweaving score of Jungle Book is 0.50 and is at par.
An example of interweaving the quests of Mowgli & Shere Khan:
2B. Box office revenue estimation of Jungle Book
Jungle Book’s plot structure reveals two powerful quests that of Mowgli & Shere Khan. The plot structure suffers from the shallow quests of other characters that adversely impacts the cohesiveness of the story.
The Script Score measures a plot structure’s adherence to the four principles of Mythosis Code. We use the Script Score to estimate a movie’s audience appeal & revenues. Blockbuster plot structures have a score of at least 0.64 and appeal to 20% of the audiences.
Script Score
0.39
Audience appeal
11.25 – 13.75%
I. How is Mythosis Code used to estimate revenues?
II. Aren’t box-office revenues influenced by several factors beyond just the story plot?
3. The ideal plot structure of Jungle Book
We have identified 32 mythological tales, the superset of all tales across cultures. The quests of these tales have also recurred over time periods. They represent human behaviours that are deeply embedded in our shared memories. Each tale is the richest expression of the pursuit of a human desire. The tales have a unique pattern of events spread over 5 major arcs.
Mapping a character’s quest to the relevant mythological tale reveals the gaps in their quest, if any. Plugging these gaps with the missing events deepens the character quest. The missing events also provide an opportunity for interweaving the various quests. These events strengthen the story and unlock its hidden potential.
3A.Quest of characters and their mythological counterparts
Quest 1: Shere Khan mirrors the universal quest for Preservation
Shere Khan’s desire for Preservation stems from the need to survive a threat. The tale of Kans from Hindu mythology is the universal quest for Preservation.
Quest 2: Mowgli mirrors the universal quest for Tranquillity
Mowgli’s desire for Tranquillity stems from the need to be in secure surroundings. The tale of Odysseus from Greek mythology is the universal quest for Tranquillity.
Quest 3: Bagheera mirrors the universal quest for Family
Bagheera’s desire for Family stems from the need to protect loved ones. The tale of Demeter from Greek mythology is the universal quest for Family.
Quest 4: Baloo mirrors the universal quest for Accumulation
Baloo’s desire for Accumulation stems from the need to collect & own. The tale of Valmiki from Hindu mythology has a robust expression in Dicken’s character of Scrooge which is the universal quest for Accumulation.
3B.Gaps in the current plot structure
The gap in Jungle Book’s plot structure arises from relatively weaker quests of characters besides Mowgli & Shere Khan.
3C.Unlocking the hidden potential
The plot of Jungle Book is a subset of blockbuster plot structure # 657,101. It emerges from interweaving the tales of Kans, Demeter, Odysseus & Valmiki.
Contact us for Mythosis plot structure #657, 101
Tags: Odysseus, Valmiki, Demeter, Kans, Tranquillity, Accumulation, Preservation, Family, Jon Favreau, Justin Marks, Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, 2016