"So, you've returned to seal your fate, have you?"
| “ | No, Katherine! I think it is you who is mistaken. I realize this adolescent infatuation you have with this savage has addled your brain, but I can't allow you to make a fool of me and I will not lose you to some puerile jungle boy! | „ |
| ~ Y'know, Mowgli was right about you, Boone. You kill for sport, anger and treasure. |
Oh, goody. I found another PP candidate from the 1994 film adaptation of The Jungle Book. My great friend BrazilianGuy20000 got Buldeo and Harley approved on this wiki in September, and he did say he wanted to discuss if William Boone had a chance to count, but held off on doing him because he wasn't sure if he was too intelligent or not. However, having revisited this film recently, I have a feeling that he might be a weak but technical keeper for the trope. I'll do my best to debunk the arguments against him, but let's make sure this discussion is kept civilized and adultlike, alright? Good. Now presenting...Captain Boone. Let the discussion begin.
What's The Work?
Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book is a 1994 live-action movie written and directed by Stephen Sommers and distributed by Buena Vista Pictures. It's an adaptation of the 1895 story collection by Kipling and the 1967 animated movie made by Disney. It follows the story of a boy named Mowgli, who grows up in the jungle and befriends several animals. He later falls in love with a girl named Katherine, and the two must team up to save Monkey City from the notorious hunter William Boone, who seeks to steal the treasures of the city for himself and will kill anyone who gets in his way.
Who Is He?
Captain William Boone is the main antagonist of the film. He is the captain of the British Army and Katherine/Kitty's fiancée who is hellbent on stealing the lost treasure of Monkey City and hoarding it all for himself. He's the arch-nemesis of Mowgli.
Is He Pathetic?
Extremely. He's a greedy and cruel egotist who merely wanted to steal the hidden treasures of Monkey City and was willing to deal with any threats who opposed his plans. He's also a poacher, hunting down and killing animals to keep them as trophies for his own sick pleasure rather than hunger or survival. As Mowgli points out, Boone kills only for sport and anger, showing how murderous he is. Except for Wilkins, he doesn't display any visible care for his allies or commanding officers, being willing to sell them out no matter the cost.
He harbors a petty grudge against Mowgli and seeks to kill the boy no matter what, refusing to hear Katherine out when she says that he is harmless and instead having his men try to capture Mowgli. Even his first interaction with Mowgli was not great as the two engaged in a fight. Later on, he sends bandits to kidnap Katherine and the Colonel (the latter of whom is her father), leading to some officers getting killed as they were escorting the two. He eventually plans to kill the tiger Shere Khan and blackmails Mowgli into taking him to the treasure otherwise he'll kill his loved ones. In the climax, he tries to kill Mowgli in a duel, but loses badly to him. Even after his defeat, he tried to bribe Katherine with a wealthy and prosperous life, but she refuses upon realising how greedy he is and chooses Mowgli, leading Boone to yell at her and steal the treasure for himself. This, however, came at the cost of his life, as the snake Kaa showed up and scared him to the point where he fell into the water and got devoured by Kaa, with the primates celebrating his demise.
What Makes Him A Pinhead?
Here are his "Stupid Evil" deeds that highlight how much of an idiotic loser he is:
- Two of his men, Buldeo and Harley, are not ideal minions to have due to their incompetence.
- In his first scene, he blatantly tries to advance himself on her as Mowgli was watching, causing him to tell him to back off. Afterwards, he got into a fight with Mowgli (a young man, compared to Boone who is an adult) yet he was easily beaten by him and embarrassingly fell into the river, showing he's not that good at fighting.
- He perceives Mowgli as a threat even when the latter shows no suspicious qualities, leading him to dismiss Katherine's words of assurance that the boy comes in peace. This means he lets his rivalry with Mowgli blind him to the big picture.
- He arrested Mowgli for trying to kill Katherine even when that wasn't the case at all.
- Even after Mowgli saw the severed heads, skin pelts and corpses of animals killed by Boone in his palace, he thought he could casually ask Mowgli to take him to Monkey City despite the latter clearly not liking him. Even Mowgli calls him out on how he breaks the jungle law given Boone kills for sport, not survival. Despite knowing his flaws, he makes no attempt to change whatsoever.
- At a dinner party, he keeps mistreating and making fun of Mowgli as Katherine watches, and when he insults the boy, he provokes his fiancée into snapping and calling off her engagement to him, even returning to England. In other words, Boone destroyed his chance of getting married to the girl he seemingly loved all because he had a petty grudge against a harmless boy.
- His attempt to kill Mowgli was poorly executed, as he tried to have his men shoot him when he was near a cliff, allowing him to jump off said cliff and land in the water to safety.
- Even after losing to Mowgli in their first battle, he got outsmarted and overpowered by the boy again in their swordfight, getting severely injured as a result.
- He seriously thought he could offer Katherine money and treasure after she was aware of all the horrible things he has done, which is what really prompted her to betray him and choose Mowgli over him.
- In the end, he caused his own death by picking up a heavy bag full of treasure, and when Kaa showed up to scare him, he stumbled back and fell into the water, but he could've escaped if he didn't take the bag because its weight dragged him down and he visibly struggled to take it off. Moments later, he is killed by the snake all because of his greed.
Potential Issues
Alright, this is the tricky part. So, remember when I said that BrazilianGuy was going to propose Boone alongside Buldeo and Harley? He dismissed him on the grounds of insufficient stupidity. But with the "Stupid Evil" feats listed in the section that talks about how Boone is a pinhead, I'd say that's under control. Another valid concern was intelligence, but in the long run, this is no biggie in my opinion.
Yes, he served as the captain of the British Army and was one of Colonel Geoffrey Brydon's most loyal soldiers, but these aren't preventing honestly. Nothing implies he had any moments of intellect on his part as a captain (not to mention his inept stunts overshadow his good decisions by a mile if you ask me) and it's left vague as to why Brydon saw him as such a loyal man, but from what we see in the movie, Boone is anything but loyal as he almost completely lacks care for his men (with the only one he cares about being Wilkins and nobody else). Any moments of wit? Don't think so. Although he did manage to propose to Katherine while going for a walk with her, it mostly succeeded thanks to sheer luck than anything else, and he subverts his temporal success by knowingly doing things that she doesn't like, causing Katherine to cancel their engagement and choose Mowgli instead, so his impulsiveness proved to be detrimental to his relationship with his fiancée. And there's also him getting Mowgli to tell him where Monkey City is, except it only worked as the boy had mixed feelings of fear and reluctance due to Boone's consistent threats and blackmails used to coerce Mowgli into giving him what he wants. Nevertheless, his attempts prove to be futile in the end as Mowgli doesn't take him to Monkey City to get his hands on the treasure and his plan fails altogether. I’d also like to point out that someone being scared of a villain doesn’t make them too smart for a PP as it generally demonstrates intimidation rather than intelligence. Granted, exceptions can be made, but this isn’t the case for Boone.
Redeeming qualities? He does get distressed when Wilkins dies (even calling out his name in anguish), but that's nowhere near enough to make up for his utterly pathetic traits, and other than that, he cares about no one but himself. Comedy? He's taken fully seriously throughout the movie, with everyone viewing him as a dangerous man and his death being a fitting end to the greedy narcissist that he is. Sympathy? Hahaha no. He's a ruthless douchebag who isn't meant to be pitied at all and is played for disgust and hatred from the audience. So, he's fine.
Final Verdict
I think this discussion can go either way, but for me, Boone keeps. Maybe a slight yes to him, but it's your call, guys. Thanks for reading and have a wonderful day.