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- “You have the word of Bagheera.”
- ―Bagheera
Bagheera is the tritagonist of Disney's 1967 film the The Jungle Book. He serves as the guardian of "Man-Cub", Mowgli for most of the original film, and is the somewhat reluctant companion of Baloo.
Background
Personality
Bagheera is presented as a wise figure. Level headed and intelligent, the panther is amongst the most down-to-earth residents of the jungle. When first introduced, he is seen as a selfless and caring individual, rescuing the orphaned Mowgli, and going out of his way to ensure his safety from that moment forward. Although he cares a great deal about the man-cub, Bageheera is also easily-frustrated and intolerable of tomfoolery. This would result in rather heated arguments against the two, specifically in regards to whether or not Mowgli should remain in the jungle or return to the Man Village to live amongst his own species. Bagheera's temper can occasionally blind his sense of judgement, resulting in careless behavior such as abandoning Mowgli in the jungle despite the knowing dangers that lurk. Nevertheless, he is quick to reform and repeatedly finds himself by Mowgli's side once again. He is a devoted ally, and makes it a crucial objective to protect those he cares about.
Bagheera is also commonly known as the foil of Baloo the bear, whom the former views as a "stupid, jungle bum". The two have vastly different personalities, and continuously annoy one another with their need to push their own personal opinions onto each other. Nevertheless, these conflicts mostly centered around Mowgli's fate, and the two generally share a brotherly bond. Following the climax, when it appeared Baloo had met his demise, Bagheera revealed that he truly did care for the bear, and was notably embarrassed to see that Baloo had overheard his heartfelt eulogy. Once Mowgli made the decision to return to the Man Village, Bagheera and Baloo joyfully returned to their lives in the jungle, setting aside their differences and remained together as best friends.
Appearances
The Jungle Book
Bagheera in The Jungle Book.
Bagheera is the first major character to appear in the film and he narrates the first part of the film too. He discovers an infant amidst the debris of a wrecked canoe. Knowing that the man-cub would need nourishment and that the nearest village was days away, he brings the baby to a family of wolves who had recently had cubs. The wolves name the baby, Mowgli and make him part of their wolf family. There, Mowgli is nurtured for 10 years, with Bagheera often stopping by to check on him. However, Bagheera knew that eventually Mowgli would have to return to his own kind someday.
Bagheera's notion proves right when a tiger named Shere Khan returns to their part of the jungle where the wolf pack lives, and threatens to kill the boy and all those who would protect him. As a result, the wolf elders decide to have Mowgli leave the pack, so Bagheera offers to take him to a man village, where Mowgli will be safe. Bagheera starts the journey that night, but runs into problems as Mowgli does not want to leave the jungle. Even the threat of Shere Khan and a run in with a snake named Kaa does not change the boy's mind. Aggravated, Bagheera tries (but fails) to drag Mowgli all the way to the man-village by his loincloth and immediately after, leaves Mowgli on his own, but upon hearing a roar, quickly rushes back to Mowgli's aid. To add to his annoyance, he discovers that the roar is none other than one of his friends, a bear named Baloo, who was playing with Mowgli.
Bagheera declares that Mowgli must go back to the man-village, but Mowgli decides to stay with Baloo, who has promised to take care of him. Bagheera chooses to leave Mowgli in Baloo's care, knowing that Baloo will soon need his help. Sure enough, Mowgli is kidnapped by monkeys and Bagheera is called to assist in Mowgli's rescue. The rescue is successful, despite Baloo getting caught by the monkeys' leader, King Louie.
That night, Bagheera talks with Baloo about the danger that Mowgli is in if he remains in the jungle, pointing not only to the kidnapping, but to the threat of Shere Khan. Baloo realizes that Bagheera is right, and prepares to tell Mowgli that he must return to the man-village.
The next morning, Bagheera hears Baloo calling for Mowgli. Bagheera comes to find that Mowgli has run away, having felt betrayed by Baloo. They both rush off the find Mowgli. During the search, Bagheera runs into Colonel Hathi and his patrol, and enlists their help in finding Mowgli. But in doing so, he tips off Shere Khan, who was hidden nearby, that Mowgli is lost and alone.
Bagheera does not appear until after Shere Khan has attacked Baloo, who was defending Mowgli, who in turn, attacked him with fire, scaring him off. Believing Baloo to be dead, Bagheera eulogizes him, only for Baloo to awaken, calling for more. Bagheera is annoyed, going so far as to call the bear a fraud, but Mowgli is overjoyed. Bagheera and Baloo later watch as Mowgli is lured into the man-village by a young girl. Pleased that Mowgli is safe, they head back to their own homes.
The Jungle Book 2
Bagheera in The Jungle Book 2.
In the second film, Bagheera's role is not as big. He is first seen watching in sympathy as Baloo dances with a dummy version of Mowgli. Bagheera's sympathy turns to fury as Baloo makes way for the Man-Village in an attempt to get Mowgli. Bagheera halts him over a fallen tree bridge, telling Baloo that he needs to leave Mowgli in the man village, as his future lies with his own kind, and that it's not safe for him to be in the jungle due to Shere Khan searching for the boy, bent on revenge. Baloo, however, thinks he can protect Mowgli from the tiger and avoids Bagheera having him result to Plan B: Colonel Hathi and his troops. They create a giant wall to block Baloo, but the bear manages to escape through swimming underwater. Bagheera orders the troops to search but they're too bumbling to succeed.
Later on, Bagheera is taking a walk through the jungle when Hathi and his troop come stampeding in his direction. They cram into a cave with Bagheera with them. Hathi informs Bagheera that man is in the jungle. By spying on them in the cave, Bagheera learns Mowgli is missing and immediately finds Baloo guilty. He pays a visit to Baloo but Mowgli is nowhere to be found. Oblivious to Bagheera, Mowgli is hiding in a close range. Baloo convinces Bagheera that he hasn't seen Mowgli and Bagheera departs, suspicious however. Near the end of the film, Bagheera is continuing his search for Mowgli when he witnesses another man-cub, Mowgli's adoptive brother Ranjan, riding atop Baloo's shoulders. He goes to investigate to find that Mowgli is being pursued by Shere Khan at that very moment.
The follow leads to a hidden temple. While Baloo goes in to rescue Mowgli and his friend Shanti, Bagheera waits outside and watches over Ranjan. After Khan is defeated, Bagheera reunites with Mowgli and meets Shanti who is actually the girl that lured him into the village in the first film. Mowgli, Shanti and Ranjan rejoin their village. Bagheera is proud to see Baloo letting Mowgli go but becomes suspicious as Baloo's sorrowful frown turns into a clever grin. Soon after, it is revealed that Mowgli, Shanti and Ranjan are now allowed to visit Baloo and Bagheera in the jungle. Bagheera is last seen being chased by Ranjan, who enjoys playing with his tail, and rides atop Bagheera's back with his friends as they sing "The Bare Necessities".
Jungle Cubs
Bagheera as a cub in Jungle Cubs.
A younger version of Bagheera appears in the spin-off series Jungle Cubs. E.G. Daily voices Bagheera in Season 1, and Dee Bradley Baker took over in Season 2. Jungle Cubs shows that Bagheera lives in a clubhouse with Baloo, Shere Khan, Kaa, Hathi and Prince Louie. Bagheera is stated to be the youngest of the group. Like his older counterpart, he is very serious and solemn, but also has a preoccupation with cleanliness. When the cubs had a fantasy of what life would be like if they could have anything and everything they wanted, Bagheera revealed to desire to have all the knowledge in the world. In spite of his adult counterpart, Bagheera can arguably be considered the weakest link in the group, often running away from danger. In a related topic, he appears to be a weak hunter as well. This is often brought up by Shere Khan who taunts the panther because of this.
In Jungle Cubs: Born to Be Wild DVD, Bagheera, as an adult, spends his time trying to get Mowgli to the Man Village, although Baloo would rather keep the man-cub around. This is also the only time Baggie and Khan interact with each other as adults.
Cameos and other appearances
Bagheera with the rest of The Jungle Book's cast in House of Mouse.
While Bagheera himself was left out of the television series, TaleSpin, Shere Khan's team of elite panther pilots bear a striking resemblance to him. It is more than likely that these characters were modeled after him.
Bagheera makes numerous cameo appearances in the animated series House of Mouse. In the opening theme song, he can be briefly spotted in the lobby. His most notable appearance is quite possibly the episode "Jiminy Cricket", where he's seen sitting with the cast from the film during Jiminy's speech. Bagheera also appears in Mickey's Magical Christmas: Snowed in at the House of Mouse, where he is seen sitting at a table with Baloo and later reappears during the ending song. Bagheera also makes his final return in Mickey's House of Villains, where he is seen for a split second in the kitchen before being locked away in there by numerous Disney villains.
Live-action appearances
Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book
The live-action Bagheera in Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book.
In the 1994 live-action movie, Bagheera serves as a jungle animal friend to Mowgli and his pet wolf, Grey Brother. After Mowgli and Grey Brother were separated from civilization, Bagheera found them the next day. Hearing Shere Khan's roar from a distance, Bagheera signaled with his tail for Mowgli to grab onto it so as to lead him out of harm's way; realizing he meant no harm to the boy or cub. It took a bit of a while until Bagheera finally brought Mowgli and Grey Brother to a pack of Grey Indian wolves. Seeing as to how the child was young, friendly, helpless, harmless, and kind to a cub of their species, the wolves accepted them as members of the pack; much to Bagheera's delight.
Years later, Bagheera is seen spending most of his time in a tree, not doing much, and sometimes running with a fully-grown Mowgli, Grey Brother, a new friend named Baloo the brown bear (who was saved as a cub by Mowgli on the day he was accepted into the pack), and the wolf pack. After Mowgli had been reunited with his childhood sweetheart, Katherine "Kitty" Brydon; antagonized a British officer named Captain William Boone (the main villain of the film); pushed two other officers into a river as with Boone before; and is close to being shot by one of Boone's men, Lt. John Wilkins, Bagheera and Baloo are seen roaring at the soldiers, thus scaring them off as a means of protecting Mowgli. Nevertheless, due to Wilkins' shock, he instead accidentally shoots Mowgli on the right arm.
A few days later, after Mowgli has learned the ways of men and re-entered civilization thanks to Kitty and Dr. Julius Plumford, Bagheera is seen being caressed and introduced to Kitty by Mowgli along with all the rest of Mowgli's jungle animal friends. Bagheera and the other animals watch as Kitty teaches Mowgli some dancing lessons, much to their amusement.
In a later tussle against soldiers working for Captain Boone, Baloo is shot and left for dead. Bagheera is then seen running with Mowgli and the wolf pack to locate Dr. Julius Plumford to save Baloo's life; only to find that the doctor had already left with Kitty and her father, Colonel Geoffrey Brydon, to bring Katherine to the ship to England. So, Mowgli goes out and follows them with the wolves and Bagheera behind. After saving Dr. Plumford from death by an Indian bandit named Buldeo, Bagheera is seen charging along with the wolf pack against the Indian bandits. Dr. Plumford is then taken by Mowgli to save Baloo's life.
After Mowgli (who had no choice: either the treasure the villains are after, or Kitty and her father's death) is captured by the evil British soldiers: Boone, Lt. Wilkins, and Sergeant Harley and the remaining Indian bandits: Buldeo and Tabaqui, Bagheera can be seen with the wolves keeping an eye on Mowgli, his friends, and enemies while staring at Boone and Wilkins mostly. When Wilkins asks himself why Bagheera is staring at them, Mowgli replies, "Because to him, you are food." A reply is hinted afterwards when Bagheera sticks out his tongue and licks his chops to show his hunger for them. The next morning, Bagheera is seen biting through the ropes restraining Mowgli to a tree, thus allowing him to escape, and then later on to rescue the left-out injured Colonel Brydon from death.
In the final scene, after Boone's defeat, Bagheera is seen crossing a bridge with Kitty and a triumphant Mowgli while reuniting with the British Army sent out by Colonel Brydon, who was successfully cured from his injuries by Dr. Plumford (who also managed to cure Baloo too), to find them.
The Jungle Book (2016)
Bagheera in the 2016 film.
Bagheera appears in the 2016 live-action film, voiced by Ben Kingsley. Kingsley describes Bagheera as having a personality as being analogous to someone in the military, most likely a Colonel, and that "he's instantly recognizable by the way that he talks, how he acts, and what his ethical code is".
Bagheera is the film's narrator, saying that when he found Mowgli in the jungle, he gave him the Seeonee wolf pack, led by Akela to be raised by Raksha, and afterwards served as Mowgli's mentor and as a father-figure. Bagheera first appears in the film in teaching Mowgli to hunt. When he catches him, he says that if he can't keep up with the rest of the wolf pack then he'll end up as someone's dinner. He also disapproves of Mowgli's use of human tricks such as creating tools.
When Shere Khan threatens Mowgli and the wolf pack with death if they do not turn the boy over to him during the gathering for water at the watering hole during the drought, Bagheera agrees to take Mowgli to the Man-village where he will be safe. En-route, Shere Khan attacks them while they travel amidst a herd of buffalo, and Bagheera fights him; though the panther is defeated and injured by the tiger, Bagheera gives Mowgli enough time to escape Shere Khan.
When Bagheera finally catches up with Mowgli, he is angry that Mowgli has decided to stay with the bear Baloo and is using human tricks and innovations when he was not taught to. A heated debate ensues between him, Mowgli and Baloo, with all of them agreeing to sleep on the matter until morning. During the night Bagheera and Baloo witness Mowgli rescue an elephant, which the other animals of the jungle revere and avoid. Afterwards, He and and Baloo talk about Mowgli and his situation, as well as the death of Akela, whom Shere Khan has killed to lure Mowgli to his death. Bagheera then convinces Baloo to lie to Mowgli and say they were never friends in order to make him head for the Man-village. However, monkeys, macaques, langurs, and gibbons sent by King Louie kidnap Mowgli before he can make a decision. Bagheera and Baloo chase after Mowgli and attempt to rescue him, but are discovered just as they are about to escape from King Louie's temple. Working together, the bear and the panther fight off the monkeys while Mowgli hides from King Louie, and the chase that follows results in the Gigantopithecus's apparent death. When Mowgli finds out about Akela's death from Louie, he angrily decides to face Shere Khan to avenge Akela and runs away.
When Bagheera and Baloo find Mowgli, they discover he has stolen a torch from the Man-village, accidentally starting a wildfire. Seeing this, they chase after him to find him facing Shere Khan at the watering hole. When Mowgli throws away his torch and Shere Khan attacks, Baloo, Bagheera and the wolves led by Raksha all fight Shere Khan. Mowgli at first tries to attack Shere Khan with the wolves, but Bagheera stops him telling him that he can't fight the tiger as a wolf so he'll have to fight him as a man. During the battle, Bagheera faces Shere Khan in combat again, and is again defeated after a fierce battle, but before Shere Khan can kill him, the wolves save him by latching onto the tiger. Their fight buys Mowgli enough time to set a trap in the burning jungle and kill Shere Khan once and for all. In the aftermath, Bagheera has accepted Mowgli's inventive ways, acknowledges him as a human, and his decision to stay in the jungle, and is last seen relaxing with Mowgli and Baloo in a tree.
Video games
Bagheera has made a few video game appearances including The Jungle Book, a game based off the film.
The Jungle Book Groove Party
Bagheera in The Jungle Book Groove Party.
In this video game, Bagheera plays a role mirroring that of the film's. However, when Bagheera first takes the tasks to take Mowgli to the Man-Village, Mowgli wishes to stay so Bagheera tests him. Even though he passes, Bagheera continues to make the trip.
Disney Universe
A costume of Bagheera is available as an add-on with The Jungle Book pack.
Kinect Disneyland Adventures
Bagheera is sometimes mentioned by Mowgli and the line goes as followed: "I bet Bagheera could climb those trees faster than anyone."
Disney Parks
Bagheera makes no live appearances in the theme parks around the world. However, his likeness can be found in a few places.
Disneyland Resort
Bagheera appears in the 2015 rendition of World of Color, during the segment celebrating Disney animated films.
Walt Disney World Resort
In the former Animal Kingdom show, Journey into the Jungle Book, Bagheera was featured as the narrator and supporting character, living out his role in the original film.
Hong Kong Disneyland
Bagheera is featured in The Jungle Book's float in the Flights of Fantasy Parade.
Gallery
Trivia
- Like the Disney version, Bagheera was wise, serious and compassionate in the original book by Rudyard Kipling. The only major difference is that he spoiled Mowgli a bit in the book.
- In the original film, Bagheera has a thick British accent, while in Jungle Cubs, he speaks without a British accent.
- In the Russian dub of the film, Bagheera's gender was swapped due to the fact that the Russian word for "panther" is considered feminine. Bagheera also appears as a female in the Soviet animated version. In The Jungle Book: Mowgli's Story, Bagheera is also a female.
- In the 1967, 1994, and 2016 films, Bagheera is portrayed as a melanistic leopard, commonly referred to as a black panther. This color phase is the result of a recessive gene found in both leopards and jaguars and is most common in leopard subspecies such as the African, Indian, Javan and Indochinese leopards.
- Like Mowgli, Bagheera was also an orphan in his youth. Which may be one of the reasons why he decided to give him to the wolves for adoption.
- The Disney film depicts Bagheera being the one who discovered Mowgli in the jungle. However, in the original book, he was unaware of Mowgli's existence until he heard rumors of a wolf family adopting a man-cub.
- Bagheera was an honorary member of Akela's wolf council.
- In the 2016 film, Bagheera and Shere Khan do battle twice. In real life, tigers and leopards are competitors and enemies; tigers will drive leopards from their kills and will kill both adults and cubs to rid themselves of competition. Leopards will also kill tiger cubs if and when they can find them to rid themselves of competition for food and territory.
- Ironically, Bagheera's name actually means "black tiger" in Hindi. (Furthermore, some black leopards have also been mistaken for black tigers, though it is unknown if true black tigers ever existed)
- In some parts of the first movie, like when he slapped Kaa's mouth to save Mowgli and when he grabbed Baloo's cheeks when he asked the bear to tell him what happened to Mowgli, Bagheera had five fingers and in other parts, like when he was demonstrating a lethal swipe at Baloo in their argument, he had four, whereas in the second movie he had five fingers when he was holding onto Colonel Hathi's tusks.
- According to Jungle Cubs, Bagheera was said to have been born in the wild, but in the original novel, he was born at a zoo but eventually escaped into the wild, where he eventually reverted back into a wild panther.
- Bagheera experiences a lot of injuries in the film.
- Even though he and Shere Khan knew each other since childhood, they never interact or see each other in the first or second Jungle Book. However, they do interact and see each other in the cutscenes of Born to Be Wild.
- In the DuckTales episode "Nothing to Fear", Duckworth is chased by a panther (although is it just an illusion) that strongly resembles Bagheera.
References
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