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Jungle Cubs was an animated series produced by Disney for ABC in 1996. It was based on their 1967 feature film The Jungle Book, but set in the youth of the animal characters. The show was a hit, running for two seasons in syndication before moving its re-runs to the Disney Channel. The show was seen on Toon Disney until its removal in 2009. It was airing on US television again on March 23, 2012, when reruns of the series started airing daily on the Disney Junior channel. The show was removed from the Disney Junior Channel on September 3, 2013. The show also aired in the United Kingdom on Disney Cinemagic until it was removed in 2009.

Premise[]

The stars of Disney's 1967 animated film The Jungle Book were regressed to cubs for this syndicated animated series. Disney's The Jungle Book's Jungle Cubs suggested that when they were younger, both the good and evil animals lived together in relative peace.

Each of the characters were given distinct characteristics which reflected their future personalities as seen in The Jungle Book; this creative idea further tied the show in with its film predecessor. Panther Bagheera, free spirit bear Baloo, headstrong tiger Shere Khan, wild orangutan Prince Louie, neurotic elephant Hathi, and hypnotic snake Kaa all returned from the film, putting aside their differences to live and learn together. The show gave Hathi's wife Winifred a prominent role.

The cubs brave a variety of jungle dangers, often matching wits with sneaky vultures Arthur and Cecil, the villainous baboons Ned, Jed & Fred and Mahra, and the wicked wolf pack leader Cain. Living up to new federal regulations for educational television, Jungle Cubs offer lessons on friendship, self-respect, and other healthy traits, crafted for an audience of young children.

In the second season of the show, many of the cubs become slightly older and more distanced from one another. (Many are also given different voice actors.) And, although they still remain good friends, they are getting more and more busy with their own lives and spending less time at their fort, the Cub House (Louie's future palace). Louie becomes wrapped up in being King of the Jungle and is no longer so close to Baloo, Bagheera becomes more serious and uptight than before, and Hathi begins spending more time with Winifred than with the other Cubs. The biggest change, however, is Shere Khan. He spends a lot of time hunting, as Bagheera and Kaa do, and as the series progresses, begins to become more annoyed with the other Cubs than before. He even attempts to overthrow Louie at one point, using Kaa (who didn't really get a choice in the matter) as a henchman. Kaa, as well as Baloo (with the exception of his friendship with Louie), doesn't really change much. He still remains sneaky and uses his hypnotism power.

Episodes[]

Season 1 (1996)[]

# First segment Second segment Airdate
1 A Night in the Wasteland October 5, 1996
2 How the Panther Lost His Roar The Humans Must Be Crazy October 12, 1996
3 Hathi Meets His Match Buffaloed October 19, 1996
4 Mondo Mungo Bare Necessities October 26, 1996
5 Who Wants to Be a Baboon? November 2, 1996
6 Red Dogs November 9, 1996
7 The Great Kaadini November 16, 1996
8 Hulla Baloo Shere Bliss November 23, 1996
9 Treasure of the Middle Jungle November 30, 1996
10 Benny & Clyde Feather Brains December 7, 1996
11 Splendor in the Mud December 14, 1996
12 Fool Me Once... Trouble on the Waterfront December 21, 1996
13 The Coming of the Wolves December 28, 1996

Season 2 (1997-98)[]

# First segment Second segment Airdate
1 The Ape Who Would Be King October 11, 1997
2 Kasaba Ball Trunks for the Memories October 18, 1997
3 Curse of the Magnificent Melon Hathi's Makeover October 25, 1997
4 Birthday Snake The Five Bananas November 1, 1997
5 Old Green Teeth The Elephant Who Couldn't Say No November 8, 1997
6 A Tale of Two Tails Hair Ball November 15, 1997
7 Tree for Two Waiting for Baloo November 22, 1997
8 Nice Tiger Sleepless in the Jungle January 10, 1998

Voice cast[]

Home video releases[]

  • The Jungle Cubs: Born to Be Wild (a compilation of episodes with Jungle Book cutscenes) was released on VHS in May 1997 and DVD on September 8, 2003, but only outside the United States.
  • The entire series was released on digital in SD format in the United States in 2016 on Amazon Instant Video, iTunes, and Google Play. However, as of now, it has yet to be released on Disney+.

Gallery[]

Trivia[]

  • Another carryover from the film was a remix of the Oscar-nominated tune "The Bare Necessities", which served as Jungle Cubs' theme song, performed by the late Lou Rawls.
  • This series is among the shortest and most unknown shows in the Disney company.
  • Despite the show's relative obscurity, Jungle Cubs, like many short-lived TV shows, developed a cult fan following.
  • According to this series, Louie wasn't self named King of the monkeys; throughout the series, he is referred as Prince Louie, and it is noted that he will be king one day.
  • The series has several episodes inspired by Rudyard Kipling's tales that never made it to the big screen, including "Red Dogs" and "The Treasure of the Middle Jungle". In the book, these were some of the adventures Mowgli lived while living in the jungle.
  • The series features many animals that are indeed found in Indian jungles but were never mentioned in the original movie or in Kipling's book, including the rhinoceros, the pangolin, the Four-horned Antelope and the striped hyena. Other animals, however, were misplaced, such as the Babirusa, which appears in "Benny and Clyde", the frequently seen Toucan, the Sloth that appears in "The Five Bananas", or the Asiatic Cheetah that appears in "Hulla Baloo." The baboons, which seem to be based upon geladas, are also misplaced (however, geladas actually did live in India in prehistoric times).
  • The length of Kaa the python varies between (or even during) episodes, sometimes being very short, and sometimes exceedingly long.
  • Jim Cummings, the voice of Kaa throughout both seasons of Jungle Cubs, reprised his role once again for the 2003 sequel The Jungle Book 2, making him the longest-running voice actor in The Jungle Book franchise, as well as the only actor to have been in both the TV series and the feature films (except for the original).
  • In Kipling's book, Bagheera the panther was born in a menagerie. In Jungle Cubs, however, it seems that he was born in the wild. Though he likely could have escaped captivity as a cub.
  • As the series progressed, more "human like" items were shown, and the animals did more human things; for example, in "Hathi's Makeover" two wolf cubs are seeing playing some kind of chess game. In "Kasaba Ball", some signs with words written on them are seen, which were obviously not written by humans, and even, in this same episode, Shere Khan runs on his hindlegs, something no tiger could do.
  • The accents of many of the characters are different from their adult counterparts, most notably Hathi, Bagheera and Shere Khan, who have British accents as adults, yet North American accents as cubs.
  • The last episode, "Sleepless in the Jungle," features two elements from the Disney movie; the rock of the wolf council, and the song "The Bare Necessities" sung for the first time by Baloo and Louie.
  • Oddly, in Season Two of the series, Baloo has blue fur instead of gray fur like in the films, books, and Season One of the series.


v - e - d
The Jungle Book Logo
Media
Films: The Jungle Book (soundtrack/video) • The Jungle Book 2 (video) • Rudyard Kipling'sMowgli's Story2016 Live-action Film (soundtrack/video) • Sequel Film

Shows: Jungle Cubs
Video Games: The Jungle BookThe Jungle Book Groove PartyThe Jungle Book: Mowgli's Wild AdventureThe Jungle Book: Mowgli's RunDisney Classic Games CollectionDisney Speedstorm
Books: More Jungle Book... Further Adventures of Baloo and Mowgli

Disney Parks
Animated film: Disney's Explorers LodgeDisney Animation BuildingGarden of the Twelve FriendsIt's a Small WorldRhythm of the Jungle

Live action: Disney Movie MagicThe Jungle Book: Alive with Magic
Entertainment: AnimagiqueDisney's BelieveDisney's WishesDisney Classics: The Music & The MagicFantasmic!Festival of Family & FriendsHakuna Matata Time Dance PartyIt's Party Time... with Mickey and FriendsJourney into the Jungle BookMickey's Gift of DreamsMickey's Magical Music WorldMickey and the Magical MapMickey and the Wondrous BookMickey presents: “Happy Anniversary Disneyland Paris”One Man's Dream II: The Magic Lives On!Rivers of Light: We Are OneSuper Duper Jumpin' TimeThe Forest of Enchantment: A Disney Musical Adventure
Restaurants: Colonel Hathi's Pizza Outpost
Shops: Adventureland Bazaar
Parade: Disney's Dreams On Parade: Moving OnDisney's Magical Moments ParadeDisney's Party ExpressDisney Adventure Friends CavalcadeDisney Magic on ParadeDisney Stars on ParadeFlights of Fantasy ParadeJubilation!Move It! Shake It! MousekeDance It! Street PartyMickey's Soundsational ParadeThe Wonderful World of Disney Parade
Firework: Celebrate the MagicCelebrate! Tokyo DisneylandDisney Dreams!Disneyland ForeverHappily Ever AfterMickey's Mix MagicMomentousTree of Life Awakens
Summer: Adventure is Out There!The Jungle Book Jive
Halloween: Happy Hallowishes

Characters
Original: MowgliBalooBagheeraKing LouieShere KhanKaaColonel HathiWinifredHathi, Jr.Buzzie, Flaps, Ziggy, and DizzyAkelaRamaShantiRakshaWolf PupsSeeonee PackJungle PatrolFlunkeyBandar-log

Deleted characters: Rocky the RhinoBuldeoTabaqui
Sequel: RanjanRanjan's FatherMessuaShanti's MotherLucky
Rudyard Kipling's: Grey BrotherNathooKitty BrydonColonel Geoffrey BrydonSergeant ClaibourneDr. Julius PlumfordWilliam BooneSergeant HarleyBuldeoTabaquiLt. John WilkinsIndian BanditsAlice, Rose, and Margaret
Jungle Cubs: Arthur and CecilThe CrocMahraNed, Jed & FredMungoLeahCainDholesWinifred's UncleMcCoyDictator TurtleWhitehood
Mowgli's Story: Li'l RakshaChilBiranyiTarzan Chimp
2016 film: IkkiMr. PangolinGiant SquirrelFred the Pygmy HogMowgli's Father
House of Mouse: King Larry

Locations
JungleAncient RuinsMan VillageIndiaAsia
Episodes
Season One: "A Night in the Wasteland" • "How the Panther Lost His Roar/The Humans Must Be Crazy" • "Hathi Meets His Match/Buffaloed" • "Mondo Mungo/Bare Necessities" • "Who Wants to Be a Baboon?" • "Red Dogs" • "The Great Kaadini" • "Hulla Baloo/Shere Bliss" • "Treasure of the Middle Jungle" • "Feather Brains/Benny & Clyde" • "Splendor in the Mud" • "Trouble in the Jungle/Fool Me Once..." • "The Coming of the Wolves"

Season Two: "The Ape Who Would Be King" • "Trunks for the Memories/Kasaba Ball" • "Hathi's Makeover/Curse of the Magnificent Melon" • "The Five Bananas/Birthday Snake" • "Old Green Teeth/The Elephant Who Couldn't Say No" • "Hair Ball/A Tale of Two Tails" • "Waiting for Baloo/Tree for Two" • "Nice Tiger/Sleepless in the Jungle"

Songs
Original: "Colonel Hathi's March" • "The Bare Necessities" • "I Wan'na Be Like You" • "Trust in Me" • "That's What Friends are For" • "My Own Home"

More Jungle Book: "Baloo's Blues" • "Jungle Fever" • "If You Wanna See Some Strange Behavior (Take a Look at Man)" • "It's a Kick"
Jungle Cubs: "Take Your Sweet, Sweet Time" • "Jungle Cub Love" • "Everything's Gonna Be Right with the World"
The Jungle Book: Mowgli's Story: "The Monkey Time"
The Jungle Book Groove Party: "The Jungle's No Place for a Boy" • "Join the Ranks" • "Go Bananas in the Coconut Tree" • "A Mood for Food" • "We Are the Vultures" • "Run" • "A Brand New Day"
Sequel: "The Jungle Rhythm" • "W-I-L-D" • "Right Where I Belong"
Deleted: "Brothers All" • "The Song of the Seeonee" • "Monkey See, Monkey Do" • "I Knew I Belonged to Her" • "In A Day's Work" • "The Mighty Hunters" • "I've Got You Beat" • "Braver"

See Also
Disney Sing Along Songs: The Bare NecessitiesTaleSpinDisney's Jungle Boogie


v - e - d
Walt Disney Television Animation logo
1980s
The Wuzzles (1985) • Adventures of the Gummi Bears (1985-1991) • DuckTales (1987-1990) • The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (1988-1991) • Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers (1989-1990)
1990s
TaleSpin (1990-1991) • Darkwing Duck (1991-1992) • Goof Troop (1992) • The Little Mermaid (1992-1994) • Raw Toonage (1992-1993) • Bonkers (1993-1994) • Marsupilami (1993) • Aladdin (1994-1995) • Gargoyles (1994-1997) • The Shnookums and Meat Funny Cartoon Show (1995) • Timon & Pumbaa (1995-1999) • Quack Pack (1996) • Mighty Ducks (1996-1997) • Disney's Doug (1996-1999) • Jungle Cubs (1996-1998) • Recess (1997-2000)• Pepper Ann (1997-2000) • Nightmare Ned (1997) • 101 Dalmatians: The Series (1997-1998) • PB&J Otter (1998-2000) • Hercules (1998-1999) • Mickey Mouse Works (1999-2000)
2000s
The Weekenders (2000-2004) • Teacher's Pet (2000-2002) • Buzz Lightyear of Star Command (2000-2001) • House of Mouse (2001-2003) • Lloyd in Space (2001-2004) • The Legend of Tarzan (2001-2003) • Teamo Supremo (2002-2004) • Kim Possible (2002-2007) • Fillmore! (2002-2004) • Lilo & Stitch: The Series (2003-2006) • Dave the Barbarian (2004-2005) • Brandy & Mr. Whiskers (2004-2006) • Super Robot Monkey Team Hyperforce Go! (2004-2006) • American Dragon: Jake Long (2005-2007) • The Buzz on Maggie (2005-2006) • Get Ed (2005-2006) • The Emperor's New School (2006-2008) • Mickey Mouse Clubhouse (2006-2016) • The Replacements (2006-2009) • My Friends Tigger & Pooh (2007-2010) • Phineas and Ferb (2008-2016) • Special Agent Oso (2009-2012)
2010s
Kick Buttowski: Suburban Daredevil (2010-2012) • Fish Hooks (2010-2014) • Jake and the Never Land Pirates (2011-2016) • Motorcity (2012) • Tron: Uprising (2012-2013) • Gravity Falls (2012-2016) • Randy Cunningham: 9th Grade Ninja (2012-2015) • Sofia the First (2013-2018) • Mickey Mouse (2013-2019) • Wander Over Yonder (2013-2016) • The 7D (2014-2016) • Penn Zero: Part-Time Hero (2014-2017) • Star vs. the Forces of Evil (2015-2019) • Pickle and Peanut (2015-2018) • Descendants: Wicked World (2015-2017) • The Lion Guard (2016-2019) • Elena of Avalor (2016-2020) • Future-Worm! (2016-2018) • Milo Murphy's Law (2016-2019) • Mickey Mouse Mixed-Up Adventures (2017-2021) • Tangled: The Series (2017-2020) • Billy Dilley's Super-Duper Subterranean Summer (2017) • DuckTales (2017-2021) • Big Hero 6: The Series (2017-2021) • Muppet Babies (2018-2022) • Big City Greens (2018-present) • Fancy Nancy (2018-2022) • Amphibia (2019-2022)
2020s
The Owl House (2020-2023) • The Wonderful World of Mickey Mouse (2020-2023) • Monsters at Work (2021-present) • The Ghost and Molly McGee (2021-2024) • Mickey Mouse Funhouse (2021-present) • Baymax! (2022) • Alice's Wonderland Bakery (2022-present) • Chibiverse (2022-present) • Hamster & Gretel (2022-present) • Firebuds (2022-present) • Marvel's Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur (2023-present) • Kiff (2023-present) • Hailey's On It! (2023-present) • RoboGobo (2024) • Primos (2024) • Ariel (2024) • Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 2.0 (2025)
See Also
The Disney AfternoonOne Saturday MorningPlayhouse DisneyDisney ChannelJetixDisney XDDisney Junior
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