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Are you hungry...? I am starved...
―Kaa to Shanti.[src]

Kaa is an enormous snake who serves as the secondary antagonist in The Jungle Book, its sequel, and a protagonist in its television series. He was voiced by Sterling Holloway in the first film and by Jim Cummings in the sequel.

Development

Kaa was loosely based on the character of the same name from Rudyard Kipling's book The Jungle Book. While the book character was considered a mentor to Mowgli, akin to Baloo and Bagheera, the film character is portrayed as a villain. This was most likely due to the developers' belief that the public of the time would not accept a snake as a heroic character.

Background

Kaa is a sly snake who is almost constantly hungry. Kaa is known for being persuasive and tricky. He has the ability to hypnotize other creatures through eye contact, which causes many animals to respect, if not fear him. He is often seen pursuing Mowgli, in an attempt to devour the man-cub, but always fails. Despite fearing Shere Khan, Kaa dislikes the tiger, as Shere Khan is only wanting to kill Mowgli because he is human, rather than killing for food. Kaa can also have a somewhat forgetful side, easily getting carried away and sometimes not paying attention to anything, especially in the second encounter with Mowgli.

Designs

Kaa is a python that has grown to be extremely large in width. He was animated by Frank Thomas in his entrance appearance where he first met Mowgli and nearly ate Bagheera. Later on in the film he was animated by Milt Kahl whose design for Kaa may be more iconic, being that his scene was longer and included his trademark song and Shere Khan's talk with the snake. Kaa also has a slight Wile E Coyote-like facial expression.

Abilities and Traits

Hypnosis/Mind Control: Kaa's most infamous trait is his unique ability to hypnotize anyone through eye contact and make others follow his commands. This ability also works when someone sees his reflection in the water.  Though despite this, it is implied that certain individuals of high willpower (or simply intelligence) can resist his hypnosis (as displayed by Shere Khan).

Appearances

The Jungle Book

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Kaa in The Jungle Book.

Kaa comes across Mowgli and Bagheera in the branches of a large tree that the pair have chosen to spend the night in. As Bagheera is nearly asleep, he is unaware of Kaa as he investigates Mowgli. Annoyed, Mowgli angrily tells Kaa to leave him alone. Bagheera sleepily orders Mowgli to go to sleep, as he has assumed Mowgli was speaking to him. Kaa decides to take advantage of the situation, and hypnotizes Mowgli, wrapping the boy in his coils, with the intent of devouring him. During the hypnosis and coiling, Mowgli tries to call for help, but is silenced when Kaa wraps and tightens Mowgli's neck with his tail and then squeezes the boy with all his coils, from legs to neck.  But Mowgli's struggles awaken Bagheera, and he is able to rescue Mowgli. However, Kaa is angered by the interference, and begins to hypnotize Bagheera. By now, Mowgli has awakened, and he shoves Kaa's massive coils off the branch, resulting in Kaa falling to the ground in a heap. While Mowgli awakens Bagheera, Kaa begins to slither off, swearing revenge. However, his slithering is inhibited by a knot in his tail, which Mowgli laughs at.

Kaa later reappears coming across Mowgli, who is lost in the jungle. He tries to hypnotize Mowgli again, who has learned from his last encounter and is wary of the snake. Mowgli tries to leave, with the response that he doesn't trust anyone. However, Kaa uses the boy's desire to stay in the jungle as a means of gaining his trust. Kaa is able to hypnotize Mowgli again and sleepwalk him into his coils while singing the song Trust in Me.

Before Kaa can devour Mowgli, Shere Khan stops by after hearing Kaa's singing. As Shere Khan is looking for Mowgli, Kaa is forced to hide the boy. Kaa is able to trick Shere Khan into believing that Mowgli is nowhere in the area, despite Shere Khan choosing to inspect Kaa's coils. Shere Khan walks off to continue the search, leaving Kaa safe to admit his disgust for the tiger. When Kaa shivers after seeing the tiger walk off, Mowgli awakens. Kaa takes a moment to pity the helpless Mowgli, but reverts once he remembers his own intentions. At that point, Mowgli is able to push Kaa's coils to the ground. On the ground, Mowgli confronts Kaa and accuses the python of lying. Kaa, assuring Mowgli that he indeed can't trust anyone, moves in to attack, but is once again stopped by a knot in his tail. He sees Mowgli run off, and gives up trying to catch him, slithering off again.

The Jungle Book 2

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Kaa in The Jungle Book 2.

One night, Kaa appears in the film, when Mowgli meets up with Baloo near the beginning of the film. Like before, Kaa attempts to corner Mowgli, but faces many accidents and injuries as he pursues them. Mowgli and Baloo remain unaware of Kaa's presence, and the two walk away unharmed.

Kaa angrily states that he never wants to see another Man-Cub again, but changes his mind after he comes across Shanti. Kaa manages to corner and hypnotize the young girl. Before he can eat her, Shanti is saved by Ranjan, who beats up Kaa with a large stick. He is then encountered by Shere Khan in his search for Mowgli; Khan believes that Kaa is hiding the location of Mowgli, but truthfully, Kaa doesn't. To save his skin, Kaa lies and tells Khan that Mowgli is at the swamp, allowing him to flee.

Although Kaa is colored golden yellow in the original film and other media, in this film however, he was miscolored green, most likely because he must have shed his skin, as most snakes do.

Jungle Cubs

KaaJunglecubs

Kaa in Jungle Cubs.

Kaa appeared as a much younger snake in the Jungle Cubs, with Baloo, Bagheera, Colonel Hathi, King Louie and Shere Khan. Unlike the movie, he is a protagonist, which actually follows the original story, unlike the film.

As a younger snake, Kaa has yet to master hypnosis at his young age, usually failing or hypnotizing the wrong person by mistake. Kaa is more of the cowardly friend in the group, often being doubtful when an adventure is at hand. Most of the time, his fearfulness can be understandable, being that the children often find themselves in some of the most dangerous predicaments in their jungle. Kaa is often seen attempting to eat a local shrew with a wise-cracking persona. However, as the shrew is too clever for the snake, he ultimately fails in the end.

Many episodes revolve around Kaa, including one where his birthday arrived, and yet everyone forgot. To make up for it, they acted as if his hypnotism was excellent and pretended to be in trances. In the end, however, Kaa discovers this and breaks down. His friends comfort him and apologize, leaving all to be well.

In the Jungle Cubs: Born to Be Wild DVD, Kaa, as an adult, was the first character to be revisited by Baloo, Mowgli, and Bagheera. Here, he attempts to devour Mowgli whilst he rested, but Baloo foiled the snake by grabbing his tail and throwing him into a gorge.

Who Framed Roger Rabbit

A snake-like character resembling Kaa made a cameo during the final scene with the other Disney characters.

House of Mouse

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Kaa in Mickey's House of Villain.

Kaa makes several cameos in the show House of Mouse. In the episode "Ask Von Drake", he is seen being threatened by Shere Khan while Ludwig Von Drake sings a song. In "Turkey Day", Kaa was seen attempting to devour Mowgli after not receiving a turkey for dinner. In "Jiminy Cricket", he is seen sitting at a table with Baloo, Mowgli, Shere Khan, and Bagheera. In "Max's Embarrassing Date", he is seen sitting a table with Sir Hiss.  In "Goofy's Menu Magic," Kaa is seen having coiled and hypnotized Mowgli when Mickey mentioned the guests were getting hungry.

In Mickey's House of Villains, Kaa joins his fellow villains in taking over the House of Mouse on Halloween. He joins in the hostile takeover during the song "It's Our House Now!", while attempting to hypnotize Mickey and Minnie, during which he briefly reprises "Trust in Me". He later stands by Jafar's side when he battles Mickey and soon enough flees with the other villains when Mickey and his friends defeat Jafar.

Live-action appearances

Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book

Real Kaa

Kaa in Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book.

A far more menacing incarnation of the character appeared in the 1994 live-action adaptation. He was brought to life using an anaconda but the bulk of his appearances were made using a mixture of CGI and animatronics. Kaa seemed to serve King Louie, killing any intruders to the city when the orangutan clapped his hands 9 times to summon him. Kaa attacked Mowgli inside the monkey city. He tackled him into the moat and attempted to drown him, but Mowgli wounded him with a bejeweled dagger, the python fleeing in a cloud of his blood.

By the time Mowgli returns to the city with Captain William Boone (the main villain of the film) and Kitty, Kaa has fully healed from their prior confrontation. Mowgli flees with Kitty when he hears King Louie summoning the snake. Boone starts gathering as much treasure as his he can, but suddenly notices that the monkey have gone silent; Kaa suddenly appears, then scares the injured Boone into the moat, where the heavy load of treasure he was carrying weighs him straight to the bottom in a cloud of his own blood. Desperately trying to struggle free, Boone sees the skeletal remains of Kaa's past victims, just seconds before the villain finally meets his death by the snake.

The Jungle Book

Kaa is slated to appear in the upcoming 2015 live-action film adaptation, voiced by Scarlett Johansson. Unlike in the previous adaptations, Kaa will be a female.

Video games

Kaa has made a few appearances in video games over the years, mostly within The Jungle Book franchise including The Jungle Book, The Jungle Book 2, and The Jungle Book Groove Party where he sings his own original song, "A Mood for Food"; replacing "Trust in Me" as the villainous song meant to seduce a helpless Mowgli.

In the US release of Mickey Mousecapade, a snake heavily resembling Kaa appears as a boss enemy.

In Disney Universe, Kaa does not appear as an add-on character costume, but appears as an accessory on a costume weapon.

In Kinect Disneyland Adventures, Kaa is only briefly mentioned by Mowgli in this game and his mention goes as follows: "If anybody sees Kaa slithering around, let me deal with him."

Disney Parks

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Kaa in the Disneyland version of Fantasmic!

Kaa's likeness can be found on numerous Disney Villains merchandise throughout the park and makes occasional appearances in a small amount of showings and parades.

Kaa is featured in the jungle inspired float in the Flights of Fantasy Parade in Hong Kong Disneyland.

In Disneyland Paris, Kaa is seen in the castle spectacular Disney Dreams! during the "I Wanna Be Like You" section where he tries to hypnotize the shadow of Peter Pan. However, he failed when King Louie's ruins fell apart on top of him.

He also makes appearances in Mickey and the Magical Map as well as Celebrate the Magic.

Fantasmic!

In the Disneyland version of the show, Kaa appears in Mickey's dreams of the jungle. Kaa also appears in the Tokyo DisneySea version of the show floating about as he did in the Disneyland version. He does not appear in the Disney's Hollywood Studios version of the show, as he is replaced by Jafar's snake form.

Trivia

  • In the original book by Rudyard Kipling, Kaa was one of Mowgli's closest friends, but in the film and following appearances, Kaa is a dangerous threat to Mowgli's life. Interestingly enough, the incarnation of the character in Jungle Cubs is by far the most accurate depiction of said character when compared to the original novels.
    • The reason Kaa is an antagonist is because the filmmakers thought he wouldn't be well received as a protagonist mostly due to attacks from the Indian Python which is the species of python he is.
  • Despite popular belief, Kaa is not a henchmen to Shere Khan, being the fact that he does none of his evil bidding and the two appear to dislike each other.
  • Kaa means "snake" in Hindi.
  • Kaa is the second character who was originally voiced by Sterling Holloway and later taken over by Hal Smith and then Jim Cummings, the first being Winnie-the-Pooh.
  • Kaa is very similar to Sir Hiss from Robin Hood; both are snakes, both use hypnosis, and both suck up to the film's main antagonist (Shere Khan in Kaa's case, and Prince John in Sir Hiss' case), except they are a different color and Hiss wears a cape and a hat.
  • Kaa was seen in concept art for the attraction Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom over at Walt Disney World, but did not appear in the finished project. However, according to Imagineers, it is possible that more Disney themes will be added to the game in good time.
  • During one of the attempts at the classic musical number "The Bare Necessities" from the second film, two prickly pears land on Kaa's head and one tiny pear on his nose, making him look like Mickey Mouse. This could possibly be an example of a Hidden Mickey.
  • Though Kaa was not one of the ringleader villains in Mickey's House of Villains, he is featured on the cover of the DVD and VHS. However, he does assist in kicking Mickey and Minnie out of the club.
  • Kaa is the only Disney villain voiced by Sterling Holloway. The other Disney characters Holloway voiced were protagonists (or anti-heroes, as with the Cheshire Cat).
  • Kaa is also similar to the Wolf from The Sword in the Stone, where they attempt to eat their respective protagonists (Mowgli and Wart), but end up in comical failures.
  • Even though Kaa is thought of as a villian Kaa is techinally not evil as like real life pythons Kaa's diet includes humans.

Gallery

Wiki
The Disney Wiki has a collection of images and media related to Kaa.

External links

  • Kaa on Wikipedia


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
Disney Villains Logo
Members
The Evil QueenChernabogQueen of HeartsCaptain HookMaleficentCruella De VilUrsulaJafarScarHadesDr. Facilier

Other Disney Animation Villains: PeteBig Bad WolfWillie the GiantLonesome GhostsMortimer MouseMagic MirrorHonest JohnGideonStromboliMonstroPink ElephantsRingmasterThe Headless HorsemanLady TremaineAnastasia TremaineDrizella TremaineLuciferCheshire CatCard SoldiersMr. SmeeSi and AmAunt SarahDiabloJasper and HoraceMadam MimKaaShere KhanEdgarPrince JohnSir HissSheriff of NottinghamHeffalumpsWoozlesMadame MedusaBrutus and NeroAmos SladeHorned KingProfessor RatiganFeliciaSykesFlotsam and JetsamPercival C. McLeachGastonIagoShenzi, Banzai, and EdGovernor RatcliffeClaude FrolloPain and PanicFatesShan YuClaytonSaborYzmaLyle Tiberius RourkeCaptain GantuDr. Jumba JookibaJohn SilverScroopBowler Hat GuyDorisLawrenceDr. Facilier's ShadowMother GothelStabbington BrothersKing CandySour BillHansDuke of WeseltonYokaiBellwetherTamatoaKing Magnifico
Pixar Villains: Sid PhillipsScudHopperMoltEmperor ZurgStinky PeteRandall BoggsHenry J. Waternoose IIISyndromeChick HicksChef SkinnerAUTOCharles F. MuntzLotsoMiles AxlerodProfessor ZMor'duThunderclapErnesto de la CruzEvelyn DeavorDragon the Cat
Other Villains: Br'er FoxBr'er BearOogie BoogieWinifred SandersonMary SandersonSarah SandersonDr. HämstervielQueen NarissaWicked Witch of the WestRipslingerHitchhiking Ghosts

Disney Parks
Celebrate A Dreams Come True ParadeCelebrate the MagicCinderella Castle Mystery TourClub VillainDisney's FantillusionDisney's Maleficious Halloween PartyDisney's Not-So-Scary Halloween ShowDisney's Once Upon a Dream ParadeDisney Dreams!Disney's Stars 'n' Cars... As Never Seen BeforeFantasmic!Feel the MagicFrightfully Fun ParadeGlow in the Park Halloween ParadeHappy HallowishesHocus Pocus Villain SpelltacularInferno Dance PartyIt's Good To Be Bad With The Disney VillainsIt's Good to Be Bad Villainous CelebrationIt's Party Time... with Mickey and Friends... and the Disney VillainsMickey's Boo-to-You Halloween ParadeMickey and his Magic Halloween NightMomentousRe-Villains! Halloween ParadeSorcerers of the Magic KingdomThe Disney Villains Halloween ShowtimeThe Nightmare ExperimentThe Villains WorldUnleash the VillainsVillains GardensVillainy in the SkyVillains Mix and MingleVillains Night Out!Villains Tonight!WishesWorld of Color
Media
Mickey's House of VillainsOnce Upon a HalloweenDisney Villains: Simply Sinister SongsDisney Villains Songbook

Video Games: Disney Villains ChallengeDisney's Villains' Revenge

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