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Mowgli is the main protagonist in Disney's 1967 feature film The Jungle Book and its 2003 sequel. He is voiced by Bruce Reitherman in the first film and Haley Joel Osment in the sequel. He is also portrayed by both Jason Scott Lee in its 1994 live-action film and Neel Sethi in the upcoming 2015 film.
Background
Physical Descripton
Mowgli is a human child, who was found in a basket on the edge of a torn-apart boat as a baby by Bagheera, a black panther, with that fraction of a boat laying on a rock and its rear pointing up. Apparently orphaned, Mowgli was raised by a pack of wolves until he was 10 years old. However, the threat of Shere Khan forces the pack to send him away, and Bagheera decides to take him to a nearby man-village for his protection.
In the first scene of the film, Mowgli, as an infant, was found in a battered canoe. His parents were nowhere to be found but it is implied that they died not too long before Mowgli was discovered by Bagheera. How exactly is unknown, but it can be concluded that a messy river accident claimed their lives.
Personality
Mowgli is shown to be adventurous and rebellious. At the same time, he is fairly naive about the dangers of the jungle. He is shown to love having fun, and is trusting and friendly. In the first film, his naivety is taken advantage of frequently by animals like Kaa and King Louie, who each have their own agendas. This leads Mowgli to become cynical and distrusting towards others. However, a run in with the vultures, as well as a later rescue by Baloo, show him that there are people who genuinely care.
His personality takes a slight shift in the second film where he is far more mature and knowledgeable with the jungle. Like the first film however, Mowgli is rebellious towards the people of his village who hold a great fear of the jungle. At the same time, Mowgli is more fun loving and comical in this film. Also in the second film, Mowgli was forced to make difficult decisions for himself choosing between living in the jungle with Baloo and Bagheera or living in the village with Shanti and Ranjan. Mowgli, knowing it was best for him, chose the village but also decided to simply visit Baloo at the jungle everyday, finally setting an acceptable balance between his life as a jungle boy and a village boy.
Appearances
The Jungle Book
Mowgli in the original film.
On one peaceful day in the jungle, Bagheera the panther hears the cries of something unfamiliar to him and the jungle inhabitants. He goes to investigate and finds an abandoned, wrecked canoe. Inside, he finds a basket with a human baby, a "man cub." Knowing the man cub would die alone, Bagheera takes him to a wolf pack. As the years past, the man cub was named Mowgli, gained the ability to speak with animals, and has become great friends with Bagheera. One night, the wolf pack learned that the notorious predator, Shere Khan, has returned to that part of the jungle, in an attempt to murder Mowgli.
For his own protection, Mowgli is forced to go live in the Man Village, where he'll be safe. Bagheera offers to take him, but the stubborn Mowgli refuses to go. Mowgli and Bagheera rest in a tree for the night, but they encounter Kaa who hypnotizes Mowgli and wraps him up in his coils in order to eat him. Fortunately, Mowgli is saved by Bagheera and Kaa is pushed off the tree. The next morning, Mowlgli meets and befriends Hathi, Jr., the son of Colonel Hathi, leader of The Jungle Patrol. Colonel Hathi is furious by the very idea of a man cub in "his" jungle. The escapade with Hathi causes Bagheera to become even more fed up with Mowgli's attitude, to the point where he abandons him. Alone, Mowgli sits quietly when a bear named Baloo comes strolling by.
Mowgli poorly attempts to fight off Baloo, but with his terrible combat ability, Baloo decides to teach Mowgli how to fight instead. The lesson includes teaching him how to roar like a bear. The ferocious roar of Baloo is heard miles away, and Bagheera rushes back to Mowgli's aid. When he finds Baloo and Mowgli bonding, Bagheera learns that Mowgli plans on staying with Baloo in the jungle, and storms off again. During a float down the river, Mowgli is kidnapped by a group of monkeys, and is taken to their leader King Louie.
Louie wishes to have Mowgli teach him how to make fire, so that he can become a man. However, Mowgli doesn't know the first thing about making fire, but Louie believes he's just being shy. Baloo and Bagheera arrive and rescues Mowgli, destroying Louie's empire in the process. That night, Baloo agrees to take Mowgli to the village after hearing about Shere Khan's plans to kill the boy. The next morning, Mowgli and Baloo begin to make their way, but Mowgli is oblivious as to where they're actually going. When Baloo confesses the truth, Mowgli runs off, feeling betrayed.
After running, Mowgli stops near a tree, where he encounters Kaa again. Kaa tries to persuade Mowgli to trust him on account that he can help Mowgli stay in the jungle. Mowgli is hesitant, but Kaa manages hypnotize Mowgli and sleepwalk on his coils. After coiling Mowgli up from head to legs, Kaa is interrupted by Shere Khan who heard Kaa sing to Mowgli. After Kaa's conversation with the tiger, Mowgli manages to regain consciousness and push Kaa off the tree. He accuses Kaa for lying to him and runs off.
At his lowest low, Mowgli finds himself in the wasteland part of the jungle, where a pack of comical vultures reside. They begin to taunt Mowgli because of his bizarre appearance, driving Mowgli to tears. Feeling sorry for the boy, the vultures apologize, and offers Mowgli a spot in their group. Mowgli denies the offer initially, but the vultures begin to warm up to him. Just as they begin to have fun, Shere Khan appears and attacks. Baloo arrives and battles the tiger, and is apparently killed. Lightning strikes a nearby tree, putting one of the branches on fire. Mowgli is told that Shere Khan's only fear is fire, and Mowgli uses the fire branch to scare Shere Khan away.
As the heroes celebrate, Mowgli and Bagheera begin to mourn for Baloo's death. Baloo then begins to wake up, revealing to be alive. Mowgli and Baloo reunite, just as Mowgli hears the singing of another human from the Man Village. It is a girl gathering water, and Mowgli falls in love. She leads him to the Man Village, and Mowgli is finally where he belongs.
The Jungle Book 2
Mowgli in The Jungle Book 2.
Not long after Baloo and Bagheera dropped Mowgli off at the Man Village, Mowgli has since been adopted by the village leader and his wife. He now has a little brother named Ranjan, and has become close friends with the girl that lured him into the village, Shanti. Though he enjoys playing with Ranjan and Shanti, Mowgli misses his jungle life, and hopes to one day return to it. During a normal day, Mowgli almost led the village children to the jungle to show them how fun it can be. However, the village leader halted the event as he, and the other villagers, believe the jungle is a dangerous place.
Later on that night, Baloo sneaks into the village, reuniting with his "bear cub." When Shanti spots Baloo, she panics and alerts the villagers. Baloo and Mowgli make a run for the jungle, but the villagers attack Shere Khan, who also journeyed into the village to extract revenge on Mowgli. In the jungle, Mowgli and Baloo catch up, singing a reprise of The Bare Necessities. The next day, Mowgli and Baloo are gathering mangoes when Bagheera arrives. He asks Baloo if he is knowledgeable about the whereabouts of Mowgli, but Baloo denies (Mowgli is hiding in a tree during Baloo and Bagheera's conversation). He also tells him that the entire village has entered the jungle, searching for the man cub.
Bagheera's news makes Mowgli placate, and he wonders if Shanti is also searching with the villagers. For the sake of his friendship with Baloo however, Mowgli decides to shelve the feelings, and asks Baloo to find a good hideout for the two of them. The duo heads over to King Louie's place, but Louie has depart, and the jungle's inhabitants turned it into the biggest hangout around. After a party, Baloo begins to tell the animals about the village, using information from Mowgli to recite. Baloo repeats all that Mowgli has complained about, but, unknowing to Baloo, Mowgli actually misses the village, and runs off to be alone for a while.
Suddenly, Shanti and Ranjan appear after searching far and wide for Mowgli. As Baloo searches for him, he spots Shanti. Earlier, Mowgli and Baloo planned on scaring Shanti away if she ever found them, so, Baloo made himself appear to be vicious, successfully scaring her. As Mowgli has changed his mind, he tries to stop Baloo, accidentally revealing that he planned the entire scare. Upset, Shanti and Ranjan leave, having Mowgli follow to apologize. He finds them cornered by a vengeful Shere Khan, and a chase follows. It leads to ancient ruins where Baloo, Mowgli, and Shanti battle the tiger, while Bagheera watches over Ranjan.
After his defeat, Mowgli and Baloo bid farewell, as Mowgli decides to stay in the village. Soon, it is revealed that Mowgli, Shanti, and Ranjan are now allowed to visit Baloo and Bagheera as they please. A relationship between Mowgli and Shanti also blossoms.
Jungle Cubs
Mowgli's encounter with Kaa in Jungle Cubs.
Mowgli was featured on the Jungle Cubs: Born to Be Wild DVD cutscenes. In this story, Mowgli, Baloo, and Bagheera are heading off to the Man Village. Along the way, they meet some old friends and foes and each meeting brings a story from their childhood.
Since Jungle Cubs is a prequel to the 1967 film, Mowgli does not appear in any of the episodes of the series, other than the cutscenes in the Jungle Cubs: Born to Be Wild DVD.
House of Mouse
Mowgli made few cameo appearances in the series usually found in crowd shots with Baloo or King Louie. During the opening of the show, Mowgli can be seen petting Oliver from the film Oliver and Company. In "House of Turkey," Mowgli was seen being coiled up by Kaa when he and the other guests begin getting hungry with not turkey to dine on. In Ask Von Drake, during Ludwig Von Drake's headcount of all the guests, Mowgli was seen on a table with Baloo. In one episode, he took over the place of Tramp in the famous 'spaghetti scene' with Lady. In the episode "Goofy's Menu Magic" he was nearly eaten by Kaa when the snake does not receive his evening meal.
It's a Small World: The Animated Series
Mowgli makes a brief cameo in the episode A Jolly Holi Day, mindlessly following Shanti with a lovestruck gaze in the animated mini-series.
Live-Action Appearances
Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book
Mowgli in Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book.
Mowgli (5 yr old) in Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book.
In the live-action version, Mowgli is portrayed by Sean Naegeli as a 5-year old boy and by actor Jason Scott Lee as an adult.
He is the son of an Indian Jungle guide named Nathoo who was guiding a group of soldiers led by Colonel Brydon. He and his daughter Katherine (nicknamed "Kitty") are very close friends and show deep affection for each other. She gives him a special bracelet that had belonged to her mother.
After his father is killed by Shere Khan, Mowgli and his pet cub, Grey Brother were lost in the jungle and presumed dead. They were found by Bagheera who took them to be raised by a family of wolves and befriends Baloo, the big brown bear.
Mowgli grew up and found Kitty again in an Indian City and with the help of Dr. Plumford learnt the ways of man again, in return Mowgli shows Kitty the wonders and secrets of the jungle. They start to show deep affection for each other once again.
However, many people don't trust him and he grows to dislike how corrupt and uncivilized man have become. Finally after being treated cruelly by arrogant soldier Captain William Boone (who had disliked Mowgli from the very first time they met, particularly after refusing to take him to the treasure filled Monkey City) and his men, he feels he no longer belongs there and returns to the jungle.
Meanwhile Boone decides to use force to get Mowgli to take him to the treasure, so he attempts to kidnap him, this fails but in the process Baloo is shot. Afterwards Mowgli saves Dr. Plumford from a group of Indian Bandits, but Brydon and Kitty are captured. Mowgli knows that they know he'll come to rescue her. After receiving thanks from Dr. Plumford, Mowgli takes him to Baloo and asks for his help.
The jungle man meets Boone again with his men Lieutenant Wilkins, Sergeant Harley, Buldeo, and Tabaqui who threaten to kill Kitty and her father unless he leads them to the treasure. Mowgli agrees, but is certain they will not live long enough to find it.
Mowgli is tied to a tree that evening, but upon realising that Shere Khan is following the group, he escapes with the aid of Bagheera (to keep an eye out for the tiger while surveying the journey). Harley is the first to wake up and sees him running away, but while chasing him, he drowns in a pond of quicksand.
Mowgli finds Colonel Brydon left to die by Boone and leads him back to the village on an elephant promising to bring Kitty back.
As Mowgli keeps an eye out and watches the group's progress, Tabaqui confronts him and barbarically tries to kill Mowgli - only to be kicked and sent plummeting to his death. Now Boone, Wilkins, Buldeo and Kitty are the only ones who find Monkey city, but Wilkins gets separated from them and is mauled by Shere Khan.
Mowgli points Boone who is now holding Kitty as a hostage into a direction of the city. He taunts him by pointing to King Louie and telling him to follow him to the treasure. While following them, Mowgli is chased and shot at by Buldeo. The fight continues in a crypt, but the bandit sets off a booby trap that buries him alive while Mowgli escapes.
Now Mowgli, Boone and Kitty are the only ones left who make it to the treasure. Boone attempts to kill Mowgli in a fierce sword fight, but he wins and severely injures the soldier. He escapes with Kitty while Boone is killed by Kaa the deadly Python.
In the end, Mowgli makes peace with Shere Khan who now sees him as a creature of the jungle and he and Kitty return to the village pleased to see that both Brydon and Baloo have been cured by Dr. Plumford. Mowgli becomes Lord of the Jungle and he and Kitty share a kiss next to a waterfall.
The Jungle Book (2015 film)
Mowgli is slated to appear in the upcoming 2015 live-action film adaptation, played by Neel Sethi.
Video games
The Jungle Book Groove Party
Mowlgi is featured as the game's main protagonist and a playable character. The game acts as a retelling of the original, thus having Mowgli play the original role from the film.
Disney Universe
Mowgli appears as a downloadable character for the PlayStation3 and Xbox360 in The Jungle Book Pack.
Kinect Disneyland Adventures
Mowgli appears as an unlockable meet-and-greet character near the Treehouse in Adventureland. To lure Mowgli out of hiding, the player must complete a few tasks for Baloo. At one point, Mowgli tells the player that he wishes to learn how to carry water jars as good as Shanti. He asks the player to find some so that he may practice. After the water jars are recovered, Mowgli and the player practice holding them atop their heads.
Disney Parks
Mowgli at Adventureland Celebrates!
Mowgli originally made regular meet-and-greet appearances in all the parks but became extremely rare after 1999. He wears a brown cloak.
A statue of Mowgli with Baloo is featured at Disney's Pop Century Resort in Walt Disney World. Mowgli has a spell card known as "Mowgli's Swinging Vine" in the attraction Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom.
In Disney's Animal Kingdom, Mowgli starred in the short-lived live show Journey into the Jungle Book. Mowgli recently made a comeback at the Disneyland Paris event, Adventureland Celebrates!.
Jubilation!
Mowgli appears in the popular parade in Tokyo Disneyland. In the parade, Mowgli can be found on the Jungle Book themed float atop Kaa the snake in his coils.
Fantasmic!
Mowgli appears in the bubble montage in Disney's Hollywood Studios version of the nighttime show.
It's a Small World
Mowgli appears in Hong Kong Disneyland's It's a Small World attraction along with Baloo as a small world doll.
Relationships with other characters
Shanti
Shanti is the very reason Mowgli went into the Man Village. Shanti acts as if she can't stand Mowgli at times due to his prankster personality, but deep down she really has strong feelings for him just as he has feelings for her. In one scene in The Jungle Book 2, when Mowgli gets in trouble, he blames Shanti and won't speak to her. When Shanti found out that Mowgli assigned Baloo to scare her if she showed up (he really did this to cover up his real feelings for her, which is that he missed her) she was heartbroken. After the events of The Jungle Book 2, Mowgli and Shanti started a romantic relationship.
Baloo
Baloo is Mowgli's best friend and father figure. Mowgli first met Baloo and thought of him as an enemy not an ally. Baloo and Mowgli soon became best friends and Baloo officially adopted Mowgli as his bear cub. Once Baloo realized Shere Khan was on the hunt for Mowgli, he promised Bagheera he will take Mowgli back to the man village although he didn't want to. Mowgli soon thought Baloo has betrayed him and ran off. Once Mowgli encountered Shere Khan, Baloo risked his life to save him. Baloo and Mowgli once again became friends with Mowgli realising Baloo only wanted the best for his cub.
In affection, Mowgli often refers to Baloo as "Papa Bear" while Baloo usually refers to Mowgli by "Little Britches."
In Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book, Baloo was found as a brown bear cub stuck in a narrow hole of an empty log until a 5 year old Mowgli found and saved him. Mowgli and the cub became close friends after that along with Mowgli's pet wolf cub. Grey Brother. Baloo was more of a childhood companion and best friend of Mowgli's rather than a teacher of the jungle or a father-figure to him. He helped Mowgli throughout many dangers but in the end, he was badly wounded after being shot by British soldiers. Luckily, Mowgli found Dr. Julius Plumford who was able to cure and save him. Then, Baloo continued his life in the jungle with Mowgli and Kitty in the end.
Bagheera
Mowgli and Bagheera had an great friendship until Bagheera had to take Mowgli to the Man-Village. Despite this, Bagheera and Mowgli are great friends. During his time with the wolf pack, Bagheera mentioned that he and Mowgli often went on walks throughout the jungle together, inticating their close bond.
In Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book, Bagheera was the one who found Mowgli and his pet wolf cub Grey Brother and took them to be raised by a wolf pack family so as to be safe from Shere Khan. Mowgli and Bagheera had an great friendship as Mowgli grew older and stronger. Bagheera helped Mowgli through many dangers. He was finally seen continuing his life in the jungle with Mowgli and Kitty.
Kaa
Kaa and Mowgli are complete enemies. Kaa's main goal through the film is to eat Mowgli and after three attempts, he still failed. However, he doesn't show much intimidation towards Kaa though he tries to keep distance from the snake's eyes, knowing its power after their first encounter. Kaa views Mowgli as food only but becomes frustrated after his many escapes viewing him as not only lunch, but a despised nemesis as well.
In Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book, Kaa served more as guardian of treasure of King Louie's in Monkey City than an antagonist. He was close to killing Mowgli until he was wounded by Mowgli's dagger and gave up the fight. He is seen at the end successfully killing Mowgli's enemy Captain Boone.
Shere Khan
Shere Khan is Mowgli's arch-nemesis and Shere Khan wants nothing more than to kill Mowgli. In the first film, due to Shere Khan's hatred towards man, he decided to eliminate Mowgli before he was old enough to gain the ability to use man's guns and fire. Shere Khan tried to kill Mowgli, but due to the fearless Baloo and the vultures, Shere Khan's plans were thwarted. In the Junlge Book 2, Shere Khan seeks revenge on Mowgli for humiliating him, but was thwarted again.
Mowgli and Shere Khan had a very different relationship in Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book. Shere Khan was the one who caused Mowgli's separation from man's world, but the tiger never tries to kill him. The two meet for the first time at the film's end, where Shere Khan accepts Mowgli as a creature of the jungle.
Katherine Brydon
Katherine "Kitty" Brydon appears in the live-action film Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book. She is Mowgli's childhood friend, and love interest.
Kitty met Mowgli when she and her father, Colonel Geoffrey Brydon, move to India as part of the colonel's new command posting. The two become good friends, and she gives Mowgli a bracelet that belonged to her mother. Mowgli is soon separated from man's world, and Kitty is deeply saddned when she thinks Mowgli is dead. The two are reunited years later, and find themselves falling in love while Mowgli relearns the ways of man from her. Kitty is later used as a hostage by Captain Boone and his henchmen to force Mowgli to take them to a treasure. Mowgli manages to defeat the villains and ensure Kitty's safety, after which they officially begin a relationship.
William Boone
Captain Boone only appears in the live-action film. He is Mowgli's nemesis.
Boone and Mowgli get off to a bad start when Mowgli pushes him into a river on their first meeting (Mowgli has mistaken his advances on Kitty as an attempt to hurt her). Boone later has Mowgli arrested when the jungle boy is caught in the city, and has his men beat him continously to get information about a jeweled dagger that was in his possession. Boone later comes to see Mowgli as a rival for Kitty's affection, and also threatens to hunt him down when Mowgli refuses to take him to the ruined city where he found the jeweled dagger, along with other treasure. Boone finally resorts to kidnapping Kitty (who by now has rejected him) to force Mowgli to take him and his men to the treasure. Mowgli and Boone have a final battle in the treasure room, which Mowgli wins. Mowgli than takes Kitty and leaves Boone, and the captain is attacked and killed by Kaa soon after.
Gallery
Trivia
- Animator Glen Keane used Mowgli's animation from the original film as reference when he animated Aladdin.
- In the original novel, Mowgli's name is pronounced "mau-glee," while in the Disney film it is pronounced "moh-glee."
- Also, in the novel, Mowgli's name is supposed to mean "frog" because of his smooth skin, but in real life the Hindi word for frog is very different and Mowgli doesn't even mean anything at all.
- Mowgli's walk entrance in the beginning of the movie was similar to Arthur 's walk entrance because both of them get licked lovingly by two canines.
- Coincedentally, Richard and Robert Reitherman, the brothers of Bruce Reitherman who voiced Mowgli, both voiced Arthur.
- Mowgli is similar to Tarzan. They have both been raised by animals (Tarzan; gorillas and Mowgli; wolves), both wear loincloth, both live in the jungle and have been orphaned when they were very young. But whilst Tarzan was orphaned when his parents were killed by Sabor, it is unknown how Mowgli became an orphan.
- Mowgli doesn't appear in Once Upon a Time. However, The Queen's Huntsman had a similar backstory, raised also by wolves, which is a reference to Mowgli.
- Mowgli has a few similarities to Tarzan from Tarzan:
- Both had bad experiences with boats. Tarzan’s family was in some kind of boat wreck and fire, and Mowgli was found alone in a basket on a boat. Unlike Mowgli, Tarzan still had his parents until Sabor interfered. Mowgli was discovered by Bagheera, who took him to be raised by wolves, and Tarzan was adopted by Kala, after she lost her own son to Sabor.
- Both are/were happy-go-lucky children.
- Both have good friends, but other animals make fun of them for being different.
- Both have some troubling primate encounters (excluding Tarzan’s actual family of gorillas).
- Both are enemies with a wildcat.
- Mowgli has a few similarities to Aurora from Sleeping Beauty:
- Both were seen as infants in the beginning of their films.
- Both were raised in a different environment than where they originally came from. Aurora was raised by the three fairies in the woods while Mowgli was raised by wolves in the jungle.
- Both were in danger of being killed by a sophisticated, yet deadly villain (Malificent, Shere Khan)
- Both were very distraught about having to leave the home they've always known and having to leave someone they've recently gotten to know (Prince Phillip for Aurora, Baloo for Mowgli).
- However, unlike Aurora who goes back to the castle despite her own sadness, Mowgli rebels against going to the Man-Village several times including running away.
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