Boy-cub Mowgli enters the jungle as a
shipwrecked orphaned baby, is picked up by a kindly panther named
Bagheera and adopted by a pack of wolves. Once the boy is raised to
young manhood, Bagheera decides it's time the man-cub was returned to
his own kind. But ' little Mowgli still thinks he'd be happier among
the beasts.
After run-ins with a hypnotic snake
called Kaa, and a herd of military elephants, Mowgli runs away from
Bagheera, taking up with a freewheeling, lazy bear named Baloo. The
two pals share an idyllic existence, which is interrupted when Mowgli
is captured by King Louie, an orangutan who wants the secret of man's
fire. Mowgli's friends come to his aid, but the greatest danger still
lurks hidden in the jungle: a man-eating tiger named Shere Khan.
The character voices are superb and very
effective, while some jazzy tunes (including The Bare Necessities)
ensure easy-going fun all round. This was the last cartoon feature
supervised by Walt Disney himself. The Disney organization released a
live-action follow-up in 1994.
Baloo
Phil Harris ShereKhan
George Sanders Kaa
Sterling Holloway KingLouie
Louis Prima Bagheera
Sebastian Cabot Mowgli
Bruce Reitherman