The Jungle Book

About

The Jungle Book is a collection of stories by the English author Rudyard Kipling. Most of the characters are animals such as Shere Khan the tiger and Baloo the bear, though a principal character is the boy or "man-cub" Mowgli, who is raised in the jungle by wolves. The stories are set in a forest in India.

A major theme in the book is abandonment followed by fostering, as in the life of Mowgli, echoing Kipling's own childhood. The theme is echoed in the triumph of protagonists including Rikki-Tikki-Tavi and The White Seal over their enemies, as well as Mowgli's. Another important theme is of law and freedom; the stories are not about animal behaviour, still less about the Darwinian struggle for survival, but about human archetypes in animal form. They teach respect for authority, obedience, and knowing one's place in society with "the law of the jungle", but the stories also illustrate the freedom to move between different worlds, such as when Mowgli moves between the jungle and the village. Critics have also noted the essential wildness and lawless energies in the stories, reflecting the irresponsible side of human nature.

The Jungle Book has remained popular, partly through its many adaptations for film and other media.

The Jungle Book (1967 film)

The Jungle Book (1967) is a 1967 American animated musical comedy film produced by Walt Disney Productions. Based on Rudyard Kipling's book of the same name, it is the 19th Disney animated feature film. Directed by Wolfgang Reitherman, it was the last film to be produced by Walt Disney, who died during its production. The plot follows Mowgli, a feral child raised in the Indian jungle by wolves, as his friends Bagheera the panther and Baloo the bear try to convince him to leave the jungle before the evil tiger Shere Khan arrives.

The Jungle Book (1994 film)

The Jungle Book (1994) is a 1994 live-action American adventure film co-written and directed by Stephen Sommers, produced by Edward S. Feldman and Raju Patel, from a story by Ronald Yanover and Mark Geldman. It is the second film adaptation by The Walt Disney Company of the Mowgli stories from The Jungle Book and The Second Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling and the first live-action adaptation of Walt Disney's animated film of the same name from 1967.

The film stars Jason Scott Lee and Lena Headey, and costars Cary Elwes, Sam Neill, John Cleese, and Jason Flemyng. In this version, the animals do not speak.

Talespin

TaleSpin is an American animated television series based in the fictional city of Cape Suzette, that first aired in 1990 as a preview on Disney Channel and later that year as part of The Disney Afternoon, with characters adapted from Disney's 1967 animated feature "The Jungle Book" (namely, some of the film's animals being given an anthropomorphical makeover while the humans are removed), which was theatrically released in the summer before this show premiered in the fall. The name of the show is a play on "tailspin", the rapid descent of an aircraft in a steep spiral.

Jungle Cubs

Jungle Cubs is an American animated series produced by Disney for ABC in 1996 and based on the 1967 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 its re-runs to the Disney Channel.

The Jungle Book 2

The Jungle Book 2 is a 2003 animated film produced by the Australian office at DisneyToon Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures and Buena Vista Distribution. The theatrical version of the film was released in France on February 5, 2003, and released in the United States on February 14, 2003. The film is a sequel to Walt Disney's 1967 film The Jungle Book, and stars Haley Joel Osment as the voice of Mowgli and John Goodman as the voice of Baloo.

The Jungle Book (2016 film)

The Jungle Book is a 2016 fantasy adventure film directed and produced by Jon Favreau, produced by Walt Disney Pictures, and written by Justin Marks. Based on Rudyard Kipling's eponymous collective works and inspired by Walt Disney's 1967 animated film of the same name, The Jungle Book is a live-action/CGI film that tells the story of Mowgli, an orphaned human boy who, guided by his animal guardians, sets out on a journey of self-discovery while evading the threatening Shere Khan. The film introduces Neel Sethi as Mowgli, along with voice and motion capture performances from Bill Murray, Ben Kingsley, Idris Elba, Lupita Nyong'o, Scarlett Johansson, Giancarlo Esposito, and Christopher Walken.

Favreau, Marks, and producer Brigham Taylor developed the film's story as a balance between Disney's animated adaptation and Kipling's original works, borrowing elements from both into the film. Principal photography commenced in 2014, with filming taking place entirely in Los Angeles. The film required extensive use of computer-generated imagery to portray the animals and settings.

Sequel

Following the film's early financial and critical success, the studio has begun working on a sequel. Jon Favreau is reported to return as director and Neel Sethi is reported to reprise his role as Mowgli, while screenwriter Justin Marks is also in negotiations to return. On April 25, 2016, it was announced that Favreau and Marks will return to direct and write, and the sequel could potentially have a release sometime in 2019 and will be shot back-to-back with Favreau's remake of The Lion King. However, it was reported in March 2017 that the sequel was put on hold in order for Favreau to instead focus mainly on The Lion King. By January 12, 2018, Marks ended an early draft for the sequel, which he said will "go further through" Kipling's material, as well as feature elements of Bill Peet's rejected drafts for the 1967 film.