Mowgli

Mowgli (also known as the Man-Cub) is the protagonist of Disney's 1967 animated feature film The Jungle Book. A young, orphaned boy with an adventurous spirit, Mowgli had been found by a black panther named Bagheera and raised by a pack of wolves in the jungles of India since infancy. When a murderous tiger becomes determined to kill him, however, Mowgli is forced to leave his pack to live among humans in the Man-Village. Refusing to abandon his wild side, Mowgli instead strives to find a new place in the jungle, preferably with a fun-loving sloth bear named Baloo.
==Background==
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 biological 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.
===Development===
Although storyboard artist Bill Peet wanted Mowgli's character arc to be more accurate to the source material, in which Mowgli goes back and forth from the jungle to civilization, Walt Disney and Wolfgang Reitherman decided against following the book's dark and complex narrative in favor of a more light-hearted and straightforward story. The crew also decided against following Mowgli's bildungsroman character arc from the books in favor of a more simple coming-of-age story in which Mowgli has to come to terms with his inevitable manhood as he faces various obstacles in the jungle.
Mowgli was animated by Frank Thomas, Ollie Johnston, and Milt Kahl. Originally child actor David Alan Bailey was meant to voice Mowgli, but the crew decided he was no longer fit for the part when his voice broke due to hitting puberty during production, forcing the crew to find a new voice for the character. When the crew was dissatisfied with all the auditions for Mowgli, director Wolfgang Reitherman suggested casting his own 11-year-old son, Bruce Reitherman, as Mowgli due to his enthusiasm for the project. The crew approved of the casting choice as they felt it was right to cast a completely unknown voice in a film with various celebrity voices.
===Personality===
Mowgli is a rather complex person. He is portrayed as an average child in the original film: generally innocent, mischievous, kind, and happy-go-lucky. However, Mowgli suffered from an identity crisis due to how out of place he was in the jungle. Although Mowgli knew he was human, he was at a loss as to what being a human actually means. Throughout his life in the jungle, Mowgli struggled with this identity crisis, but the frustration of being unable to solve it made him stubborn, rebellious and particularly insecure because he tried everything to convince himself and others that he belongs in the jungle. As a result, Mowgli would spend the course of the film imitating other animals in hopes of finding a sense of belonging.
This is one of the reasons as to why Mowgli's relationship with Baloo is so strong. Baloo, being a part of the jungle's counterculture, had no qualms with Mowgli finding his own identity in the jungle and live the way the man-cub sees fit. Once Baloo eventually did come around to realize the importance of Mowgli's entry into the Man-Village, it was out of love, as he only wanted what was best for Mowgli, despite the fact that it would lead to their separation. The same can be said for the wise and often grouchy panther, Bagheera, though Mowgli's stubbornness and failure to understand the circumstances of his situation, would leave the man-cub feeling unwanted and unworthy of love. Nevertheless, Mowgli would come to understand by the end of the film, and immediately patch his close relationships. At the end of the film, Mowgli finally understood what a human is when he met Shanti, a very beautiful girl from the Man Village. He felt instinctually drawn to his own kind and quickly realized that what he feels for another human is something he can never feel for an animal. With that epiphany, Mowgli's identity crisis was finally solved.
Because the wolves sheltered Mowgli as he grew up (this was done to prevent word about the boy's presence in the jungle from spreading to Shere Khan), he became considerably naïve and lacking the necessary instincts and knowledge of the jungle in order to survive in it. Throughout the film, Mowgli refused to accept this truth, as it would require him to admit that he does not belong in the jungle. However, he finally accepted his limitations after barely surviving his encounter with Shere Khan.
Despite the lack of animal survival instincts, Mowgli is incredibly brave. When met with obstacles in the jungle, the man-cub would retaliate once the danger is realized, and often come out on top. However, much of his resolve came from the awareness of the fact that his status as a human embodies the power and mystique that animals like Shere Khan fear. Mowgli would realize this illusion during his first confrontation with Shere Khan, who proved to be a force powerful enough to actually strike legitimate fear within Mowgli; but even then, once Mowgli learned the tiger's weakness, he retained his bravery as he refused to let Baloo die and once again took charge of the situation by driving Shere Khan away, revealing his true courage in doing so. In the sequel, an older and more mature Mowgli had his resolve tested by Shere Khan once again and his bravery and nobility were stronger than ever before, showcased by him being willing to sacrifice himself to protect Shanti.
Although young and inexperienced, Mowgli is quite intelligent. Despite his identity crisis, Mowgli has learned to nurture many of his innate human instincts that overrule animal behavior, such as walking upright, during his life in the jungle. He is also a fast learner, quickly learning from first experiences, such as avoiding Kaa's gaze after his first encounter with the snake, using tools to acquire a prickly pear after he could not do so with his hands etc. He is also very trusting of his instincts and intuition, which has enabled him to solve problems in a way that the wolves could not have taught him, such as tying a knot, swimming, swinging from vines and even use the environment to his advantage, such as when he threw dust at Shere Khan's eyes to temporarily blind him, allowing the man-cub to get a head start. In the sequel, where Mowgli is older and more mature, he has learned to apply himself properly, which has allowed his intelligence to shine even more. Most notably with his charisma, theatricality and leadership skills that has gained him much popularity among the village children. Finally, Mowgli is prone to making sassy remarks, showing that he is very witty.
In addition to that, Mowgli has also proven to be strong-willed. This is seen in Mowgli's first encounter with Kaa the python, who had difficulty hypnotizing the boy to sleep, due to his continuing resistance and only succeeded by using the comfort of his coils to relax him, whereas the more mature Bagheera and Shanti were both put in a trance without much effort. In their second encounter, Kaa managed to put Mowgli in a trance immediately, but only because Mowgli's resolve had been shattered by depression. Mowgli's bravery and iron will more or less makes him an equal to Shere Khan, as they are both controversial creatures of the jungle who are fiercely determined to succeed and never back away from any threats. Despite Mowgli's strong will, he is as impressionable as children tend to be, being easily won over by King Louie's tempting offer of being given a new home with the bandar-log and quickly picking up Baloo's lifestyle.
Despite Mowgli's headstrong, assertive mind and tough exterior, he does have a sensitive side to him, which is rarely shown. This is evidenced when he was haunted by the thought of being an unloved outcast after his perceived rejection by his friends and family, at which point it only took a simple mockery by the vultures to make him cry. His love for Shanti has also been known to bring out his softer side, as evidenced by his regret for accidentally breaking her heart when Baloo revealed that he told him to scare her away in case she found them.
Mowgli is also shown to have brotherly instincts. In the beginning of the first film, it is shown that he is admired by his wolf siblings and possibly looked up to by the new pups. Lastly, Mowgli is also mischievous, as shown when he tickled Baloo when he was lying on the ground and when he pulled pranks on Shanti, either by simply playing on her fears, or by startling her, so she would trip and fall into the river and resulting her becoming soaking wet.
In The Jungle Book 2, Mowgli has gained considerable emotional maturity, due to having connected and socialized with his own kind and children his own age for a while, particularly Shanti, his friend-turned-girlfriend, who has had highly positive influence on him. Although he retains his boyish charm and fun-loving nature, he now displays more rationality, is less rebellious and is in more touch with his feelings. His brotherly instincts are also even more noticeable as he displays protective attitude towards his new adoptive brother, Ranjan and the latter looks up to him for that. His charisma has been known to go beyond his relationship with his families, as he is able to charm Shanti and occasionally bring out her fun-loving side, following Baloo's example when he used his own charm to cheer him up when they first met. For this reason, Mowgli is very popular among the children of the Man Village.
Because the jungle was for a long time Mowgli's only concept of home, it took him a long time to warm up to his new adoptive parents, viewing them more as authority figures than parents, and found it difficult to accept the crowded and organized structure of the Man Village over the sparse and peaceful jungle and left the village with Baloo as a result. But once found out that the villagers went through extreme lengths to look for him, he realized how ungrateful he was to leave the village and that they care more about him than he knew.
This made the boy feel torn between the jungle and the village, being unwilling to hurt Baloo by leaving him again but also unwilling to hurt his new human family by staying in the jungle. Though conflicted, Mowgli decided to stay with Baloo for the time being, although he secretly hoped to be found by the villagers so he would not have to choose between them and Baloo. Mowgli was now more conflicted than ever, as he had become a man of two different worlds that could never unite. As he had hoped, he was found, but was surprised that Shanti of all people was the one who found him. The boy was deeply touched by the fact that Shanti faced her greatest fear just to find him, now realizing how he misjudged her. This strengthened the two's mutual love more than ever before.
After defeating Shere Khan for the final time, Mowgli was forced to make his final choice on where he wants to spend the rest of his days. At first, all he knew was that he wanted both Baloo and Shanti to be a part of his life. However, he quickly realized that although Shanti is the love of his life, she can never live in the jungle because she was raised by humans and Baloo can never live in the village due to humans fearing wild animals. Ultimately, Mowgli chose Shanti and the village, accepting once and for all that he must leave his childhood, and therefore the jungle, behind in order to prosper as a man. With that choice, Mowgli felt at peace for the first time in his life.
===Physical appearance===
Mowgli is a handsome preteen slender boy with brown skin, brown eyes, thick black eyebrows, and wild untidy black hair that covers his forehead, ears, and reaches his neck. In both films, he is half-naked, wearing only a red langot made of cotton.
===Abilities===
*Excellent Strength: Mowgli is remarkably strong for a boy his age as a result of having to rely more on his physical strength all his life in the jungle. In the first film, he was able to push Kaa's massive piled up coils down a tree with relative ease and was able to deliver a blow that was hard enough to knock down Baloo as well as landing several blows on Shere Khan with a wooden club that were powerful enough to disorientate the tiger for a few seconds.
*Excellent Speed & Agility: Being raised by wolves, Mowgli learned to run as fast as the rest of his pack. In both films, Mowgli has demonstrated that he is able to outrun Shere Khan, a full-grown tiger. Also, Mowgli has shown to be very flexible and agile while climbing.
*Excellent Durability: Mowgli is very resilient and durable for a boy his age. In the first film, Baloo accidentally hit him and sent him rolling towards a log, but Mowgli was able to shrug it off immediately with no injuries albeit dazed.
*Excellent Willpower: Mowgli's willpower is one of his most iconic traits. Mowgli is one of the few individuals who can resist Kaa's hypnosis through sheer strength of will, while more mature individuals, like Bagheera and Shanti fell into a trance as soon as they looked into the snake's eyes due to their emotional vulnerabilities. Despite his impressive willpower, Mowgli is not immune like Shere Khan and can be manipulated by the right tactics when distracted or his resolve is weakened.
*Excellent Charisma: Ever since his identity crisis was solved at the end of the first film, Mowgli has experienced considerable growth. He has demonstrated quite a lot of interpersonal intelligence, emotional maturity, and confidence thanks to his life in the village, improving his natural charisma. He has become the most popular youth in the village and with an aptitude for theatricality, showmanship and boyish charm. He has also demonstrated a certain amount of suave and cheeky humor. For this reason, he is able to charm Shanti, despite her being very intelligent and refined, into letting loose and bring out her fun-loving side, strengthening their romantic feelings for each other.
*Climbing: Thanks to Bagheera's tutorship, Mowgli is able to climb almost any tree with ease while maintaining perfect balance. In the second film, his climbing skills have improved as shown when he surprised Shanti by hanging upside down from the tree branch above her and during "Jungle Rhythm", he showed he was more nimble than all the other children in the village.
*Animal Empathy: Having been raised by animals, Mowgli sees the inhabitants of the jungle as individuals rather than just creatures like most humans do. Unlike the villagers, Mowgli is also able to interpret animal facial expressions and feelings, while the people of the Man Village can only sense whether or not an animal is hostile.
==Appearances==
===The Jungle Book===
At first on one peaceful day in the jungle of India, 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." Although Bagheera initially wants nothing to do with the child, he cannot bring himself to leave it to perish. Knowing the man-cub will need food, shelter, and parental care if he is to survive, the panther decides to take the child to a wolf pack that has recently been blessed with cubs. The parents, Raksha and Rama, welcome the boy into their family and name him Mowgli. Ten years later, Mowgli has become a valued member of the pack and has learned their ways, but has trouble blending in with wildlife due to his humanity. He has also befriended Bagheera, who serves as his protector and mentor. Despite their love for Mowgli, Bagheera and the wolves know deep inside that the boy cannot stay in the jungle forever and must return to his own kind once he is no longer dependent on a mother's care.
That time comes when one night, the wolf pack learns that the notorious predator and man-eater, Shere Khan the tiger has returned to that part of the jungle. The wolf council, led by Akela, comes to the conclusion that Shere Khan will kill Mowgli once he discovers him, along with anyone who tries to protect him or gets in his way and therefore, must leave the pack for his own good. Rama protests, knowing Mowgli lacks a wolf's survival instincts and would die if he gets sent to live on his own. Bagheera, an honorary member of the council, settles the debate when he tells them that he has discovered a Man Village where Mowgli will be safe from the dangers of the jungle and is ready to escort him to the village with the council's permission. The council approves and wishes the panther good luck. Later that night, Bagheera takes Mowgli for a walk. The boy soon becomes tired and suggests they should head back to the den, but Bagheera reveals that his intention is to take him to the Man Village, as he is ready to reunite with his kind. Mowgli takes the news badly, thinking he is being rejected, but Bagheera explains the situation to him and assures the man-cub that it is for his own good. Nevertheless, Mowgli naively insists that he can survive in the jungle as long as he is brave. Bagheera cuts the boy off and tells him they must find a place to sleep and continue their journey at dawn. Mowgli is visibly upset, but follows.
For safety, Bagheera takes Mowgli up a large tree to rest for the night on a large branch. Mowgli maintains he wants to stay in the jungle, but Bagheera counters that the boy would not last one day on his own. As the panther settles down and dozes, Mowgli stubbornly argues that he can look after himself, only to encounter Kaa the python. Kaa eyes Mowgli with considerable relish as a potential meal, smacking his lips and tauntingly calling the young boy a "delicious man-cub". Mowgli is more annoyed than intimidated and pushes the snake away, not realizing the danger he is in. When Bagheera tells Mowgli to go to sleep, Kaa takes advantage of the situation and begins hypnotizing the man-cub to sleep in order to devour him without alerting his guardian. Mowgli's iron will enables him to resist immediately falling under the spell, but is unable to look away from the snake's eyes, transfixed and gaping. Kaa begins wrapping his coils around the dazed Mowgli, providing so much comfort to the helpless boy to make him too sleepy to resist further. Relaxed by the coils, Mowgli sleepily calls out to Bagheera for help, only to be silenced when Kaa constricts his tail around the boy's neck. Coiled from waist to neck and unable to resist any further, Mowgli finally falls into a trance and smiles blissfully as Kaa gloats over his catch. Now fully under Kaa's spell, Mowgli goes to sleep as the snake prepares to devour him.
Fortunately, Bagheera is roused just in time to intervene, striking Kaa in the mouth before he can swallow Mowgli. This causes Kaa to drop the boy, the fall waking him from the spell. Enraged, Kaa turns his hypnotic gaze on Bagheera, but in his fury, fails to notice the man-cub climbing out of his coils. Mowgli shoves the coils that Kaa had wrapped him in off the tree, pulling Kaa with them and saving Bagheera just in time. Mowgli wakes the panther and laughs at Kaa's misfortune, the humiliated snake vowing to catch him again as he slithers away. Mowgli laughs this off as an empty threat, but is rebuked by Bagheera. The panther reminds Mowgli how he has boasted how independent he was, only to almost immediately get eaten, and hopes this experience taught him a lesson. However, Mowgli still insists on staying in the jungle and the two go back to sleep.
The next morning, the duo are awakened by the Jungle Patrol marching nearby. As Mowgli wakes up by the loud shaking and chanting, he turns to see the marching elephants in awe, believing it to be a parade. He climbs down and runs towards the elephants where he meets and befriends Hathi, Jr., the son of Colonel Hathi, leader of the Jungle Patrol. Mowgli playfully imitates Hathi, Jr. during an inspection, believing it is a game. However, when Colonel Hathi sees Mowgli within the ranks, he is outraged by the very idea of a man-cub in "his" jungle. Hathi is at the verge of physically assaulting Mowgli in rage when Bagheera intervenes and tells the colonel that the boy is his responsibility and that they are on their way to the Man Village where he is to stay. Hathi calms himself down and continues with his march.
As Mowgli and Bagheera continue their journey, the man-cub becomes more stubborn and refuses to go to the Man Village. Mowgli's behavior leads to an argument between him and Bagheera. Out of options, Bagheera attempts to forcibly drag Mowgli to the village, but his effort backfires and results in him falling into a river. The panther becomes fed up with Mowgli's rebellious behavior and storms off to cool off, abandoning Mowgli for the time being. Mowgli wanders further into the jungle, reflecting on his love for his home and his unwillingness to leave it. He stops and sits down by a boulder to lament on his situation alone. Just then, Mowgli encounters Baloo, the laid-backed upbeat sloth bear, who investigates the boy. The annoyed Mowgli strikes Baloo and angrily tells him to leave him alone. Suspecting the boy is having a bad day, Baloo tries to cheer him up. Mowgli then loses his temper and poorly attempts to fight off Baloo. Realizing the boy has no survival skills, Baloo takes pity on him and decides to teach him how to fight. The lesson includes teaching him how to intimidate his opponent by roaring like a bear, but as Mowgli was raised by wolves, he only knows how to growl. Baloo is not satisfied with this and roars loudly at the boy to give him a demonstration. The ferocious roar of Baloo is heard by Bagheera not too far away and the worried panther rushes to Mowgli's aid. When he finds Baloo and Mowgli wrestling, Bagheera demands that Mowgli comes with him to the Man Village. To Mowgli's delight, Baloo takes his side as he sees no reason why the man-cub cannot have a home in the jungle where he is happy. Bagheera rhetorically asks how Mowgli can survive in an environment unsuitable for him, to which Baloo refutes by saying that anyone can survive in the jungle by living off the land and knowing where to look. As the two continue to bond, Mowgli becomes fascinated with Baloo's way of life and wishes to be a part of it. Unable to convince Baloo of what is best for Mowgli, Bagheera shakes his head and leaves, hoping the bear will come to his senses. While floating down the river, Baloo realizes that Mowgli is in need of a new guardian and offers to fill in that role himself, which the man-cub happily accepts. Meanwhile, the Bandar-log spot the man-cub and suddenly they grab his foot and pull him up to the trees above where they humiliate the boy by swinging and throwing him around. Baloo attempts to save Mowgli but the monkeys taunt the bear by throwing fruits at him and push him down a hill. Once they have had enough, they carry the boy away to the ancient ruins where he meets an orangutan named King Louie, leader of the Bandar-log.
The mad ape gives the man-cub a royal welcome to his kingdom, though Mowgli proves to be feisty and demands to be released at once. Louie assures the boy that there is no need for hostilities as he offers him refreshments and lets him sit on his throne, allowing Mowgli to make himself comfortable. Mowgli decides to play along for now and asks why he was kidnapped, to which Louie replies that he heard rumors of the man-cub being sent to the Man Village against his will and as such, he wishes to make a deal with the boy; he will make sure Mowgli gets to stay in the jungle in exchange for teaching him how to make fire, the jungle's most feared phenomenon. Although the offer intrigues Mowgli, he cannot fulfill his part of the bargain as he was not raised by humans and thus lacks the knowledge of creating fire. Though Louie believes the boy is merely being shy and tries to warm up to him more in hopes of learning the secret, believing that the knowledge of making fire is born rather than learned. The bandar-log organize a party in Mowgli's honor in hopes of winning him over, tempting the man-cub with a luxurious life among his primate cousins. Mowgli begins to like King Louie, until Baloo and Bagheera arrive at the scene to rescue him. Louie reveals his true colors by attempting to prevent Mowgli from leaving and the man-cub turns against him and the bandar-log as a result. A battle ensues, resulting in a large portion of the ancient palace being destroyed. The trio escape the destruction with a few bruises and find a safe place to stay for the night. That night, when Mowgli has fallen asleep, Bagheera chastises Baloo for his irresponsibility that has put the man-cub in danger and hopes the day's events were enough for him to see the need for Mowgli to leave the wild. Although Baloo takes full responsibility for the incident, he naively insists it was a simple mistake and that he will be more careful next time. Bagheera then discusses the seriousness of the situation and tries to make Baloo see that the jungle has nothing to offer Mowgli as it was never meant to be his home and therefore cannot accommodate his needs. Baloo remains unconvinced until Bagheera mentions the threat posed by Shere Khan, at which point, Baloo realizes that Mowgli's safety must be prioritized and agrees to take him to the Man Village. As Mowgli wakes up in the morning, Baloo reluctantly tries to convince the boy that he must go to the Man Village. Shocked, Mowgli runs away from the bear, feeling hurt and betrayed.
The man-cub wanders the jungle for hours with nowhere to go, feeling unwanted and unloved. Tired of walking, Mowgli stops to sit down under a tree, only to be hoisted up into the tree above. Mowgli is surprised to see his captor is Kaa and that he made good on his promise to catch him after all. Kaa attempts to hypnotize him, but Mowgli has learned from his last encounter and is wary of the snake's hypnotic gaze. Mowgli tries to look for a way back to the forest floor, scrambling to untangle himself from the coils around him until Kaa offers his help. Curiosity gets the better of Mowgli as he lowers his guard when Kaa teases he could see to it that the man-cub would never have to leave the jungle. Without making eye-contact, Mowgli asks how the snake intends to make good on his promise. Kaa refuses to let the boy in on his plan unless he trusts him but Mowgli is not fooled by this empty promise and pulls away, bitterly stating that he does not trust anyone anymore as he turns his back on the serpent and continues to look for a way down.
Kaa blindfolds Mowgli with a makeshift turban from his coils, feigning sympathy and claiming to be more trustworthy than Mowgli's friends who abandoned him. Irritated, Mowgli accidentally lets his guard down as he struggles to free himself and when he does, he finds himself staring directly into Kaa's eyes. He is successfully hypnotized once again, falling into a trance after only a few seconds due to his vulnerable emotional state. Kaa proceeds to toy with the helpless man-cub, having him sleepwalk on his coils while he sings to him a sinister lullaby. With glassy-eyes and a dopey grin, Mowgli obediently follows Kaa's commands, trusting the snake completely as he sleepwalks until the trance finally gives way to a deep and peaceful sleep as he enjoys the comfort of Kaa's coils that take the shape of a hammock and rock the boy back and forth gently. Then he is balanced on the tip of Kaa's tail, horizontally and upside down as he begins to snore. Having teased the boy enough, Kaa proceeds to slide the man-cub down a spiral into a cocoon of coils as he once again prepares to eat him.
Ironically, Mowgli is saved by the intervention of Shere Khan, who was suspicious of Kaa's singing. Mowgli remains asleep throughout their exchange, but fortunately he awakens when Kaa shivers in disgust of Shere Khan's immoral ways. Realizing the snake hypnotized him, Mowgli shoves Kaa's coils off the branch once more sending the snake tumbling to the ground. Mowgli is furious that Kaa lied to him and rebukes him for resorting to such a pathetic tactic, but the snake simply states that the boy was right: he cannot trust anyone. Kaa attempts to attack Mowgli again but his tail gets caught between a bamboo cluster. Mowgli takes advantage of this and runs away from the python as fast as he can.
At his lowest low, Mowgli finds himself in a decaying grassland, where a pack of comical vultures reside. They begin to mock Mowgli because of what they perceive as bizarre appearance, driving him to tears as he is too depressed to stand up for himself. Seeing how sad Mowgli is, the vultures apologize for their remarks and inquire on what is troubling him. When Mowgli states that his friends and family have rejected him, the vultures begin to empathize with him and assure him that they know exactly how it feels to be cast out, stating that they are also unwanted by the jungle. They try cheering him up, saying that all outcasts do at least have each other. To prove their sincerity, they offer the boy a spot in their group as an honorary vulture. Mowgli appreciates the offer, but turns it down out of fear of being rejected again. However, the vultures refuse to give up on the boy and convince him how valuable friendship is, restoring Mowgli's faith in companionship. Just then, Shere Khan appears and threatens Mowgli, who refuses to back down. Impressed by his courage, Shere Khan gives him a head start. Mowgli realizes there is no escape and grabs a heavy branch to defend himself with, preparing to go down with dignity. Shere Khan lunges towards Mowgli, who is filled with fear as he finally realizes how truly dangerous the tiger is. Fortunately, Baloo arrives just in time to restrain Shere Khan and tells Mowgli to flee. Instead of fleeing and leaving Baloo to suffer the tiger's wrath, Mowgli shrugs off his fear and hits Shere Khan several times in his face with the branch in hopes of knocking him out. Enraged, Shere Khan ignores Baloo and pursues the man-cub in a chase around the clearing, prompting Baloo to implore the vultures to help the boy. As the vultures grab Mowgli just as he was about to be bitten, carrying the boy to safety, Shere Khan unleashes his fury on Baloo, until he is seemingly dead. The tide turns when a bolt of lightning strikes a nearby tree, putting one of the branches on fire, Shere Khan's greatest fear. Remembering what King Louie told him about man's mastery over fire, Mowgli's resolve is strengthened as he takes the burning branch and sneaks up on Shere Khan. As the vultures distract the tiger, Mowgli ties the flaming branch to Shere Khan's tail. The tiger panics, and desperately tries to put out the fire, but to no avail. Shere Khan is defeated and flees the area.
Mowgli rushes over to Baloo's motionless body and tries to wake him up. Bagheera arrives and realizes what has happened. Bagheera presumes that Baloo's sacrifice cost him his life and explains this to Mowgli. Mowgli begins to mourn the loss of his friend as Bagheera comforts him and assures the man-cub that Baloo will be remembered for his bravery. Nevertheless, Mowgli blames himself for Baloo's demise and is about to follow Bagheera to the Man Village just as Baloo regains consciousness and reveals to be alive. Mowgli is overjoyed and embraces the bear. As the trio wander into the edge of the jungle, Baloo praises Mowgli for his courage and is convinced that he can survive in the jungle after all. Just then, Mowgli hears an angelic voice in the distance and investigates its source. Bagheera states that they have arrived at the Man Village, but Mowgli is more interested in the incredibly beautiful girl singing as she emerges from the village entrance.
The amazed Mowgli observes the girl fantasizing about her future while collecting water from the river, and climbs up the tree above her for a better look. Baloo attempts to stop him, believing the girl is nothing but trouble, while Bagheera encourages him on, believing young love blossoming is a beautiful sight. As Mowgli climbs up the branch directly above the girl, astonished to see another human for the first time, and leans in for a closer look. Unfortunately, the branch he is holding onto breaks, causing him to fall into the river where he is easily noticed by the young maiden. Embarrassed, Mowgli hides in one of the bushes by the river's edge. The girl is noticeably surprised, but also curious about the strange newcomer and hopes to get to know him. Mowgli remains in hiding and the girl heads back to the village after filling her jug, not wanting to force the boy to come. Mowgli goes after her, but when she notices the boy is following her, she "accidentally" drops her water jug and it rolls towards Mowgli, but only Bagheera realizes she is flirting with the man-cub. Mowgli falls for her trick, refills the jug, and politely offers it to her. However, the girl playfully makes a few flirtatious gestures and lures the boy towards the village. At the village entrance, Mowgli hesitates and looks back at his animal guardians with uncertainty. Baloo begs him to come back, while Bagheera gleefully encourages him to keep following the girl. As the girl comes back to see if Mowgli is coming, the boy looks into her beautiful eyes. Noticing this, the girl uses her eyes to her advantage by closing them halfway, looking at Mowgli in a seductive manner, followed by a playful blink. The lovestruck Mowgli puts on a dreamy smile as he realizes that he can never feel the same for anyone in the jungle as he can for another human being. Mowgli shrugs at Baloo and Bagheera, signifying that he is unable to resist his own humanity, and happily enters the village to begin his new life.
===The Jungle Book 2===
Two years after Baloo and Bagheera dropped Mowgli off at the Man Village, he 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, on whom he has a reciprocated crush. Although he appreciates his new family, Mowgli has trouble adjusting to the village's way of life and misses the jungle more with each passing day. Despite that, Mowgli is popular among the village youths, who are intrigued by his adventures in the jungle and the only exception is the agrizoophobic Shanti, who believes Mowgli is merely an orphan from a faraway village, who got lost in the jungle and is exaggerating his experience in the jungle for popularity. As such, Mowgli and Shanti would sometimes debate about the jungle and one day, Mowgli attempts to lead the village children to the jungle to show them that it is not as menacing as they are led to believe. However, Shanti notices what Mowgli is doing and overreacts, alerting the village leader, who confines Mowgli to his room without supper as a punishment for his disobedience. Shanti immediately tries to apologize to Mowgli, as she did not mean to get him in trouble, but Mowgli just glares at her, and ignores her.
Later on that night, Baloo sneaks into the village, reuniting with his "bear cub" the same time Shanti tries to make amends with her friend. 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 and the man-cub lists all his complaints about the village like the daily work routine, the disciplinary lifestyle and how Shanti got him in trouble for trying to show what the jungle is like. Baloo believes this confirms that Shanti was nothing but trouble after all, but Mowgli silently disagrees somewhat, knowing the girl has been kind to him despite their differences. Mowgli changes the subject and the two reestablish their carefree lifestyle for old times sake. 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 in search of the man-cub, much to Mowgli's surprise.
Bagheera's news makes Mowgli placate, and he realizes that the villagers miss him after all and starts to regret leaving his new family. Baloo overhears Mowgli wondering if Shanti is among the villagers looking for him and begins to suspect the boy's feelings for her. For the sake of his friendship with Baloo however, Mowgli decides to shelve the feelings and asks Baloo to scare Shanti away in case she finds them. Requiring a place to hide, the duo head over to King Louie's place, but Louie has departed, 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, which hurts the man-cub's feelings and he leaves the ruins to be alone. In his solitude, Mowgli begins to feel more appreciative of the village than he ever was before after being around his own kind. He admits to himself that he misses his adoptive family and Shanti, but feels conflicted about where his true home is.
Suddenly, Shanti and Ranjan appear after searching far and wide for Mowgli. As Baloo searches for him, he spots Shanti and makes himself appear to be vicious, successfully scaring the girl. As Mowgli has changed his mind, he tries to stop Baloo, accidentally revealing that he planned the entire scare. The revelation breaks Shanti's heart and she leaves on the verge of tears, taking Ranjan with her. Mowgli scolds Baloo for trying to scare her, but the confused bear reminds the boy that he only did what he told him to do. As Baloo tells Mowgli to explain himself, the man-cub remains silent. Baloo realizes that Mowgli is in love with her and the boy runs after Shanti and Ranjan. 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. During the battle, Shere Khan corners Shanti and threatens to kill her unless Mowgli gives himself up. The man-cub reveals himself to save her and Shere Khan attacks. Baloo engages in a brawl with the tiger, giving the children time to flee, but are trapped when they reach a volcanic crater filled with lava. Shere Khan breaks free and pursues them. During the struggle, Shere Khan falls into the crater and lands on a rock, only to be trapped as a giant statue falls on top of him.
After the tiger's defeat, Mowgli introduces Shanti to Bagheera. Before the conversation goes further, the group spots the village search party in the distance. Shanti and Ranjan are delighted, but Mowgli is saddened as he had hoped they could stay in the jungle with him now that Shere Khan is no longer a threat. Shanti appreciates Mowgli's feelings, but nevertheless, tells him she has to go back, knowing she could never be a part of the jungle like he is, and pleads with the man-cub to come back to the village with her. Mowgli is reluctant to go, prompting Shanti to leave with Ranjan and let Mowgli decide for himself just like she did the day they first met. Mowgli realizes he must make his choice; stay in the jungle with his old friends and family or return to the village with the love of his life. Baloo encourages Mowgli to go, having come to realize that civilization is truly where Mowgli belongs and admits that Shanti is not so bad after all. Mowgli and Baloo say goodbye and the boy follows Shanti to the villagers, where he reunites with his foster parents. Mowgli is about to apologize to his father for making him so worried, but he tells him he is sorry for not realizing how much the jungle meant to him and that the jungle is part of who he is. Mowgli then acknowledges him as his foster father, now that they understand each other. As such, the children are now allowed to visit the jungle, but only after finishing their daily chores.
A few days later, Mowgli decides to take Shanti and Ranjan on a tour through the jungle with Baloo and Bagheera. As Baloo carries the children on his shoulders while strolling into the jungle, Mowgli and Shanti hold hands, marking the official beginning of their romantic relationship. With Mowgli's coming-of-age journey complete, his destiny is cemented; he will always accept that while the jungle is a part of who he is, he will always truly belong in civilization with his own kind and he will live a long and happy life with Shanti in the Man Village and as predicted by Shanti's song, "My Own Home," Mowgli and Shanti will one day marry and have a daughter of their own.
===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. Like the film, Baloo volunteers to raise Mowgli as his own in the jungle, but Bagheera is firmly against this, and forces the two to follow him to the Man Village. Along the way, they encounter old friends and foes, the first of which is Kaa, who hypnotizes Mowgli in an attempt to eat him. The snake is foiled when Baloo grabs into the former's tail and plunges him down a chasm.
While traversing the Savannah, Mowgli is nearly eaten by Hathi, who tosses the man-cub aside after realizing what he was about to do. Hathi voices his distaste for humans before absentmindedly reminiscing about the past, allowing Mowgli and his friends to exit the scene.
Finally, the trio are attacked by Shere Khan. He corners Mowgli and prepares to eat him, but Baloo and Bagheera call Khan out, claiming he owes them for saving his life when they were kids. Khan claims he doesn't recall such events, to which Baloo responds with a story recounting such an occasion. When Khan scoffs this off, Baloo tosses a beehive onto Khan's head, forcing the tiger to retreat. Baloo takes the opportunity to brag, reiterating his claim that Mowgli is safe in his care. The trio then walk off into the jungle as King Louie closes out the story.
===House of Mouse===
Mowgli made few cameo appearances in House of Mouse 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 & Company.
In "House of Turkey", Mowgli was seen being coiled up by Kaa when he and the other guests begin getting hungry with not a turkey to dine on.
In "Jiminy Cricket", Mowgli, Baloo, Bagheera, Shere Khan, and Kaa were used as examples of different places to live in by Jiminy Cricket. During his speech, Jiminy states, "Live in the jungle once, but leave before it makes you hard."
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.
Mowgli was also amongst the crowd of characters singing "The Best Christmas of All" in Mickey's Magical Christmas: Snowed in at the House of Mouse.
===Other appearances===
In the 101 Dalmatians: The Series episode "Home is Where the Bark Is", Mowgli's silhouette can be seen as one of the passengers of a subway train the dalmatians ride on.
In The Lion King 1½, Mowgli with Baloo made a cameo appearance at the end of the movie.
In Meet the Robinsons, Mowgli and Baloo can be seen on a poster during Goob's baseball game.
In 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 love-struck gaze.
In The Simpsons in Plusaversary, he makes a cameo at the Disney + party which is being held at Moe's Tavern.
In Once Upon a Studio, Mowgli and Baloo sang a verse of "When You Wish Upon a Star", after Baloo shut Scuttle's beak with his paw after Scuttle tried to join in the chorus. Mowgli and Baloo then join all the Disney characters as they sing the last line as the group photo is taken successfully for Disney's 100th anniversary.
==Live-action appearances==
===The Jungle Book: Mowgli's Story===
Mowgli appears in the 1998 live-action retelling of the story. In this version, Mowgli's village is attacked by the vicious tiger Shere Khan and he gets lost in the ruckus and runs into the jungle. There, Mowgli met Baloo the wise bear, Bagheera the black panther, and the rest of his animal friends and they have many adventures. Towards the end, Mowgli sees humans, but decides to stay away from them and live with Baloo, Bagheera, and the rest of his friends in the jungle; Kaa is noticeably absent from this version of the film.
Mowgli narrates the story of how he has an adventure not just about him changing his life forever and how he adapted his life in the jungle, as well as narrating the animals' plot. As Mowgli's village is under attack by Shere Khan, the tiger spots Mowgli and prepares to eat him. As Mowgli stares at the tiger, a group of hunters arrive and chase after Shere Khan attacking the village just as he plans to find his parents, to which he finds out that tracking down his parents was a bad idea and upon finding a cave, inside was a pack of wolves whom they call him a man-cub. With Mowgli accepted into the family under Raksha's request to her husband Akela, Tabaqui interrupts this moment just as Akela and Raksha confront the hyena for being an unwelcome guest. The next day, Mowgli adapts his life under care by Akela and Raksha while he encounters a few wolf pups who bully him thinking he wants to be a wolf just like them just as Akela comments on his daughter's comment to the pups about Mowgli finding his way. Mowgli then encounters a pair of baboons harassing an injured wolf named "Biranyi" to which Mowgli stops the baboons from hurting him much to Raksha's rage on harassing the wolf. Mowgli manages to remove a stick that was stuck on Biranyi's paw, to which he thanks him.
Later, Mowgli grabs a fruit to which he unawarely notices that the fruit he grabbed belongs to Hathi just as Raksha arrives and interrupts the conversation, explaining that Mowgli should know not to eat without asking Raksha first, warning him that the fruit is poisonous. From that day, Hathi takes Mowgli to explore the jungle around him, which changed his life every day throughout his adventures. As his life changed, Chil instructs Mowgli how to fly like a bird to which the plan was unsuccessful, causing Mowgli to get himself cleaned at a waterfall with two parrots watching over him. After cleaning himself, Mowgli encounters Baloo who is attempting to reach a beehive to get honey for himself to which Baloo warns Mowgli to be careful on getting honey for him because of the bees swarming the honey. Mowgli, uncontrollably attacked by bees, drops the beehive down to Baloo much to his advice while he later talks with Bagheera about how life came to Earth. Throughout his life in the jungle, Mowgli reflects himself to remember his adopted family just as he attends a meeting being started by Akela. During the meeting, Akela and Raksha's daughter, Li'l Raksha, has become old enough to hunt with the other wolves. During the meeting, Shere Khan arrives and explains about how dangerous hunting with human hunters is just as Baloo and Bagheera intervene. After Shere Khan and Tabaqui leave, Akela offers Mowgli to join the wolf pack and stand up against the tiger to which Mowgli accepts. Akela then officially allows him and Li'l Raksha to join the hunt.
In a plan to help Mowgli fight against the tiger Shere Khan, Bagheera instructs him by trying to fool Chil by doing a vulture call to which Bagheera instead teaches Mowgli how to hunt like a predator. That night, after a tough training with Bagheera, Mowgli quietly sleeps in a cave until Shere Khan disturbs his rest. The next day as time passed, Baloo helped Mowgli work harder than Bagheera to which during the conversation between him and Baloo, Bagheera interrupts it, just as Baloo and Bagheera discuss about teaching the Mowgli the instincts of hunting and eating to which Baloo tells the panther about the man-cub doing Bagheera's task by fooling Chil. Later after Mowgli was unable to look for grubs like what a Baloo was doing to help Mowgli gain energy on consuming grubs, he then decides to catch fish on a lake. Soon as Mowgli was unable to catch one like Baloo, he approaches the latter which he tells him to keep practicing to catch a fish like him. Soon as Bagheera approaches Mowgli, she discusses with him that a good hunter never lets his guard down, because someone could be hunting him (referring to Shere Khan stalking Mowgli) which Mowgli replies to Bagheera that it wasn't him to shot him; Baloo then tells Mowgli that Shere Khan never plays fair while Bagheera tells Mowgli to look into her eyes, telling him to know what it's like to be caught in a big cat's gaze. Mowgli looks hard into Bagheera's eyes, making an offer with Bagheera that if he practices with her, Mowgli would be immune to Shere Khan's hypnotism. Mowgli then narrates that his lesson with Bagheera was a good one, but one which he hoped that he would never have to use.
The next day, Mowgli meets the wolf pack who are on a hunt for deer while Akela is commanding his pack to split into three groups. During a discussion, Akela tells Mowgli that he, Li'l Raksha, and two other hunters will come up from the right side with assistance from some brother wolves straight up a hill to cut off their escape while Akela and Raksha will hide behind the left side of the ridge while just as Akela gives out the signal, alerting the brother wolves to catch them before they escape only for Mowgli to not catch one single deer, much to Akela's disappointment, as the wolves are very upset for not helping the wolves catch at least one deer. As the brother wolves leave in disappointment, Akela then discusses with Mowgli that he was supposed to wait, much to Mowgli trying to explain to him that he is different in his family, just as Mowgli leaves in frustration feeling upset, much to Akela and Raksha's worry of Mowgli leaving the pack. Mowgli then narrates of himself that it was his wolf father's idea to make him a hunter, in which his mistake was Akela's mistake.
That night, Mowgli approaches Baloo who tells him that everyone makes mistakes, even Baloo himself, while Bagheera replies that the Seeonee pack might forgive him and Mowgli's wolf parents must have been worried about this, just as Bagheera plans to take Mowgli back to his wolf family, which Mowgli refuses to go back, telling the panther to leave him alone. Bagheera then denies, telling him that running away is not the answer. She then recaps that when she was a cub, Bagheera got mad at her parents and escaped from them before she was caught by a group of poachers trying to sell her for her fur, telling Mowgli that she was chained up in a cage and felt sad that she would never see her family again and as the hunters were planning to move Bagheera to a bigger cage, Bagheera managed to escape from the hunters, telling Mowgli that she felt lucky. She then gives out a moral to Mowgli, telling him that if he is mad or upset, the worst thing he can do is to run away from his trouble. Baloo then replies to Mowgli that if he runs out of honey, he gets his own honey without getting upset, just as he tells Mowgli to get some rest for the next day.
The next day, Baloo approaches Mowgli telling him to catch some fish for breakfast, which Mowgli replies to him that by the time he catches one, it will be lunch time, much to Baloo telling Mowgli that it's a better day only for their conversation to be interrupted by a trio of chimps planning to trick Mowgli into trouble, much to Baloo telling Mowgli to stay away from the chimps to avoid getting tempted into doing mischief, just as the chimps keep harassing the two, which Baloo attempts to ward them away, much to Mowgli joining the chimps instead of staying with Baloo, fearing that Bagheera would not like this just as Mowgli plays with the mischievous chimps and tries to follow them only to pass by Chil and then the edge leading to the wolf pack's territory. Much to Chil's warning about Mowgli getting into trouble, he decides to join the chimps into another area called "Monkey Town" to join the other monkeys in their territory. As Mowgli enters a hut as directed by the monkeys which was dubbed a "treasure room", it turns out that the area was used as a trap, locking up Mowgli inside. Seeing an open window nearby, Mowgli attempts to escape only to be fooled by a baboon who closes the window. Mowgli then narrates that when he sat there all alone, he narrates that Baloo would be looking for him all across the jungle in a plan to find him and rescue him. As Mowgli stayed inside, he curiously interacts with the objects inside, including a finding a set of matches which he uses to light a fire to escape the trap which Mowgli realizes that he found matches an interesting object to use which reminds the animals of the Red Flower. Seeing the objects inside the hut, he curiously interacts with certain objects, including a book with an illustration of a tiger in it, reminding Mowgli of Shere Khan.
Meanwhile, Bagheera suddenly arrives at Monkey Town trying to make sure Mowgli is safe, warning Mowgli that he won't be safe if he doesn't escape before Shere Khan arrives. She then plans a distraction plan to help rescue Mowgli. In a plan to rescue Mowgli, Bagheera tells the baboons that she found a map leading to the a lost land full of large bananas which Bagheera manages to distract the baboons and the other monkeys in a plan to rescue Mowgli while Baloo smashes through the hut's front door where Mowgli was locked at, rescuing him which Mowgli and Baloo manage to escape Monkey Town.
The next day, Hathi wakes up Baloo and Bagheera who have rescued Mowgli from Monkey Town which Hathi warns Mowgli about the bad news about his wolf mother Raksha which Mowgli rides on Hathi to arrive at the spot where Raksha was last seen which Baloo and Bagheera follow along where they arrive at Mowgli's home where Mowgli knew the horrible reason about why Hathi took him. As Mowgli finds out of Raksha's death, he mourns her and claims that it was all his fault about this, just as Mowgli risks himself to leave the jungle and never come back, after claiming that it was his fault. As Mowgli runs far away from his home, he grew exhausted until he found a zebu leading to the Man Village, where all kinds of memories were returning to him, particularly things what humans do as well as feeling comfortable in this area. Mowgli then hears Li'l Raksha calling for help and as Mowgli finds her, he finds her paw caught on an animal trap. Soon as Mowgli rescues Li'l Raksha from the trap, he tells her that he must leave to avoid causing more trouble which Li'l Raksha denies, warning him that Shere Khan will stalk him wherever he goes, trying to explain that he must stay in the jungle and get ready to stand up against the tiger. Mowgli then understands what Li'l Raksha is saying to him, after realizing that running away is not the answer and what is more important to him is facing Shere Khan and planning to defeat him, fighting him like a man just as Mowgli gains courage to stand up against the tiger.
That night, Mowgli approaches Shere Khan and Tabaqui, taking on the tiger and taunting him in the jungle in a plan to catch him which he plans to stand up against the tiger and seeing that Shere Khan is getting angry planning to lure him into a trap which is the river, which Baloo, Bagheera, Li'l Raksha and Hathi assist Mowgli confronting the tiger which Shere Khan replies that he will rule over the jungle and win over Mowgli. He then grabs a set of matches he obtained from Monkey Town and ignited a match to form a fire known as the Red Flower, igniting a stick to burn a patch of roots to surround the tiger. When Shere Khan asks Tabaqui to help him but is unable to, due to the fire blocking the path, Tabaqui taunts Mowgli, which he snarls at Tabaqui, scaring the hyena away. After Tabaqui retreats, Mowgli confronts Shere Khan in combat, telling him to step down from being a powerful tyrant, banishing the tiger from the jungle which Shere Khan promises to leave and never return to the jungle after Mowgli burns a drawing of a tiger which he found at the hut in Monkey Town, just as Shere Khan runs away from the jungle in terror.
With Shere Khan defeated, Li'l Raksha happily praises Mowgli for defeating the tiger followed by three wolves who apologize to Mowgli for bullying him in the first place, telling the man-cub to be the leader of the wolf pack which he tells the three that Li'l Raksha will do her best to lead the pack being the new leader of the Seeonee pack. In the aftermath, Mowgli narrates of how his life changed when he felt like a man. The next day, Mowgli shows an animal encyclopedia to Baloo and Bagheera which gives out information of the animals he finds like monkeys, panthers, or elephants just as Baloo and Bagheera bid a farewell to Mowgli who discovers new adventures every time he opens the book.
==Video games==
===The Jungle Book Groove Party===
Mowgli 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.
===Other games===
Two medals featuring Mowgli (one with Baloo, and another with both Baloo and King Louie) were added into Kingdom Hearts Unchained χ during an event based on The Jungle Book.
==Disney Parks==
﻿Mowgli originally made regular meet-and-greet appearances in all the parks but became extremely rare after 1999. He wears a brown cloak.
===Walt Disney World===
A statue of Mowgli with Baloo is featured at Disney's Pop Century Resort.
Mowgli has a spell card known as "Mowgli's Swinging Vine" in the attraction Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom.
Mowgli appears in the bubble montage in Disney's Hollywood Studios version of Fantasmic!, and during the "Bare Necessities" snippet in Happily Ever After.
In Disney's Animal Kingdom, Mowgli starred in the short-lived live show Journey into the Jungle Book.
===Tokyo Disney Resort===
Mowgli appeared in Jubilation! in Tokyo Disneyland. In the parade, Mowgli can be found on the Jungle Book-themed float atop Kaa the snake in his coils.
===Disneyland Paris===
Mowgli recently made a comeback at the Disneyland Paris event, Adventureland Celebrates!
===Hong Kong Disneyland===
Mowgli appears in Hong Kong Disneyland's It's a Small World attraction along with Baloo as a small world doll.
==Differences from the source material==
*In the original novel, Mowgli's name is pronounced "mao-glee" (the "mao" rhymes with "cow"), while in the Disney film it is pronounced "moh-glee" (the "moh" rhymes with "go").
*In the book, Mowgli was described as being skinny (though as a teenager he was athletic), naked (except in the village, where he wore a lungi and sandals), with black shoulder-length hair and carried a knife to make up for his lack of fangs and claws. Whereas in the 1967 Disney movie, he appears skinny with black neck-length hair and wears a red langot made from cotton.
*In terms of personality, Mowgli is somewhat similar in both the books and the Disney version. However, because the books show Mowgli's childhood and adolescence in great detail, the book version receives significantly more character growth. At the age of 10, Mowgli was playful, curious, sarcastic, naïve, and stubborn, but still polite and brave. After being kidnapped by the bandar-log, however, Mowgli began to take Baloo and Bagheera's lessons more seriously. And after being banished from the wolf pack and rejected by the villagers, Mowgli becomes more cynical and cautious, but nevertheless retained his sarcasm, bravery, and nobility. As a teenager, Mowgli became much more mature and began to show his leadership qualities and charisma. In the Disney version, Mowgli is depicted as a 10-year-old and shares a lot of his personality with his book counterpart, most notably his bravery, curiosity, and playfulness. However, the Disney version is considerably more sensitive as he took it very hard when he had to leave the jungle and tried to find any possible reason to stay in the jungle.
*In the book, Mowgli makes his own way to the wolves while fleeing from Shere Khan. As the tiger demands them to give him his prey back, they refuse and Raksha, the mother, angrily states that Mowgli is under their protection and threatens to tear him apart if he comes near him. Shere Khan, being too large to fit inside the cave, leaves grudgingly. The wolves then adopt Mowgli as one of their own after seeing how well he gets along with their own cubs. However, in the 1967 Disney adaptation, it is Bagheera who finds Mowgli abandoned as an infant in the jungle. Bagheera then leaves him by the wolves' cave, who gladly decide to care for him and raise him as their own cub.
*In the book, Mowgli had to leave the jungle because he brought fire into the jungle (intending to use it against Shere Khan, who was about to kill Akela). As punishment, Akela banished Mowgli from the pack and the boy made his way to the man-village where he was adopted by a kind woman named Messua. Whereas in the Disney version, the need for him to leave the jungle was solely based on the threat of Shere Khan and because his presence in the jungle attracts too much unwanted attention.
*In the books, Mowgli became the leader of the wolf pack until he decided to leave the jungle. While in the Disney version he never became the leader.
*In the Disney version, Mowgli immediately begins a peaceful life with Shanti and his new family when he enters the man-village. While in the books, Mowgli was cast out of the village after several months of living there because a superstitious hunter named Buldeo convinced everyone that Mowgli was an evil sorcerer. Once Mowgli learned that Messua was to be executed for adopting him, he persuaded Hathi to help him destroy the village to save his foster mother. With Raksha's help, Mowgli escorted Messua 30 miles through the jungle and to the British-controlled town of Khanhiwara but instead of going with her, Mowgli returned to the jungle in hopes of regaining his honor among the wolves and declaring that he has no place in civilization. Seven years later, Mowgli leaves the jungle forever once Kaa proves to him that the jungle has nothing to offer him, but misery and loneliness. He reunited with Messua, married a Khanhiwaran girl, had children with her and was given a job as a park ranger, spending the rest of his life in civilization.
*In the book, Mowgli met the love of his life at the age of 17. While in the Disney version, he met her at the age of 10.
==Relationships==
==Gallery==
==Trivia==
*Animator Glen Keane used Mowgli's animation from the original film as a reference when he animated Aladdin.
*David Bailey, Kurt Russell, Butch Patrick, Ron Howard, Teddy Eccles, Bill Mumy, Ronnie Dapo, Craig Huxley, and Billy Corcoran were all considered to voice Mowgli.
*In the novel, Mowgli's name means "frog" in the wolf language and is named so by the wolves because of his lack of fur. The name given by his birth parents, however, is Nathoo.
*While Mowgli himself was left out of the television series TaleSpin, a young bear cub known as Kit Cloudkicker seems to be a stand-in for him, since Baloo calls him by the same nicknames as his Jungle Book counterpart Mowgli, like "Little Britches" and "Baby Bear".
*Mowgli's wolf family is not given a large role in most of the films. This was most likely done so there wouldn't be too many characters in the story and to keep focused on the main plot. However, it is shown that the wolves care deeply for him, such as when Mowgli's brother and sister lick his face to show their affection. Also when his foster father, Rama, expressed reluctance and great sadness when the wolf council decided that Mowgli must return to humanity. The wolves play a larger part in the 2016 film, Raksha and Akela in particular, in their interactions with Mowgli.
*Mowgli's walk entrance in the beginning of the movie was similar to Arthur's walk entrance in The Sword in the Stone, because both of them get licked lovingly by two canines (Disney was going through financial crisis at the time, forcing them to recycle much of the animation for Jungle Book).
*Mowgli doesn't appear in Once Upon a Time. However, the Huntsman had a similar backstory, raised also by wolves, which is a reference to Mowgli.
*Mowgli appears as the exact same character in live-action from the 1967 movie, especially with the same loincloth.
==See also==
*Mowgli (Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book)
*Mowgli (The Jungle Book: Mowgli's Story)
*Mowgli (The Jungle Book 2016)
==References==
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