The Seoni Jungle

The **Jungle of India** is the main setting from Disney's 1967 movie *The Jungle Book*, its sequel, 2016 live-action remake, and television series.

## History

In *The Jungle Book*, the jungle is an enormous mixed forest that covers most of the Seoni hills in India. It appears to be very vast, and is home to a wide variety of wildlife. At times, references are made to various parts of the jungle, mostly in relation to Shere Khan's location. When Mowgli is approximately 10 years old, Shere Khan returns to the part of the jungle where the wolves and Mowgli make their home. This forces the pack to send Mowgli away for their safety, as Shere Khan would kill them otherwise. This area of the jungle is said to be near a man-village, where Mowgli later lives. Also present are ancient ruins where King Louie and his bandar-log make their home, although a part of it was destroyed by the actions of Baloo and Bagheera when saving Mowgli from the bandar-log. King Louie later left the ruins and his former kingdom became a sanctuary for animals who sought peace and relaxation.

Even though most parts of the jungle are rarely visited by humans, who only venture into it for hunting trips, they are very controversial among the residents of the jungle. Most animals, such as Kaa, Baloo and the vultures, had never encountered humans before meeting Mowgli, but those who had were generally afraid of them, knowing man's mastery over fire and guns.

Colonel Hathi and his herd are said to patrol the jungle, as part of cross-country marches, and act as its law enforcement. However, few if any animals take the herd seriously.

## Trivia

* In *Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep*, players can access textureless maps of *The Jungle Book* world through the use of a cheat device, including King Louie's throne room (which is the only one with textures).
* While the exact location of this particular Indian jungle is not specified in the film, it can be assumed that it is somewhere in the Madhya Pradesh region as it shares similar animal life, ancient ruins and fauna as shown in the films. In the book, Rudyard Kipling states that the area in which the story takes place is the Seoni region of Madhya Pradesh (spelled as Seeonee in the book). Unlike in the story and films, the real Seoni area is not an actual jungle, but a deciduous forest.
* The 2016 adaptation of *The Jungle Book* is the only Disney adaptation of the Jungle Book to show the Water Truce and Peace Rock, which play prominent roles in the original stories by Rudyard Kipling.
* Shere Khan was the self-proclaimed ruler of the Seoni jungle prior to his defeat at the hands of Mowgli. After that, he lost all the respect the jungle had for him.
* In earlier drafts of *The Jungle Book*, it was revealed that the jungle was hit by a flood shortly before the movie began. The flood claimed the lives of several travelers, including Mowgli's birth parents, but Mowgli survived in a canoe and was washed away deep into the jungle where Bagheera eventually found him. However, this was scrapped from the final product as Walt Disney preferred a more peaceful setting. Despite this however, the wrecked canoe seen at the start of the original film heavily suggests that Mowgli's birth parents have been killed by said flood.