The Jungle Book
Walt Disney gave a copy of Rudyard Kipling’sThe Jungle Bookto one of his writers and enjoin : " The first thing to do is not to read it . " ( As perArt and Animation : From Mickey Mouse to Herculesby Bob Thomas . ) So from this alone , it ’s cleared thatDisney ’s final moving-picture show was intended to not be a loyal adaptation to Kipling ’s novels .
This is perceivable , as the original book had a number of tales and characters , and is morose and more sinister than the lite - hearted invigoration consultation know and eff . From character reference variety to character clipping , there were a number of change made from the original Word of God when making this beloved alive classic .
There’s No King Louie
Although " I Wanna Be Like You"isone of the good birdcall inThe Jungle Book , and one of its most memorable scenes , King Louie does not even exist in the book . This is n’t a surprisal , as orangutans are not even native to India ( this is why King Louie was made into an out mintage of emulator for the unrecorded - activity remaking ) . The character of King Louie was an original creation by Disney and was sound by jazz musician Louis Prima .
The monkeys are still antagonists in the book , collectively called the Bandar - logarithm , who nobble Mowgli for reasons unspecified - not the " red flower " that King Louie craves .
There Are More Humans
In the animated film , there are only two humans - Mowgli , and the young young woman from the man village ( nominate Shanti inThe Jungle Book 2 ) . In the book , there are many more human race . Mowgli actually conjoin the gentleman’s gentleman settlement about midway through the story rather than at the end , where he is take up by Messua , who believes Mowgli is her long - lose son .
Other human characters from the book let in Messua ’s unnamed hubby , and Buldeo , the main hunter who wants to wipe out Shere Khan for the value his skin can bring . Although there are more humans in the direct - to - telecasting sequel , none of these fictional character appear there either .
The Wolves Are Much More Important
The wolves who adopt and recruit Mowgli are barely given enough screen time to be fully characterized in the movie . They make for a importantly larger part in the leger , such as protecting Mowgli from Shere Khan early on . Even the mother wolf has a bigger part , where she does n’t even speak in the movie .
The biggest notable difference is the part of Akela , the drawing card of the Hugo Wolf pack . He is one of the most forgettable characters in the movie , perhaps even in the Disney franchise . That is not so in the book . Akela is an important figure for Mowgli , even sacrifice himself to save Mowgli out of love for him , and it is this action that construct Mowgli decide to stay in the man village - not pre - pubescent endocrine like in the movie .
Kaa Is A Good Guy… And A Bad Ass
The sneaky Kaa is arguably one of Disney ’s most memorable villains , renowned for his swirly hypnotic eyes and his quest to eat Mowgli . In the book , Kaa is not only one of Mowgli ’s allies but a very formidable and dread military force to be reckoned with .
Although he has his menacing moments and a wonderfully creepy baddie song , Disney ’s Kaa is accident - prostrate and is one of the movie ’s main source of laughable relief . In the novel , Kaa is called upon to rescue Mowgli from the monkeys , all of which he defeats single - handedly - a far cry from the snivel snake in the picture . The only similarities that the two Kaas share are vast length and size , and hypnosis powers .
Shere Khan Isn’t So Scary
Although he does n’t appear on sieve until much later , the learned Shere Khan is a formidable yetunderappreciated Disney baddie , reverence by all who reside in the jungle ( except Mowgli ) . He is even filthy in the bouncy - natural process remake .
This is n’t the case in the book . Shere Khan is arrogant and believe he should rule the jungle , but whereas the wolf clique is too dreaded to protect Mowgli in the moving picture , they are more than a match for Shere Khan and fend him off in only the first chapter . build Shere Khan potent and more of a threat was a smart decisiveness on Disney ’s part - defeating the main villain too early on would have made a wearisome movie .
Shere Khan Had A Sidekick
Almost all Disney villains have a sidekick - commonly rum and incapable . So it ’s a bit of a mystery why Disney did not give Shere Khan his brother from the novel . Tabaqui the cowardly Canis aureus is the only character in the book that is loyal to Shere Khan and is hated just as much as the Panthera tigris .
On one hand , it would have been interesting to see Shere Khan with a zany pal , especially give the basis of Tabaqui ’s personality in the al-Qur’an . On the other hand , Disney Shere Khan is a great character on his own and there are stack of comic relief characters in the picture already . Perhaps the skinny Shere Khan has to a sidekick is his rather hilarious fundamental interaction with Kaa .
Baloo And Bagheera Swap Roles
One of the most likeable characters in Disney’sThe Jungle Bookis easily Baloo , the laidback slothful sloth bear who just wants to have fun with his newfound buddy Mowgli . His opposite number is the good - hearted but rather hard-and-fast Bagheera , who isone of Disney ’s more underrated characters .
Interestingly , these two fundamental character had their personality switched over for the movie . In the original book , it is Bagheera who coddles Mowgli and develops a faithful bond certificate with him , and Baloo who is the nonindulgent one , whose character is to teach the wolf cub the law of nature of the hobo camp , Mowgli include . Imagine how unlike " The Bare Necessities " would be if Disney ’s Baloo was a strict teacher !
Hathi Isn’t A “Pompous Old Windbag”
In the novel , Hathi is the patient leader of the elephant and believes strongly in natural law and Holy Order . This might have provided a basis for the Disney version but Hathi in the novel is read far more earnestly by his peers than his Disney counterpart .
Disney ’s translation of Hathi(“ColonelHathi , if you please ! " ) is a stodgy , pompous , forgetful honest-to-god elephant who provide a salutary amount of comical relievo in the movie , peculiarly when confronted by his long - suffering wife Winifred . Whilst something of a mockery of the book of account version , Disney ’s Hathi is doubtless an entertaining Disney conception .
The Baby Elephant Has Siblings
Hathi ’s son , named Junior , is the main source of prettiness in the Disney movie . Unlike Hathi , Junior speedily befriends Mowgli and read him how to be an elephant . It is also because of him that Hathi , who flatly loves his Logos , even considers helping face for Mowgli .
As the movie ’s cutest character reference , it ’s a bit of a ignominy that Disney did n’t watch over the volume in this example . In Kipling ’s text , Hathi had not one but three children . With three cunning babe elephants for Mowgli to befriend , there would have been not only triple the adorableness but Hathi perhaps would have been much quicker to help Mowgli .
There Are No Vultures
It ’s hard not to forget the quartet of torpid barbershop - sing vultures who console Mowgli when he ’s perhaps at his low . This might be due to their law of similarity to the fabled bandThe Beatles , who were originally specify to sound the vulture .
There are no vultures in the book at all . Like King Louie , the vulture are an original Disney creation . Only unlike King Louie and the other imp , there ’s not so much as even a reference of vulture character in the rule book and they did n’t even make it into the lively - action remake .
NEXT:10 Behind The Scenes Facts About Disney ’s Alice in Wonderland
