The Jungle Book is an Indian 3D CGI animated television series. This series is based on the original book by Rudyard Kipling.
The adventures of Mowgli, a human foundling raised by Akela's wolf pack, and his best friends, fatherly bear Baloo and playful panther Bagheera. They live in the Indian jungle where many dangers lurk, such as the mighty Bengal tiger Shere Khan. The inquisitive Mowgli often gets himself into trouble and can't resist helping animals in danger or solving other problems.
Main characters
Mowgli (voiced by Emma Tate) - A young Man-cub raised by wolves in the jungle, as adoptive son of Daruka and Raksha, and the brother of Lali and Bala. He keeps a tiger claw which he as a pendant which he took in a battle from the man-eating tiger Shere Khan. Mowgli is not depicted as naked, as in the book.
Bagheera (voiced by Sam Gold) - A black panther. He is Mowgli's best friend. Unlike his counterpart in the Disney film, Bagheera is not as wise or strict as in the book.
Baloo (voiced by Jimmy Hibbert) - A brown bear. In the series, he is bipedal, wears glasses and he is Mowgli's mentor. Baloo likes to tell stories of the jungle.
Kaa (voiced by Joseph J. Terry) - An Indian Python. Like in the book, he is sort of friends with Mowgli, Bagheera and Baloo, yet moody and feared.
Akela (voiced by Joseph J. Terry) - An Indian Wolf who is the most trusted leader of the Seeonee Wolf Pack and the grandfather of Phaona.
Daruka (voiced by Aaron Albertus) - The adoptive father of Mowgli. Although Mowgli usually lives with Baloo and Bagheera, he visits Daruka's family sometimes. In the Disney film, Daruka's name is Rama.
Raksha - The adoptive mother of Mowgli.
Lali - The daughter of Daruka and Raksha.
Bala - The son of Daruka and Raksha.
Phaona (voiced by Aaron Albertus) - An Indian wolf who is the grandson of Akela. He dislikes Mowgli being in the wolf pack, tries every attempt to expel the adopted human from the pack and will stop at nothing to attempt becoming the next pack leader. Phaona's plots tend to backfire and he tends to get punished by his grandfather.
Main villains
Shere Khan (voiced by David Holt) - A man-eating Bengal Tiger who plans to kill and eat Mowgli, but often fails in his attempts. He has a scar on his left eye. Shere Khan lost one of his claws in an earlier fight with Mowgli who keeps the claw as a pendant.
Tabaqui (voiced by Nigel Pilkington) - An Indian Jackal. He is Shere Khan's sycophantic, devious sidekick where he lacks the courage to disagree with his tiger master.
Bandar-log - A group of langurs who like to cause trouble for Mowgli and his friends. They live in the Cold Lair temple ruins.
Masha (voiced by Joseph J. Terry) - A langur who is the queen of the Bandar-logs.
Jacala - A giant Mugger crocodile who would eat anyone that trespasses into his territory.
Kala - A black panther like Bagheera, but spotted. Highly territorial and hostile towards Bagheera and Mowgli.
Darzi (voiced by Peter Michail/Teresa Gallagher) - A tiny solid-red bird without a mate or nest. Brave for its size and friendly, but poor as a messenger (as in the book) due to bird-brain and terrible memory.
Hathi (voiced by Phil Lollar) - A wise Indian Elephant who is the leader of the jungle's elephants. In the series, he has two kids named Appu and Heetah and has a wife named Kachini.
Kachina - A lavdendar Indian elephant who is the wife of Hathi. In the Disney film, Kachini's name is Winifred.
Appu and Heetah - Hathi and Kachini's two elephant calves who are Mowgli's friends.
Rangoo - A colourful vain, fruit-eating bird (pheasant?).
Chil - A kite.
Ikki - A Porcupine.
Rikki-Tikki-Tavi (voiced by Nigel Pilkington) - An Indian Mongoose. Here he lives in the jungle with the other animals. Very cute-faced, ferret-sized and fearless (once even fought with Shere Khan in order to defend Mowgli).
Thuu - The cobras, occasionally the leader of a cobra's nest.
Bella - A female bear that Baloo falls for.
Oo and Boo - A couple of old turtles.
Pavo - A leucistic white peacock.
Ponya - A red panda.
Langur - A Himalayan monkey.
Tapaas Chakravarti, Chairman & CEO of DQ Entertainment, says: "The second season of Jungle Book was a simple decision after the tremendous success of the first season and the inherent demand by the global broadcasting community. Jungle Book already has a tremendous fan following and has created the need to see more and more of Mowgli and his jungle friends by the kids. We are confident that the second season will also be a tremendous commercial success. It will be followed by a TV Movie special, a Christmas special, a Halloween special and many other spin-offs. The partnership with ZDF is symbiotic in the sense that we are producing several other projects with them."
In 2012, DQ Entertainment announced a 3D feature film based on the animated series which was released in 2013. The film is produced by Tapaas Chakravarti, and directed by Jun Falkenstein and Kevin Johnson.
