Jungle Cubs

The Jungle Book's Jungle Cubs
Format	Animated series
Country of origin	United States
No. of episodes	21
Production
Running time	22 minutes
Broadcast
Original channel	ABC (1996–1997) Disney Channel (1998–2000) Toon Disney (April 18, 1998 – December 28, 2001)
Original run	October 5, 1996 (1996-10-05) – January 10, 1998 (1998-01-10)

Jungle Cubs is an animated series produced by Disney for ABC in 1996. It was based on their 1967 feature 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 moving its re-runs to the Disney Channel. The show was last seen on Toon Disney, but was taken off the schedule in 2001 and has not been seen since on the U.S. airwaves. The show did air in the United Kingdom on Disney Cinemagic and in Latin America until it was removed. The show's theme song is a hip-hop version of the classic song, "The Bare Necessities".

Premise

The stars of Disney's 1967 animated film The Jungle Book were regressed to cubs for this syndicated animated series. Jungle Cubs suggested that when they were younger, both the good and evil animals lived together in relative peace.

Each of the characters were given distinct characteristics which reflected their future personalities as seen in The Jungle Book; this creative idea further tied the show in with its film predecessor. Uptight Bagheera, free-spirited Baloo, headstrong Shere Khan, wild Prince Louie, neurotic Hathi, and hypnotic Kaa all returned from the film, putting aside their differences to live and learn together. The show gave a female elephant named Winifred a prominent role; she was (Colonel) Hathi's wife in The Jungle Book.

The cubs brave a variety of jungle dangers, often matching wits with sneaky vultures Cecil and Arthur. Living up to new federal regulations for educational television, Jungle Cubs offer lessons on friendship, self-respect, and other healthy traits, crafted for an audience of young children.

In the second season of the show, many of the cubs become slightly older and more distanced from one another. (Many are also given different voice actors.) And, although they still remain good friends, they are getting more and more busy with their own lives and spending less time at their fort, the Cub House (Louie's future palace). Louie becomes so wrapped up in being King of the Jungle and is no longer so close to Baloo, Bagheera becomes more serious and uptight than before, and Hathi begins spending more time with Winifred than with the other Cubs. The biggest change, however, is Shere Khan: he spends a lot of time hunting, as Bagheera and Kaa do, and as the series progresses, begins to become more annoyed with the other cubs than before. He even attempts to overthrow Louie at one point, using Kaa (who did not really get a choice in the matter) as a henchman. Kaa, as well as Baloo (with the exception of his friendship with Louie), does not really change much. He still remains sneaky and uses his hypnotism power.

Character biographies

• Baloo: A caring and happy go lucky sloth bear. He likes to play with his friends and sometimes plays tricks on Bagheera in order to snap the latter out of his seriousness.

• Bagheera: He is a sensible and solemn panther who rarely gets into trouble. He has a preoccupation with being clean. Bagheera is affectionately known as Baggy and is the youngest in the group.

• Louie: Baloo's best friend, an orangutan. He is very physically active, spending a great deal of his time in trees and eating bananas, and wants to become king of the jungle one day, and when any man made objects turn up he immediately shows great interest.

• Shere Khan: A scrawny, stuck up Bengal tiger. He often tries to lord over the other animals, but his confidence sometimes suffers when faced with actual problems. He is often called "Khannie" by Baloo and Louie.

• Kaa: A young python who wants to hypnotize other animals, but his skills at hypnosis are currently erratic at best.

• Hathi: An elephant who attempts to keep the pals in order but is known to stammer when under stress. He is quite ignorant in a way about many things. Later, he develops a huge crush on Winifred, who is his wife in The Jungle Book.

• The two main recurring characters in the series are the vultures Cecil and Arthur, who are constantly hoping for one of the cubs to die so that they can eat them; however are never seen as a real threat. Cecil and Arthur resemble two Disney villains Jasper and Horace from 101 Dalmatians visually, and they also both share the same voice actors.

Season Differences

• In the second season Baloo is slightly taller and has a slightly deeper voice than he had in the previous season.
• Kaa is longer in the second season and his voice does not change. He also has almost mastered hypnosis and as of Birthday Snake is a year older.
• Shere Khan receives the least changes as he is slightly taller but still retains the same voice.
• Bagheera's voice gets lighter and he is a lighter black shade,
• Shere Khan receives no changes making him the only character with no changes.
• Louie's crest disappears and his hair goes down. Like most cubs with exception of Kaa, Baloo, and Shere Khan, louie gets another voice actor.

Series Cancellation

In 1999 Louis Prima's widow sued Disney claiming that Disney did not have the right to impersonate her husband's role of King Louie. A contract was signed giving the widow the right to owning King Louie. All merchandise was recalled that involved Louie. In House of Mouse a character called King Larry was shown as part of the contract so Disney would not be in violation. Larry looked like Louie and claimed he was Louie's twin. Louie also did not appear in The Jungle Book 2 so Disney would not be in violation. It is believed that Disney may use Louie again one day.

Locations

• The Cub House, a small temple that the gang and friends use as a club house.
• The Wasteland, a huge area surrounding The Jungle. Not many animals live out here, except for birds of prey, insects, porcupines and baboons, such as Mahra and her three sons, who live there. It is also where an evil dictator turtle lives.
• Pinnacle Rock, a tall pinnacle-shaped rock in The Wasteland. This large rock is the lair of Mahra and her sons.
• The River, a large river that is where a lot of animals drink at and live at. Arthur & Cecil's nest and cliff are near here.
• The Man Village, a large village inhabited by humans.
• Wangjanga Gorge or The Honey Cliffs, an enormous gorge with a stream running through it. It is also called "The Honey Cliffs" because a lot of bees nest on the gorge's cliffs. It is known that no one had been down here and lived to tell the tale, but Baloo and Kaa managed to survive when they were chased by the resident bees.
• The Middle Jungle, a deeply hidden area with only one entrance, the throne in The Cub House. Once the snake-like leaver has been pulled, the throne moves to reveal a hidden doorway going underground. Once one has traveled down the underground river, they emerge from a large crack in the ground which is in The Middle Jungle. There are the ruins of an old city up ahead and that is where the treasure is hidden, but it is being guarded by a giant, white Cobra named Whitehood.
• The Quicksand Bog is mentioned in Fool Me Once....
• Creepy Deepy Swamp, a dark and scary looking swamp near the heart of The Jungle. A Sarus Crane lives here.
• The Mountains, tall, high, snowy mountains that provide The River with water. It is also where a female mountain sheep live.
• The Western Jungle, the west side of The Jungle. It is very scrub-like in a way. This is where a sloth and his woodpecker friends live.
• Baboon Lagoon, a lagoon where some baboons live. These particular baboons are friends with the water buffalo.
• The Great Lost Temple, an old temple that is used as a music concert.

Episodes

Season 1 (1996)

#	Title	Air date
1	"A Night in the Wasteland"	10/05/1996
Attempting to prove his courage after a joke by Louie and Baloo, Shere Khan vows to travel to Pinnacle Rock, unaware that the ruthless baboon Mahra has returned there and wants a new fur blanket. This episode features the song "Take Your Sweet Sweet Time".
2	"How The Panther Lost His Roar / The Humans Must Be Crazy"	10/12/1996
How the Panther Lost His Roar: Bagheera's feelings of inadequacy when compared to Khan are worsened when he loses his voice. The Humans Must Be Crazy: Bagheera becomes convinced that an old pocket-watch will make him a great hunter.
3	"Buffaloed / Hathi Meets His Match"	10/19/1996
Buffaloed: Khan is tricked into fighting against a water buffalo by two vultures. Hathi Meets His Match: A young female elephant named Winifred is separated from her family – owned by humans – after a fire in their village, and runs into Hathi.
4	"Bare Necessities / Mondo Mungo"	10/26/1996
Bare Necessities: The cubs' attempts to prepare for the monsoon season are hampered by Baloo's laziness, but he soon becomes their only hope when they are trapped in a cave as the monsoons begin. Mondo Mungo: Kaa befriends a young mongoose named "Mungo" and later attempts to win over two bullies using hypnosis.
5	"Who Wants To Be A Baboon?"	11/2/1996
After being the victim of one too many jokes, Louie leaves the Cubs and becomes Mahra's assistant.
6	"Red Dogs"	11/9/1996
Louie tricks Kaa into believing that Baloo's sleepwalking is the result of his attempts at hypnosis, sending Kaa out after Baloo just as the lethal Red Dogs return to The Jungle, with only Baloo to save the day.
7	"The Great Kaadini"	11/16/1996
Kaa accidentally hypnotises the vultures, turning them into competent hunters totally obedient to his commands.
8	"Hulla Baloo / Shere Bliss"	11/23/1996
Hulla Baloo: Louie becomes jealous when Baloo begins to spend more time with another bear after it saved his life. Shere Bliss: When Khan becomes a more fun-loving cat after a bump on the head, the Cubs find themselves trying to bring him back to normal.
9	"Treasure Of The Middle Jungle"	11/30/1996
When a shrew tells the animals about the long-lost 'Treasure of the Middle Jungle', the group - minus Bagheera and Hathi - set out to find it, only to come face-to-face with the massive cobra Whitehood.
10	"Benny & Clyde / Feather Brains"	12/7/1996
Benny & Clyde: Louie is forced to look after his younger cousins. Feather Brains: Cecil falls in love with a female vulture named Clarice and kicks Arthur out of the nest.
11	"Splendor in the Mud"	12/14/1996
When the boys play a few pranks, Winifred's uncle gets upset and says Hathi can never see Winifred, but when Winifred's uncle gets hurt Hathi goes to find red mud.
12	"Fool Me Once... / Trouble on the Waterfront"	12/21/1996
Fool Me Once...: After a particularly harsh prank by Baloo and Louie, Bagheera fakes his death to get even. Trouble on the Waterfront: The cubs break out into violent arguments when a drought destroys almost their entire water supply.
13	"The Coming of the Wolves"	12/28/1996
The cubs find themselves caught between two runaway wolves: Akela, Leah, and their old pack when the wolves hide out at the temple.

Season 2 (1997)

The second season of Jungle Cubs aired 5 episodes that were combinations of two 11-minute episodes from Season 1, which resulted in 13 total episodes for Season 2.

#	Title	Air date
1	"The Ape Who Would Be King"	10/11/1997
The Cubs learn of a prophecy that states that Louie will some day be king of the jungle, but Khan wants the role for himself.
2	"Kasaba Ball / Trunks For The Memories"	10/18/1997
Kasaba Ball: The Cubs divide into teams- Louie, Bagheera and Baloo against Khan, a monkey, and the inappropriately-named rhinoceros 'Tiny'- in a game of 'Kasaba Ball' (The Jungle's equivalent of football). Trunks for the Memories: Hathi's best friend Johar may have to part ways with him when the elephant herd breaks in two due to a food shortage.
3	"Curse Of The Magnificent Melon / Hathi's Makeover"	10/25/1997
Curse Of The Magnificent Melon: After stealing Hathi's prized melon, Baloo finds himself apparently followed by a mass of frogs accusing him of the crime. Hathi's Makeover: Hathi tries to become a different kind of animal after he becomes ashamed of being an elephant.
4	"Birthday Snake / The Five Bananas"	11/1/1997
Birthday Snake: Kaa resorts to hypnosis when he thinks that the others have forgotten his birthday. The Five Bananas: The cubs form a band for an upcoming talent show, but split before the show starts because each of them believes they are the most important instrument in the band.
5	"Old Green Teeth / The Elephant Who Couldn't Say No"	11/8/1997
Old Green Teeth: Louie suffers a crisis of confidence when the Five Bananas are invited to perform for an old idol of his. The Elephant Who Couldn't Say No: Hathi's inability to say 'no' to anyone results in him being forced to take care of a basket full of crazy woodpeckers.
6	"Tree For Two / Waiting For Baloo"	11/22/1997
Tree For Two: Bagheera and Louie have difficulty getting along when they are forced to live together after a storm destroys their old homes. Waiting for Baloo: Baloo is entrusted with delivering a bunch of bananas to the lion, the baboons and the buffaloes.
7	"A Tail Of Two Tails / Hair Ball"	11/15/1997
A Tail Of Two Tails: Kaa and Khan take advantage of Louie's kindness after they sustain relatively minor injuries to their tails while saving him. Hair Ball: Bagheera runs away from the jungle in embarrassment after coughing up a hair ball in front of the entire jungle, resulting in him joining the 'Embarrassment Club', consisting of various animals who unintentionally humiliated themselves in public.
8	"Nice Tiger / Sleepless In The Jungle"	1/10/1998
Nice Tiger: Khan tries to convince the other cubs that there's nothing nice about him, but they all think differently. Sleepless in the Jungle: Baloo has difficulty sleeping due to his concerns about the potential water shortage.

Cast

• Pamela Adlon as Baloo the Bear
• Elizabeth Daily and Dee Bradley Baker as Bagheera the Panther
• Rob Paulsen and Stephen Furst as Hathi the Elephant
• Jason Marsden and Cree Summer as Prince Louie the King of Apes
• Jim Cummings as Kaa the Snake
• Jason Marsden as Shere Khan the Tiger
• David Lander as Arthur the Vulture
• Michael McKean as Cecil the Vulture

Direct-to-Video: Born to be Wild

For ten years later, Mowgli is a human child raised by a family of wolves in the jungle. Also other enemy, Shere Khan the wicked tiger has returned part of this jungles of India. Baloo the bear and Bagheera the panther find the journey to the man-village, There are eight episodes of "The Jungle Book's Jungle Cubs".

Included 8 episodes:

• A Night in the Wasteland: Shere Khan climbs into trouble at the top of Pinnacle Rock.
• Who Wants To Be A Baboon?: Prince Louie leaves the Jungle Cubs and becomes Mahra's assistant.
• Red Dogs: A pack of hungry wild dogs terrorize the jungle while Baloo, Prince Louie, Kaa and Shere Khan are missing.
• The Treasure of the Middle Jungle: When a shrew tell the animals about the long-lost Treasure of the Middle Jungle the group.
• Splendor in the Mud: Winifred's uncle gets hurt and Hathi goes to find red mud.
• The Coming of the Wolves: The Jungle Cubs find themselves caught between the two runaway wolves Akela and Leah.
• The Great Kaadini: Kaa accidentally hypnotises the two sneaky vultures Arthur and Cecil.
• The Ape That Would Be King: The Jungle Cubs learn of a prophecy that states that Louie will some day be king of the animals.

Voice Cast:

• Ed Gilbert - Adult Baloo
• Jim Cummings - Adult Hathi / Adult Louie / Adult Kaa /Adult Bagheera / Kane
• Tony Jay - Adult Shere Khan
• Jess Harnell - Buzzie / Flaps / Ziggy / Dizzie
• Jimmy Bennett - Hathi, Jr.
• Tress MacNeille - Winifred
• Baron Davis - Monkeys
• Jeff Bennett - Flunkey
• John Rhys-Davies - Akela
• Rob Paulsen - Rama
• Pamela Adlon - Young Baloo
• Elizabeth Daily and Dee Bradley Baker - Young Bagheera
• Rob Paulsen and Stephen Furst - Young Hathi
• Jason Marsden and Cree Summer - Young Louie
• Jim Cummings - Young Kaa
• Jason Marsden - Young Shere Khan
• David Lander and Michael McKean - Arthur and Cecil
• Kath Soucie - Lea
• Unknown - Mowgli

Video releases

Jungle Cubs: Cub House Fun

Jungle Cubs: Crazy Congo Capers

External links

• Jungle Cubs at the Internet Movie Database