Mowgli () is a fictional character and the protagonist of Rudyard Kipling's ''

The Jungle Book ''The Jungle Book'' (1894) is a collection of stories by the English author Rudyard Kipling. Most of the characters are animals such as Shere Khan the tiger and Baloo the bear, though a principal character is the boy or "man-cub" Mowgli, ...

'' stories. He is a

feral A feral () animal or plant is one that lives in the wild but is descended from domesticated individuals. As with an introduced species, the introduction of feral animals or plants to non-native regions may disrupt ecosystems and has, in some ...

boy from the Pench area in

Seoni Seoni is a city and a municipality in Seoni district in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. This tribal household dominated district was formed in the year 1956. Rudyard Kipling used the forests in the vicinity of Seoni, or as was spelled dur ...

Madhya Pradesh Madhya Pradesh (, ; meaning 'central province') is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal, and the largest city is Indore, with Jabalpur, Ujjain, Gwalior, Sagar, and Rewa being the other major cities. Madhya Pradesh is the seco ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

, who originally appeared in Kipling's short story "In the Rukh" (collected in '' Many Inventions'', 1893) and then became the most prominent character in the collections ''The Jungle Book'' and ''

The Second Jungle Book ''The Second Jungle Book'' is a sequel to ''The Jungle Book'' by Rudyard Kipling. First published in 1895, it features five stories about Mowgli and three unrelated stories, all but one set in India, most of which Kipling wrote while living in V ...

'' (1894–1895), which also featured stories about other characters.

Name and inspiration

In the stories, the name Mowgli is said to mean "frog", describing his lack of fur. Kipling later said "Mowgli is a name I made up. It does not mean 'frog' in any language that I know of". Kipling stated that the first syllable of "Mowgli" should rhyme with "cow", but Disney had the first syllable rhyme with "go". Kipling's daughter got upset about this. Part of Kipling's inspiration for the story of Mowgli is believed to have been

William Henry Sleeman Major-general Sir William Henry Sleeman KCB (8 August 1788 – 10 February 1856) was a British soldier and administrator in British India. He is best known for his work from the 1830s in suppressing the organized criminal gangs known as Thuggee. ...

's account of six cases in India in which wild children had been raised by wolves. That account was first published in the first volume of Sleeman's ''Journey Through the Kingdom of Oude in 1848-1850'' (1858) and reprinted in 1852 as ''An Account of Wolves Nurturing Children in Their Dens, by an Indian Official'' and in ''The Zoologist'' (1888 12 (135): 87-98).

Kipling's Mowgli stories

The Mowgli stories, including "In the Rukh", were first collected in chronological order in one volume as ''The Works of Rudyard Kipling Volume VII: The Jungle Book'' (1907) (Volume VIII of this series contained the non-Mowgli stories from the Jungle Books), and subsequently in ''

All the Mowgli Stories ''All the Mowgli Stories'' is a collection of short stories by Rudyard Kipling. As the title suggests, the book is a chronological compilation of the stories about Mowgli from ''The Jungle Book'' and ''The Second Jungle Book'', together with " I ...

'' (1933). "In the Rukh" describes how Gisborne, an English

forest ranger A ranger, park ranger, park warden, or forest ranger is a law enforcement person entrusted with protecting and preserving parklands – national, state, provincial, or local parks. Description "Parks" may be broadly defined by some systems in thi ...

in the Pench area in

at the time of the

British Raj The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent; * * it is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or Direct rule in India, * Quote: "Mill, who was himsel ...

, discovers a young man named Mowgli, who has extraordinary skills in hunting, tracking, and driving wild animals (with the help of his wolf brothers). He asks him to join the forestry service. Muller, the head of the Department of Woods and Forests of India as well as Gisborne's boss, meets Mowgli, checks his elbows and knees, noting the callouses and scars, and figures Mowgli is not using magic or demons, having seen a similar case in 30 years of service. Muller also invites Mowgli to join the service, to which Mowgli agrees. Later, Gisborne learns the reason for Mowgli's almost superhuman talents; he was raised by a pack of wolves in the jungle (explaining the scars on his elbows and knees from going on all fours). Mowgli marries the daughter of Gisborne's butler, Abdul Gafur, and conceives a son with her. Kipling then proceeded to write the stories of Mowgli's childhood in detail in ''

'', which serves as a prequel to ''In the Rukh''. Lost by his parents as a baby in the Indian jungle during a tiger attack, he is adopted by the

Wolf The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the gray wolf or grey wolf, is a large canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, and gray wolves, as popularly u ...

Mother, Raksha and

Father Wolf This is a list of characters that appear in Rudyard Kipling's 1894 ''The Jungle Book'' story collection, its 1895 sequel ''The Second Jungle Book'', and the various film adaptations based on those books. Characters include both human and talking ...

, who call him Mowgli (frog) because of his lack of fur and his refusal to sit still.

Shere Khan Shere Khan (Hindi- शेर खान/ English pronunciation) is a fictional Bengal tiger and the main antagonist of Rudyard Kipling's ''The Jungle Book, Jungle Book'' and its adaptations. According to The Kipling Society, the word ''shere'' ...

the tiger demands that they give him the baby but the wolves refuse. Mowgli grows up with the pack, hunting with his brother wolves. In the pack, Mowgli learns he is able to stare down any wolf, and his unique ability to remove the painful

thorns Thorn(s) or The Thorn(s) may refer to: Botany * Thorns, spines, and prickles, sharp structures on plants * ''Crataegus monogyna'', or common hawthorn, a plant species Comics and literature * Rose and Thorn, the two personalities of two DC Com ...

from the paws of his brothers is deeply appreciated as well.

Bagheera Bagheera ( hi, बघीरा / ''Baghīrā'') is a fictional character in Rudyard Kipling's Mowgli stories in ''The Jungle Book'' (coll. 1894) and ''The Second Jungle Book'' (coll. 1895). He is a black panther ( melanistic Indian leopard) who ...

, the black panther, befriends Mowgli because both he and Mowgli have parallel childhood experiences; as Bagheera often mentions, he was "raised in the King's cages at Oodeypore" from a cub, and thus knows the ways of man.

Baloo Baloo (from hi, भालू ur, بھالو ''bhālū'' "bear") is a main fictional character featured in Rudyard Kipling's ''The Jungle Book'' from 1894 and ''The Second Jungle Book'' from 1895. Baloo, a sloth bear, is the strict teacher of ...

the

bear Bears are carnivoran mammals of the family Ursidae. They are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans. Although only eight species of bears are extant, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats throughout the Nor ...

, teacher of wolves, has the thankless task of educating Mowgli in "

The Law of the Jungle "The law of the jungle" (also called jungle law) is an expression that has come to describe a scenario where "anything goes". The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' defines the Law of the Jungle as "''the code of survival in jungle life'', now usual ...

". Shere Khan continues to regard Mowgli as fair game, but eventually Mowgli finds a weapon he can use against the tiger – fire. After driving off Shere Khan, Mowgli goes to a human village where he is adopted by Messua and her

husband A husband is a male in a marital relationship, who may also be referred to as a spouse. The rights and obligations of a husband regarding his spouse and others, and his status in the community and in law, vary between societies and cultures, ...

, whose own son

Nathoo This is a list of characters that appear in Rudyard Kipling's 1894 ''The Jungle Book'' story collection, its 1895 sequel ''The Second Jungle Book'', and the various film adaptations based on those books. Characters include both human and talking ...

was also taken by a tiger. It is uncertain if Mowgli is actually the returned Nathoo, although it is stated in " Tiger! Tiger!" that the tiger who carried off Messua's son was similar to the one that attacked Mowgli's parents. Messua would like to believe that her son has returned, but she herself realises that this is unlikely. While herding buffalo for the village, Mowgli learns that the tiger is still planning to kill him, so with the aid of two wolves, he traps Shere Khan in a ravine where the buffalo trample him. The tiger dies and Mowgli sets to skin him. After being accused of witchcraft and cast out of the village, Mowgli returns to the jungle with Shere Khan's hide and reunites with his wolf family, but it is mentioned that he later becomes married and goes back to the man village. In later stories in ''The Jungle Books sequel, ''

'', Mowgli learns that the villagers are planning to kill Messua and her husband for harboring him. He rescues them and sends elephants, water buffaloes, and other animals to trample the village and its fields to the ground. Later, Mowgli finds and then discards an ancient treasure ("The King's

Ankus The elephant goad, bullhook, or ankus (from Sanskrit ' or ''ankusha'') is a tool employed by mahout in the handling and training of elephants. It consists of a hook (usually bronze or steel) which is attached to a handle, ending in a tapered ...

"), not realising it is so valuable that men would kill to own it. With the aid of

Kaa Kaa is a fictional character from ''The Jungle Book'' stories written by Rudyard Kipling. He is a giant snake who is 30 feet long. In the books and many of the screen adaptations, Kaa is an ally of main protagonist Mowgli, acting as a friend a ...

the python, he leads the wolves in a war against the

dhole The dhole (''Cuon alpinus''; ) is a canid native to Central, South, East and Southeast Asia. Other English names for the species include Asian wild dog, Asiatic wild dog, Indian wild dog, whistling dog, red dog, red wolf, and mountain wolf. It ...

( "Red Dog"). Finally, Mowgli stumbles across the village where his adopted human mother (Messua) is now living, which forces him to come to terms with his humanity and decide whether to rejoin his fellow humans in "

The Spring Running ''The Second Jungle Book'' is a sequel to ''The Jungle Book'' by Rudyard Kipling. First published in 1895, it features five stories about Mowgli and three unrelated stories, all but one set in India, most of which Kipling wrote while living in ...

Play adaptations

Rudyard Kipling adapted the Mowgli stories for ''The Jungle Play'' in 1899, but the play was never produced on stage. The manuscript was lost for almost a century. It was published in book form in 2000.

Influences upon other works

Only six years after the first publication of ''The Jungle Book'',

E. Nesbit Edith Nesbit (married name Edith Bland; 15 August 1858 – 4 May 1924) was an English writer and poet, who published her books for children as E. Nesbit. She wrote or collaborated on more than 60 such books. She was also a political activist an ...

's ''The Wouldbegoods'' (1899) included a passage in which some children act out a scene from the book. Mowgli has been cited as a major influence on

Edgar Rice Burroughs Edgar Rice Burroughs (September 1, 1875 – March 19, 1950) was an American author, best known for his prolific output in the adventure, science fiction, and fantasy genres. Best-known for creating the characters Tarzan and John Carter, he ...

who created and developed the character

Tarzan Tarzan (John Clayton II, Viscount Greystoke) is a fictional character, an archetypal feral child raised in the African jungle by the Mangani great apes; he later experiences civilization, only to reject it and return to the wild as a heroic adv ...

. Mowgli was also an influence for a number of other "wild boy" characters.

Poul Anderson Poul William Anderson (November 25, 1926 – July 31, 2001) was an American fantasy and science fiction author who was active from the 1940s until the 21st century. Anderson wrote also historical novels. His awards include seven Hugo Awards and ...

and

Gordon R. Dickson Gordon Rupert Dickson (November 1, 1923 – January 31, 2001) was a Canadian-American science fiction writer. He was inducted into the Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame in 2000. Biography Dickson was born in Edmonton, Alberta, ...

used the Mowgli stories as the basis for their humorous 1957 science fiction short story "Full Pack (Hokas Wild)". This is one of a series featuring a teddy bear-like race called Hokas who enjoy human literature but cannot quite grasp the distinction between fact and fiction. In this story, a group of Hokas get hold of a copy of ''The Jungle Book'' and begin to act it out, enlisting the help of a human boy to play Mowgli. The boy's mother, who is a little bemused to see teddy bears trying to act like wolves, tags along to try to keep him (and the Hokas) out of trouble. The situation is complicated by the arrival of three alien diplomats who just happen to resemble a monkey, a tiger and a snake. This story appears in the collection ''Hokas Pokas!'' (1998) and is also available online.

Mowgli stories by other writers

The Third Jungle Book ''The Second Jungle Book'' is a sequel to ''The Jungle Book'' by Rudyard Kipling. First published in 1895, it features five stories about Mowgli and three unrelated stories, all but one set in India, most of which Kipling wrote while living in V ...

'' (1992) by Pamela Jekel is a collection of new Mowgli stories in a fairly accurate pastiche of Kipling's style. ''Hunting Mowgli'' (2001) by Maxim Antinori is a very short novel which describes a fateful meeting between Mowgli and a human hunter. ''The Jungle Book: Last of the Species'' (2013) by Mark L. Miller is a series of comic books that tells the story of a female Mowgli who unintentionally started a war between animal tribes after killing Shere Khan to avenge the fallen members of the wolf tribe. ''Mi Hermano Lobo (My Brother Wolf)'' (2020) by Rafael Jaime is a short

self published Self-publishing is the publication of media by its author at their own cost, without the involvement of a publisher. The term usually refers to written media, such as books and magazines, either as an ebook or as a physical copy using POD (pr ...

Mexican Mexican may refer to: Mexico and its culture *Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America ** People *** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants *** Mexica, ancient indigenous people ...

memoir A memoir (; , ) is any nonfiction narrative writing based in the author's personal memories. The assertions made in the work are thus understood to be factual. While memoir has historically been defined as a subcategory of biography or autobi ...

written in

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

in which the author details the deep emotional and physical impact Disney's animated version of Mowgli had during his lonely early childhood years as a symbolic " surrogate twin brother" figure and

role model A role model is a person whose behaviour, example, or success is or can be emulated by others, especially by younger people. The term ''role model'' is credited to sociologist Robert K. Merton, who hypothesized that individuals compare themselves ...

after learning about his real

twin Twins are two offspring produced by the same pregnancy.MedicineNet > Definition of TwinLast Editorial Review: 19 June 2000 Twins can be either ''monozygotic'' ('identical'), meaning that they develop from one zygote, which splits and forms two em ...

brother A brother is a man or boy who shares one or more parents with another; a male sibling. The female counterpart is a sister. Although the term typically refers to a familial relationship, it is sometimes used endearingly to refer to non-familia ...

's death one day after their

preterm birth Preterm birth, also known as premature birth, is the Childbirth, birth of a baby at fewer than 37 weeks Gestational age (obstetrics), gestational age, as opposed to full-term delivery at approximately 40 weeks. Extreme preterm is less than 28 we ...

. It also includes an exclusive

interview An interview is a structured conversation where one participant asks questions, and the other provides answers.Merriam Webster DictionaryInterview Dictionary definition, Retrieved February 16, 2016 In common parlance, the word "interview" ...

with

Diana Santos Alicia Diana Santos Colmenero (born June 9, 1950), better known as Diana Santos, is a Mexican voice actress who gave the Minnie Mouse's voice into Latin Spanish, the part of Takeshi in the Spanish dubbed version of the 1967–1968 Japanese telev ...

who voiced the character in the

Latin American Latin Americans ( es, Latinoamericanos; pt, Latino-americanos; ) are the citizens of Latin American countries (or people with cultural, ancestral or national origins in Latin America). Latin American countries and their diasporas are multi-eth ...

dub of the 1967 film. An

audiobook An audiobook (or a talking book) is a recording of a book or other work being read out loud. A reading of the complete text is described as "unabridged", while readings of shorter versions are abridgements. Spoken audio has been available in sc ...

version narrated by the author was uploaded on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

in September 2021. It is similar in tone to the 2016 documentary ''

Life, Animated ''Life, Animated'' is a 2016 American documentary by director Roger Ross Williams. It is co-produced by Williams with Julie Goldman, Carolyn Hepburn and Christopher Clements. ''Life, Animated'' is based on journalist Ron Suskind's 2014 book ''Li ...

''. ''Feral Dreams: Mowgli and his Mothers'' (2020) by

Stephen Alter Stephen Alter (born 1956) is an author of non-fiction and fiction, who was born and raised in India, where he grew up as the son of American missionaries. He lives in Littleton, Colorado, Littleton, Colorado, United States and Landour, Uttarakhan ...

is a novel which describes Mowgli's harrowing process in trying to adapt to civilization and his coming of age within the walls of an orphanage located in the Gangetic Plain and run by Miss Cranston, an American missionary who christens him Daniel. At the same time, Mowgli recalls some of his adventures in the jungle prior to his abduction and desperately yearns for his freedom. In this story Mowgli is raised by an elephant matriarch.

Films, television and radio

* The 1942 film version starred Sabu as Mowgli. * Disney's 1967 animated musical film version, where he is voiced by

Bruce Reitherman Bruce Reitherman (born September 15, 1955) is an American filmmaker and former child actor. He voiced Christopher Robin in ''Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree'' and Mowgli in ''The Jungle Book''. Life and work Born in Burbank, California, ...

, son of the film's director

Wolfgang Reitherman Wolfgang Reitherman (June 26, 1909 – May 22, 1985), also known and sometimes credited as Woolie Reitherman, was a German–American animator, director and producer and one of the "Disney's Nine Old Men, Nine Old Men" of core animators at Walt ...

(David Bailey was originally cast in the role, but his voice changed during production, leading Bailey to not fit the "young innocence of Mowgli's character" at which the producers were aiming), and its sequel, ''

The Jungle Book 2 ''The Jungle Book 2'' is a 2003 animated adventure film produced by the Australian office at DisneyToon Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures and Buena Vista Distribution. The theatrical version of the film was released in France on Febr ...

'' (2003), in which Mowgli is voiced by

Haley Joel Osment Haley Joel Osment (born April 10, 1988) is an American actor and voice actor. Beginning his career as a child actor, Osment's role in the comedy-drama film '' Forrest Gump'' (1994) won him a Young Artist Award. His breakthrough came with the psyc ...

. On three special animated segments for the VHS releases of the ''

Jungle Cubs ''Disney's Jungle Cubs'' is an American animated series produced by Walt Disney Television Animation for ABC in 1996, serving as the prequel to the 1967 film ''The Jungle Book'' as it's set in the youth of the animal characters years before the ...

'' (1996-1998) animated TV series, Mowgli is voiced by Tyler Mullen. In the 2023 short ''

Once Upon a Studio ''Once Upon a Studio'' is a 2023 American live-action animated film, live-action/animated Crossover (fiction), crossover fantasy comedy short film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios in celebration of the Walt Disney Company's centennial. ...

'' Mowgli is voiced by Phoenix Reisser. MaugliStamp

* Around the same time – from 1967 to 1971 – five Russian short animated films were made by

Soyuzmultfilm Soyuzmultfilm ( rus, Союзмультфи́льм, p=səˌjʉsmʊlʲtˈfʲilʲm , ''Union Cartoon'') (also known as SMF Animation Studio in English, Formerly known as Soyuzdetmultfilm) is a Russian animation studio based in Moscow. Launched in ...

, collectively known as ''

Adventures of Mowgli ''Adventures of Mowgli'' (russian: Маугли; also spelled ''Maugli'') is an animated feature-length story originally released as five animated shorts of about 20 minutes each between 1967 and 1971 in the Soviet Union. It is based on Rudyard Ki ...

''. * Of all the various adaptations,

Chuck Jones Charles Martin Jones (September 21, 1912 – February 22, 2002) was an American animator, director, and painter, best known for his work with Warner Bros. Cartoons on the ''Looney Tunes'' and ''Merrie Melodies'' series of shorts. He wrote, produ ...

's 1977 animated TV short ''Mowgli's Brothers'', adapting the first story in ''The Jungle Book'', may be the one that adheres most closely to the original plot and dialogue. * There has also been a Japanese animated TV series ''

Jungle Book Shonen Mowgli is a Japanese anime adaptation of Rudyard Kipling's original collection of stories, ''The Jungle Book''. It aired in 1989, and consists of a total of 52 episodes. The series, a compromise between the original Mowgli stories and the Walt Disn ...

'' (where Mowgli is voiced by

Urara Takano , known by her stage name is a Japanese actress, voice actress and narrator from Togane, Chiba. She is currently affiliated with and representative of REMAX. Her most prominent role has been in the ''Sakura Wars'' video game franchise, where sh ...

in the Japanese and Julian Bailey in the English Dub) based on the Mowgli series and the U.S. live-action series '' Mowgli: The New Adventures of the Jungle Book'' (where Mowgli is portrayed by Sean Price McConnell). * There was also a BBC radio adaptation in 1994, starring actress

Nisha K. Nayar Nisha K Nayar is a British actress. After coming to prominence in the 1993 film ''Bhaji on the Beach'', she had starring roles as Debra Kumar in the film ''Out of Hours'' in 1998 and as Elaine "the Pain" Boyak in the CBBC children's series, ...

as Mowgli,

Freddie Jones Frederick Charles Jones''Births, Marriages & Deaths Index of England & Wales, 1916-2005.''; at ancestry.com (12 September 1927 – 9 July 2019) was an English actor who had an extensive career in television, theatre and cinema productions for a ...

as Baloo and

Eartha Kitt Eartha Kitt (born Eartha Mae Keith; January 17, 1927 – December 25, 2008) was an American singer and actress known for her highly distinctive singing style and her 1953 recordings of "C'est si bon" and the Christmas novelty song "Santa Ba ...

as Kaa. It originally aired on BBC Radio 5 (before it became BBC Radio 5 Live and dropped its children's programming). Subsequently, it has been released on audio cassette and has been re-run a number of times on digital radio channel BBC 7 (now

BBC Radio 4 Extra BBC Radio 4 Extra (formerly BBC Radio 7) is a British digital radio station from the BBC, broadcasting archived repeats of comedy, drama and documentary programmes nationally, 24 hours a day. It is the sister station of BBC Radio 4 and the p ...

). * ''

Classics Illustrated ''Classics Illustrated'' is an American comic book/magazine series featuring adaptations of literary classics such as ''Les Misérables'', ''Moby-Dick'', ''Hamlet'', and ''The Iliad''. Created by Albert Kanter, the series began publication in 1 ...

'' #83 (1951) contains an adaptation of three Mowgli stories. * Between 1953 and 1955

Dell Comics Dell Comics was the comic book publishing arm of Dell Publishing, which got its start in pulp magazines. It published comics from 1929 to 1974. At its peak, it was the most prominent and successful American company in the medium.Evanier, Mark"Wh ...

featured adaptations of six Mowgli stories in three issues (#487, #582 and #620). * Some issues of ''

Marvel Fanfare ''Marvel Fanfare'' was an anthology comic book series published by American company Marvel Comics. It was a showcase title featuring a variety of characters from the Marvel universe. Volume one ''Marvel Fanfare'' featured characters and settings ...

'' feature adaptations of the Mowgli stories by

Gil Kane Gil Kane (; born Eli Katz ; April 6, 1926 – January 31, 2000) was a Latvian-born American comics artist whose career spanned the 1940s to the 1990s and virtually every major comics company and character. Kane co-created the modern-day versio ...

. These later were collected as an omnibus volume. * A 1978 live-action sketch titled ''The Wonderful World of Ernie'' from ''

Morecambe and Wise Eric Morecambe (John Eric Bartholomew, 14 May 1926 – 28 May 1984) and Ernie Wise (Ernest Wiseman, 27 November 1925 – 21 March 1999), known as Morecambe and Wise (and sometimes as Eric and Ernie), were an English comic double act, working i ...

'' which parodied " I Wan'na Be Like You (The Monkey Song)". Danny Rolnick played Mowgli using a full costume, although lip-synching to

's original recorded dialogue in the middle of the song. * A 1994 live-action Disney adaptation titled ''Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book'', directed by

Stephen Sommers Stephen Sommers (born March 20, 1962) is an American filmmaker, best known for big-budget action movies, such as ''The Mummy'' (1999), its sequel, ''The Mummy Returns'' (2001), ''Van Helsing'' (2004), and '' G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra'' (2009). ...

, which starred

Jason Scott Lee Jason Scott Lee (; born November 19, 1966) is an American actor and martial artist. He played Mowgli in Disney's 1994 live-action adaptation of ''The Jungle Book'' and Bruce Lee in the 1993 martial arts film '' Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story''. He ...

as Mowgli. He was also played by Sean Naegeli as a young child at the beginning of the story. *

P. Craig Russell Philip Craig Russell (born October 30, 1951) is an American comics artist, writer, and illustrator. His work has won multiple Harvey and Eisner Awards. Russell was the first mainstream comic book creator to come out as openly gay. Biography ...

's ''Jungle Book Stories'' (1997) collects three stories, actually adapted from ''

'', which originally appeared between 1985 and 1996. * A 1997 live-action

direct-to-video Direct-to-video or straight-to-video refers to the release of a film, TV series, short or special to the public immediately on home video formats rather than an initial theatrical release or television premiere. This distribution strategy was p ...

film '' The Second Jungle Book: Mowgli & Baloo'', which starred Jamie Williams as Mowgli. In this story, the character has no spoken dialogue. * In the 1998 live-action Disney adaptation '' The Jungle Book: Mowgli's Story'', he was played by

Brandon Baker Brandon Baker (born April 18, 1985) is an American former actor. He is known for the made-for-television movies, such as Disney movie ''Johnny Tsunami'' alongside Kirsten Storms and the late Lee Thompson Young and its sequel '' Johnny Kapahala: ...

. Ryan Taylor also plays a younger version of the character at the beginning of the story.

Fred Savage Frederick Aaron Savage (born July 9, 1976) is an American actor and director. He is known for his role as Kevin Arnold in the American television series ''The Wonder Years'' (1988 to 1993). He has earned several awards and nominations, such as ...

narrates the story off-screen as an adult version of the character. * A 1998 live-action

television film A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...

titled ''The Jungle Book: Search for the Lost Treasure'', which starred Antonio Baker as Mowgli. * A 2010 CGI animated TV series made by DQ Entertainment International where Mowgli was voiced by

Emma Tate Emma Tate is a British voice actress. She is known for many roles including the voice of Perfect Peter in ''Horrid Henry'', Harry in ''Harry and His Bucket Full of Dinosaurs'', Raggles and Bluebird in ''Everything's Rosie'', Katsuma and Luvli i ...

(seasons 1-2) and

Sarah Natochenny Sarah Natochenny (born September 20, 1987) is an American voice actress and film editor. She is best known for voicing Ash Ketchum and various other characters in the English dub of ''Pokémon'' since 2006, as well as Alicia in the 2006 video game ...

(season 3). * A 2016 live action/CGI hybrid remake of Disney's animated version of ''The Jungle Book'' directed by

Jon Favreau Jonathan Kolia Favreau (; born October 19, 1966) is an American actor and filmmaker. As an actor, Favreau has appeared in films such as ''Rudy (film), Rudy'' (1993), ''PCU (film), PCU'' (1994), ''Swingers (1996 film), Swingers'' (1996), ''Very ...

, which starred newcomer Neel Sethi as Mowgli. Kendrick Reyes also played Mowgli as a toddler during a flashback sequence narrated by

the python. In 2018, Sethi confirmed that he would reprise the role in an upcoming sequel to the film. * A 2018 live-action adaptation titled '' Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle'', directed by

Andy Serkis Andrew Clement Serkis (born 20 April 1964) is an English actor, director, and producer. He is best known for his performance capture roles comprising motion capture acting, animation, and voice work for computer-generated characters such as Goll ...

, which starred

Rohan Chand Rohan Chand (born January 25, 2004) is an American teen actor. He has appeared in films such as ''Jack and Jill'', ''Lone Survivor'', and '' Bad Words''. He also appeared in the "Crossfire" episode of ''Homeland''. He made a cameo appearance in ...

as Mowgli. * In 1984–1985,

Jonathan Larson Jonathan David Larson (February 4, 1960 – January 25, 1996) was an American composer, lyricist and playwright most famous for writing the musicals ''Rent'' and '' Tick, Tick... Boom!'', which explored the social issues of multiculturalism, ...

and Seth Goldman wrote an ultimately unproduced musical called ''Mowgli''.

Actors who played the character

Mowgli has been played by many actors. In the 1942 film adaptation, Mowgli was played by

Sabu Dastagir Sabu Dastagir (possibly born Selar Sabu; 27 January 1924 – 2 December 1963) was an Indian actor who later gained United States citizenship. Throughout his career he was credited under the name Sabu and is primarily known for his work in ...

. In the 1994 film adaptation, he was played by Sean Naegeli as a child, and later throughout the film he was played by

. In '' The Second Jungle Book: Mowgli and Baloo'', he was played by Jamie Williams. In '' The Jungle Book: Mowgli's Story'', he was played by

, Ryan Taylor and off-screen by

. Mowgli was played by Neel Sethi and by Kendrick Reyes as a toddler in the Disney live-action reimagination, which was released in 3D in April 2016. Mowgli was played by

in '' Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle'', released in November 2018.

References

External links

In the Rukh
Mowgli's first appearance from Kipling's ''Many Inventions''
The Jungle Book Collection and Wiki
a website demonstrating the variety of merchandise related to the book and film versions of ''The Jungle Books'', now accompanied by a Wiki on ''The Jungle Books'' and related subjects {{Authority control The Jungle Book characters Adventure film characters Child characters in animated films Child characters in literature Fictional adoptees Fictional feral children Fictional Indian people in literature Literary characters introduced in 1893 Male characters in animation Male characters in film Male characters in literature Orphan characters in literature Jungle superheroes