3812. Mowgli

Mowgli is the main protagonist in Disney's 1967 feature film The Jungle Book and its sequel. He is voiced by both Bruce Reitherman in the first film and Haley Joel Osment in the sequel. Mowgli is a human child, who was found as a baby by Bagheera, a black panther. Apparently orphaned, Mowgli was raised by a pack of wolves until he was 10 years old. However, the threat of Shere Khan forces the pack to send him away, and Bagheera decides to take him to a nearby man-village for his protection. In the first scene of the film, Mowgli, as an infant, was found in a battered canoe. His parents were nowhere to be found but it is implied that they died not too long before Mowgli was discovered by Bagheera. How exactly is unknown, but it can be concluded that a messy river accident claimed their lives. Mowgli is shown to be adventurous and rebellious. At the same time, he is fairly naive about the dangers of the jungle. He is shown to love having fun, and is trusting and friendly. In the first film, his naivety is taken advantage of frequently by animals like Kaa and King Louie, who each have their own agendas. This leads Mowgli to become cynical and distrusting towards others. However, a run in with the vultures, as well as a later rescue by Baloo, show him that there are people who genuinely care. His personality takes a slight shift in the second film where he is far more mature and knowledgeable with the jungle. Like the first film however, Mowgli is rebellious towards the people of his village who hold a great fear. At the same time, Mowgli is more fun loving and comical in this film. Also in the second film, Mowgli was forced to make difficult decisions for himself choosing between living in the jungle with Baloo and Bagheera or living in the village with Shanti and Ranjan. Mowgli, knowing it was best for him, chose the village but also decided to simply visit Baloo at the jungle everyday, finally setting an acceptable balance between his life as a jungle boy and a village boy.