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Mowgli: Legend Of The Jungle
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Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle is just the latest lavish adaptation of Rudyard Kipling’s The Jungle Book. The original book was actually a collection of short stories about life in the jungles of India, some featuring elephants or Riki Tiki Tavi, and many starring a “man-cub” named Mowgli. Raised in the wild by wolves, the noble panther Bagheera, and loving bear Baloo, Mowgli feels pulled between his feral foster family and the village of men close by.
Andy Serkis‘s new adaptation of the stories is a dark vision of the man-cub’s childhood focused on the trauma and tragedy of Mowgli’s upbringing. Serkis assembled an all-star cast of movie stars and film greats to bring the characters of Mowgli’s jungle to life. Emmy winner Matthew Rhys plays a vile hunter named Lockwood and Frieda Pinto is a kind woman who takes Mowgli, played by Rohan Chand, into her care. But who are the famous faces voicing Baghera, Baloo, Kaa, and Shere Khan? And which animal character from Kipling’s classic made it into Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle (even if he was cut from Disney’s versions of the tale)?
Here’s your guide to the cast of Mowgli, focusing on the actors lending their voices and stop motion acting talent to the animals of the jungle.
BAGHEERA VOICE
Bagheera, the noble black panther who fosters Mowgli, is played by movie star Christian Bale. Bale does a fine job playing the protective father figure to Mowgli, but he has less to do in this version of the tale. Jon Favreau’s live-action version of the tale opted to cast Sir Ben Kingsley in the role.
KAA VOICE
The first voice we hear in Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle is Cate Blanchett’s. The Oscar-winning actress plays the tricksy boa constrictor Kaa as a kind of sage character. It’s been said that her performance here evokes her role as Galadriel in The Lord of the Rings. Scarlett Johansson played Kaa in Disney’s recent live action Jungle Book.
SHERE KHAN VOICE
Benedict Cumberbatch plays the bloodthirsty Shere Khan in Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle, and wow, does Cumberbatch play it up. He gives a super dramatic performance. (Benedict Cumberbatch is doing a lot of voice work right now right? He’s also the new Grinch.)
NISHA VOICE
In every version of The Jungle Book, Mowgli is raised by wolves, but not every version includes a wolf mother. Here, her name is Nisha, and she’s played by Naomi Harris (aka Moneypenny in the Daniel Craig Bond movies).
BALOO VOICE
Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle director Andy Serkis plays the boisterous bear who helps raise Mowgli himself. However, his Baloo is very different from the chill and laid back Baloo of Disney’s films. Instead of being Bill Murray or singing about the “Bear Necessities,” Serkis’s Baloo makes Mowgli balance scorpions on his head.
AKELA VOICE
The leader of the wolf pack, Akela, is played by gruff British actor Peter Mullan. Peter Mullan has appeared in a bunch of TV shows and films, but his juiciest role to date is probably as the doomed James Delos in HBO’s Westworld.
BROTHER WOLF VOICE
There are a lot of wolves in the wolf pack, but Mowgli’s favorite brother is played by Strange Angel star Jack Reynor. You may also know Reynor from the enchanting Irish musical film Sing Street.
VIHAAN VOICE
In this version of Mowgli’s story, his wolf father’s name is Vihaan and he’s played by Eddie Marsan. You may recognize Marsan from Ray Donovan, The World’s End, or Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell.
TABAQUI VOICE
Tabaqui is a loathsome hyena who bothers the wolf pack. In Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle he is played by Tom Hollander. It’s worth noting that although Tabaqui doesn’t appear in the Disney versions, but is an original Rudyard Kipling character (who is supposed to be a jackal, not a hyena, but sometimes he’s either).
BHOOT VOICE
Oh, boy. The most devastating part of Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle has to be what happens to sweet, dumb Bhoot. The original albino wolf character is played by Serkis’s own son, Louis Ashbourne Serkis.
