Jungle Cubs
Jungle Cubs is an American animated series produced by Walt Disney Television Animation for ABC in 1996 and based on the 1967 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 its re-runs to the Disney Channel. The show was broadcast on Toon Disney, but was taken off the schedule in 2001. Re-runs aired on Disney Junior in the US from 2012 to 2013. The show also aired in the United Kingdom on Disney Cinemagic and in Latin America.
The show's theme song is a hip-hop version of the song, "The Bare Necessities" performed by Lou Rawls. Jungle Cubs was animated by Walt Disney Television Animation Pty. Ltd., Wang Film Productions Co., Ltd., Thai Wang Film Productions Co., Ltd., Toon City Animation, Inc., and Sunmin Image Pictures Co., Ltd., with Studio B Productions, as the animation pre-production studio of the series.
Characters
- Baloo : A laid-back sloth bear. He likes to play with his friends and sometimes plays pranks on Bagheera in order to snap the latter out of his uptight attitude. He is the unofficial leader of the friends.
- Bagheera : He is a sensible and level-headed panther who rarely gets into trouble. He has an obsession with maintaining good personal hygiene. Bagheera is affectionately known as "Baggy" or "Bags" and is the youngest of the group. Despite having a Home Counties English accent in the original film, Bagheera speaks with an American accent in the series.
- Louie : 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 : An arrogant and hot-tempered Bengal tiger. He often tries to intimidate the other animals, but his flair suffers when faced with actual problems. He is often called "Khannie" by Baloo and Louie. Despite having a well-spoken English accent in the original film, Shere Khan speaks with an American accent in the series.
- Kaa : A young Indian 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 group in order but is known to stammer when stressed. He is also very stubborn. Later, he develops a huge crush on Winifred, who is his wife in The Jungle Book. He is often called "Little Peanut" by Baloo. Despite having an English accent in the original film, Hathi speaks with an American accent in the series.
- Cecil and Arthur - Two vultures who are constantly hoping for one of the cubs to die so that they can eat them. However, they are never seen as a threat.
- Mahra - A ruthless baboon that lives in Pinnacle Rock within the wasteland. She and her dim-witted sons have often antagonized the Jungle Cubs when they enter the wasteland. One particular instance is when she and her sons return from a long journey and she wants a new animal skin blanket after her old one is destroyed.
- * Ned - One of Mahra's sons.
- * Jed - One of Mahra's sons.
- * Fred - One of Mahra's sons.
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 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 appears to have a bad reputation, since it is mentioned by Louie that no one had been down here and lived to tell the tale, but during the red dog invasion, 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 lever has been pulled, the throne moves to reveal a hidden doorway going underground. Once one has travelled 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 bighorn sheep lives.
- The Western Jungle, the west side of the jungle. 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
Series overview
Season 1 (1996)
Season 2 (1997–98)
Voice cast
- Pamela Segall as Baloo
- E.G. Daily as Bagheera
- Dee Bradley Baker as Bagheera
- Jason Marsden as Shere Khan and Louie, Benny
- Cree Summer as Louie
- Rob Paulsen as Hathi and Akela
- Stephen Furst as Hathi
- Jim Cummings as Kaa, Fred, Jed, Older Louie Older Hathi Older Kaa and Older Bagheera
- David Lander as Arthur
- Michael McKean as Cecil
Additional voices
- Charlie Adler - Ned
- Jeff Bennett - McCoy
- Jeannie Elias - Clyde
- Andrew J. Ferchland
- Vivica A. Fox - Lima
- Jess Harnell - Toucan
- Tress MacNeille - Mahra
- Kenneth Mars - Buffalo
- Mari Morrow - Juwanna
- Bebe Neuwirth - La-La
- Brandy Norwood - Latecia
- Gretchen Palmer - Old Monkey Lady
- Yolanda Snowball - Beckie
- Kath Soucie - Grandma Kahn, Mommie Mouse, Mother Duck, Winifred, Leah
- Susan Tolsky - Clarisse
- Frank Welker - Crane, Crocodile, Frogs, Rhino
- Vanessa Williams - Trech
- Dorien Wilson - Yarren
- Yvette Wilson - Kateri
- April Winchell - Mother Bird, Shrew, Old Monkey Lady
- Adam Wylie - Mungo
Crew
- Lou Rawls - Singer
- Jamie Thomason - Voice Casting & Dialogue Director
Home media
VHS releases
US releases
Two VHS releases containing 6 episodes of the series were released in the United States.| VHS name | Episode titles | Release date |
| Cub House Fun | "Hathi Meets His Match" "A Night in the Wasteland" "Mondo Mungo" | |
| Crazy Congo Capers | "The Great Kaadini" "How the Panther Lost His Roar" "Who Wants to be a Baboon?" |
UK, Australia and New Zealand releases
Three VHS releases containing 11 episodes of the series were released in the UK, Australia and New Zealand. These international releases included newly-animated wraparounds with Mowgli interacting with the characters as adults, as they recall events from their childhood through the series' episodes.| VHS Name | Episode Titles | Release Date |
| Jungle Cubs : Born to be Wild | "A Night in the Wasteland" "How the Panther Lost His Roar" "Red Dogs" | |
| Jungle Cubs : Once Upon a Vine | "Who Wants to be a Baboon?" "The Humans Must Be Crazy" "Hathi Meets His Match" "Mondo Mungo" "The Treasure of the Middle Jungle" | |
| Jungle Cubs : Monkey Business | "The Great Kaadini" "Benny & Clyde" "The Coming of the Wolves" |
DVD releases
On September 8, 2003, one DVD containing three episodes of the series was released in the United Kingdom.| DVD Name | Episode Titles | Release Date |
| Born to Be Wild | "A Night in the Wasteland" "How the Panther Lost His Roar" "Red Dogs" |
Australian and New Zealand releases
On September 12, 2003, three DVDs containing eleven episodes of the series was released.| DVD Name | Episode Titles | Release Date |
| Born to be Wild | "A Night in the Wasteland" "How the Panther Lost His Roar" "Red Dogs" | |
| Once Upon a Vine | "Who Wants to be a Baboon?" "The Humans Must Be Crazy" "Hathi Meets His Match" "Mondo Mungo" "The Treasure of the Middle Jungle" | |
| Monkey Business | "The Great Kaadini" "Benny & Clyde" "The Coming of the Wolves" |
Digital releases
In 2016, the entire series was made available for purchase on digital in the United States through Amazon Instant Video, ITunes, and Google Play.In other languages
- Cuccioli della giungla
- Svenska: Lilla Djungelboken