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 on ABC and 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 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 a little mancub named Mowgli the jungle wolf-boy, panther Bagheera, free spirit bear Baloo, headstrong tiger Shere Khan, wild orangutan Prince Louie, neurotic elephant Hathi, and hypnotic snake 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 wicked vultures Cecil and Arthur, a villainous tiger named Raja and the evil wolf pack Akela. 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 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 didn't really get a choice in the matter) as a henchman. Kaa, as well as Baloo (with the exception of his friendship with Louie), doesn't really change much. He still remains sneaky and uses his hypnotism power.

Character biographies

• Mowgli: A little mancub lives in this jungle.

• 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

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

• Louie: Baloo's best friend. He is very physically active, spending a great deal of his time in trees, and wants to become king of the jungle one day. Louie is an orangutan.

• Shere Khan: A stuck up Bengal tiger. He often tries to lord over the other animals, but his confidence sometimes suffers when faced with actual problems.

• 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. Later, he develops a huge crush on Winifred, who is his wife in the The Jungle Book.

• The villain main recurring characters in the series are the two wicked vultures Arthur and Cecil, a wicked tiger Raja and the evil wolf pack Akela who are constantly hoping for one of the cubs to die so they can eat them; however, they also provide some comic relief and are never seen as a real threat.

Voice actors

• Charles Adler as Mowgli
• Pamela Adlon as Baloo
• Dee Bradley Baker as Bagheera
• Jim Cummings as Kaa/Fred/Jed/Raja the Evil Tiger from the Goofy Cartoon: Tiger Trouble/Buzzie the Vulture/WhiteHood
• Elizabeth Daily as M.C Monkey: King Larry Flunkey the Badoon Bandar-Log/Duchess the baby jaguar/ crow
• Stephen Furst as Hathi/ rooster
• David Lander as Arthur the vulture
• Tress MacNeille as Shanti/Colonel Hathi's Son
• Jason Marsden as Shere Khan/Prince Louie
• Michael McKean as Cecil the vulture
• Rob Paulsen as Voodoo-Man the Witch Doctor and the four witch doctors/Akela
• Kath Soucie as Winifred
• Cree Summer as Tick-Tock the Hungry Crocodile from the Peter Pan
• Tino Insana as jaguar
• Cheri Dennis as Aja
• Bill Scott as Mango the peacock/Amos the rhino/fox/wolf
• Bill Farmer as rhino/vulture/deer/turtle/Oag the hippo
• Nancy Kulp as hippo/bull rhino/fisherman cow/human/deer

Episodes

Episodes (1996)

A Night in the Wasteland: Attempting Mowgli to prove his courage after a joke by Louie and Baloo, Shere Khan vows to travel to Pinnacle Rock, unaware that the ruthless wolf Akela has returned there and wants a new fur blanket.

Buffaloed: Bonkers and Marsupilami is tricked into fighting against a buffalo by the savannah.

Red Dogs: Mowgli and King 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 (dholes) return to the jungle, with only the other Cubs available to save the day.

Bare Necessities: Bonkers, Green Frog and Marsupilami' attemps to prepare for the monsoon season are hampered by Windy's laziness, but he soon becomes their only hope when they are trapped in a cave as the monsoons begin.

Who Wants To Be A Badoon?: After being the victim of one too many jokes, Mowgli leaves the jungle and comes wicked tiger Raja's assistant.

How the Panther Lost His Roar: Bonkers, Maurice and Marsupilami's feelings of inadequacy when compared to black jaguar are worsened when he loses his voice.

Hulla Baloo: Mowgli becomes jealous when Baloo, Louie, Kaa and Shere Khan begins to spend more time with another bear after it saved his life.

Let's Go: Shnookums the cat and his dog Meat chases by a crab named Sebastian.

The Great Kaadini: Mowgli and Kaa accidentally hypnotises the vultures, turning them into competent hunters totally obedient to his commands.

King Larry: Shnookums, Sebastian and Meat sees a lion named King Larry.

Splendor In The Mud: When Mowgli's lies put Junior in trouble with her uncle, the elephant refuse to let her see their friend when she needs his help.

Benny & Clyde: Shnookums, Meat and Sebastian is forced to look after his younger cousins.

The Coming Of The Wolves: Mowgli and all wild animals find themselves caught between runaway by a villainous tiger Raja- Mother Wolf and baby wolves- and their old pack when Mowgli hide out at the temple.

Fool Me Once...: After a particularly hash prank by Shnookums & Meat, Sebastian entlists the help of a black falcon to fake his death and get even.

The Ape That Would Be King: The Cubs learn of a prophecy that states that Mowgli will some day be king of the jungle, but Khan wants the role for himself.

Kasaba Ball: Bonkers, Green Frog, Windy and Marsupilami divide into teams- against with a football and the inappropriately-named rhinoceros 'Tiny'- in a game of 'Kasaba Ball'.

Curse Of The Magnificent Melon: After stealing Mowgli's prized melon, Baloo finds himself apparently followed by a mass of frogs accusing him of the crime.

Let's Action!: Bonkers, Green Frog and Marsupilami lives in this movie star.

Birthday Snake: Kaa resorts to hypnosis when he thinks that the others have forgotten his birthday.

It's The Hitch-Hiking Lonesome Ghosts: Bonkers and Marsupilami searches treasure lives in the island of the ghosts.

Old Green Teeth: Mowgli, Baloo, Bagheera, Louie, Hathi, Shere Khan and Kaa suffers a crisis of confidence when the Five Bananas are invited to perform for an old idol of his.

Swings In: Shnookums and Meat chased by a crab Sebastian flying by Kit.

A Tale Of Two Tails: Mowgli take advantage of evil tiger Raja's kindness after they sustain relatively minor injuries to their tails while saving him.

It's Mexico: Shnookums, Sebastian and Meat sees a mexico crab.

Tree For Two: Mowgli, Baloo, Bagheera and King Louie have difficulty getting along when they are forced to live together after a storm destroys their old homes.

Shut Up!: Sebastian is sleeping sees Shnookums the cat and his dog Meat.

Nice Tiger: Shere Khan tries to convince Mowgli and the other cubs that there's nothing nice about him, but they all think differently.

Attack of the Pirate Crew: Shnookums, Meat and Sebastian is scary tale of the wicked pirates.

Three segments

Disneys The Jungle Book's Jungle Cubs (The 13 episodes of "Disney's Raw Toonage")

Bonkers, Marsupilami & Co

Shnookums & Meat chases Sebastian

DVDs

One Region 2 DVD is currently available to buy. Interestingly, the DVD is a DVD port of an original VHS. Disney has no plans for a Region 1 DVD release at this point.

Born to be Wild!: A Place to Call Home/Swingin and Singin

This DVD featured seven episodes, interspaced with clips of the animals as adults, with Baloo narrating the stories to Mowgli, Baloo, Bagheera, Colonel Hathi, King Louie, Kaa and Shere Khan as he reminisces about their childhood. Ed Gilbert voices Baloo, Jim Cummings voices Bagheera, Colonel Hathi, King Louie and Kaa, and Tony Jay voices Shere Khan.

• Born to be Wild: Mowgli rescued by Baloo, Bagheera, Colonel Hathi, King Louie, Kaa and Shere Khan sees the evil wolf pack Akela.
• Monkey Business: Mowgli riding by ape King Larry Flunkey lives in this jungle.
• Colonel Hathi Meets His Match: Mowgli fighting by two wicked vultures sees with a baby elephant Junior.
• Once Upon a Vine: Mowgli, Baloo, Bagheera, Colonel Hathi, King Louie, Kaa and Shere Khan chased by hungry wild-dogs.
• Cub House Fun: Mowgli sees a villainous tiger named Raja.
• Crazy Congo Crapes: Mowgli, Tabaqui and Tick-Tock tells the scary tales.
• It's Prince Louie: Mowgli saves King Louie sees the evil wolf pack Akela.

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