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{{Other uses |Mowgli (disambiguation)}}
{{Other uses |Mowgli (disambiguation)}}
{{Infobox character
{{Infobox character
| name = Mowgli
| name = Mowgli
| series = [[The Jungle Book]]
| series = [[The Jungle Book]]
| image = Mowgli-1895-illustration.png
| image = Mowgli-1895-illustration.png
| image_size = 250px
| image_size = 250px
| caption = Mowgli by [[John Lockwood Kipling]] (father of Rudyard Kipling); an illustration from ''[[The Second Jungle Book]]'' (1895)
| caption = Mowgli by [[John Lockwood Kipling]] (father of Rudyard Kipling); an illustration from ''[[The Second Jungle Book]]'' (1895)
| first = "In the Rukh" (1893)
| first = "In the Rukh" (1893)
| last = "[[The Spring Running]]" (1895)
| last = "[[The Spring Running]]" (1895)
| creator = [[Rudyard Kipling]]
| creator = [[Rudyard Kipling]]
| nickname = Man-cub, Frog
| nickname = Man-cub, Frog
| religion =
| religion =
| family = Unnamed parents †<br>[[Raksha (The Jungle Book)|Raksha]] (foster mother)<br>[[Father Wolf|Rama]] (foster father)<br>[[Messua (Jungle books)|Messua]] (foster mother)<br>[[List of The Jungle Book characters#In_the_Mowgli_stories|Nathoo]] (foster brother) †<br>Unnamed wife<br>Unnamed son
| family = [[List of The Jungle Book characters#In the Mowgli stories|Marali]] (mother)<br>[[List of The Jungle Book characters#In the Mowgli stories|Nathoo]] (father)<br>[[Raksha (The Jungle Book)|Raksha]] (foster mother)<br>[[Father Wolf|Rama]] (foster father)<br>[[Messua (Jungle books)|Messua]] (foster mother)<br>[[List of The Jungle Book characters#In the Mowgli stories|Villager Leader]] (foster father)<br>[[List of The Jungle Book characters#In the Mowgli stories|Ranjan]] (foster brother)
| spouse = [[List of The Jungle Book characters#In the Mowgli stories|Shanti]] wife
| children = Unnamed son
}}
}}
⚫
'''Mowgli''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|m|aʊ|ɡ|l|i}} {{Respell|MOW|glee}}) is a fictional character and the protagonist of the Mowgli stories featured among [[Rudyard Kipling|Rudyard Kipling's]] ''[[The Jungle Book]]'' stories. He is a [[feral child|feral]] boy from the [[Pench National Park|Pench]] area in [[Seoni]], [[Madhya Pradesh]], [[India]], 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]]'' (1894–1895), which also featured stories about other characters.<ref name= Sale>

⚫
'''Mowgli''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|m|aʊ|ɡ|l|i}}) is a fictional character and the protagonist of [[Rudyard Kipling|Rudyard Kipling's]] ''[[The Jungle Book]]'' stories. He is a [[feral child|feral]] boy from the [[Pench National Park|Pench]] area in [[Seoni]], [[Madhya Pradesh]], [[India]], 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]]'' (1894–1895), which also featured stories about other characters.<ref name= Sale>
{{cite book | chapter= Kipling's Boy's | first= Roger | last= Sale | title= Fairy Tales and After: from Snow White to E.B. White | publisher= Harvard Univ. Press | year= 1978 | isbn= 0-674-29157-3 | url-access= registration | url= https://archive.org/details/fairytalesafter00roge_9tt}}
{{cite book | chapter= Kipling's Boy's | first= Roger | last= Sale | title= Fairy Tales and After: from Snow White to E.B. White | publisher= Harvard Univ. Press | year= 1978 | isbn= 0-674-29157-3 | url-access= registration | url= https://archive.org/details/fairytalesafter00roge_9tt}}
</ref>
</ref>


==Name and inspiration==
==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".<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.kiplingsociety.co.uk/rg_junglebook_names.htm|title=Kipling's list of names|date=30 March 2007|website=www.kiplingsociety.co.uk|access-date=2019-02-23}}</ref>
In the stories, the name Mowgli is said to mean "bald", 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."<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.kiplingsociety.co.uk/rg_junglebook_names.htm|title=Kipling's list of names|date=30 March 2007|website=www.kiplingsociety.co.uk|access-date=2019-02-23}}</ref>

Kipling stated that the first syllable of "Mowgli" should rhyme with "cow",{{fact|date=June 2023}} but Disney had the first syllable rhyme with "go". Kipling's daughter got upset about this.{{fact|date=June 2023}}


Part of Kipling's inspiration for the story of Mowgli is believed to have been [[William Henry Sleeman]]'s account of six cases in India in which wild children had been raised by wolves.<ref>{{cite journal|author=Hotchkiss, Jane|title=The jungle of Eden: Kipling, wolf boys, and the colonial imagination|journal=Victorian Literature and Culture|year=2001|volume=29|issue=2|pages=435–449|doi=10.1017/s1060150301002108|s2cid=162409338}}</ref> That account was first published in the first volume of Sleeman's ''Journey Through the Kingdom of Oude in 1848-1850'' (1858)<ref>{{cite book|pages=206–222|url=https://archive.org/stream/ajourneythrough00sleegoog#page/n292/mode/2up|title=A journey through the kingdom of Oude in 1849–1850. Volume 1|author=Sleeman, W.H. |year=1858|publisher=Richard Bentley|place=London}}</ref> 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).<ref>{{cite journal|title=Feral Man and Extreme Cases of Isolation|author=Zingg, Robert M.| journal=The American Journal of Psychology| volume=53|issue= 4 |year=1940|pages=487–517|doi=10.2307/1417630|jstor=1417630}}</ref>
Part of Kipling's inspiration for the story of Mowgli is believed to have been [[William Henry Sleeman]]'s account of six cases in India in which wild children had been raised by wolves.<ref>{{cite journal|author=Hotchkiss, Jane|title=The jungle of Eden: Kipling, wolf boys, and the colonial imagination|journal=Victorian Literature and Culture|year=2001|volume=29|issue=2|pages=435–449|doi=10.1017/s1060150301002108|s2cid=162409338}}</ref> That account was first published in the first volume of Sleeman's ''Journey Through the Kingdom of Oude in 1848-1850'' (1858)<ref>{{cite book|pages=206–222|url=https://archive.org/stream/ajourneythrough00sleegoog#page/n292/mode/2up|title=A journey through the kingdom of Oude in 1849–1850. Volume 1|author=Sleeman, W.H. |year=1858|publisher=Richard Bentley|place=London}}</ref> 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).<ref>{{cite journal|title=Feral Man and Extreme Cases of Isolation|author=Zingg, Robert M.| journal=The American Journal of Psychology| volume=53|issue= 4 |year=1940|pages=487–517|doi=10.2307/1417630|jstor=1417630}}</ref>
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''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.
''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.


''Mowgli's Missionary'' (2017) by James Penrice is a novel which describes Mowgli's unusual encounter with a [[missionary]].<ref>{{cite book|title=Mowgli's Missionary|id={{ASIN|1520857314|country=ca}} }}</ref>
⚫
''Mi Hermano Lobo (My Brother Wolf)'' (2020) by Rafael Jaime is a short [[Self-publishing|self published]] [[Mexico|Mexican]] [[memoir]] written in [[Spanish language|Spanish]] 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 "[[Guardian angel|surrogate twin brother]]" figure and [[role model]] after learning about his real [[twin]] [[brother]]'s death one day after their [[preterm birth]]. It also includes an exclusive [[interview]] with [[Diana Santos]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sSTDOjHswKY|title= Entrevista a Diana Santos sobre 'El Libro de la Selva' (1967) - (12 de enero de 2020) HD|website=YouTube|date=July 16, 2021|access-date=November 12, 2023}}</ref> who voiced the character in the [[Latin America|Latin American]] [[Spanish language|Spanish]] dub of [[The Jungle Book (1967 film)|the 1967 film]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zFfAAoRffbU|title=Entrevista a Diana Santos en... Talentos de voz. Parte 1/3|website=YouTube|date=February 7, 2022|access-date=September 9, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e1751NvLyas|title=Entrevista a Diana Santos en... Talentos de voz. Parte 2/3|website=YouTube|date=February 7, 2022|access-date=September 9, 2022}}</ref> An [[audiobook]] version narrated by the author was uploaded on [[YouTube]] in September 2021.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z8jpYYzOjHM|title=Mi Hermano Lobo (el Audiolibro) - (2021) HD|website=YouTube|date=September 21, 2021|access-date=July 24, 2022}}</ref> It is similar in tone to the 2016 documentary ''[[Life, Animated]]''.

⚫
''Mi Hermano Lobo (My Brother Wolf)'' (2020) by Rafael Jaime is a short [[Self-publishing|self published]] [[Mexico|Mexican]] [[memoir]] written in [[Spanish language|Spanish]] 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 "[[Guardian angel|surrogate twin brother]]" figure and [[role model]] after learning about his real [[twin]] [[brother]]'s death one day after their [[preterm birth]]. It also includes an exclusive [[interview]] with [[Diana Santos]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sSTDOjHswKY|title= Entrevista a Diana Santos sobre 'El Libro de la Selva' (1967) - (12 de enero de 2020) HD|website=YouTube|date=July 16, 2021|access-date=November 12, 2023}}</ref> who voiced the character in the [[Latin America|Latin American]] [[Spanish language|Spanish]] dub of [[The Jungle Book (1967 film)|the 1967 film]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zFfAAoRffbU|title=Entrevista a Diana Santos en... Talentos de voz. Parte 1/3|website=YouTube|date=February 7, 2022|access-date=September 9, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e1751NvLyas|title=Entrevista a Diana Santos en... Talentos de voz. Parte 2/3|website=YouTube|date=February 7, 2022|access-date=September 9, 2022}}</ref> An [[audiobook]] version narrated by the author was uploaded on [[YouTube]] in September 2021.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z8jpYYzOjHM|title=Mi Hermano Lobo (el Audiolibro) - (2021) HD|website=YouTube|date=September 21, 2021|access-date=July 24, 2022}}</ref> It is similar in tone to the 2016 documentary ''[[Life, Animated]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q27nUk448bA|title=20 20 Finding Owen A Boys Story Life Animated|website=YouTube|date=November 6, 2017|access-date=May 5, 2024}}</ref>


''Feral Dreams: Mowgli and his Mothers'' (2020) by [[Stephen Alter]] 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.<ref>{{cite book|title=Feral Dreams: Mowgli and his Mothers|via=Amazon|url=https://www.amazon.com/-/es/Stephen-Alter-ebook/dp/B0918ZBKCM/ref=sr_1_2?__mk_es_US=%C3%85M%C3%85%C5%BD%C3%95%C3%91&crid=1JV1UW2ICG36C&keywords=feral+dreams&qid=1655571087&s=books&sprefix=feral+dreams%2Cstripbooks-intl-ship%2C296&sr=1-2}}</ref>
''Feral Dreams: Mowgli and his Mothers'' (2020) by [[Stephen Alter]] 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 [[ Indo-Gangetic Plain|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.<ref>{{cite book|title=Feral Dreams: Mowgli and his Mothers|via=Amazon|url=https://www.amazon.com/-/es/Stephen-Alter-ebook/dp/B0918ZBKCM/ref=sr_1_2?__mk_es_US=%C3%85M%C3%85%C5%BD%C3%95%C3%91&crid=1JV1UW2ICG36C&keywords=feral+dreams&qid=1655571087&s=books&sprefix=feral+dreams%2Cstripbooks-intl-ship%2C296&sr=1-2}}</ref>


==Films, television and radio==
==Films, television and radio==
* [[Rudyard Kipling's Jungle Book|The 1942 film version]] starred [[Sabu Dastagir|Sabu]] as Mowgli.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kumar |first=Anu |title=Sabu Dastagir, the actor who crossed over to Hollywood on the back of an elephant |url=https://scroll.in/reel/802571/sabu-dastagir-the-actor-who-crossed-over-to-hollywood-on-the-back-of-an-elephant |access-date=2022-11-14 |website=Scroll.in |language=en-US}}</ref>
* [[Rudyard Kipling's Jungle Book|The 1942 film version]] starred [[Sabu Dastagir|Sabu]] as Mowgli.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kumar |first=Anu |title=Sabu Dastagir, the actor who crossed over to Hollywood on the back of an elephant |url=https://scroll.in/reel/802571/sabu-dastagir-the-actor-who-crossed-over-to-hollywood-on-the-back-of-an-elephant |access-date=2022-11-14 |website=Scroll.in |date=27 January 2016 |language=en-US}}</ref>
* [[The Jungle Book (1967 film)|Disney's 1967 animated musical film version]], where he is voiced by [[Bruce Reitherman]], son of the film's director [[Wolfgang Reitherman]] (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),<ref>{{cite video|people=[[Bruce Reitherman]]|title=The Jungle Book [[audio commentary]]|date=2007}} The Jungle Book, Platinum Edition, Disc 1</ref> and its sequel, ''[[The Jungle Book 2]]'' (2003), in which Mowgli is voiced by [[Haley Joel Osment]]. On three special animated segments for the VHS releases of the ''[[Jungle Cubs]]'' (1996-1998) animated TV series, Mowgli is voiced by Tyler Mullen. In the 2023 short ''[[Once Upon a Studio]]'' Mowgli is voiced by Phoenix Reisser.[[File:MaugliStamp.JPG|thumb|right|Heroes of the Soviet animation film on a postal stamp of Russia.]]
* [[The Jungle Book (1967 film)|Disney's 1967 animated musical film version]], where he is voiced by [[Bruce Reitherman]], son of the film's director [[Wolfgang Reitherman]] (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),<ref>{{cite video|people=[[Bruce Reitherman]]|title=The Jungle Book [[audio commentary]]|date=2007}} The Jungle Book, Platinum Edition, Disc 1</ref> and its sequel, ''[[The Jungle Book 2]]'' (2003), in which Mowgli is voiced by [[Haley Joel Osment]] ([[Jake Thomas]] auditioned for the role prior to Osment's casting).<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/120281829/quick-takes/ |title=Quick takes |last=Johnson |first=Walter |newspaper=[[Knoxville News Sentinel]] |location=[[Knoxville, Tennessee]] |date=November 19, 1999 |page=79}}</ref> On three special animated segments for the VHS releases of the ''[[Jungle Cubs]]'' (1996-1998) animated TV series, Mowgli is voiced by Tyler Mullen. In the 2023 short ''[[Once Upon a Studio]]'' Mowgli's singing voice is provided by Phoenix Reisser.[[File:MaugliStamp.JPG|thumb|right|Heroes of the Soviet animation film on a postal stamp of Russia.]]
* Around the same time – from 1967 to 1971 – five Russian short animated films were made by [[Soyuzmultfilm]], collectively known as ''[[Adventures of Mowgli]]''.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Smith |first=Patrick |date=2016-04-25 |title=We don't wanna be like you: how Soviet Russia made its own, darker Jungle Book |language=en-GB |work=The Telegraph |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/2016/04/18/we-dont-wanna-be-like-you-how-soviet-russia-made-its-own-darker/ |access-date=2022-11-14 |issn=0307-1235}}</ref>
* Around the same time – from 1967 to 1971 – five Russian short animated films were made by [[Soyuzmultfilm]], collectively known as ''[[Adventures of Mowgli]]''.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Smith |first=Patrick |date=2016-04-25 |title=We don't wanna be like you: how Soviet Russia made its own, darker Jungle Book |language=en-GB |work=The Telegraph |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/2016/04/18/we-dont-wanna-be-like-you-how-soviet-russia-made-its-own-darker/ |access-date=2022-11-14 |issn=0307-1235}}</ref>
* Of all the various adaptations, [[Chuck Jones]]'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.<ref>{{Cite web |title='The Jungle Book' is the king of Disney animated movies |url=https://umlconnector.com/2019/03/the-jungle-book-is-the-king-of-disney-animated-movies/ |access-date=2022-11-14 |language=en-US}}</ref>
* Of all the various adaptations, [[Chuck Jones]]'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.<ref>{{Cite web |title='The Jungle Book' is the king of Disney animated movies |date=26 March 2019 |url=https://umlconnector.com/2019/03/the-jungle-book-is-the-king-of-disney-animated-movies/ |access-date=2022-11-14 |language=en-US}}</ref>
* There has also been a Japanese animated TV series ''[[Jungle Book Shonen Mowgli]]'' (where Mowgli is voiced by [[Urara Takano]] in the Japanese and [[Julian Bailey (actor)|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 has also been a Japanese animated TV series ''[[Jungle Book Shonen Mowgli]]'' (where Mowgli is voiced by [[Urara Takano]] in the Japanese and [[Julian Bailey (actor)|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]] as Mowgli, [[Freddie Jones]] as Baloo and [[Eartha Kitt]] 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]]).
* There was also a BBC radio adaptation in 1994, starring actress [[Nisha K. Nayar]] as Mowgli, [[Freddie Jones]] as Baloo and [[Eartha Kitt]] 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]]).
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* A 1998 live-action [[television film]] titled ''The Jungle Book: Search for the Lost Treasure'', which starred Antonio Baker as Mowgli.
* A 1998 live-action [[television film]] titled ''The Jungle Book: Search for the Lost Treasure'', which starred Antonio Baker as Mowgli.
* A [[The Jungle Book (2010 TV series)|2010 CGI animated TV series]] made by DQ Entertainment International where Mowgli was voiced by [[Emma Tate (actress)|Emma Tate]] (seasons 1-2) and [[Sarah Natochenny]] (season 3).
* A [[The Jungle Book (2010 TV series)|2010 CGI animated TV series]] made by DQ Entertainment International where Mowgli was voiced by [[Emma Tate (actress)|Emma Tate]] (seasons 1-2) and [[Sarah Natochenny]] (season 3).
* A [[The Jungle Book (2016 film)|2016 live action/CGI hybrid remake]] of Disney's animated version of ''The Jungle Book'' directed by [[Jon Favreau]], which starred newcomer [[Neel Sethi]] as Mowgli. Kendrick Reyes also played Mowgli as a toddler during a flashback sequence narrated by [[Kaa]] the python. In 2018, Sethi confirmed that he would reprise the role in an upcoming sequel to the film.<ref>{{cite web |last=Hamad |first=Marwa |title='Jungle Book' actor Neel Sethi eyes superhero films |url=https://gulfnews.com/entertainment/hollywood/jungle-book-actor-neel-sethi-eyes-superhero-films-1.2290732 |website=Gulf News |access-date=November 30, 2019 |date=October 17, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191207043302/https://gulfnews.com/entertainment/hollywood/jungle-book-actor-neel-sethi-eyes-superhero-films-1.2290732 |archive-date=December 7, 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref>
* A [[The Jungle Book (2016 film)|2016 live-action/CGI hybrid remake]] of Disney's animated version of ''The Jungle Book'' directed by [[Jon Favreau]], which starred newcomer [[Neel Sethi]] as Mowgli. Kendrick Reyes also played Mowgli as a toddler during a flashback sequence narrated by [[Kaa]] the python. In 2018, Sethi confirmed that he would reprise the role in an upcoming sequel to the film.<ref>{{cite web |last=Hamad |first=Marwa |title='Jungle Book' actor Neel Sethi eyes superhero films |url=https://gulfnews.com/entertainment/hollywood/jungle-book-actor-neel-sethi-eyes-superhero-films-1.2290732 |website=Gulf News |access-date=November 30, 2019 |date=October 17, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191207043302/https://gulfnews.com/entertainment/hollywood/jungle-book-actor-neel-sethi-eyes-superhero-films-1.2290732 |archive-date=December 7, 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref>
* A 2018 live-action adaptation titled ''[[Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle]]'', directed by [[Andy Serkis]], which starred [[Rohan Chand]] as Mowgli.<ref name=eight-cast>{{cite news|last1=Kit|first1=Borys|title=Christian Bale and Cate Blanchett Join 'Jungle Book: Origins'|url=http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/christian-bale-cate-blanchett-join-726475|access-date=14 September 2014|work=The Hollywood Reporter|date=20 August 2014}}</ref>
* A 2018 live-action adaptation titled ''[[Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle]]'', directed by [[Andy Serkis]], which starred [[Rohan Chand]] as Mowgli.<ref name=eight-cast>{{cite news|last1=Kit|first1=Borys|title=Christian Bale and Cate Blanchett Join 'Jungle Book: Origins'|url=http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/christian-bale-cate-blanchett-join-726475|access-date=14 September 2014|work=The Hollywood Reporter|date=20 August 2014}}</ref>
* A 2024 live-action [[Mexico|Mexican]] [[Independent film|independent]] [[short film]] titled ''Mi Hermano Lobo (My Brother Wolf)'' written and directed by Rafael Jaime and based on his 2020 [[memoir]] of the same name, which starred newcomer Héctor Mateo García Díaz Infante as Mowgli.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ib3D3PRcMrY|title=Mi Hermano Lobo (2024) - Cortometraje Completo (Subtitulado)|website=YouTube|date=December 3, 2024|access-date=December 6, 2024}}</ref> Jaime envisioned Mowgli with an athletic, lean and handsome physical appearance which was based both on Disney's animated version of the character created in 1967 as well as French [[illustrator]] Marcel Laverdet's depiction of the character for a 1999 abridged edition of [[The Jungle Book|the original 1894 novel]].<ref>{{Cite AV media| title = Parte 6: Cosas que Jamás Soñaste Ver: Las Inspiraciones| access-date = 2024-12-13| date = 2024-12-03| time = 7:43| url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=upcmHcthaOc&list=PLUPXHzcA62bSq5atei7wcJrl5n854nuR8&index=7}}</ref> His warm and kind-hearted personality was based on his first childhood friend, Miguel<ref>{{Cite AV media| title = Parte 3: Sentirse Libre por Primera Vez: Campamentos de Verano y 'El Libro de la Selva' en el Escultismo| access-date = 2024-12-13| date = 2024-12-03| time = 0:55| url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TSz30COGFfs&list=PLUPXHzcA62bSq5atei7wcJrl5n854nuR8&index=4}}</ref> as well as [[Matthew Labyorteaux]]'s performance as [[List of Little House on the Prairie characters#The Ingalls family|Albert Quinn Ingalls]]<ref name="Matthew Labyorteaux Biography">{{cite web |title=Matthew Labyorteaux |website=Biography.com |url=http://www.biography.com/people/matthew-labyorteaux |access-date=August 22, 2015}}</ref> on ''[[Little House on the Prairie (TV series)|Little House on the Prairie]]'' from 1978 to 1983, [[Noah Hathaway]]'s performance as [[List of The Neverending Story characters#Atreyu|Atreyu]] in ''[[The NeverEnding Story (film)|The NeverEnding Story]]'' (1984) and [[Jeremy Sumpter]]'s performance as [[Peter Pan]] in ''[[Peter Pan (2003 film)|Peter Pan]]'' (2003).<ref>{{Cite AV media| title = Parte 8: Inocencia, Libertad y Camaradería: Los Personajes)| access-date = 2024-12-13| date = 2024-12-03| time = 4:06| url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=myA_jMljr1w&list=PLUPXHzcA62bSq5atei7wcJrl5n854nuR8&index=9}}</ref> The character also sings a [[lullaby]] titled ''Brave Angel'' (A cover version of ''[[Beautiful Dreamer]]'').<ref>{{Cite AV media| title = Mi Hermano Lobo (2024) - Cortometraje Completo (Subtitulado)| access-date = 2024-12-06| date = 2024-12-03| time = 24:07| url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ib3D3PRcMrY}}</ref> It was released on [[YouTube]] on the [[United Nations' International Day of Persons with Disabilities]].<ref>{{cite web |last=Medina |first=Malú |title=Mi hermano lobo: Un documental sobre la obtención de la libertad |url=https://www.lajornadamorelos.mx/sociedad/mi-hermano-lobo-un-documental-sobre-la-obtencion-de-la-libertad/?fbclid=IwY2xjawHDKNdleHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHZTSz2suUQZ9bkhvnJ6DddB9UAmvvc3hhITM7QTkdRkdqiJw7Usu9ekvXQ_aem_rIfsVYmX_MTte5jr1XFL6A |website=La Jornada Morelos |access-date=December 8, 2024 |date=December 8, 2024|url-status=live}}</ref> <ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.facebook.com/rafael.jaime.7549/posts/pfbid0PCQRkpiMHQhmLs9QcgwTEiecxcx27tMHVUws3MazaqN8W8hZd9wNVVBYDhQTftQ9l|title=Mi Hermano Lobo (Cortometraje)|website=Facebook|date=December 4, 2024|access-date=December 5, 2024}}</ref>
* In 1984–1985, [[Jonathan Larson]] and Seth Goldman wrote an ultimately unproduced musical called ''Mowgli''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://infomotions.com/sandbox/liam/pages/httphdllocgovlocmusiceadmusmu011016.html|title = Jonathan Larson Papers}}</ref>
* In 1984–1985, [[Jonathan Larson]] and Seth Goldman wrote an ultimately unproduced musical called ''Mowgli''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://infomotions.com/sandbox/liam/pages/httphdllocgovlocmusiceadmusmu011016.html|title = Jonathan Larson Papers}}</ref>


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Latest revision as of 21:45, 13 December 2024

For other uses, see Mowgli (disambiguation).
Mowgli
The Jungle Book character
Mowgli by John Lockwood Kipling (father of Rudyard Kipling); an illustration from The Second Jungle Book (1895)
First appearance"In the Rukh" (1893)
Last appearance"The Spring Running" (1895)
Created byRudyard Kipling
In-universe information
NicknameMan-cub, Frog
FamilyMarali (mother)
Nathoo (father)
Raksha (foster mother)
Rama (foster father)
Messua (foster mother)
Villager Leader (foster father)
Ranjan (foster brother)
SpouseShanti wife
ChildrenUnnamed son

Mowgli (/ˈmaʊɡli/ MOW-glee) is a fictional character and the protagonist of the Mowgli stories featured among Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book stories. He is a feral boy from the Pench area in Seoni, Madhya Pradesh, India, 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 (1894–1895), which also featured stories about other characters.[1]

Name and inspiration

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In the stories, the name Mowgli is said to mean "bald", 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."[2]

Part of Kipling's inspiration for the story of Mowgli is believed to have been William Henry Sleeman's account of six cases in India in which wild children had been raised by wolves.[3] That account was first published in the first volume of Sleeman's Journey Through the Kingdom of Oude in 1848-1850 (1858)[4] 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).[5]

Kipling's Mowgli stories

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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 (1933).

"In the Rukh" describes how Gisborne, an English forest ranger in the Pench area in Seoni at the time of the British Raj, 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 The Jungle Book, 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 Mother, Raksha and Father Wolf, who call him Mowgli (frog) because of his lack of fur and his refusal to sit still. Shere Khan 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 from the paws of his brothers is deeply appreciated as well.

Bagheera, 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 the bear, teacher of wolves, has the thankless task of educating Mowgli in "The Law of the Jungle".

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, whose own son Nathoo 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 Book's sequel, The Second Jungle Book, 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"), not realising it is so valuable that men would kill to own it. With the aid of Kaa the python, he leads the wolves in a war against the dhole ("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".

Play adaptations

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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.[6]

Influences upon other works

[edit]

Only six years after the first publication of The Jungle Book, E. Nesbit's The Wouldbegoods (1899) included a passage in which some children act out a scene from the book.[1]: 204 

Mowgli has been cited as a major influence on Edgar Rice Burroughs who created and developed the character Tarzan. Mowgli was also an influence for a number of other "wild boy" characters.

Poul Anderson and Gordon R. Dickson 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

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The Third Jungle Book (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.

Mowgli's Missionary (2017) by James Penrice is a novel which describes Mowgli's unusual encounter with a missionary.[7]

Mi Hermano Lobo (My Brother Wolf) (2020) by Rafael Jaime is a short self published Mexican memoir written in Spanish 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 after learning about his real twin brother's death one day after their preterm birth. It also includes an exclusive interview with Diana Santos[8] who voiced the character in the Latin American Spanish dub of the 1967 film.[9][10] An audiobook version narrated by the author was uploaded on YouTube in September 2021.[11] It is similar in tone to the 2016 documentary Life, Animated.[12]

Feral Dreams: Mowgli and his Mothers (2020) by Stephen Alter 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.[13]

Films, television and radio

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Actors who played the character

[edit]

Mowgli has been played by many actors. In the 1942 film adaptation, Mowgli was played by Sabu Dastagir. In the 1994 film adaptation, he was played by Sean Naegeli as a child, and later throughout the film he was played by Jason Scott Lee. 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 Brandon Baker, Ryan Taylor and off-screen by Fred Savage. 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 Rohan Chand in Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle, released in November 2018.[34][24][35]

See also

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References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b Sale, Roger (1978). "Kipling's Boy's". Fairy Tales and After: from Snow White to E.B. White. Harvard Univ. Press. ISBN 0-674-29157-3.
  2. ^ "Kipling's list of names". www.kiplingsociety.co.uk. 30 March 2007. Retrieved 2019-02-23.
  3. ^ Hotchkiss, Jane (2001). "The jungle of Eden: Kipling, wolf boys, and the colonial imagination". Victorian Literature and Culture. 29 (2): 435–449. doi:10.1017/s1060150301002108. S2CID 162409338.
  4. ^ Sleeman, W.H. (1858). A journey through the kingdom of Oude in 1849–1850. Volume 1. London: Richard Bentley. pp. 206–222.
  5. ^ Zingg, Robert M. (1940). "Feral Man and Extreme Cases of Isolation". The American Journal of Psychology. 53 (4): 487–517. doi:10.2307/1417630. JSTOR 1417630.
  6. ^ The Jungle Play: UK paperback edition: ISBN 0-14-118292-X
  7. ^ Mowgli's Missionary. ASIN 1520857314.
  8. ^ "Entrevista a Diana Santos sobre 'El Libro de la Selva' (1967) - (12 de enero de 2020) HD". YouTube. July 16, 2021. Retrieved November 12, 2023.
  9. ^ "Entrevista a Diana Santos en... Talentos de voz. Parte 1/3". YouTube. February 7, 2022. Retrieved September 9, 2022.
  10. ^ "Entrevista a Diana Santos en... Talentos de voz. Parte 2/3". YouTube. February 7, 2022. Retrieved September 9, 2022.
  11. ^ "Mi Hermano Lobo (el Audiolibro) - (2021) HD". YouTube. September 21, 2021. Retrieved July 24, 2022.
  12. ^ "20 20 Finding Owen A Boys Story Life Animated". YouTube. November 6, 2017. Retrieved May 5, 2024.
  13. ^ Feral Dreams: Mowgli and his Mothers – via Amazon.
  14. ^ Kumar, Anu (27 January 2016). "Sabu Dastagir, the actor who crossed over to Hollywood on the back of an elephant". Scroll.in. Retrieved 2022-11-14.
  15. ^ Bruce Reitherman (2007). The Jungle Book audio commentary. The Jungle Book, Platinum Edition, Disc 1
  16. ^ Johnson, Walter (November 19, 1999). "Quick takes". Knoxville News Sentinel. Knoxville, Tennessee. p. 79.
  17. ^ Smith, Patrick (2016-04-25). "We don't wanna be like you: how Soviet Russia made its own, darker Jungle Book". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 2022-11-14.
  18. ^ "'The Jungle Book' is the king of Disney animated movies". 26 March 2019. Retrieved 2022-11-14.
  19. ^ "Image: jbcomic1-big.jpg, (722 × 1014 px)". p-synd.com. Retrieved 2015-09-04.
  20. ^ "Image: jbcomic2-big.jpg, (785 × 1110 px)". p-synd.com. Retrieved 2015-09-04.
  21. ^ "Image: jbcomic3-big.jpg, (783 × 1100 px)". p-synd.com. Retrieved 2015-09-04.
  22. ^ "Morecambe&Wise - The Jungle Book - I Wanna Be Like You - Disney spoof". YouTube. December 14, 2011. Retrieved September 8, 2022.
  23. ^ Hamad, Marwa (October 17, 2018). "'Jungle Book' actor Neel Sethi eyes superhero films". Gulf News. Archived from the original on December 7, 2019. Retrieved November 30, 2019.
  24. ^ a b Kit, Borys (20 August 2014). "Christian Bale and Cate Blanchett Join 'Jungle Book: Origins'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 14 September 2014.
  25. ^ "Mi Hermano Lobo (2024) - Cortometraje Completo (Subtitulado)". YouTube. December 3, 2024. Retrieved December 6, 2024.
  26. ^ Parte 6: Cosas que Jamás Soñaste Ver: Las Inspiraciones. 2024-12-03. Event occurs at 7:43. Retrieved 2024-12-13.
  27. ^ Parte 3: Sentirse Libre por Primera Vez: Campamentos de Verano y 'El Libro de la Selva' en el Escultismo. 2024-12-03. Event occurs at 0:55. Retrieved 2024-12-13.
  28. ^ "Matthew Labyorteaux". Biography.com. Retrieved August 22, 2015.
  29. ^ Parte 8: Inocencia, Libertad y Camaradería: Los Personajes). 2024-12-03. Event occurs at 4:06. Retrieved 2024-12-13.
  30. ^ Mi Hermano Lobo (2024) - Cortometraje Completo (Subtitulado). 2024-12-03. Event occurs at 24:07. Retrieved 2024-12-06.
  31. ^ Medina, Malú (December 8, 2024). "Mi hermano lobo: Un documental sobre la obtención de la libertad". La Jornada Morelos. Retrieved December 8, 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  32. ^ "Mi Hermano Lobo (Cortometraje)". Facebook. December 4, 2024. Retrieved December 5, 2024.
  33. ^ "Jonathan Larson Papers".
  34. ^ Sinha-Roy, Piya (November 8, 2018). "Watch Netflix's new trailer for Andy Serkis' dark twist on The Jungle Book tale, Mowgli". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved November 8, 2018.
  35. ^ Ford, Rebecca (6 April 2016). "Warner Bros. Pushes 'Jungle Book' to 2018, 'Wonder Woman' Gets New Date". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 6 April 2016.
[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Mowgli.
  • 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
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