Mowgli's Brothers

Last updated
Mowgli and Grey Brother photo illustration from "Mowgli's Brothers" by Maurice de Becque Becque - Livre de la jungle, p33.jpeg
Mowgli and Grey Brother photo illustration from "Mowgli's Brothers" by Maurice de Becque

"Mowgli's Brothers" is a short story by Rudyard Kipling. Chronologically, it is the first story about Mowgli although it was written after "In the Rukh", in which Mowgli appears as an adult.

Contents

The story first appeared in the January 1894 issue of St. Nicholas Magazine [1] and was collected as the first story in The Jungle Book later in 1894 where it is accompanied by the poem "Hunting Song of the Seeonee Pack". The story also appears in All the Mowgli Stories . In 1992 it was published as a separate volume with woodcut illustrations by Christopher Wormell. The text is available on-line from several sources as part of The Jungle Book.

The story was adapted as a 25-minute animated television cartoon by Chuck Jones in 1976. Jones also directed adaptations of "Rikki-Tikki-Tavi" and "The White Seal".

Plot summary

Father Wolf (Rama) and Mother Wolf (Raksha), a pair of wolves raising a family of cubs, are furious to learn from Tabaqui the jackal that Shere Khan the lame tiger is hunting in their territory because he might kill men and bring human retribution upon the jungle. When Father Wolf (Rama) hears something approaching their den, it turns out to be not the tiger, but a naked human baby. Mother Wolf (Raksha) decides to adopt the hairless "man-cub". Her determination is only strengthened by the arrival of Shere Khan, who demands the cub for his meal. The wolves drive off the tiger, and Raksha names him Mowgli the Frog because of his hairlessness.

At the wolf pack's meeting at Council Rock, Baloo the bear speaks for the man-cub, and Bagheera the black panther buys his life with a freshly killed bull. Baloo and Bagheera undertake the task of educating Mowgli as he grows. Meanwhile, Shere Khan plans to take revenge on the wolf pack by persuading the younger wolves to depose their leader Akela.

When Mowgli is about 11 years old, Bagheera tells him of Shere Khan's plan. Mowgli, being human, is the only creature in the jungle that does not fear fire, so he steals a pot of burning coals from a nearby village in order to use it against Shere Khan.

The young wolves prevent Akela from catching his prey, and at that night's meeting, Shere Khan demands that Akela be killed and the man-cub given to him. Mowgli, despite being naked and unprotected, relentlessly attacks Shere Khan with a burning branch and drives him and his allies away, but realises to his sorrow that he must now leave the pack and return to humanity. As he leaves, he vows to return one day and lay Shere Khan's hide upon the Council Rock.

Animated special

In 1976 Mowgli's Brothers was adapted and directed as a half-hour television animated special of the same name by veteran animator Chuck Jones, with narration and voices by Roddy McDowall, and June Foray as Mother Wolf. [2] Though largely a faithful adaptation of the story, there are some notable changes in Jones's version. Differences include expanded roles for Baloo and Tabaqui, and that Shere Khan is a white tiger and there is no reference to his lame leg. Jones also directed adaptations of "Rikki-Tikki-Tavi" and "The White Seal".

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mowgli</span> Fictional character created by Rudyard Kipling

Mowgli is a fictional character and the protagonist of 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" 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.

<i>The Jungle Book</i> 1894 childrens book by Rudyard Kipling

The Jungle Book (1894) is a collection of stories by the English author Rudyard Kipling. Most of the characters are animals such as Shere Khan the tiger and Baloo the bear, though a principal character is the boy or "man-cub" Mowgli, who is raised in the jungle by wolves. The stories are set in a forest in India; one place mentioned repeatedly is "Seeonee" (Seoni), in the central state of Madhya Pradesh.

<i>The Second Jungle Book</i> Book by Rudyard Kipling

The Second Jungle Book is a sequel to The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling. First published in 1895, it features five stories about Mowgli and three unrelated stories, all but one set in India, most of which Kipling wrote while living in Vermont. All of the stories were previously published in magazines in 1894–5, often under different titles. The 1994 film The Jungle Book used it as a source.

Raksha (<i>The Jungle Book</i>) Fictional character

Raksha is a fictional character featured in Rudyard Kipling's Mowgli stories, collected in The Jungle Book and The Second Jungle Book.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Baloo</span> Fictional sloth bear

Baloo is a main fictional character featured in Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book from 1894 and The Second Jungle Book from 1895. Baloo, a sloth bear, is the strict teacher of the cubs of the Seeonee wolf pack. His most challenging pupil is the "man-cub" Mowgli. Baloo and Bagheera, a panther, save Mowgli from Shere Khan the tiger, and endeavor to teach Mowgli the Law of the Jungle in many of The Jungle Book stories.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bagheera</span> Fictional panther from Kiplings Jungle Book

Bagheera is a fictional character in Rudyard Kipling's Mowgli stories in The Jungle Book and The Second Jungle Book. He is a black panther who serves as friend, protector and mentor to the "man-cub" Mowgli. The word bagheera is Hindi for panther or leopard, although the root word bagh means any form of panthera and is nowadays mostly used to refer to the Royal Bengal tiger.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shere Khan</span> Fictional tiger and main antagonist from author Rudyard Kiplings "The Jungle Book"

Shere Khan is a fictional Bengal tiger and the main antagonist of Rudyard Kipling's Jungle Book and its adaptations. The name roughly translates as tiger ruler, with shere being the Persian word for 'tiger' and khan being used as a title of distinction among the Turco-Mongol peoples, usually meaning chief or ruler. According to The Kipling Society, the name "show[s] that he is the chief among tigers".

<i>The Jungle Book</i> (1994 film) 1994 American film

Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book, also known as The Jungle Book, is a 1994 American adventure film co-written and directed by Stephen Sommers, produced by Edward S. Feldman and Raju Patel, from a story by Ronald Yanover and Mark Geldman. It is a live-action adaptation of the Mowgli stories from The Jungle Book (1894) and The Second Jungle Book (1895) by Rudyard Kipling, alongside Walt Disney's animated feature film of the same name from 1967; unlike its counterparts, the animal characters in this film do not talk.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Letting in the Jungle</span>

"Letting In the Jungle" is a short story by Rudyard Kipling which continues Mowgli's adventures from "Mowgli's Brothers" and "Tiger! Tiger!". The story was written at Kipling's parents' home in Tisbury, Wiltshire, and is therefore the only Mowgli story not written in Vermont.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Red Dog (Kipling short story)</span>

"Red Dog" is a Mowgli story by Rudyard Kipling.

<i>Adventures of Mowgli</i> 1967 Soviet film

Adventures of Mowgli is an animated feature-length story originally released as five animated shorts of about 20 minutes each between 1967 and 1971 in the Soviet Union. It is based on Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book. They were directed by Roman Davydov and made by Soyuzmultfilm studio. In 1973, the five films were combined into a single 96-minute feature film. The Russian DVD release of the restored footage, distributed by "Krupnyy Plan" and "Lizard", separates the animation into the original five parts.

<i>The Jungle Book</i> (1989 TV series) Italian-Japanese anime television series

The Jungle Book is an Italian-Japanese anime adaptation of Rudyard Kipling's original collection of stories, The Jungle Book. It aired in 1989, and consists of a total of 52 episodes.

Akela (<i>The Jungle Book</i>) Fictional wolf from Rudyard Kiplings Jungle Book Franchise

Akela is a fictional character in Rudyard Kipling's stories, The Jungle Book (1894) and The Second Jungle Book (1895). He is the leader of the Seeonee pack of Indian wolves and presides over the pack's council meetings. It is at such a meeting that the pack adopts the lost child Mowgli and Akela becomes one of Mowgli's mentors.

<i>The Jungle Book: Mowglis Story</i> 1998 American film

The Jungle Book: Mowgli's Story is a 1998 American adventure film directed by Nick Marck, produced by Mark H. Orvitz and written by José Rivera and Jim Herzfeld. It is the third film adaptation by The Walt Disney Company of the Mowgli stories from The Jungle Book (1894) by Rudyard Kipling. It stars Brandon Baker, and features the voice work of Brian Doyle-Murray, Eartha Kitt, Clancy Brown, Peri Gilpin, and Sherman Howard.

Djungelboken is a Swedish play written by Alexander Mørk-Eidem based on Kipling's The Jungle Book, with music and song lyrics by Eric Gadd. It premiered on Stockholm City Theatre in January 2007. While staying moderately true to the original with a few references to the Disney version played for laughs, the play is located in a post-apocalyptic Stockholm, specifically, a destroyed version of the square outside the theatre. The animals are portrayed not with animal costumes or make-up but rather as different social and cultural groups.

<i>The Jungle Book</i> (2010 TV series) 3D CGI animated television series

The Jungle Book is a 3D CGI animated television series co-produced by DQ Entertainment International, MoonScoop, Ellipsanime Productions, ZDF, ZDF Enterprises, TF1 and Les Cartooneurs Associés. It is based on the Rudyard Kipling book of the same name.

Mowgli's Brothers is a 1976 television animated special directed by American animator Chuck Jones. It is based on the first chapter of Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book. The special was narrated by Roddy McDowall, who also performs the voices of all the male characters in the film. June Foray was the voice of Raksha, the Mother Wolf. It originally aired on CBS on February 11, 1976.

<i>Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle</i> 2018 film directed by Andy Serkis

Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle is a 2018 adventure drama film directed by Andy Serkis with a screenplay by Callie Kloves, based on stories collected in All the Mowgli Stories by Rudyard Kipling. The film stars Rohan Chand, Matthew Rhys, and Freida Pinto, along with voice and motion-capture performances from Christian Bale, Cate Blanchett, Benedict Cumberbatch, Naomie Harris, and Serkis. In the film, an orphaned human boy who was raised by wolves, sets out on a journey to find a human village while evading Shere Khan.

The Jungle Book is a Disney media franchise that commenced in 1967 with the theatrical release of The Jungle Book. It is based on Rudyard Kipling's works of the same name. The franchise includes a 2003 sequel to the animated film and three live-action films produced by Walt Disney Pictures.

References

  1. Kipling, Rudyard (January 1894). "Mowgli's Brothers". St. Nicholas. The Century Co. XXI (3): 195–206. Retrieved 31 March 2011.
  2. Lenburg, Jeff (1999). The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons. Checkmark Books. p. 300. ISBN   0-8160-3831-7 . Retrieved 6 June 2020.