The Jungle Book: Mowgli’s Story 1998

Shere Khan the tiger, Sherman Howard, and his sidekick Tabaqui the hyena, Stephen Tobolowsky, launch a brutal attack on a village. In the chaos, a young boy named Brandon Baker Mowgli runs away in search of his parents and finds himself lost in the jungle. He is discovered and taken in by a gray wolf pack led by Clancy Brown Akela and Peri Gilpin Raksha, who become his adoptive parents and guardians.

As Mowgli grows up, he forms deep friendships with the jungle’s protectors: Brian Doyle-Murray Baloo the bear, Eartha Kitt Bagheera the panther, Chil the vulture, and Hathi the elephant. Through their guidance, he learns about the delicate balance of the jungle and the looming danger posed by humans. The animals reveal to him that people can threaten their home, especially when a fire ravages parts of the forest. Bagheera and Baloo pledge to shield him from Shere Khan and teach him how to hunt and defend himself.

Tensions rise as a faction of wolves sides with Shere Khan, believing a human does not belong among them. During the next hunt, these wolves sabotage the hunt, leaving the pack hungry and angry. Overwhelmed and misunderstood, Mowgli decides to leave the pack. He is captured by monkeys who are secretly serving Shere Khan, and in a dramatic rescue, Raksha rushes to save him. Tragically, Shere Khan attacks Raksha, killing her, and Mowgli is left to grapple with guilt and the harsh truth of the jungle’s dangers. Little Raksha, Mowgli’s adopted sister, races after him in a bid to stop his self-imposed exile.

Driven by a new sense of purpose, Mowgli encounters a human village and is confronted with his own kind for the first time. But when he hears Raksha’s distant cries for help, he returns to the jungle to free her from a bear trap. Raksha’s memory reminds Mowgli of the Hunter’s Oath he took, and he understands that he must face Shere Khan not as a wolf, but as a man.

That night, Mowgli sets a trap for Shere Khan and banishes him from the jungle, earning the respect and praise of many, including wolves who once doubted him. The pack’s leadership is offered to Mowgli, but he declines in favor of Little Raksha, honoring her courage and role. The next day, Bagheera and Baloo present Mowgli with a book featuring jungle animals, a gesture of guidance for his journey ahead. Grateful, he thanks his friends and runs off toward his future, carrying the lessons of the jungle and the promise of what he will become.