Bagheera


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 Hindustani for panther or leopard, although the root word bagh means tiger.

Character history

Born in captivity in the menagerie of the Raja of Udaipur, Rajasthan, India, Bagheera begins to plan for his freedom after his mother dies. Once he is mature and strong enough, he breaks the lock on his cage and escapes into the jungle, where his ferocity and cunning nature win him the respect of all its other inhabitants, except for the very incredibly conceited Shere Khan The Tiger. Bagheera reveals all this to Mowgli later. None but Mowgli ever learn that Bagheera once wore a collar and chain, explaining the cat's special insight concerning men. Bagheera's brief description of his imprisonment and escape is this, "I had never seen the jungle. They fed me behind bars from an iron pan till one night I felt that I was Bagheera - the Panther - and no man's plaything, and I broke the silly lock with one blow of my paw and came away; and because I had learned the ways of men, I became more terrible in the jungle than Shere Khan." Because he had learned the ways of men, he was also more loving to the abandoned human child who came to be under his care and protection.
When Father Wolf and Mother Wolf of the Seeonee wolf pack adopt the human "cub" Mowgli and the pack demands that the new cub should be spoken for, Bagheera buys Mowgli's life with a freshly killed bull and helps to raise him as one of the pack. Because his life has been bought by a bull, Mowgli is forbidden to eat cattle. Bagheera will frequently remind Mowgli of this debt by swearing an oath referencing his own previous captivity. As Bagheera swears, "By the broken lock that freed me," so Mowgli answers back "By the bull that bought me."
At one point, during one of Mowgli's many lessons in the Laws of the Jungle under the tutelage of Baloo the Bear, Bagheera says "I am more likely to give help than to ask it," as Mowgli learns the many sacred words needed to call on the assistance of all kinds of species of animals living in the jungle. Bagheera, having freed himself from the captivity of humans, is a proud animal aware of his own abilities and ferocity among the other animals of the jungle, though he acknowledges Mowgli's growing power over each of them as the boy grows older. Bagheera shows Mowgli that none of the animals may stare into his eyes, even those who love him.
Bagheera shares in many of Mowgli's adventures as he grows, but eventually the time comes when the man-cub becomes a man and has to return to human society. Bagheera frees Mowgli of his debt to the wolf pack by killing another bull, and Mowgli returns to his adopted human mother Messua.
Bagheera is one of Mowgli's mentors and best friends. He, Baloo and Kaa sing for Mowgli "The Outsong" of the jungle. He also calls out to Mowgli in farewell, "Remember, Bagheera loved thee... Remember, Bagheera loved thee."

Disney adaptations

1967 animated film

Bagheera appears in the 1967 animated adaptation by Walt Disney Productions. His voice is provided by Sebastian Cabot. As in the Kipling books, Bagheera is Mowgli's intelligent guardian; however, while developing the film, Walt Disney chose to omit Bagheera's past and scars as well as any instances of him confronting Shere Khan, not wanting the film to resemble the more violent Kipling books. Baloo in the film often calls Bagheera "Baggy" as a nickname.
Bagheera finds Mowgli as a baby and brings him to a pack of wolves to ensure his survival, knowing Mowgli will eventually need to return to the human world. When Shere Khan returns to the jungle, Bagheera offers to take Mowgli to a nearby human village for his safety. Bagheera conflicts with Baloo regarding Mowgli, but Bagheera reminds him of Shere Khan and convinces him to help him. When Mowgli runs away from Baloo, Bagheera tries to gain help from Hathi and his herd of elephants in finding him. Bagheera consoles Mowgli when he thinks Shere Khan has killed Baloo trying to defend him, but Baloo wakes much to Bagheera's anger, having thought him dead. When Mowgli follows a human girl into the village, Bagheera encourages him and consoles Baloo, assuring him of Mowgli's safety. He and Baloo walk off afterward singing "The Bare Necessities" as the film ends.
Though Bagheera is absent from the series TaleSpin, which uses several characters from the 1967 film, many of Shere Khan's employees and military personnel are black panthers strongly resembling him.
Bagheera appears as a cub in the prequel series Jungle Cubs, where his friends often make fun of him. Like Shere Khan and Hathi, Bagheera has an American accent as opposed to his English accent in the 1967 film. Bagheera is voiced in Jungle Cubs by Elizabeth Daily and Dee Bradley Baker.
Bagheera appears in The Jungle Book 2, voiced by Bob Joles. When Shere Khan returns to take revenge on Mowgli, Bagheera tries to stop Baloo from helping Mowgli, suspecting he wants to bring him back to the jungle. Bagheera fails despite gaining the aid of Hathi, and Baloo tricks him into thinking Mowgli is not with him, though Bagheera is unsure. Bagheera rushes to help Mowgli and his friend Shanti after Shere Khan attacks them but has to wait outside the temple where they are trapped, warning Baloo to be careful as he travels inside. Mowgli manages to trap Shere Khan, after which he introduces Shanti to Bagheera. At the end of the film, he is shown playing with Mowgli's adoptive brother Ranjan.

1994 live-action film

In the 1994 live-action film, Bagheera is portrayed by a black leopard named Shadow. As with the other animals in the 1994 film, Bagheera does not speak as opposed to other adaptations.
Bagheera finds Mowgli and his pet wolf, Grey Brother, after they are separated from civilization. Hearing Shere Khan's roar, Bagheera leads them by his tail to a pack of wolves, who adopt them as Mowgli is kind to one of their species. When Mowgli is an adult, he introduces Bagheera to his love interest Kitty Brydon after he has learned the ways of men, though he is hostile toward Kitty's fiancée Captain Boone and his soldiers. Bagheera saves Mowgli from being shot by soldiers working for Captain Boone, Kitty's fiancée, and later saves their friend Dr. Plumford from being killed by Buldeo and a caravan of bandits. When Mowgli is tied to a tree, Bagheera arrives and chews through the ropes, freeing him. Bagheera is seen crossing a bridge with a triumphant Mowgli and Kitty at the end of the film.

2016 computer-generated film

Bagheera appears in the 2016 remake of the 1967 film as a computer-generated character, where he is voiced by Ben Kingsley. Bagheera's role in the 2016 film is largely similar to the 1967 animated version, serving as a mentor to Mowgli and a voice of reason to him and Baloo.
Bagheera rescues Mowgli after Shere Khan kills the boy's father and raises him to be a creature of the jungle as part of Akela's wolf pack. When Shere Khan threatens Mowgli's life, Bagheera agrees to guide him to a human village, but Shere Khan ambushes them en route. Bagheera fights Shere Khan, buying Mowgli enough time to escape. He reunites with Mowgli after Baloo saves him from Kaa, and tries to have Baloo lie to Mowgli in order to ensure he stays in the village. Bagheera and Baloo help Mowgli escape King Louie and his gang of monkeys, but Mowgli is furious with them for failing to tell them Shere Khan has killed Akela. Bagheera helps Baloo and the wolf pack fight Shere Khan long enough to allow Mowgli to lure the tiger over a pit of fire, into which he falls to his death. Bagheera is seen sitting with Baloo and Mowgli as the film ends, Mowgli having found his true home in the jungle.
Kingsley described Bagheera in an interview as an adoptive parent to Mowgli whose personality was somewhat militaristic, saying "he's instantly recognizable by the way that he talks, how he acts, and what his ethical code is." Kingsley's voice acting was praised by Rotten Tomatoes as " the appropriate level of gravitas to the strait-laced Bagheera," and was ranked as the best animal performance in the film by Vox, who called Bagheera "the concerned parent, worried about what his child will find around the next corner, the big cat who knows he has to let go just a little but can't find it in himself to do so".

Other media