Disney animation inspired by Rudyard Kiplings "Mowgli" story. Mowgli is a boy who has been raised by wolves in the Indian jungle. When the wolves hear that the fierce tiger, Shere Kahn, is nearby, they decide to send Mowgli to a local "man tribe". On his way to the village, Mowgli meets many animal characters in this musical tale. When Shere Kahn learns of Mowgli's presence, he tracks him down.
While roaming about the jungle, the panther Bagheera finds Mowgli, an abandoned Indian boy baby, in a wrecked canoe and takes him to a wolf family to be reared as a cub. Ten years later, when it is learned that the ferocious tiger Shere Khan is returning to his hunting ground, the wolves fear for Mowgli's life and decide that for safety's sake he must return to the world of men. Bagheera agrees to escort the protesting boy through the jungle, where the two encounter many dangers. After successfully avoiding the hypnotic designs of the snake Kaa, the travelers meet Colonel Hathi's elephant herd. Exasperated by Mowgli's continual disobedience, Bagheera deserts the boy, who is then befriended by the bear Baloo, a singing, dancing jungle bum. When Mowgli is kidnaped by monkeys, Baloo persuades Bagheera to help, and the three escape just as the ape King Louie's temple crumbles. Determined to remain in the jungle, Mowgli runs away and wanders into a vultures' hangout. The birds at first tease him but later befriend the lonely boy. When Shere Khan appears, the vultures take to the trees; and Mowgli must face the tiger alone. To his surprise, he is helped by his jungle friends, and, tying a burning branch to Shere Khan's tail, Mowgli frightens the tiger away. Now nothing stands in the way of Mowgli's remaining in the jungle. A chance meeting with a young Indian girl offers a stronger attraction, however, and Bagheera and Baloo depart knowing that Mowgli will be happier with his own kind. (The voices heard in the songs are those of Louis Prima, singing "I Wanna Be Like You"; Sterling Holloway, singing "Kaa's Song"; Darleen Carr, singing "My Own Home"; Chad Stuart and Lord Tim Hudson, singing "That's What Friends Are For"; Verna Felton and Clint Howard, singing "Colonel Hathi's March"; and Phil Harris, singing "The Bare Necessities".)
