Bagheera pigmentation, which is why he is commonly referred to as a black panther. In Disney's 1967 animated adaptation, Bagheera the panther is, as in the book, male, and voiced by Sebastian Cabot. The panther is portrayed as an intelligent, mature, and logical character, quite similar to the Bagheera in the books. In the film, it is Bagheera and not the wolves who first finds Mowgli, a young village child. It is Bagheera who brings Mowgli to the care of the wolves and ensures that the baby survives. He is also the one who takes him back to the village, for
Bagheera Walt Disney never Kippled either. Hardly a line is left of the stories about Mowgli, the Indian "man-cub" who was raised by animals. Like Disney's other adaptations of children's classics, The Jungle Book is based on the Kipling original in the same way that a fox hunt is based on foxes. Nonetheless, the result is thoroughly delightful.” The above review is from an April 15, 2016 Time Magazine Review of The Jungle Book 1967 (http://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,841219,00.html). The portrayal of Bagheera as well as Ben Kingsley's voice acting were praised in the 2016 film. Rotten Tomatoes top critic James Berardinelli stated: "Ben