Bagheera Ranjan and warns Baloo to be careful before he goes inside to help Mowgli. After Shere Khan is trapped, Mowgli introduces Bagheera to Shanti, the girl who is Mowgli's best friend at the village. Near the end of the film, Ranjan is shown playing with Bagheera's tail. At first Bagheera is scared, but he later enjoys playing with him while Mowgli, Shanti, and Baloo sing the reprise of "The Bare Necessities". In the 1994 live-action film, (portrayed by a black jaguar named Shadow) Bagheera serves as a jungle animal friend to Mowgli and his pet wolf, Grey Brother. After Mowgli
The Jungle Book (2016 film) use of a shadowy jungle figure in "Apocalypse Now" (1979). The cast was announced between March and August 2014, with Idris Elba being announced to voice Shere Khan during early stages and Bill Murray eventually confirmed as the voice of Baloo in August 2014. Between then, Scarlett Johansson, Ben Kingsley, and Christopher Walken were confirmed to play Kaa, Bagheera, and King Louie. Favreau decided to cast Johansson to play Kaa, originally a male character, as he felt the original film was "a little too male-oriented." Favreau and Marks noticed the lack of female characters in the 1967 film version and