Bagheera even though Baloo defends Mowgli while the protective black panther shelters the boy. No scars are visible on the cartoon Disney drawings of Bagheera to hint at his captive past either. Bagheera is also one of the major characters left out of the "TaleSpin" series which used several "Jungle Book" characters. However, many of Shere Khan's employees and military personnel are black panthers very similar in appearance to Bagheera. In the prequel cartoon series "Jungle Cubs", Bagheera was voiced by Elizabeth Daily and Dee Bradley Baker, and was often made fun of by his friends, especially the bully Shere Khan.
The Jungle Book (2016 film) very successful run at the box office with "Zootopia" the previous month, in which anthropomorphic animals were the central figure. "Forbes" noted that "The Jungle Book" was precisely the sort of film that Chinese audiences love with its 3D visuals, heartwarming story, and talking animal cast. It earned around $12 million on its opening day, including $300,000 worth of previews from 65,000 screenings. Buoyed by good word of mouth and positive reception (albeit mostly from audiences with polarized reception from Chinese critics), it rose 72% on its second day to $20 million. Through its opening weekend it grossed $48.5 million,