Jungle Cubs

Jungle Cubs is a 1996 American animated television series. It was created by Mark S. Bernthal and produced by Walt Disney Television Animation. It is based on Disney's 1967 and animated film adaptation of The Jungle Book, which itself is based on Rudyard Kipling's original The Jungle Book.

Plot
This follows the adventures of the animal characters (Baloo the sloth bear, Bagheera the black panther, Hathi the Indian elephant, Prince Louie the orangutan, Kaa the python, and Shere Khan the Bengal tiger) as youngsters and taking place prior to the events of the film. Despite the differences, at the time, they learn to live in harmony with one another as they grow and learn about the laws of the jungle along the way.

Why It Rocks

 * 1) This is an example of a cartoon featuring younger versions of established characters done right, as it isn't just a gimmick or a fad of trying to cash in on another show that follows this trend.
 * 2) It's a nice look into the lives of the main animals and what they were like in their youth, as this offers a different side of them.
 * 3) Both the art (in Disney's own original, signature style) and animation are of the highest quality, as that is what is usually to be expected.
 * 4) The writing of many episodes is well-written, the storylines have something different, since what wasn't covered in the movie is covered in these, and they also take some more elements from the original book.
 * 5) The characters are well, especially the main ones who remain true to their adult counterparts. The cubs showcase their dynamics here, as shown in "Red Dogs". Newer characters like the vulture duo, Cecil and Arthur, are good in their own right.
 * 6) The newer version of "The Bare Necessities" as the theme song, performed by the late Lou Rawls, is spectacular. The other songs are just as well-composed, written, and sung.
 * 7) The voice-acting sounds good enough, especially for the cubs and the changes in the voice actors/voices for half of the main animals in the second season.
 * 8) There are some good life lessons to follow.
 * 9) Some nicely written dialogue and lines.
 * 10) Many comical scenes and moments.
 * 11) Seeing the cubs' growth and aging between seasons, and the changes in their relationships, as well as some other differences in the second from the first, is staggering, and kept the series even fresher than it could have been.
 * 12) There are several actions by the characters that reference and are reminiscent of those in the first movie, such as Baloo wearing the leafy hair and skirt, and coconuts for an ape's mouth as a disguise while he's with Prince Louie in the first intro, and Bagheera smacking Kaa under his chin when the latter tries to hypnotize the former in "A Night in The Wasteland".

The Only Bad Quality

 * 1) Although it's nice to see wraparound moments with the boy, Mowgli, and the adult animal characters on the Jungle Cubs: Born To Be Wild DVD, they're inconsistent with and contradictory to how the animals met Mowgli in the film.

Trivia

 * The second season premiere episode, "The Ape Who Would Be King", is the only episode to be split into two parts.