In The Jungle Book 2, Baloo has a reputation of being the "life of the party" and is extremely popular with the jungle's social gatherings because of this and has taken over King Louie's abandoned palace as a result, turning it into a hangout. Through the sound of bouncy rhythms alone, Baloo can be seduced into joining a party, going as far as to becoming the center of attention, as seen during the climax of " I Wanna Be Like You". Though Baloo enjoys relaxation and tranquility, he is also a socialite-an unabashed lover of parties, jazz music, and jungle beats.
Though lazy, stubborn, and foreign to true responsibility, Baloo has a large heart, often taking his ideals (which are seen to have successfully led him to a happy lifestyle) and sharing it with others, including Mowgli, the man-cub, in hopes of spreading the happiness he's been fortunate enough to experience. Bagheera, the wise panther, describes him as a "jungle bum" a seemingly useless member of animal society, only focused on lounging, snacking, scratching his back, and other minimal activities labeled as lazy pastimes. Often speaking with a soft, smooth tone, the sloth bear is known for his ideals of remaining relaxed as often as possible, and preventing the pressures and responsibilities of life holding one down, as vocalized through his song, "The Bare Necessities". The results were universally beloved, and the character of Baloo was largely shaped to match the personality of Harris, himself, from that moment forward.īaloo is easily characterized by his laid-back, gentle nature. To make himself more comfortable, he asked the directors permission to approach the role with his own unique flair and mannerisms. Once Harris came into the studio, he felt out of place and hesitant to fully accept the role. Walt, nevertheless, encouraged the team to move forth with the idea, additionally using it as a means to further separate the tones of Kipling's stories and the Disney adaptation.
This was met with controversy amongst the filmmakers, as they believed Harris was unfit to star in a Rudyard Kipling-inspired film. When it came to casting Baloo, Walt suggested television personality and social friend, Phil Harris, to provide the voice. However, the filmmakers loved "The Bare Necessities" and pleaded to have it remain in the film Walt would eventually agree. When Walt overtook the project, "The Bare Necessities" and the accompanying songs were cut, with the Sherman Brothers being brought on to write the new songs. While that version of the film was scraped, the final version still utilized many of the characterizations featured in Bill Peet's version including Baloo's, with his relationship with Mowgli serving as the heart of the film.īaloo's trademark song, " The Bare Necessities", was actually written for Bill Peet's original draft of the film. When Walt Disney began to develop a film based on the novel, Bill Peet originally wrote a version that was set to be darker and slightly closer to the source material, but many changes were made, including Baloo's personality, which was changed into a fun-loving, humble personality. In the book, Baloo was a humorless, serious, and strict aging sloth bear who utilized militant discipline while mentoring Mowgli and the wolf cubs. In the original book by Rudyard Kipling, Baloo was very different from his Disney incarnation.
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