The film stars Jason Scott Lee, Cary Elwes, Lena Headey, Sam Neill, and John Cleese.

Shere Khan the tiger begins stalking the group when fellow guide Buldeo and two other soldiers kill some animals for sport, which is against the jungle law.

Shere Khan attacks the camp at night, killing the two soldiers and Nathoo, who dies trying to fight him off to defend Buldeo.

Mowgli chases the monkey to an ancient abandoned city honoring Hanuman which hosts piles of treasure, ruled by an orangutan, King Louie.

At night, Shere Khan returns; Mowgli promises to protect Kitty and Brydon from him and escapes the next morning with Bagheera's aid.

The party continues their journey, Boone leaving behind a wounded Brydon, who is helped back to the village on an elephant courtesy of Mowgli.

KNB FX Group crew member Shannon Shea doubled for Baloo in certain shots in an animatronic bear suit.

Raju Patel, an Indian producer, figured the 100th anniversary of Kipling's "Jungle Book" stories publication should be commemorated with a film adaptation.

[9][10] Disney chairman Jeffrey Katzenberg saw the potential of adapting the animated classic and assigned Ronald Yonver and Mark Geldman to write the project.

Executives were stunned by Sommers' decisions for the project as some were expecting an exact recreation of the original animated film and others wanted a teen romance to be the main focus.

Sommers and his crew did try to cast actors in India, but due to Bollywood guidelines, their schedules and limits on the number of films they could work on restricted their involvement.

[4] In total, 52 animals including tigers, leopards, bears, wolves, elephants, bulls, monkeys, and horses appear in the film.

[13][6] Scenes featuring Lowell were shot in a Los Angeles studio against a blue screen due to the production not being able to bring him to India.

One of the Asian elephants in the production was named Shirley, and she lived at Wild Adventures Theme Park in Valdosta, Georgia.

While electronics dominated most of his work during the early 1990s, composer Basil Poledouris returned to his symphonic roots for his score to the film.

Most European versions of Milan's official CD release include "Two Different Worlds", a pop song performed by Kenny Loggins.

[16] The film was well received, with praise for its performances, action, and visuals, but it was also chided for not staying true to Kipling's work, even though his name remains in the title.

[17]He goes on to say that it is a good film, awarding it three stars out of four, but it does not fit its target audience; some "scenes are unsuitable for small children, and the 'PG' rating is laughable.

"[17] Brian Lowry of Variety said that "technically, Jungle Book is an encyclopedia of wonders, from the dazzling scenery (shot largely in Jodhpur, India), cinematography, costumes and sets, to the animals, who frequently out-emote their two-legged counterparts.