The Jungle Boy

TFK talks to Neel Sethi about his starring role in Disney’s The Jungle Book. 

DISNEY

Neel Sethi plays Mowgli in Disney's "The Jungle Book."

Neel Sethi, 12, stars in Disney’s live-action remake of The Jungle Book, hitting theaters April 15. He plays Mowgli, an adventurous boy who grows up in the jungle among a pack of wild wolves. When a frightening tiger named Shere Khan threatens Mowgli’s life, the “man-cub” leaves his wolf-family and journeys into the depths of the jungle.

Along the way, Mowgli meets many animals. Some of them give him trouble, while others help to steer him away from danger. Bill Murray, Lupita Nyong’o, and Scarlett Johansson are among the actors who provide the voices for the animal characters. “I can’t pick a favorite actor to work with,” Neel told TFK. “They’re all really cool.”

DISNEY

Mowgli and his wolf-mother, Raksha, share a moment together.

As the only human with a starring role in the movie, Neel filmed most of his scenes in front of a blue screen. This is a special backdrop that lets a separately filmed or animated background be added to the final image later on. He acted many of his scenes out with puppets and other props that were eventually replaced by animated animals and jungle landscapes.

Neel particularly enjoyed his scenes with Baloo the bear, who was voiced by Murray. In Neel’s favorite scene, Mowgli floats on top of Baloo’s stomach as they sail down a river and sing “The Bare Necessities,” a song from the original 1967 version of The Jungle Book. This scene was actually filmed inside of a water tank, Neel says. “There was a big lump of styrofoam in the water with brown carpet on top of it. When [the brown carpet] got wet, it looked like Baloo.”

To prepare for all of the running and swinging that Mowgli does in the film, Neel trained in parkour, an athletic activity that involves quick movements through obstacles. “I run and jump around on my own time anyways,” Neel says, “so it really wasn’t that hard to turn into Mowgli.”

Neel grew up in New York City, a setting that’s very different from the wild jungle that Mowgli calls home. Yet the two boys have a lot in common, Neel says. “Mowgli and I are very similar, so there was no real character change. We’re both very stubborn, adventurous, and energetic.”

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