In Disney’s 1967 film The Jungle Book, which actor provides Mowgli’s speaking voice?

Bruce Reitherman provides Mowgli’s speaking voice in Disney’s 1967 film The Jungle Book.

Reitherman was the son of Wolfgang Reitherman, the film’s director and one of Disney’s leading animators. Bruce was a child actor when he recorded Mowgli’s dialogue, and his performance helped give the character a natural, youthful quality. The casting also created an unusual link between the film’s main child character and its director.

Mowgli is the human boy raised in the Indian jungle by wolves. In the 1967 film, he travels with Bagheera and Baloo while Shere Khan threatens him. The movie presents Mowgli’s struggle between human society and the jungle in a musical, comedic style.

Some viewers confuse the speaking performer with the actor connected to later versions of the story. Neel Sethi played Mowgli in Disney’s 2016 live-action film, while Bruce Reitherman belongs specifically to the 1967 animated production.