October 5, 1996 – The Animated Series Jungle Cubs Premieres on ABC
“Why rush to face the future? Take every day in stride! Life’s one long, lazy river, boys. Relax, enjoy the ride.”
On October 5, 1996, the animated series Jungle Cubs premiered on ABC. Based on the 1967 animated feature film The Jungle Book, the series takes those characters back to their younger days, along with two original characters: the buzzards Cecil and Arthur. This is the second animated series to feature these characters, with the first being TaleSpin in 1990, although TaleSpin is not considered a true spin-off or parody of The Jungle Book. The series ran for two seasons, with 21 episodes in total. It was created by Mark S. Bernthal, and starred Jim Cummings as Kaa, E.G. Daily as Bagheera, Jason Marsden as Shere Khan and Louie, Rob Paulsen as Hathi, Pam Segall as Baloo, Michael McKean as Cecil, and David Lander as Arthur.
The first episode, “A Night in the Wasteland,” begins with a view of the jungle, and Shere Khan trying to capture a fish from the river, when it is taken by a large bird. Baloo laughs at Khan’s misfortune, as well as Louie. Khan is not happy to hear that they placed bets on his ability to capture fish, and threatens them before he walks off. Baloo and Louie aren’t scared by his threats, and head back to Louie’s palace to tell the tale of Khan’s bad luck. Bagheera warns them not to make fun of Khan, as one day he’ll grow up, and they’ll all be in trouble. Baloo reminds him to relax, as they’ll all grow up one day, but there’s no need to rush. Louie acknowledges that one day, Khan will rule the jungle, but his mishap showed that he’s still scared of some things. Khan shows up and intimidates Louie for telling everyone about the incident, and then chases him around the palace. The rest of the group breaks up the fight. While Khan intimidates the others into admitting he’s not afraid of anything, he overhears Louie talking about Khan’s greatest weakness: The Wasteland. The Wasteland is home to Mahra, the meanest baboon in the jungle, although Khan decides he wants to go there to prove he’s not afraid, and will roar from the top of Pinnacle Rock to prove he was there.
In the Wasteland, Mahra is watching her three sons tear apart her animal skin, and she berates them, ordering them to get a new blanket. Khan soon heads off to the Wasteland, thinking that Mahra has gone south. Baloo, Louie, and Kaa head out to see if Khan actually made it, and Bagheera, after seeing the night bats out before dark, realizes that Mahra’s back, and they’re all in terrible danger. He and Hathi rush off after the group to warn them. Meanwhile, Khan continues his journey, but he is frightened by some strange noises he hears. Louie decides to sneak up behind Khan and scare him, although he, Baloo, and Kaa are frightened themselves. They flee after hearing some strange noises, and end up in the graveyard, which is a shortcut to Pinnacle Rock. Louie gets an idea to use some of the bones to scare Khan, which works a little too well, and the three end up caught by Mahra’s sons. Khan leaves them behind, but they are soon saved by Hathi and Bagheera. Unfortunately, Mahra appears and sends them home, except for Baloo, as she wants his skin to create a new blanket. Khan appears from the top of Pinnacle Rock and saves the group by scaring Mahra. The next day, he questions them, but no one has a good answer, save for Bagheera. Khan doesn’t believe them, and reminds them that he saved them. The group admits that Khan is the bravest and strongest, although they find that his greatest weakness is his mother, who angrily calls for him.
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