Oh, boy, here we go again.Mr. Pangolin
Mr. Pangolin is a character who appears in the 2016 remake of The Jungle Book.
Background
Mr. Pangolin is an Indian pangolin (Manis crassicaudata) who encounters Mowgli attempting to retrieve honey for Baloo, alongside a giant squirrel and Fred the Pygmy Hog. He is shown to curiously watch Mowgli who attempts to retrieve honey, much to Mowgli feeling uncomfortable of bees stinging him which Mowgli successfully brings down the honey for Baloo after a few more attempts. He is also shown to be supportive in helping Mowgli obtain the honey for Baloo with help from other animals after Mowgli's first attempt.
Development
Originally, the pangolin was not featured in an early version of a script for The Jungle Book. During the production team's visit to a zoo, the zoo staff went over the script for authenticity purposes in including a pangolin in the film. When the zoo staff were reading over the script, they requested the production team to add a pangolin due to pangolins being an endangered species. In addition to pangolin plush toys sold in zoo stores as well as donations made to save the pangolin for an organization that protects these species, this was done in a plan to raise awareness for pangolins to help protect the species[2]. Like the animals featured in the film, the pangolin was created through CGI technology.
Appearances
The Jungle Book (2016)
During a plan to give honey to Baloo, Mr. Pangolin is seen approaching Mowgli attempting to drop the honey for Baloo to eat which Mr. Pangolin replies, "Oh, boy, here we go again," which Baloo replies to him to mind his own business, telling him that he is trying to concentrate, followed by a giant squirrel and a pygmy hog staring at Mowgli attempting to retrieve the honey which Mowgli successfully drops the honey onto Fred while the pangolin and the giant squirrel remove the pieces of honey that fell of Fred to find him which they were able to find Fred who was covered by the honey that fell on him.
During "The Bare Necessities" sequence, Mr. Pangolin is seen passing helping Mowgli obtain honey for Baloo while various other animals help him with materials needed to obtain the honey for him. Mr. Pangolin then raises the first mark for Mowgli to obtain the honey while being protected by leaves to avoid getting stung while obtaining honey for Baloo with help from the giant squirrel and Fred. Later at the end of the film, Mr. Pangolin is seen during the end of the film with many other surviving animals after Shere Khan fell to his death with the Red Flower being extinguished where he, Fred, and the giant squirrel stare at Mowgli riding on Hathi, Jr. where Mowgli is praised for being a hero to all the animals of the jungle.
Video game appearances
The Jungle Book: Mowgli's Run
Whenever the player ends their gameplay in colliding with an obstacle in the discontinued mobile game, archived footage from the film of Mr. Pangolin saying "Oh, boy, here we go again" was featured as one of the clips that play as a reaction of Mowgli getting into contact with an obstacle.
Gallery
Trivia
- The pangolin is one of the animals who was not featured in the original Jungle Book novel by Rudyard Kipling nor was he in the 1967 animated film, the 1994 live-action film, or the 1998 direct-to-video film.
- When Baloo tells Mr. Pangolin "You have never been a more endangered species than you are at this moment," this is a reference to pangolins being an endangered species.
References
- ↑ Kutsche, Michael (May 10, 2016). "The Jungle Book: Pangolin concept". ArtStation.
- ↑ Jungle Book Audio Commentary (Blu-ray, 2016)
