History of 'The Jungle Book'

Disney's live action reboot of "The Jungle Book" opens in U.S. theaters this week, marking the latest iteration of the classic children's story that has flourished in various media formats for more than a century. As told in the new movie, "The Jungle Book" is the story of Mowgli, an Indian boy abandoned in the jungle and raised by wolves. He learns to survive with the help of friends Baloo the bear, Bagheera the panther and his foster mother Raksha the wolf. The film is a technical marvel, employing the latest in photorealistic digital rendering to create the animals and the surrounding jungle. Also, Bill Murray voices Baloo, which I think we can all agree is the best casting choice ever. Directed by Jon Favreau, the new movie is technically a remake of the classic 1967 Disney animated musical, but it also hearkens back to the original source material -- Rudyard Kipling's collection of short stories originally published in 1894.
 In fact, "The Jungle Book" has a particularly curious history.

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