Baloo

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Image:Disney Baloo.jpg Baloo is the fictional "sleepy old gray bear" featured in In Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book and The Second Jungle Book. His name is derived from the Hindi word for "bear". Baloo teaches the cubs of the Seeonee wolf pack the Law of the Jungle. His most challenging pupil is the "man-cub" Mowgli; despite Bagheera's objections he sometimes finds it necessary to use corporal punishment against Mowgli, although when called upon to defend the man-cub against the Bandar-log he does not hesitate.

A character named Baloo, based on Kipling's creation, has also appeared in various Disney productions, starting with that company's feature-length version of The Jungle Book. In this version, Baloo is an easygoing and fun-loving character who shirks responsibility - seemingly far removed from the law teacher in Kipling's book. This version of the character has appeared in two animated series, TaleSpin (as a pilot), and Jungle Cubs (as a cub), as well as a feature-length sequel to the animated movie. In the first movie, Baloo's voice is done by Phil Harris. In the sequel, his voice was done by John Goodman. In Jungle Cubs, his voice was done by E.G. Daily. In TaleSpin his voice was done by Ed Gilbert.