“Although it is being scripted by Jimmy Hubert from UK, the animation is done by Indian artistes. This series is homegrown,” says Tapaas Chakravarti, executive producer, DQ entertainment, feels this is the biggest break for the Indian animation industry.
In the new form, The Jungle Book is being produced in high-end CGI (3D format), as compared to the 2D look of the earlier productions. “The 3D format will portray the rich backgrounds and textures that bring out the colours of the Indian jungles with their artistic ruins and vibrant hues,” says Rouhini Jaswal, line producer, DQ entertainment. According to Chakravarti, “Kids today are exposed to high-quality content in terms of visuals and story telling and only a 3D format of The Jungle Book would attract them to it.”

To go with the Indian-ness of the show, the look of animated locales has been borrowed from the jungles and villages of Madhya Pradesh. Mowgli too has a new avatar wherein he has turned in the yellow loin-cloth for a large green leaf. “Sher Khan too is made to resemble the Royal Bengal Tiger and Baloo is made to look like the Indian sloth bear,” he says. “Throughout the series newer characters will be introduced like the deer, water buffalo and the golden jackal,” says Jaswal, adding, “Only adding newer elements to an older story can make it more interesting.”
The show which is an adaptation of Rudyard Kipling’s Jungle Book (1&2) has the focus on adventure and comedy. “It will have 52 episodes (spanning 11 minutes each) and a 60-minute feature film in the first season,” says Chakravarti who hopes to bring it to the audiences around mid-2010.