Jungle Book Wiki
Advertisement
Ranjan is telling Baloo the bear Mowgli and Shanti are in danger
John Charles Dollman - Mowgli made leader of the Bandar Log

[[Category:Lion-Tailed Macaques, Hanuman Langurs, Pig-Tailed Macaques, Hoolock Gibbons, (all black-handed spider monkeys in 1967 film)s]]

The Bandar-Log, or Monkey People, are countless armies of monkeys that do not follow the Law of the Jungle, have no leader, and are considered outcasts of the Jungle. They also don't fear anything, except for Kaa the python.

In the Book[]

Mowgli had been playing with the Bandar Log and was told not to by Bagheera and Baloo. However, shortly afterwards, Mowgli is abducted by the Bandar Log. The Bandar Log then take their prisoner to their hideout, the Cold Lairs. After a long battle with Bagheera and Baloo, they are hypnotized and defeated by Kaa.

Other Appearances[]

  • In the animated franchise for the 1967 Disney adaptation of the book, the Bandar-Log are portrayed with moptop haircuts and prehensile tails, the latter being a non-existent feature in Old World monkeys, which indicates that they are Geoffroy's spider monkeys. Here, they are far less sinister; plus they have a new leader called King Louie. They return in the 2003 sequel, where they have turned the Cold Lairs into a nightclub with Baloo's help. They also appeared in the spinoff series TaleSpin, where they serve as employees of a nightclub called Louie's Place, run by Louie himself.
  • The Bandar Log appeared in the 1994 live-action adaptation, where they are still less sinister, as they rule a temple under King Louie, who summons Kaa to kill intruders trying to steal the temple's treasure.
  • They appeared in the 2016 live-action adaptation, where they are portrayed as various species of Indian primates (namely macaques, langurs, and gibbons) rather than all being monkeys. They are shown to be more sinister, similar to their leader King Louie, as they want to use the power of the "Red Flower" (or fire) so that King Louie will become as powerful as Man. To that point, they kidnap Mowgli in order for Louie to goad him into giving out the secret of the Red Flower. However, Mowgli escapes and tricks Louie into crumbling down the temple, and the Bandar Log is last seen trying to remove the rubble to save their leader.
  • A troop of monkeys resembling the Bandar-Log (but not addressed as that) appear in the anime adaptation Jungle Book Shōnen Mowgli. One is named Louis/Alba. They also have an alliance with Shere Khan, with Louis/Alba being an informant, but also fear him. After they destroyed Mowgli's hut, they were persuaded to cast off their alliance, which they do, and later act as an independent gang.
  • The Bandar-Log also appear in the Russian series Adventures of Mowgli. Like in the literature and aforementioned portrayals, they kidnap Mowgli and bring him to their city. They are later defeated by Kaa's hypnotic dancing.
  • The Bandar-Log are also seen in Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle, and like in the anime are in-leagued with Shere Khan: they kidnap Mowgli while he was on a hunting exercise on Tabaqui's command so Khan could kill him, but are thwarted by Bagheera, Baloo and Kaa.
  • The Bandar-Log appear in the 2010-CGI-Series. They are led by a female rhesus macaque named Masha, who is their queen, much like how in the 1960's, they are led by King Louie.

Trivia[]

  • Unlike the Bandar-log, real monkeys/langurs live in complex, ordered societies. There's a strict order of precedence within a troop with subordinates kept in their place. Some troops consist of females and young, with a single male while others are male bands.
  • The Bandar-log have had many species over the years; for example, Flunkey, one of the Bandar-log in the 1967 Disney adaption was either a capped langur or long-tailed macaque, in the 1994 live-action adaption rhesus macaques were trained for the job, and in the 2016 live-action adapation, they were lion-tailed and northern pig-tailed macaques, langurs and Indian Hoolock gibbons.

Voices of Bandar-Log[]

Various - The Jungle Book Thor Bishopric, Mark Hellman - Jungle Book Shonen Mowgli Various - The Jungle Book (CGI)

Gallery[]

Advertisement