New, animated series of Jungle Book to hit British TV

London, April 19 (ANI): Late British author Rudyard Kipling's 'The Jungle Book' is set to appear in a new animated series on children's channel CBBC.

The BBC is set to screen a new version of the book, which will be the first animated series of the classic novel to come to Britain since the much-loved 1967 Disney feature film.

CBBC is to screen the 52-part series featuring the man-cub Mowgli, Baloo the bear, Bagheera the black panther and Shere Khan, the Royal Bengal tiger.

The BBC bought the programmes in a 1 million pounds deal with DQ Entertainment, an independent production company.

The series, which claims to be an "action adventures comedy suitable for 21st-century kids", cost 8 million pounds to make and has already been sold to countries including Germany, France, Australia and the Middle East.

The BBC has pledged to reduce the amount it spends on programmes from overseas by about 20 percent, but Steven Andrew, head of drama and acquisitions for CBBC, said the international co-production would update Kipling's tale for a new generation.

"The world of the jungle is looking glorious in the series and will reintroduce this brand to a generation who might not know this fabulous story," the Times quoted Andrew as saying.

But Sharad Keskar, chairman of the Kipling Society, a registered charity that guards the author's legacy said it was doubtful that the new series would be faithful to his book.

"We're used to this kind of thing. The poor man has often been maligned. The Disney one just wasn't Kipling, it was amusing and light," Keskar said.

"Although The Jungle Book is ostensibly written for children, it is quite a scholarly book.

"I don't think anyone is strongly against these adaptations, but there is general light-hearted disapproval. The text isn't really represented properly," he stated.

Tapaas Chakravarti, chief executive of DQ Entertainment, said: We are thrilled that Mowgli and all these much-loved characters will be returning to the UK screens in the near future."

"Considerable time and effort has been given to produce an animation series worthy of the rich heritage The Jungle Book represents," he added.

The original Disney version was one of the last films Walt Disney worked on before his death from lung cancer in 1966.

It was nominated for one Oscar, for best original song, for 'The Bare Necessities', but did not win. (ANI)