 | This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. (Learn how and when to remove these messages)
|
| King Louie | |
|---|---|
| The Jungle Book character | |
 King Louie singing "I Wan'na Be Like You". | |
| First appearance | The Jungle Book (1967) |
| Created by | Milt Kahl, Frank Thomas, John Lounsbery, and Walt Disney |
| Voiced by | Louis Prima (The Jungle Book) Jim Cummings (TaleSpin, Jungle Cubs (as an adult), The Jungle Book Groove Party, 1990-present) Jason Marsden (Jungle Cubs season 1) Cree Summer (Jungle Cubs season 2) Christopher Walken (2016 live-action film) |
| In-universe information | |
| Species | Bornean orangutan Gigantopithecus (2016 film) |
| Gender | Male |
King Louie is a fictional character introduced in Walt Disney's animated musical film The Jungle Book. He is an orangutan who leads other jungle primates and wants to become more human-like by gaining knowledge of fire from Mowgli. King Louie is an original character not featured in Rudyard Kipling's original works.
The filmmakers originally considered Louis Armstrong for the role, but fearing the controversy that may result from casting a black person as an ape, they instead chose Italian-American and fellow New Orleans native Louis Prima.[1] Prima considered playing King Louie as one of the highlights of his career, and felt he had become "immortal" thanks to Walt Disney and the entire studio.
Following a legal dispute with Prima's widow, Gia Maione, up until she died in 2013, King Louie was absent from new Disney productions until his appearance in the 2016 live-action The Jungle Book film remake (where he was voiced by Christopher Walken).
- ^ Weinert-Kendt, Rob (June 20, 2013). "Cutting Through a Cultural Thicket. 'The Jungle Book' Comes to the Stage". New York Times. Retrieved October 19, 2017.