Walt Disney Pictures’ upcoming film The Jungle Book is a live-action remake of the 1967 animated classic about a human boy raised in the jungles of India by a host of colorful animals, and the film has an impressive cast of actors providing the voices of the tigers, bears, and other creatures that inhabit the story — including Bill Murray as the fun-loving bear named Baloo.
During a recent appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live alongside his young co-star in The Jungle Book, Neel Sethi, Murray flexed his singing muscles for a rendition of Baloo’s memorable musical number from the 1967 film: “The Bare Necessities.” Not only did the pair sing their way through the iconic ditty, but they were accompanied by a few backup dancers wearing bear costumes — all in keeping with the song’s playful theme.
Directed by Favreau, The Jungle Book is inspired by Rudyard Kipling’s famous novel of the same name that was first published in 1893. The script for the film was penned by Justin Marks (Rewind, Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li).
While it’s unknown whether Murray’s Baloo and Mowgli, the human boy played by Sethi, will actually sing “The Bare Necessities” in the film, the duo certainly seemed well-versed (pun totally intended) in the song for their talk show appearance. The original version of the song was written by Terry Gilkyson and performed by actors Phil Harris as Baloo and Bruce Reitherman as Mowgli.
Along with Murray as Baloo and Sethi as Mowgli, the film features Scarlett Johansson as the hypnotizing python Kaa, Idris Elba as the terrifying tiger Shere Khan, Christopher Walken as the gigantic orangutan lord King Louie, Giancarlo Esposito as Mowgli’s adoptive wolf-father Akela, Lupita Nyong’o as Mowgli’s adoptive mother Raksha, and Ben Kingsley as the stern panther Bagheera.
The Jungle Book hits theaters April 15.
