10 Villains Who Were Completely Screwed By Movie Adaptations
3. Kaa - The Jungle Book
The hypnotic snake of Disney's The Jungle Book was an iconic moment in one of the Mouse House's best classic animations: he was irresistibly designed, with a wonderful vocal performance by Disney stalwart and Winnie The Pooh actor Sterling Holloway.
And while he wasn't the chief antagonist of Wolfgang Reitherman's enchanting jungle story that was of course reserved for Shere Khan the serpent, with his Biblical undertones and creepy, pseudo-sexual creepiness and lispy sensuality was a memorable addition to the film's small gallery of rogues.
He's a nasty creature, comically ineffective, but still nasty, and his designs are to eat little Mowgli, which he almost succeeds in doing twice, before his dastardly plans are foiled on both occasions, despite singing the excellent Trust In Me.
The Truth
Disney's version of Kaa is completely different to Rudyard Kipling's original, who wasn't even remotely villainous. In the actualy Jungle Book book, Kaa is one of Mowgli's mentors and friends, even singing "The Outsong" of the jungle with Baloo and Bagheera for Mowgli at one point.
He is polite, with a quiet poise, and he commands the respect of all animals, and he is instrumental in saving Mowgli from the monkeys, thanks to his hypnotic powers (of dance, as opposed to trippy eyes,) which curiously do not affect Mowgli, because he's human.
So, the snake went from a heroic, well-respected friend of Mowgli to a comically inept, dangerous foe with a hunger for man flesh. Seems fair.