Film Paleontology

Disney’s ‘The Jungle Book’ resurrects giant extinct ape

In remake, King Louie character is a Gigantopithecus, not an orangutan

Gigantopithecus in The Jungle Book

GREAT APE  In Disney's new The Jungle Book, King Louie is a Gigantopithecus, an ancient relative of orangutans.

© 2015 Disney Enterprises, Inc. All Rights Reserved

By Erin Wayman

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In the 1967 animated Disney film The Jungle Book, the feral boy Mowgli encounters a jazz-singing orangutan named King Louie, who implores Mowgli to teach him the secret of fire. King Louie presented a challenge for the producers of Disney’s live-action, CGI-enhanced remake of the film, opening April 15.