- “Nonsense, Winifred, old girl. An elephant never forgets.”
- ―Hathi to his mate
Colonel Hathi is a supporting character from The Jungle Book. He is a pompous Indian elephant that heads the Jungle Patrol, protectors of the jungle.
Background
At some point in the past, Hathi was a tame elephant, as he recalls fighting in the Maharajah's 5th Pachyderm Brigade. During his time with the brigade, Hathi was awarded the Victoria Cross, for bravery above and beyond the call of duty. At some point, he was released back into the wild where overtime, he built up a contempt for mankind.
Personality
Colonel Hathi is the leader of a herd of Indian elephants, which he runs similarly to a military squadron. Every day from dawn, Hathi has his unwilling herd march all over the jungle. However, his strict orders and constant marching sometimes cause members to consider a "transfer to another herd". Hathi also has a mate called Winifred and a calf called Hathi, Jr., with both appearing to be part of the army.
Hathi is portrayed as a pompous, buffoonish, stereotypical British soldier who is not too bright. Hathi can be petty at times, criticizing one elephant for having dust in his trunk and another for smiling too widely. He also refuses to help search for Mowgli as it would interfere with his marching. Hathi believes himself to have an excellent memory, despite his frequent forgetfulness. Later on he is destructive, crushing trees the second time he and the Jungle Patrol sing their song again. However, despite his strict orders he seems quite charismatic and gets command of the Jungle Patrol.
Appearances
The Jungle Book
Hathi first appears when he and his troops are marching at dawn, and Mowgli wakes up when he hears them marching. Mowgli meets Hathi, Jr., and asks if can join in. Hathi, Jr. agrees, but tells him not to talk in ranks, because it's against regulations. Mowgli marches with them while trying to copy everything Hathi, Jr. is doing. During inspection, Hathi is surprised when he discovers Mowgli is a man-cub, calling it treason and sabotage, due to his resentment towards humans. Bagheera tells Hathi that he is bringing Mowgli to the Man Village.
Hathi reappears when their cross-country marching is interrupted by Bagheera telling him that Mowgli ran away, and Shere Khan returned to their part of the jungle, and he was sure to pick up his trail. Hathi's refuses to help, and Winifred and Hathi, Jr. step out of ranks and Winifred asks Hathi how he would like it if their son was lost in the jungle, but Hathi says that's an entirely different matter. Winifred tells him that Mowgli is no different from their own son, and she threatens to take over command if he refuses to help find him. Hathi is shocked, and he says a female leading his herd is utterly preposterous. Hathi Jr. tells him that he and Mowgli are friends, and he'll get hurt if they find him, and he begs him to help. Hathi gives in, and organizes the herd into a search party which then marches into the deep jungle to find Mowgli.
Hathi doesn't appear again, but it's possible Bagheera told him Mowgli was safe in the Man Village and that he and the rest of the herd could stop searching for him
The Jungle Book 2
Hathi and his troop appear when Bagheera calls for "Plan B" to stop Baloo from going to the Man Village. They corner him on a log where he jumps into the water. The other elephants search for Baloo. During this, Hathi walks onto the log and it breaks under his weight. A few moments later, Baloo escapes. Later, Hathi and the other elephants are seen stampeding into a cave with Bagheera saying, "Oh, no, not again!" As the elephants crash, Hathi tells Bagheera that Man was in the jungle. After Bagheera finds out what he's looking for, Hathi doesn't appear for the rest of the movie.
Jungle Cubs
Hathi appeared as a young elephant in the spin-off series, Jungle Cubs, voiced by Rob Paulsen in the first season and Stephen Furst in the second. He is shown to be friendly with the other cubs Baloo, Bagheera, Kaa, Shere Khan, and Prince Louie. He usually attempts to keep order but is known to stammer when stressed. Early in the show, he meets his future mate, Winifred, and later develops a crush on her. He also has a habit of mixing up his words throughout the show.
During the second season, while still being friends with the rest of the cubs, Hathi begins to spend more time with Winifred and, additionally, becomes slightly taller and has lighter skin.
In Jungle Cubs: Born to Be Wild DVD, Hathi, as an adult, was in the field when Mowgli, Baloo, and Bagheera were traveling to the Man Village.
Other appearances
In Fantasia 2000, an elephant that is believed to be Colonel Hathi makes a cameo along with another elephant that is believed to be Winifred during the "Pomp and Circumstance" segment of the film.
In House of Mouse, Hathi was seen during the opening theme of the show when Timon and Pumbaa run by Daisy's clerk desk.
Video games
The Jungle Book (SEGA Genesis)
Hathi appears as a recurring enemy during Chapter III: The Dawn Patrol where he splashes with water from his trunk to damage the player. Although, Mowgli would dodge the water splash by jumping to avoid getting damaged.
The Jungle Book Groove Party
Hathi appears playing a similar role as he did in the film. Here, Junior wishes to have Mowgli join the Jungle Patrol ranks. To test, Hathi challenges Mowgli to a dance-off.
Kinect: Disneyland Adventures
In Kinect: Disneyland Adventures, Colonel Hathi is briefly mentioned by Mowgli but not seen.[1]
Disney Parks
Surprisingly, Colonel Hathi did make appearances in the parks in the past. He was a meetable character and was seen in some parades. Hathi has since retired and only comes out on special occasions.
Walt Disney World
In the former Animal Kingdom show Journey into the Jungle Book, Hathi and his troops appeared playing the exact role as the film.
Colonel Hathi also has a spell card known as "Colonel Hathi's Righteous Stomp" in the attraction Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom.
Disneyland Paris
Hathi's namesake is used for Colonel Hathi's Pizza Outpost at Disneyland Paris.
In Disney's Once Upon a Dream Parade, Hathi was seen walking in front of the The Jungle Book/The Lion King float.
Differences from the source material
- In the original novel by Rudyard Kipling, Hathi was actually an old elephant and the de facto ruler of the jungle. He hated humans as a result of him being severely injured by a spike trap he fell into when he was young, although he did tolerate Mowgli to an extent. When the villagers cast Mowgli out, believing him to be an evil sorcerer, and planned to execute Messua for caring for him, Mowgli convinced Hathi to help him destroy the village in order to save Messua. While in the Disney version, Hathi was depicted more comically but nevertheless shared his book counterpart's prejudice towards humans and was outraged by Mowgli's presence there.
- In the book, Hathi had three sons. In the Disney version, he had only one.
Gallery
Trivia
- Hathi's animation was used as a reference for animator Sergio Pablos when he animated Tantor in Tarzan.
- Hathi's name actually means "elephant" in Hindi.
- Although Hathi is supposed to be an Asian elephant, the book Disney Animals: The Essential Guide for some reason incorrectly claimed that Hathi was from Africa.
- Hathi's design was actually reused from that of Goliath I's from Goliath II.
- Hathi is the only character to break the fourth wall in the first Jungle Book film. He speaks directly to the audience when he mentions discipline, though it can be argued he may be speaking to his army (or to himself).
- Hathi is one of three Jungle Book characters to speak with an American accent as a child and an English accent as an adult. The other two being Bagheera and Shere Khan.
- Hathi appears scared when Winifred threatens him to take the lead of the herd herself: this is due to the fact that real life elephants have a matriarcal society, which makes Winifred's claim a legitimate one.
- In a few book adaptations of the first Jungle Book film, Mowgli appears to have met and occasionally marched with the elephants while living with the wolves and is apparently even on friendlier terms with Hathi.
See also
References
- ↑ Mowgli: "There's a parade? I gotta tell Colonel Hathi."
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