Colonel Hathi

Colonel Hathi the Indian elephant is a supporting character from The Jungle Book. He was voiced by J. Pat O'Malley in the original film, and currently by Jim Cummings.

Personality
Colonel Hathi is shown to be the leader of a herd of Indian elephants, and he runs the herd 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 (voiced by Verna Felton) and a calf called Hathi, Jr. (voiced by Clint Howard), with both appearing to be part of the army.

Hathi is portrayed as a pompous, buffoonish, stereotypical British soldier. He is stubborn and short-tempered. 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. He believes himself to have an excellent memory, despite his frequent forgetfulness.

At some point in the past, Hathi was a tame elephant, as he recalls fighting in the Maharajah's 5th Pachyderm Brigade. At some point, he was released back into the wild where overtime, he has built up a contempt for mankind.

The Jungle Book
Hathi first appears when he and his troops marching wake up Mowgli and Bagheera. Mowgli marches with them for a while until Hathi conducts an inspection. He is furious when he discovers Mowgli is a mancub due to his bad attitude towards humans. Bagheera calms Hathi down by assuring him that he is bringing Mowgli to the Man Village.

Hathi reappears when his marching disturbs Shere Khan's hunting. Bagheera goes to Hathi and asks his help in looking for Mowgli. Hathi at first refuses, but changes his mind when Junior begs him to look for Mowgli. Hathi organizes the herd into a search party which then marches into the deep jungle, knocking over every tree in their path.

Hathi doesn't appear again, but it's very likely at some point Bagheera told them Mowgli was safely in the Man Village and they could stop looking.

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. He is shown to be friendly with the other cubs. 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.

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. Hathi nearly eats Mowgli believing him to be food but halted by Bagheera.

House of Mouse
Hathi was seen during the opening song of the show when Timon and Pumbaa run by Daisy's clerk desk.

Disney Parks
Surprisingly, Colonel Hathi actually did make appearances in the parks' past years. He was a meetable character and some parades often seen in areas around the lines of Adventureland. He sometimes made meet and greet appearances with Baloo and Mowgli. Hathi has since retired. Currently, Hathi's namesake is used for Colonel Hathi's Pizza Outpost in Disneyland Paris. Colonel Hathi also has a spell card known as "Colonel Hathi's Righteous Stomp" in the attraction Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom.

In Disney's Once Upon a Dream Parade Hathi is seen walking in front of the The Jungle Book/The Lion King float. In the former Animal Kingdom show Journey into the Jungle Book, Hathi and his troops appeared playing the exact role as the film.

Trivia

 * Hathi's animation was used as a reference for animator Sergio Pablos when he animated Tantor in Tarzan.