King Louie

King Louie (full name Louie Lamount in TaleSpin) is a character from 1967 film The Jungle Book and its spin-off television shows TaleSpin, and Jungle Cubs, inspired by Rudyard Kipling's classic novel. Louie did not appear in the book, however, because orangutans are not native to India. The original story for Louie started out quite differently, but he was eventually given the voice and personality of famed jazz trumpeter and vocalist Louis Prima. Milt Kahl, Frank Thomas, and John Lounsbery animated the character. He sings the song "I Wanna Be Like You" after he kidnaps Mowgli, and asks the boy to show him the secret of "red fire" so he and his followers can be like man.

The Jungle Book
King Louie first appears in Disney's 1967 adaption of The Jungle Book story. Louie is the king of all primates in the Indian jungle and craves nothing more than to be a man. He somehow learns that a Man-Cub is in the jungle on his way to the Man Village and wishes to stay. Louie sends his monkey minions to capture the boy. They do so with ease allowing Louie to attempt to live his dream. Using the musical number I Wanna Be Like You, Louie asks Mowlgi to reveal the secret to man's "Red Flower". However, Mowgli has no clue how to make fire. Louie believes Mowlgi is being coy and continues to ask. Out of nowhere, a female orangutan (Baloo the Bear in a costume) appears and begins to scat and dance with Louie. Eventually, Baloo's outfit falls apart and a comical chase follows. During the chase, a supporter is destroyed, which leads to the kingdom collapsing. Louie is last seen standing in his ruined kingdom while Mowgli escaped with Baloo and Bagheera.

The Jungle Book 2
King Louie did not appear in The Jungle Book 2, but a puppet of him can been seen in Mowgli's puppet show at the beginning of the film and was mentioned by Mowgli and Baloo. His absence was due to Louis Prima's widow suing over the unauthorized use of her late husband's voice and public persona in past Jungle Book spin-off projects, as Jim Cummings's imitation of Prima featured in these was near perfect. This is rumored to have influenced the cancellations of the television spin-offs Tale Spin and Jungle Cubs. Although these rights have recently been dropped and Disney may once again use the character King Louie.

TaleSpin
On the T.V. series TaleSpin, Louie owns "Louie's", an island bar not far from Cape Suzette, where most pilots hang out and refuel their planes, especially Baloo. Baloo is addicted to the various ice cream concoctions Louie serves, and he always charges them against his vast and ever-growing tab. Louie affects slightly dated California-hip talk, words like "bodacious" being a rather self-conscious part of his vocabulary. He enjoys hanging out with Baloo, either partying or treasure hunting (usually partying). But when he and Baloo get together, there tends to be some amount of trouble brewing (something Rebecca Cunningham has had the misfortune of learning). He's almost a genius in the kitchen, he creates many bizarre dishes and drinks (usually called a "Krakatoa Special") that he then unleashes on a poor, unsuspecting crowd. His standard garb is a tropical shirt and straw hat.

Jungle Cubs
Louie appears as a cub, referred to as Prince Louie, who dreams of being King of the apes. Louie also stars in the show alongside Baloo, Bagheera, Shere Khan, Hathi and Kaa who were all a group of friends. A fast-talking prankster, he takes the troupe from one madcap adventure to the next. Louie is a genius inventor and natural-born leader. This verbose orangutan always has something brewing, and is one of the founding members of the band "5 Bananas." His scats deliver positive messages, proving that he is more than just a goof-off and has the potential to someday be king.

House of Mouse
King Louie makes several cameos in the animated series House of Mouse usually seen sitting alongside Mowgli. In the episode "King Larry Swings In" there is a King Louie look-alike orangutan who is referred to as King "Larry", and is said to be Louie's identical twin brother. It was to star King Louie, but had to be changed to Larry so as not to violate their agreement with Gia Prima.

Disney Parks
King Louie, along with Baloo, is a meetable character in the Disney Parks. He is mostly seen at Disney's Animal Kingdom.

Fantasmic!
In the Disneyland version of the show King Louie along with several monkey dance on the floating barges as Kaa snakes around the stage.

In the Disney world version, King Louie appears in the bubble sequence in the live nighttime spectacular Fantasmic!. Louie later appears along with Baloo riding the Steamboat Willie.

Mickey's Jingle Jungle Parade
Louie can be seen walking aside Baloo's float in the Christmas parade held at Disney's Animal Kingdom. In this parade, Louie can be seen with a tropical outfit.

Mickey's Soundsational Parade
Louie is seen in the recent parade Mickey's Soundsational Parade. Louie joins Terk from Tarzen and Simba from The Lion King in the jungle section of the parade.

One Man's Dream II: The Magic Lives On!
King Louie hosts the jungle segment of the show in Tokyo Disneyland alongside Terk. Here, King Louie and Terk are showcased having a wild party at Louie's upbeat club.

Trivia

 * King Louie is an original character from Disney, as orangutans are not native to India.
 * Another reason why he never appears in the book is because it is stated in the book that the Bandar-log have no king.