Snake in the Grass Trivia Quiz

Answer: Found in the book

In the stories, Kaa is almost as important a mentor to Mowgli as Baloo the Bear or Bagheera the panther. In the story "Red Dog", Kaa helps Mowgli to develop a strategy to neutralize a violent pack of dholes. By comparison, in the movie, Kaa attempts to capture and eat Mowgli more than once.

Answer: Found in the movie

In the film, Kaa's two main appearances are based around him attempting to hypnotize Mowgli so that Kaa will be able to eat him. In his first appearance, Kaa has no particular grudge against Mowgli but simply views him as prey. In his second appearance, kaa now has the added motivation of wishing revenge based on Mowgli embarrassing him in his first attempt. Kaa does not attempt to eat Mowgli in Kipling's stories.

Answer: Found in the movie

Used for comic effect, Kaa finds his tail in a knot after failing to capture and eat Mowgli. This also serves the purpose of creating a sense of humiliation that gives Kaa the motive of revenge in his second attempt to eat Mowgli. In the stories, Kaa is not show humiliated or embarrassed at any point.

Answer: Found in both

The song "Trust in Me" that Kaa sings while trying to hypnotize Mowgli a second time is a part of the soundtrack of the film "The Jungle Book". "S" sounds are prominent in the song, referencing the hissing sound often associated with snakes. Less known is that Kaa sings a song (with Baloo and Bagheera).

The song is presented as a poem ("The Outsong") at the end of the story "The Spring Running".

Answer: Found in both

Kaa's ability to hypnotize is a prominent characteristic in both the stories and the movie. In the film, Kaa's ability to stare with his eyes is an important part of his ability to hypnotize. In the stories, the movements of his bodies seem to provide more of his ability to hypnotize, in stories such as "Kaa's Hunting".

Answer: Found in both

In the film, Kaa attempts to hypnotize Mowgli when he is interrupted by Bagheera. Kaa then turns his focus on Bagheera and momentarily has Bagheera under his spell. In the story "Kaa's Hunting", the snake is hypnotizing a group of monkeys but Baloo and Bagheera (standing nearby) also find themselves falling under Kaa's spell. Fortunately, Mowgli is there to help his friends to break the trance.

Answer: Found in both

In both the stories and the movie, Kaa is an Indian rock python. This species (Python molurus) is a real species found in the warmer parts of India. It is non-venomous and can grow to nearly 10 feet in length. The Disney film gets this species right in that Kaa is showing constricting his potential prey rather than injecting it with venom.

Answer: Found in the book

In the story "Kaa's Hunting", Baloo (and Bagheera) fall under Kaa' s hypnotic spell when Kaa hypnotizes a group of nearby monkeys. To the best of my knowledge, Kaa and Baloo do not appear in the same scene in the Disney film. Who knows if Baloo would have succumbed to Kaa if they had met.

Answer: Found in the movie

Kaa was created by Rudyard Kipling. Winnie the Pooh was created by A. A. Milne. Neither author used the other's character. In the movie, however, Kaa the Snake was voiced by Sterling Holloway who also voiced Winnie the Pooh for Disney. (When I hear the "Kaa" voice, I can't help but imagine the snake asking for "a smackerel of honey".)

Answer: Found in the book

Kaa cooperates with Baloo and/or Bagheera on more than one occasion in the stories. They are even described as singing "The Outsong" together in "The Spring Running". Kaa attempts to hypnotize Bagheera in the film when Bagheera interferes with Kaa's attempt to capture Mowgli. Kaa does not encounter Baloo in the film.