Originally, the role of Baloo in
TaleSpin (1990) was supposed to go to
Phil Harris, who had voiced the character in the original 1967 film,
The Jungle Book (1967). However, after several recording sessions, it was found that Harris, who had turned 85, had aged to the point where he could no longer do the voice successfully. He also had to be transported back and forth from his home in Palm Springs to the recording studio for each session. Because of this, Harris had to be recast. In order to perfect his rendition of Baloo's voice, Gilbert listened to old archival recordings of Harris and practiced for many hours until he had it just right.
