Disney
In the Disney adaptation of The Jungle Book, Akela only has a brief role at the beginning of the film, when the council of wolves meet after Shere Khan's return to the jungle to decide what to do about Mowgli's future. Acknowledging that the pack is not strong enough to stand up to Shere Khan on their own, they decide to send Mowgli away, with Bagheera volunteering to take Mowgli back to the man-village.
A younger Akela also appeared with his mate, Leia, in an episode of the prequel cartoon Jungle Cubs, looking at the animal characters in their youth. In this episode, Akela and Leia run away from their old wolf pack as the pack leader wants Leia for himself, forcing the two younger wolves to escape and retreat to the old temple that serves as the groups Cubhouse. Although Shere Khan initially objects to their presence, when the rest of the pack arrives, the young cubs agree to help Akela and Leia, driving the rest of the pack away. At the conclusion of the episode, Akela and Leia become the parents of a group of wolf cubs, with the other animals being appointed the cubs' godfathers. Despite their evident closeness to the other cubs in this episode, Akela and Leia never appeared again in the series.
Akela plays a bigger role in the live action Disney movie Jungle Book: Mowgli's Story. In this adaptation, he is also the father of Mowgli's adopted family and mate of Raksha. He was voiced by Clancy Brown.
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