"The Jungle Book: Mowgli's Story": Disney brings the jungle of India to the Iverson Ranch in Chatsworth, Calif.

"The Jungle Book: Mowgli's Story" (Disney, 1998)

The halcyon days of the Iverson Movie Ranch were already decades in the past when Disney brought a large crew to the former location ranch to film the 1998 live-action sequel "The Jungle Book: Mowgli's Story."

Brandon Baker on the Iverson Ranch, behind the scenes on "Mowgli's Story"

The movie introduced audiences to Brandon Baker, who was 12 years old when he landed the role of Mowgli.

"Mowgli's Story": Brandon Baker as Mowgli, with "wolf" friend on the Lower Iverson

The youngster was practically the only human actor in the movie, working with special effects along with a variety of animal actors who were brought to the ranch for filming in the spring of 1997.

Mowgli, with his wolf pack, faces his nemesis, the tiger Shere Khan

A major shoot took place in a section of the Lower Iverson that longtime Iverson watchers know as the Hangover Rock area. Fake rocks and other props were installed by the Disney crew to dress the place up.

Mowgli's "wolf parents" Akela and Raksha at Hangover Rock

Plenty of artistic license is taken in "Mowgli's Story," especially when it comes to the animals. The many "wolves" in the movie are played by dogs, including the breeds Laika and Canaan Dog.

"Shere Khan" in "Mowgli's Story" — below Heroes Tower on the Lower Iverson

The tiger, on the other hand, is real — and it's a beautiful animal. In this shot the tiger stands on a fake rock, but the grass and rocks in the background are part of the natural setting.

A wider shot of the same area shows the fake rock on which the tiger was positioned in the previous shot.

The fake rock is highlighted here, along with the strip of green grass and the surrounding rocks that formed the background behind the tiger.

"The Nevadan" (Columbia, 1950)

In the Randolph Scott Western "The Nevadan," filmed almost a half-century before "Mowgli's Story," we get a look at the same shooting location that would later be used for the tiger shot.

You can't help noticing a difference in the foliage — the dry, sparse condition of the ground cover as it appears here was far more typical than the lush green grass seen during filming on "Mowgli's Story."

The Heroes Tower area in 2008, covered with paintings for the TV show "Heroes"

I took photos of the same spot on a visit to the Iverson Ranch in the summer of 2008, when the area was being filmed for the NBC TV series "Heroes."

Once again, the original background for the tiger shot is highlighted. You'll notice that here again, the grass is seen in its more typical dry, brown condition.

The paintings that covered the rocks in 2008 were part of an Africa storyline that ran during the third season of "Heroes." I've been using the name "Heroes Tower" to identify the formation ever since.

"Mowgli's Story": A "wolf" stands on top of Heroes Tower

The top of Heroes Tower also appears in "Mowgli's Story," with a wolf placed on top of the rock. The dark vertical "stripes" on the rock are made by running water that was added by the "Mowgli's Story" production team.

Knowing that Heroes Tower is just a big rock, it seems kind of silly to have water running from the top of it. But the Disney crew clearly wanted to make the terrain of the Iverson Ranch appear as lush as possible.

"Mowgli's Story": Shere Khan on his fake rock, with running water at left

The running water installed for "Mowgli's Story" can also be seen in this shot of Shere Khan. The rich green shade of the grass is evidence that the shoot took place in the spring following a relatively wet winter.

The tiger, still on his fake rock, has a conversation with a spotted hyena

This shot provides a good look at Shere Khan's fake rock, along with more of the green grass. If you've been to the Iverson Ranch you probably know it's unusual to see the place looking this green.

Green grass abounds at Iverson in "Mowgli's Story"

The "Mowgli's" shoot followed the La Nina winter of 1996-97. Rainfall wasn't nearly as heavy that year as it would be a year later, when El Nino hit Southern California, but it was wet enough to make the greens pop.

I just like this shot of Shere Khan in the movie — the big cat had some personality.

Khan could also look intimidating when he felt like it.

"Mowgli's Story": Bagheera, the black panther

Another big cat that took part in the shoot was this black panther, which spent the bulk of its Iverson Movie Ranch screen time lounging in a fake tree. My guess is the cat was sedated the whole time, as it barely moved.

Baloo the bear struts his stuff while the panther, still in her tree, appears unfazed

Panthers and black bears don't normally live in the same place, but in Disney's "Jungle Book" universe they do. The bear, too, filmed scenes live at the ranch — including this sequence with the panther and the fake tree.

Bagheera's fake tree in recent times — still located at the site, and largely intact

The fake tree remains at the site today, a little bit the worse for wear. The tree is located on private property and is not generally accessible, but I obtained special permission from the owner to photograph the area.

Howling at dusk in "Mowgli's Story"

In a movie prominently featuring a pack of wolves, there's bound to be some howling. This shot captures the ranch as sunset approaches, along with some of the foothills adjacent to the western San Fernando Valley.

As night descends, the howling just gets that much more intense.

The howling shots were part of the location shoot. This shot features a familiar hill at the right of the frame, located directly west of the Iverson Ranch.

Howling in the daytime on top of Church Rock, on the Lower Iverson

For this daylight howl, someone managed not only to get a dog actor all the way up on top of Church Rock, but also convinced the animal to howl. My guess is the wrangler had a harmonica.

"Cheyenne Takes Over" (Eagle-Lion, 1947) — Church Rock in background

Church Rock gets its name from the church that stood on the Iverson Western street from 1947-1949. As seen in this shot from the Lash LaRue B-Western "Cheyenne Takes Over," the rock stood just behind the church.

Church Rock marked the south end of the Western street, not only during the two years when the church was in place, but also before and after the brief lifespan of the church. The Western street stood from 1945-1957.

Church Rock towers above a tent city from an unknown production, circa early 1930s

This unusual shot captures Church Rock from an angle more closely approximating the angle seen in "Mowgli's Story." The shot is taken with the camera aimed toward the east.

"Circle of fire" scene near the end of "Mowgli's Story"

In a climactic sequence in "Mowgli's Story," Mowgli sets a ring of vines on fire, trapping the tiger Shere Khan inside a circle of flames.

The scene is filmed primarily on the Iverson Ranch, near the house where Joe Iverson had lived for about 60 years. The house and the ranch were owned by Robert Sherman at the time of the Mowgli shoot.

Behind the scenes of the "circle of fire" shoot on the Lower Iverson

An actual circle of fire was created at the location, as seen in this behind-the-scenes photo. The fire can be seen at the right, and above the tiger's head are the propane tanks used to fuel the fire.

"One World" (NBC, 1998-2001) — Brandon Baker, top left

Following up on his title role in "Mowgli's Story," Brandon Baker went on to a fruitful acting career. He's probably best known for his run as Cray Blake on the Teen NBC sitcom "One World" from 1998-2001.

Now 32 years old, Baker continues to dabble in acting, most recently playing the lead role in the 2014 indie film "The Formula."



I couldn't track down a DVD version of "Mowgli's Story," but the above link will take you to a digital version of the movie you can rent or buy on Amazon. This is the version I scanned to get screen shots for this post.

Disney legend Annette Funicello dies; looking back on a memorable appearance by the Mouseketeer and beach bunny at the Iverson Movie Ranch

Annette Funicello, 1942-2013

I was sorry to learn today that Annette Funicello had died. The actress known for being a Mouseketeer in the '50s and a beach bunny in a string of 1960s bikini movies — "Beach Blanket Bingo," "How to Stuff a Wild Bikini" and others — died this morning at 70 of complications from multiple sclerosis.

Annette Funicello in her Mouseketeer days

Being a Disney regular she didn't work much at the Iverson Movie Ranch, as Disney had its own Golden Oak Ranch in Placeritas Canyon, out in the Newhall area. But Funicello did make it to Iverson at least once, for an episode of the Disney miniseries "The Nine Lives of Elfego Baca."

Annette Funicello, right, as Chiquita Bernal in

"Elfego Baca, Attorney at Law" — shot on the Upper Iverson

The  episode, "Elfego Baca, Attorney at Law," aired Feb. 6, 1959, as part of the "Disneyland" TV series — also known as "Walt Disney Presents" or "Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color," among various other names over the span of its many decades on television. As it turns out, Funicello's Iverson shoot for "Elfego Baca" produced an important sighting: an adobe on the Upper Iverson, which I have never seen anywhere else.

The above shot offers one of the best looks at the front of the Elfego Baca Adobe. It was a full building, completed on all four sides, rather than a "front," and the set included a small outbuilding and a sheep corral. The actor seen in this shot (and also seen in the one above it) is Edward Colmans, who plays Funicello's father in the show — the character who's to blame for naming his two daughters Lolita and Chiquita.

Annette Funicello, right, with Robert Loggia and Gloria Castillo

in "Elfego Baca, Attorney at Law"

In the above shot and a few others in this post, the familiar hills to the west of Iverson can be seen, pinpointing the location as the Upper Iverson.

Here's an overview of the Elfego Baca Adobe set, which included a corral full of sheep. This view of the set, seen from the northeast, shows the back of the house.

Robert Loggia as Elfego Baca

In the above shot, Robert Loggia, playing the title role of real-life Western attorney and gunman Elfego Baca, arrives at the adobe complex, with some important marker rocks visible in the background. Most of those rocks remain in place today on the site of the former Upper Iverson, although the area is now occupied by a gated community of large estates. The rocks — sometimes referred to as the "Rocks Across the Way," in reference to their relatively remote location on the North Rim of the Upper Iverson — are helpful in further narrowing down the location of the adobe, which was just south of this cluster of rocks.

Lolita and Chiquita peek out from the adobe as actors Edward Colmans, left, Robert Loggia and James Drury, at the center of the shot, talk things out.

This shot looking west offers another view of those distinctive background hills above Chatsworth.

Here's a look at those same background hills in more recent times, along with some of the estates that now occupy the former Upper Iverson.

Annette Funicello and frequent co-star Frankie Avalon in the beach movie days

Known for her physical assets and her beach outfits as much as for her acting — OK, let's be honest: known MORE for her physical assets than for her acting — Funicello wore "bikinis" that these days even Granny would consider too modest.