The Jungle Book Cast Pose With Their Characters

03/21/2016 10:07 am EDT

New photos of the cast of Disney's The Jungle Book posing with giant-sized versions of their animal characters from the film have been released.

The cast includes Idris Elba, Scarlett Johansson, Lupita Nyong'o, Christopher Walken, Giancarlo Esposito, and Ben Kingsley. Here's what the stars had to say about their characters:

"Shere Khan reigns with fear," says Elba of his fearsome bengal tiger. "He terrorizes everyone he encounters because he comes from a place of fear."

Nyong'o says of her wolf, Raksha, who adopted the human boy Mowgli, "She is the protector, the eternal mother. The word Raksha actually means protection in Hindi. I felt really connected to that, wanting to protect a son that isn't originally hers but one she's taken for her own."

As for Akela, the alpha wolf of Mowgli and Raksha's pack, Esposito says, Akela is a fierce patriarch of the wolf pack/ He believes the strength of the pack lies in what each and every wolf offers. He's a great leader, a wise teacher."

"Kaa seduces and entraps Mowgli with her storytelling," Johansson says of her cunning snake. "She's the mirror into Mowgli's past. The way she moves is very alluring, almost coquettish."

"King Louie is huge–12 feet tall," says Walken of his orangutan. "But he's as charming as he is intimidating when he wants to be."

Kingsley paints the panther Bagheera as a wise guide for Mowgli. "Bagheera is Mowgli's adoptive parent," he says. "His role in Mowgli's life is to educate, to protect and to guide. My Bagheera was military–he's probably a colonel. He is instantly recognizable by the way he talks, how he acts and what his ethical code is."

See the images in the gallery below.

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