Does Bill Murray know not to pick the prickly pear by the paw, but when you pick a pear try to use the claw?

Let’s hope so, as the comic genius is to lend his deadpan tones to Baloo for the live action-CGI remake of Disney’s The Jungle Book.

The 63-year-old's decision to bring to life the big, bumbling bear professing a knowledge on the bare necessities of life, was welcomed by director Jon Favreau, who posted an Instagram of Baloo, saying: "Looks like we cast our Baloo. So we have that going for us. Which is nice. #junglebook"

Disney’s new take on the Rudyard Kipling classic story will also feature the voices of Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom’s Idris Elbra as wily tiger Shere Kahn, Ben Kingsley as wise panther Bagheera and Christopher Walken as the orang-utan King Louis.

Other actors lending their voices include Scarlett Johansson as snake Kaa and Luipta Nyong’o as wolf Raksha.

Ten-year-old newcomer Neel Sethi has been cast as Mowgli - the only human character to appear in the film.

Favreau, whose directorial credits include Swingers, Elf and the first two Iron Man films, is leading the project, which will be released next year.

The 1967 classic film has remained a long-standing favourite thanks to its comedic charms and memorable tunes, such as The Bare Necessities and I Wanna Be Like You.  

Looks like we cast our Baloo. So we have that going for us. Which is nice. #junglebook http://t.co/bYcbgMqKYI — Jon Favreau (@Jon_Favreau) August 1, 2014