Kimba the White Lion

Kimba the White Lion

Artwork created for the recent Kimba Ultra Edition DVD set.
ジャングル大帝
(Janguru Taitei (Jungle Emperor))
Genre Coming of age, adventure, drama
Manga
Jungle Emperor
Written by Osamu Tezuka
Published by Gakudosha
Kobunsha
Kodansha
Demographic Shōnen
Magazine Manga Shōnen
Original run November 1950April 1954
Volumes 3
TV anime
Directed by Eiichi Yamamoto
Studio Mushi Production
Network TV Tokyo
Original run October 6, 1965September 28, 1966
Episodes 52
Anime film
Jungle Emperor Leo: Feature Film
Directed by Eiichi Yamamoto
Studio Mushi Production
Tezuka Productions
Released July 31, 1966
Runtime 75 minutes
TV anime
The New Adventures of Kimba The White Lion
Directed by Takashi Ui
Studio Tezuka Productions
General Entertainment
Licensed by Pioneer Entertainment
Network TV Tokyo
Original run October 12, 1989October 11, 1990
Episodes 52
TV film anime
Jungle Taitei Leo
Directed by Gorō Taniguchi
Written by Osamu Suzuki
Studio Tezuka Productions
Network Fuji TV
Released September 5, 2009
Anime and Manga Portal

Jungle Emperor (ジャングル大帝 Jungle Taitei?), known in the United States as Kimba the White Lion, is an anime series from the 1960s. Created by Osamu Tezuka and based on his manga of the same title which began publication in 1950, it was the first color animated television series created in Japan. The manga was first published in serialized form in Manga Shōnen magazine. The anime was produced by Mushi Production and Tezuka Productions, and produced along with Mushi Productions for the later series.

This anime series has enjoyed popularity worldwide — including in the United States, Australia, Europe (where it has been translated into several languages such as: French, Italian, Catalan, Spanish, German, Dutch etc.) and the Middle East.

A new TV special premiered September 5, 2009 on Fuji TV. Produced in commemoration of Fuji TV's 50th anniversary, it was directed by Gorō Taniguchi in his first directorial venture since Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion R2, written by noted novelist and drama writer Osamu Suzuki, and featuring character designs from noted illustrator Yoshitaka Amano.

Contents

Plot

In Africa during the mid-20th century, as mankind encroaches, the white lion Panja gives the jungle's wild animals a safe haven. However, he angers nearby villagers by stealing their cattle, their food, to feed the jungle carnivores. (In the English dub Panja merely frees the cattle.)

A professional hunter, Viper Snakely (known as Ham Egg in the original Japanese), is called in to stop these raids. He avoids directly attacking Panja. Instead, he records the sounds of Panja and uses them to trap his mate, Eliza, who then becomes bait in a trap for Panja. Panja is killed for his hide, and the pregnant Eliza is put on a ship, destined for a zoo.

Kimba (Leo in the Japanese-language version) is born on the boat. Eliza teaches him his father's ideals. As a huge storm nears, she urges her cub out through the bars of her cage. The storm wrecks the boat, and he flounders in the ocean. The fish help him learn to swim. As he begins to despair, the stars in the sky form the face of his mother, who encourages him. Guided by butterflies, he makes it to land.

Leo/Kimba lands far from his ancestral home and is found and cared for by some people. He learns the advantages of human culture, and decides that when he returns to his wild home he will bring culture to the jungle and stand for peace like his father.

The show follows Leo/Kimba's life after he returns to the wild, still a young cub, and how he learns and grows in the next year. Leo/Kimba soon learns that only communication and mutual understanding between animals and humans will bring true peace.

Global syndication

English and Spanish versions were created in 1966. The show has also been translated into many other languages (see Worldwide translations, below).

Broadcast history

The animated series was first broadcast in Japan, in October, 1965.[1] Then it was broadcast, with English-dubbed voices, in the United States and other English-speaking markets, beginning in September, 1966 (it was first commissioned for U.S. development by NBC Enterprises [and "translated" by Fred Ladd], for syndicated broadcast).[2]

Broadcast countries

Japan (Original)

United States

Australia

Canada

Mexico

Sri Lanka

Saudi Arabia

Catalonia

Iran

Indonesia

Philippines

Bosnia and Herzegovina

An entirely new series with a different cast performing the voice-overs was produced in 1994. It carried exactly the same name.[3]

Characters

Note: The original Japanese names are given first, with the English names given in parentheses. If no English name was given to replace the character's original name, then no parentheses are given.

Voice casts

1966 English dub (United States)

1993 English dub (Canada)

Chronicle

Episodes

  1. Go, White Lion!
  2. Jungle Thief
  3. Dangerous Journey
  4. Great Caesar's Ghost
  5. Journey into Time
  6. Restaurant Trouble
  7. The Bad Baboon
  8. The Wind in the Desert
  9. Insect Invasion - The meat-eating animals try to go vegetarian. Meanwhile, locusts are coming to destroy the animals' new garden.
  10. Battle at the Dead River
  11. Scrambled Eggs - Speedy Cheetah gets all the birds' eggs mixed up and Kimba has to find their correct mothers.
  12. The Chameleon who Cried Wolf
  13. Gypsy's Purple Potion
  14. A Human Friend - Kimba meets Roger Ranger and learns human language. Note: in the Japanese dub Roger was searching for Kimba #ndicating that they had already met.
  15. The Wild Wildcat
  16. City of Gold
  17. The Last Poacher
  18. The Trappers
  19. The Hunting Ground
  20. The Legend of Hippo Valley
  21. Magic Serpent
  22. Volcano Island
  23. The Flying Tiger
  24. Running Wild
  25. The Destroyers from the Desert
  26. The Troublemaker
  27. The Gigantic Grasshopper
  28. The Mystery of the Deserted Village
  29. Jungle Justice
  30. Too Many Elephants
  31. Nightmare Narcissus - all of the animals are having nightmares, so Kimba investigates.
  32. Adventure in the City
  33. Such Sweet Sorrow
  34. Diamonds in the Gruff
  35. The Runaway
  36. A Revolting Development
  37. Silvertail the Renegade
  38. A Friend in Deed - the elephants are holding Roger captive. Kimba talks about how he met Roger.
  39. Two Hearts and Two Minds
  40. Soldier of Fortune
  41. The Day the Sun Went Out
  42. The Red Menace
  43. Jungle Fun
  44. The Pretenders
  45. The Monster of Petrified Valley
  46. Fair Game
  47. The Balloon that Blows Up
  48. The Monster of the Mountain
  49. The Sun Tree
  50. The Cobweb Caper
  51. The Return of Fancy Prancy - Speedy's sister returns from the city and has the animals act as her slaves.
  52. Catch 'em if You Can

The Lion King controversy

As a number of media journalists and fans watched Disney's animated feature film The Lion King, they began to notice that certain characters and situations in the story resembled those of Kimba. Although The Lion King has a different screenplay, there are a number of strong artistic similarities, including scenes that appear to be copied from those in Kimba. One similarity is the protagonists' names: Kimba and Simba. Although the pronunciations of two name are similar, the word simba means "lions" in Swahili. Another similarity is the situations; for example, in the pictures on the right, a comparison of Panja (Caesar) and Mufasa on Pride Rock, the two frames of two different cartoons are fairly similar. For the controversies, Disney has stated that the similarities are all coincidental. Also, the filmmakers have said the story of The Lion King was inspired by William Shakespeare's Hamlet.[5][6]

Matthew Broderick has said that when he was hired as the voice of Simba in The Lion King, he presumed the project was related to Kimba The White Lion.[7][8][9][10] "I thought he meant Kimba, who was a white lion in a cartoon when I was a little kid," said Broderick. "So I kept telling everybody I was going to play Kimba. I didn't really know anything about it, but I didn't really care."[11]

The Tezuka-Disney connection extends back decades before the movie. Tezuka met Walt Disney at the 1964 New York World's Fair, and Disney said he hoped to "make something just like" Tezuka's Astro Boy. Tezuka then asked for and got the license to adapt Disney's Bambi into a manga for the Japanese audience. More recently, Disney animators were hired to train Tezuka's crew in the use of color when production was started on the Jungle Emperor/Kimba the White Lion TV series. It was said that an animated film of Kimba the White Lion was planned but later scrapped.

The controversy has been referenced in a number of national newspapers in the United States, including a June 2007 Los Angeles Times article.[12] In a 1995 episode of The Simpsons, a parody of the Lion King's Mufasa says to Lisa Simpson, "You must avenge my death, Kimba...er, I mean Simba!"

Music

The series uses several themes. The 1966 Japanese version uses an opening theme and a closing theme. The opening, entirely instrumental, is called "Junguru Taitei (Jungle Emperor)." The end song is "Leo and Leah´s Song". For the Japanese remake, the opening song is "Sabanna wo Koete (Past the Savanna)" sung by Ichiro Mizuki, and the ending is "Yuubae ni Nare" sung by Tomoko Tokugai. The opening song for the sequel series is "Go Ahead Onward Leo!" written by Isao Tomita and sung by Mieko Hirota. The American theme song known as "Leo the Lion" was written by Mark Boccaccio and Susan Brunet of SONIC-Sound International Corporation in 1984.

In popular culture

See also

References

  1. ^ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0058817/
  2. ^ "Kimba the White Lion: History of the original series" http://www.kimbawlion.com/history.htm
  3. ^ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0286366/
  4. ^ TAF 2009: Osamu Tezuka’s “Kimba the White Lion” to be renewed in summer 2009
  5. ^ "A 'Kimba' Surprise for Disney : Movies: The Lion King is a hit, but reported similarities to the Japanese-created American cartoon of the '60s are raising some questions.". The Los Angeles Times. http://articles.latimes.com/1994-07-13/entertainment/ca-15117_1_lion-king. Retrieved 2011-01-12. 
  6. ^ Hong, Peter (2002-05-19). "The Lion King/Kimba controversy". Los Angeles Times. pp. L4. http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/access/120586440.html?dids=120586440:120586440&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=May+19%2C+2002&author=PETER+HONG&pub=Los+Angeles+Times&edition=&startpage=L.4&desc=Weekend+Escape%3B+Before+Silicon+Valley%2C+There+Was+San+Jose%3B+Seeking+out+history%2C+Asian+and+otherwise%2C+in+California%27s+oldest+city. Retrieved 2008-08-12. 
  7. ^ Peter Schweizer and Rochelle Schweizer, "Disney: The Mouse Betrayed", pp. 167-168.
  8. ^ Trish Ledoux and Doug Ranney, "The Complete Anime Guide: Japanese Animation Video Directory and Resource Guide", p. 16.
  9. ^ Buress, Charles. "Uproar Over 'The Lion King'", The San Francisco Chronicle, July 11, 1994, pp. A1, A13.
  10. ^ "Did Japanese Animator Inspire 'Lion King'?", The Washington Times, July 15, 1994, p. C15.
  11. ^ Arar, Yardena. (June 15, 1994) Austin American-Statesman "Disney studios roar into action for `Lion King'"
  12. ^ Ybarra, Michael J. (June 6, 2007) Los Angeles Times "Osamu Tezuka has been called Japan's Walt Disney. But his drawings aren't happy fantasies." Section: Calendar; Page 1

Further reading

External links