Anime on TV

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. The later series was produced by Tezuka Productions.

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.

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 and 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 tropical 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).

In other languages
Arabic - كيمبا الأسد الأبيض - lit. Kimba the White Lion
Catalan - Kimba, el Lleó Blanc - lit. Kimba, the White Lion
Chinese - 森林大帝 - Sēnlín Dàdì - lit. Jungle Emperor
Dutch - Kimba, De Witte Leeuw - lit. Kimba, the White Lion
European Portuguese - Kimba, o Leão Branco - lit. Kimba, the White Lion
French - Le Roi Léo - lit. The King Leo
German - Kimba, der Weiße Löwe - lit. Kimba, the White Lion
Hebrew - קימבה האריה הלבן - lit. Kimba the Lion the White
Italian - Kimba, il Leone Bianco - lit. Kimba, the White Lion
Japanese - ジャングル大帝 - Janguru Taitei - lit. Jungle Emperor
Latin Spanish - Kimba, el León Blanco - lit. Kimba, the White Lion
Norwegian - Kimba, det Hvite Løve - lit. Kimba, the White Lion
Polish - Kimba Biały Lew - lit. Kimba, the White Lion
Portuguese - Kimba, o Leão Branco - lit. Kimba, the White Lion
Russian - Император джунглей - Imperator Dzhunglyeĭ - lit. Emperor of the Jungle
Serbian - Лео, бели лав/Leo, beli lav - lit. Leo, the White Lion
Spanish - El Emperador de la Selva - lit. The Emperor of the Jungle

Broadcast history

The animated series was first broadcast in Japan, in October, 1965. 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 adapted by Fred Ladd], for syndicated broadcast).

Broadcast countries

Japan (Original)
Fuji Television (1965)

United States
NBC (1966–67, re-runs until 1978; Billie Lou Watt dub)
syndication (1993; Yvonne Murray dub)
Kids & Teens TV
i-Life TV (Currently airs re-runs)
America One

Australia
ABC
31 Brisbane
Access 31

Canada
Knowledge

Mexico
Boomerang

Sri Lanka
ART TV

Saudi Arabia
Saudi Tv

Spain
TV3

Iran
channel 1

Indonesia
antv
Bali TV

Philippines
ABC5

Bosnia and Herzegovina
RTVUSK

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

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.
Panja (Caesar): A white Masai Lion, Leo's father and Emperor of the Jungle. He is killed by Ham Egg while trying to rescue his wife and queen. His skin is in his son Leo's lair and under his care. Leo uses his hide as an attraction for a festival in episode 24. He was Specklerex's rival. He appears in certain episodes in flashbacks.
Eliza (Snowene): Leo's mother, used as bait by Ham Egg and Kutter. While on the ship, she gives birth to Leo and urges him to escape due to the tropical storm; she is then drowned.
Leo (Kimba): The main protagonist of the story who, in the original manga, is followed from birth to death. He believes that there would be peace between animals and humans if each understood the other. In Jungle Emperor Leo, the lion leads Dr. Moustache and his assistant to Mt. Moon, and he commits suicide by falling on Dr. Moustache's kris so that Dr. Moustache will have food and shelter from the cold.
Leona (Riona): Leo's older sister. In the 1989 remake, she was Leo's aunt and something of a foster mother to Lyre.
Lyre (Kitty/Leah/Laia/Raija/Raiya/Raya/Lyra): A lioness who would later be Leo's mate and bear him a son and daughter. She is the niece of the old mazori Specklerex and lives with him after her parents are slain by hunters. She notices things that Leo sometimes overlooks. She is always there when Leo needs advice, a "better nature" to calm him down in anger, a shoulder to cry on, or a warrior at his side. In the movie, Lyre falls victim to the speckled fever and slowly dies.
Rune (Lune): Leo and Lyre's son. He resembles Leo when he was cub.
Rukkio (Lukkio): Leo and Lyre's daughter. She resembles Lyre when she was cub.
Tomy (Bucky/Tony/T.K.): A Grant's gazelle that always gets into mischief. He almost always seen wearing a straw hat, which Leo had used to appoint him Secretary of the Jungle Economy.
Coco (Pauly Parrot): A green parrot who spent some time living with humans and believes that he should be put in charge of mentoring Leo. He came to the jungle to rescue his girlfriend. He met Panja when that happened; Panja was going to kill him until a group of birds told Panja that Coco has rescued them from the humans. Panja then sees him as a hero and permits him to stay in the jungle.
Buzara/Mandy (Dan'l Baboon): A wise old mandrill, Leo's mentor. He was known as Buzara in the original manga. His name was changed to Mandy for the original anime series, but changed back to Buzara for the 1997 movie.
Bongo (Speedy Cheetah): One of Leo's cubhood friends (a leopard cub in the original Japanese version).
Pagoola (Kelly Phunt): A stubborn African bush elephant who never trusts humans or human culture.
Bubu (Claw/Jamar): The main antagonist, this one-eyed barbary lion with a jagged scar on his face wants Leo and his family dead so that he may take the role of Jungle Emperor for himself. Bubu tries to capture Lyre so that she would become his queen, or shows affection toward her. This romantic interest was not in the 1989 remake.
Sylvester (Cassius/Shaka/Totto): A black panther working with Bubu to dethrone Leo and the white lions. He often acts as Bubu's advisor. His name is the same as that of the famous Looney Tunes character.
Dick (Tom): A tall, lanky hyena, almost always seen with his confederate Bo, who works with Bubu and Sylvester in their fiendish plans. Invented for the show to help provide comic relief.
Bo (Tab): A short, squat hyena, almost always seen with Dick, who works with Bubu and Sylvester. He is invented for the show to help provide comic relief.
The Black Four: A group of four panther assassins with almost supernatural power to fade and manipulate their bodies in the darkness. In one episode, they are summoned by Sylvester to do away with Leo. Many of their scenes were cut from the American dub, including their trademark song.
Kenichi (Roger Ranger): Shunsaku Ban's nephew who takes Leo in after he is washed ashore. After a year living with Leo in human civilization he decides to go to the jungle with Leo and live with him and the other animals. He teaches the animals how to speak to humans. In the 2009 movie in Japan, he is one of the main heroes and helps Kimba/Leo return all the animals back to the "real" Jungle from the human created preserve called "Neo-Earth."
Mary: A young girl who was in love with Roger Ranger, but who then lost her memory for a while. During this time, she was the animal hunter Tonga. She regained her memory and left the jungle with Roger and Mr. Pompous. In the movie, Mary was the circus girl who lost her parents and takes good care of Rune, Leo's son.
Dr. Mustache (Mr. Pompous): Kenichi's uncle who helps take care of Leo on the Arabian peninsula. He then helps return Leo to the jungle and is one of the first to discover Mt. Moon. He often tries to get his nephew Kenichi to return to human civilization. Mr. Pompous has appeared in many of Tezuka's works as a detective under his real name of "Shunsaku Ban." In the movie, he saves Lukyo, Bizo, and other animals from the dreaded speckled fever (a.k.a. the great plague).
Dr. Plus: A head of the Science and Technology Agency who will to pay Ham Egg for leading them to the source of the Moon Stones. He has also gathered information on Ham Egg's activities and will blackmail him if necessary.
Dr. Minus: A member of the Science and Technology Agency who hopes to use the Moon Stone to provide a clean and potent energy source for the planet. His assistant is Mr. Lemonade.
Tick & Tuck: (Kenichi and Mary in the 1997 movie)
Mr. Lemonade: an associate of the Science and Technology Agency who seeks the Moon Stone. He, like Shunsaku Ban, is appalled at Ham Egg's actions.
Ham Egg (Viper Snakely/Jake): A poacher who will do anything for money. He causes most of the death in Leo's jungle. He wants the Moon Stone so he might make a fortune from it. Ham Egg has appeared as a villain in many of Tezuka's works.
Kutter (Tubby): A sidekick to Ham Egg who has reservations about what the two of them are doing. Kutter resembles Wimpy from Popeye.
Rommel: A recurring character in Tezuka's works.
Boss Rhino: Leader of the black rhinos.
Samson: A Cape buffalo who sometimes opposes Leo's ideas
Specklerex: An old marozi, Lyre's uncle, who lives in the mountains with a small pride of his own. He misjudges Leo, for the cub's father Panja was his rival. He went insane, causing havoc in a city. Because of his age, his mane is almost pale blonde.
Silvertail the Renegade: A timid masai lion who was rumored to be stealing village livestock. He is often afraid of hunters who would kill him because of this rumor. Silvertail is an old lion like Specklerex, though he is two years younger and lacks the leopard rosettes. He only appears in the last episode.
Puffyadder: A Maltese Python who once lived and ruled among humans. He is a warlock, able to cast a spell and control his victim. He flees due to the offensive stench from the timid reeking bird named Rancid. He and Rancid only appear in episode 17.
Gargoyle T. Warthog: A warthog who is the laughing stock of every other animal except Leo. He hates his primitive warts and wants to kill himself, but is prevented from doing so by Wildey. He attacks a gang of vicious mandrills in a small woodplain north of Leo's Jungle and wins the medal that belonged to a champion. His mother, Ms. Warthog, only appears in episode 18, but he appears as a background character in later episodes.
Gypsy: An African Scops Owl, an old alchemist who lives in Descelation Grotto. She had been Sylvester's friend, but she could do no more potions until she gave Leo a potion that changed his color from snow-white to lavender, knocking him into a coma. She afterwards saves his life and attends the festival with the skin of Panja as the main attraction. She only appears in episode 24.
Big O: A light brown mandrill who wants revenge against Dan'l. He has a special boomerang that can blind his victims with pepper for a short time. He only appears in episode 21.
Pop Wooly: An Iberian Ibex who leads a herd of his own. He is old but he can still run. He once falls victim to the speckled fever, but Leo, with help from Panja, saves his life. Pop Wooly and his herd only appear in episode 22.
Newton: An iguana/chameleon hybrid who wants to have friends. Because of his insanity, he always tells stories about problems, like Kitty's encounters with Claw. His alarms also save everyone's lives from a pack of African Wild Dogs. He only appears in episode 27.
Wily: a Serval who lost his mother to hunters. He is also accused of stealing and abuse. When he understands Leo's words 'United we stand. Divided we fall,' he joins with the lion to fight hunters. He appears in episode 28, and as a background character in a few other episodes.
Bella Dona: A lioness sent by Tonga to slay Leo. She tricks him into believing that she is his aunt, realizes what she did was wrong, and is forgiven. She only appeared in the episode The Hunting Ground.
The Shimera: The Shimera, also known as the Atlas Bear, is a legendary beast feared by humans and animals alike. There were once thousands, but one sow and her cub are the last. Some legends state that she steals cattle from farms. The mother shimera and her cub only appear in episode 43.
Fancy Prancy: A female cheetah with a southern-accent who had lived in the city until she is sent home by her owner and rejoins her brother, Dash. She worries that Dash will get slaughtered when an impala tells Kimba that the jungle was raided by over a million ants. She only appears in one episode, but her brother appears in other episodes.
Flyger: A flying Bengal tiger who was created by a crazy scientist. He was once a feared animal but turns good and returns to the jungles of India with his master. He only appeared in the episode Flying Tiger.
Longisquama: A flock of extinct,flying lizards who attack Leo while he was trying to save Pop Woolly. They only appeared in "The Speckled Fever" but flightless versions also appeared in "The City of Gold".
Giant Diapsid: A giant, carnivorous diapsid that fought the Shimera while it was trying to get her cub. He was later killed when Leo made him fall into a lake filled with flesh eating piranahs. Referred as "the lizard" in the series.
Black Bear: An unnamed, American Black Bear that Leo met while he was in the zoo as a cub in episode 44.
Archeopteryx: A bird-like, flying dinosaur that appeared in the 1989 remake episode, "Red Wings".
Orchid: A humble and timid honey badger that is forced to lie to Leo by Sylvester in episode 7.
Tuskar Hippo: A former member of Hippo Boss's herd. He made a deal with Bubu in destroying Leo, but he later got fired for beating up Lyre.
Floppo: A South African fur seal that Leo accompanies on his travels to see the world. Boss Rhino refers to him as a "toadstool" and he only appears in episode 50.
Mokele Mbembe: A giant,aquatic sauropod that tried to eat Leo and his friends while they were trying to help Floppo in episode 50.
Congolese Giant Spider: A giant, cryptid spider that tried to prey on the residents of Leo's kingdom. He was defeated when the animals throw wasps nests at him.
The Chemosit, the Grim Reaper and the Franken-Tree: The monsters that haunt Leo in his nightmares in episode 29.

Voice casts

1966 English dub (United States)
Billie Lou Watt - Kimba, Eliza, Dodie Deer, Gypsy
Gilbert Mack - Coco, Mr. Pompous, Viper Snakely, Gargoyle T. Warthog, Claw, Tab
Hal Studer - Roger Ranger
Ray Owens - Narrator, Dan'l Baboon, Caeser, Bucky, Cassius, Tom, Stork, and Specklerex
Sonia Owens - Kitty, Mary, Mammoth, Bella Donna

1993 English dub (Canada)
Yvonne Murray - Kimba
Steve Thamer - Narrator, additional voices
Jackie Pardy
Allen Sonic
Don Neilson
Steve Thamer
Robin Jordan
Peter Dufferin

Chronicle

Image of Kimba (Leo) from the anime, Kimba the White Lion
1950 — Original Jungle Emperor story started in Manga Shōnen (Comic Boy) magazine.
1965 — Anime series started as the first color TV anime series in Japan.
1966 — Theatrical version of Jungle Emperor (Dir. Eiichi Yamamoto) released in Japan. Jungle Emperor Symphonic Poem (by Isao Tomita) released on LP.Kimba The White Lion (translated version of Jungle Emperor TV series) airs in U.S. A sequel series, Jungle Taitei: Susume Leo! (Jungle Emperor: Onward, Leo!) airs in Japan. Features Leo (Kimba) as an adult.
1967 — Jungle Emperor theatrical feature awarded the St. Mark's Silver Lion Award at the 19th Venice International Film Festival.
1978 — Adult Leo character becomes mascot for the Seibu Lions (current Saitama Seibu Lions) baseball team.
1984 — Jungle Emperor: Onward Leo! finally comes to the US, as Leo the Lion on CBN Cable Network.
1989 — Dr. Osamu Tezuka dies at age 60 on February 9. A remake of Jungle Emperor is made and shown in Japan. This series bears little resemblance to the original manga or the first TV series, as the plot is extremely different and the characters have been completely reworked and changed.
1991 — A new animated film is created, using the Symphonic Poem for its audio.
1993 — The first Jungle Emperor/Kimba The White Lion series is dubbed into English again, featuring the voice of Yvonne Murray as Kimba and having a new opening.
1994 — In Japan, over 1100 manga and anime artists and fans sign a petition requesting that the Walt Disney company acknowledge that their movie The Lion King was based on characters and situations from Jungle Emperor.
1997 — New Jungle Taitei theatrical film (Jungle Emperor Leo; Dir. Hiroo Takeuchi) released in Japan, based on the second half of Dr. Tezuka's original manga story. It is not entirely faithful however.
1998 — Several heavily edited episodes of the 1989 remake of Kimba the White Lion are dubbed into English and released directly to video under the name: The New Adventures of Kimba the White Lion, by Pioneer Family Entertainment. It features the voice of Brad Swaile as Kimba.
2003 — The 1997 Jungle Emperor film is dubbed into English and released on DVD under the name "Jungle Emperor Leo", by Anime Works.
2005 — The original 1966 dub of Kimba the White Lion is released as an 11-disc DVD set by Madman Anime of Australia and Right Stuf International of the U.S. It was a best seller.
2009 — A TV premiere was on air in summer 2009. The movie bears almost no resemblance to the TV shows or the manga it was based on. The settings were based on 20XX Earth in an artificially created jungle. In this movie, Panja and his mate, Eliza, are still alive, Coco is an unspecified female bird, and Sylvester, the black panther, serves as a secondary antagonist until he changes his ways when a young boy mends his leg.

Episodes
Go, White Lion! (also translated as "The Birth of Kimba") - The king of the jungle, Caesar, is fooled into a trap by the humans and his mate, the queen, is captured and put on a ship. Two months later, Kimba is born and with the help of the animals on board, the ship is sunk and Kimba escapes to swim back to Africa.
Jungle Thief
Dangerous Journey
Great Caesar's Ghost (also translated as "Law of the Jungle") - Samson the black water buffalo brings Kimba a gift of mules to eat but Kimba refuses. Kimba's friends try to convince him to eat the mules by dressing up as the old King Caesar, but humans attack and after the fight everyone agrees that the mules are free to go.
Journey into Time
Restaurant Trouble
The Bad Baboon
The Wind in the Desert
Insect Invasion - The meat-eating animals try to go vegetarian. Meanwhile, locusts are coming to destroy the animals' new garden.
Battle at the Dead River
Scrambled Eggs - Speedy Cheetah gets all the birds' eggs mixed up and Kimba has to find their correct mothers.
The Chameleon who Cried Wolf
Gypsy's Purple Potion
A Human Friend - Kimba meets Roger Ranger and learns human language. Note: in the Japanese dub Roger was searching for Kimba indicating that they had already met.
The Wild Wildcat
City of Gold
The Last Poacher
The Trappers
The Hunting Ground
The Legend of Hippo Valley
Magic Serpent
Volcano Island
The Flying Tiger
Running Wild
The Destroyers from the Desert
The Troublemaker
The Gigantic Grasshopper
The Mystery of the Deserted Village
Jungle Justice
Too Many Elephants
Nightmare Narcissus - all of the animals are having nightmares, so Kimba investigates.
Adventure in the City
Such Sweet Sorrow
Diamonds in the Gruff
The Runaway
A Revolting Development
Silvertail the Renegade
A Friend in Deed - the elephants are holding Roger captive. Kimba talks about how he met Roger.
Two Hearts and Two Minds
Soldier of Fortune
The Day the Sun Went Out
The Red Menace
Jungle Fun
The Pretenders
The Monster of Petrified Valley
Fair Game
The Balloon that Blows Up
The Monster of the Mountain
The Sun Tree
The Cobweb Caper
The Return of Fancy Prancy - Speedy's sister returns from the city and has the animals act as her slaves.
Catch 'em if You Can

The Lion King controversy

Screenshot from an early presentation reel of The Lion King that shows a white lion cub and a butterfly.

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 the two names are similar, the word simba means "lion" 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. Panja stands on a large ledge that would become an iconic pose since it was seen at the beginning of every show in the series; in the movie, Mufasa stands atop pride rock, which becomes something of an icon for the film.

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.

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. "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."

Comparison of Kimba the White Lion andThe Lion King on Pride Rock. Left: Panja, right: Mufasa.

The Tezuka-Disney connection extends back decades before the movie. Tezuka met Walt Disney at the1964 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. In the episode "'Round Springfield" 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 Miami, Florida's SONIC-Sound International Corporation in 1984.

In popular culture
Jungle Emperor characters have cameos in the GBA game Astro Boy: Omega Factor, as well as a chapter from the Black Jack manga and Naoki Urasawa's Pluto.
The Saitama Seibu Lions baseball team based their mascot on Kimba for many years
In the Fox hit TV series Fringe, Kimba had a cameo in one of the episodes.