Kimba the White Lion is probably no stranger to anyone who grew up in the ‘60s and ‘70s on a diet of morning television and kids' cartoon after-school time slots. It concerned the adventures of a group of largely inept or aggressive jungle animals hell bent on fighting or eating each other, presided over by the altruistic Kimba with a penchant for peace, love and all that stuff (though just what he ate is still a bit of a mystery).
Kimba, the son of Panja (also a white lion) is orphaned thanks to man. The African jungle was never the same. Panja was much respected by the jungle creatures and while they are keen to extend that same respect to Kimba, he has to earn it.
His closest friends are the supposedly wise old baboon, Daniel (Daniel Baboon - get it? Ah, never mind), Pauley Cracker, a rather bumbling parrot, and Bucky Dear, a dim-witted antelope that should have been Kimba’s dinner and not a close friend, but this is a parallel jungle universe where anything goes.
Kimba the White Lion was one of the first examples of anime when it was first shown in 1966/67. It is characterised by the large eyes that everyone seems to have (like they were off their faces on cheap drugs or something), and very blocked movements against looped backgrounds. If it seems that lip-synching is a little awry, that’s because the series was originally in Japanese, and was subsequently dubbed for western audiences.
This brings me to the major disappointment with these DVDs. The very first thing longtime fans will note is that the theme tune that is different, (and crap) and that the voices all seem different to how you remember them. This is because some or all episodes (certainly the ones here) were redubbed in the ‘90s for the USA home market and this is what these DVDs have been mastered from, and for collectors who have waited years, it is bitterly disappointing. The voices now seem to be bordering on underplayed, to just plain over the top. Give us the original audio, now!
This DVD contains four episodes (there were 52 in total) and they are some of the earliest. The themes of friendship, trust, kindness, happiness, sharing, tolerance and peace are so thick and sugary it's much like eating icing sugar. Humans are largely portrayed as violent, gun-toting rednecks (hmm - there could be something in that) and the animals largely as victims. This is not necessarily a bad thing for kids, but watching as an adult, it just makes you realise how ludicrous these concepts are in deepest Africa. And don’t even start me on the fact that Kimba can talk to humans and they can understand him.
As an adult it is easy to bag Kimba the White Lion, but as a kid I was so there. I remember rushing home to see the show everyday, and while watching him these days fails to stir up quite the same level of excitement, it is worth it for the nostalgia trip alone - audio aside.
This cartoon is almost as old as I am, but only one of us is showing their age (and no, it’s not me). All episodes are in full frame ratio and therefore not 16:9 enhanced. Animation is very hard to get right in DVD, especially if the source is as old as this one. Colours are generally acceptable and solid, but like all animation there are some fluctuations.
The main issues though are more obvious. The first is the interlacing that is present throughout. This is almost hidden by the fact that the animation is stop-start anyway, but it does cause the image to become a little fuzzy at times. There is also some mosquito noise that is most obvious in the credits (including the “We’ll be right back” that flashes up to mark advert breaks).
The other quibble is that there are quite frequent examples of dirt and other marks. The odd vertical line complements these. If you are buying this primarily for children to enjoy, then many of these problems are not important. If you are a serious fan or collector, you may be disappointed.
There is only one audio option and that is a Dolby Digital 2.0 track. As mentioned, the audio for this DVD was re-dubbed in the ‘90s so is of quite good quality. It is clear, has no audible hiss, crackles or pops, but I would have rather had that with the old audio than this new effort. It just lacks something. Naturally, synchronisation is almost impossible to assess, as the animation is stiff to say the least, and was not created with English in mind. The stereo track is mostly indistinguishable as such as there is limited opportunity to utilise the full sound stage. There is no signal from the surround or centre speakers, naturally. The sound range is fine. Low-level sounds are acceptable and high-level sounds are clear without being crystal clear.
There is little of note as far as extras go. There is a list of all episodes in the Fan Info, but it is just a list of all the episode titles. You will also find a small gallery of eight shots.
Kimba the White Lion still has a lot to offer kids of today, and is probably far more suitable for smaller children that half the rubbish that is foisted on them in the name of entertainment. It has been around for almost 40 years, so it must do something right. Time to check it out again maybe, and if not then buy it for the kids - the perfect cover story!
