Kimba the White Lion Internet Resources

Created by Deb Walsh 4/9/2000
Last updated: 4/12/2000

In the early 1950s, legendary Japanese storyteller and animator Osamu Tezuka created the story of an orphaned young white lion who would grow to be the wise and brave king of the jungle. Sound familiar? More than 40 years before Disney debuted the adventures of Simba in The Lion King, Japanese comic - or manga - readers took Tezuka's Leo into their hearts. In the early 1960s, he brought his famous Jungle Taitei (Jungle Emperor Leo) to the small screen. Tezuka and his studio Mushi Productions worked closely with US network NBC to create the series, but NBC did not want to call the series Leo the Lion, the natural translation of the original Japanese title. Instead, NBC created the name Kimba, a variant on the Swahili word for lion, Simba. Kimba the White Lion was released in the US in 1966 and became beloved of many baby boomers. More than 30 years later, many people who grew up in the '60s still remember that feisty little lion cub with affection. But while it's a simple matter to find information, images and merchandise based on Disney's Simba, the young hero of The Lion King, finding anything about the brave white lion - let alone buying anything on him - can be a real challenge.

Kimba creator Osamu Tezuka is considered by many to be the father of modern "manga," the Japanese comic book style. Because of his early forays into animation, he is also considered to be the father of "anime" - Japanese animation, an extremely popular art form today. As a result, there are some Internet resources about Tezuka, and a growing number of sites dedicated to Kimba. In addition, Tezuka's most famous creation, Astro Boy, is enjoying a renaissance, bringing even more attention to Tezuka's works.

One of the greatest challenges in tracking down information or merchandise based on Kimba is identifying the show. It is known under a variety of names:

In addition, in recent years, there have been three other series related to Kimba released: These videos are available from Internet outlets like Amazon.com and CDNow. Other versions have been released in other countries, as well. All 52 episodes, as well as a sequel film, have been issued on laserdisk and video in Japan, but English dubs are not generally available. The original 1966 dubs are finally being released on video by Right Stuf International, welcome news to Kimba fans around the world.
For more links and tips on tracking down details on Tezuka's enduring white Lion, follow these links:
This page created by Deb Walsh