"Who's the king of deepest darkest Africa? (Africa!)
Who's the one who brought the jungle fame?
Who believes in doing good and doing right?
Kimba the White Lion is his name!"

Based on a 1950 Japanese comic (or manga) called Jungle Emporer, Kimba the White Lion was the first animated color series to ever appear on Japanese television. In 1966, the show, developed by Astroboy creator, Osamu Tezuka, finally made its way to America in the anime series, Kimba, the White Lion. Popular the world over, the show has also created quite a bit of controversy in the world of animated films.

When Caesar Lion, the King of the African jungle, attempts to make the world safe for all wild animals, he angers many by liberating the cattle from some nearby villages. A professional hunter named Viper Snakely is called in to put a stop to Caesar. He does so by luring Caesar into a trap, using the lion’s wife, Snowene, as bait. Caesar is brutally murdered and the pregnant Snowene is shipped elsewhere, where she gives birth to Kimba. Raised by his mother with his father’s ideals firmly implanted, young Kimba escapes his captors and makes his way back to his homeland to follow in his father’s footsteps. He spends his days avoiding would-be predators while trying to forward his father’s utopian vision of a civilized jungle culture. Aiding him are his pals Bucky Deer, Dan’l Baboon and his girlfriend, Kitty.

A bit of controversy erupted when Disney released The Lion King in 1994. Fans of Kimba the White Lion noticed a few striking similarities with the Disney blockbuster, whose main character is a lion named Simba. While the plot of the film and the anime series are completely different, there are a few characters and scenes - which some fans insist are a little close for comfort. For its part, Disney has maintained that all of these similarities are entirely coincidental and no legal action has ever been brought forth.

A total of 56 episode of Kimba the White Lion were originally produced and in 1989, Tezuka Productions created a remake of the original series, titled The New Adventures of Kimba the White Lion. An 11-disc set of the original series was released in 2005.