For every enthusiast of the genre, there exists that one special animation—be it a series or a single film—that started the lifelong affair one affectionately maintains for the art form. In 1972, at the impressionable age of eight, this reviewer was first introduced to the world of anime by the most unlikely of venues:a local weekly children's program.
Perhaps a few readers out there will recall it: Paul Shannon's ADVENTURE TIME, which was a Pittsburgh studio-produced show that featured a mix of live segments and cartoons, and was broadcast on Sunday afternoons at 1 p.m. Among the cartoons were such gems as the original, uncut MIGHTY MOUSE , but the one to catch the attention of this kid was a show called KIMBA THE WHITE Lion.
Many years passed before the author learned of the considerable history behind KIMBA. Tezuka Osamu, the legendary "grandfather" of modern Japanese comics whose works define the face of animation in Japan even to this day, began the series entitled JUNGLE TAITEI in the fall of 1950. The story was set in the African jungle and described the events surrounding the jungle emperor, Panja, and his mate Eliza. The series' main character, Leo, was born in captivity but escaped, returning to the jungle. The events of young Leo as he comes of age are the mainstay of the series.
When Leo first made his escape from captivity, he was adopted by a human boy, Kenichi, from whom Leo absorbed lessons of compassion and responsibility. When Leo ultimately returns to the deep jungle, he creates a civilization much like that of a human tribe, but composed of a variety of animals. In addition, contact with humans both good and evil is frequent as the deep jungle appears to be the source of a mysterious energy-bearing mineral, the moonstone.
Other TV series were made, due in part to Japanese dissatisfaction with the way NBC (which bankrolled a good portion of the original series) manipulated Tezuka's creation. These include JUNGLE TAITEI SUSUME LEO! and the 1989-90 remake of JUNGLE TAITEI, billed as the true Tezuka version. In 1994, Disney released their "original" film THE LION KING , which is regarded by many to be derived from JUNGLE TAITEI. This belief is reinforced by the fact that Disney issued a statement citing that none of their animation staff had ever heard of KIMBA or Tezuka Osamu. (The keen irony here is that Tezuka, having been a great fan of Walt Disney and Max Fleischer, drew his characters with large, oversized eyes as an homage to these animators, and Japan's animators rapidly followed suit as homage to him.)
Tezuka's studio had an answer: JUNGLE TAITEI, the theatrical film.
In the film, all of the basic elements of the original JUNGLE TAITEI are in place: the trademark Tezuka character designs, the intelligent animal kingdom, encounters with humans both good and evil, and even the mythical moonstone.
The story opens with the birth of Leo's son, Lune, and daughter, Lukio. In a scene that is undoubtedly meant as a jab at Disney, the whole affair of the presentation of the newborns is very like that of the newborn Simba in THE LION KING.
As the cubs grow into their childhood, events that will touch heavily upon their lives are taking place half a world away. The thoroughly villainous Ham Egg (who, as many probably recall, was the one who captured Leo's mother and slew his father) is hustled into a car and brought to the penthouse of billionaire eccentric Brass. Brass is interested in Ham Egg's moonstone, and "convinces" him to embark on a safari into the deep jungle to locate the source of the mineral. Ham Egg, outfitted with the latest gear and a renewed lust for hunting, flies off to Africa.
In Africa, Ham Egg's group is guided into the jungle by game warden Higeoyaji. He is a rotund man whose love of the jungle and its animals is in sharp contrast to Ham Egg's tactless, almost impatient-to-get-at-shooting-something demeanor. As the group plunges into the jungle, Higeoyaji quickly learns just what kind of man Ham Egg is and refuses to have anything more to do with him. As Higeoyaji makes his way back to his outpost, he encounters Lune, who has become trapped under a tree branch, and rescues him. Unfortunately for Lune, this encounter leads him to believe all humans are good and just.
Growing is not without its pitfalls, however. The young elephant Bizou seems to bear a great dislike for Lune, scoffing at how such a small animal could be a future jungle emperor. Bizou's father, Pagula, one of the elders and a stern hardliner when it comes to certain issues—such as humans—also often contests with Leo and how the emperor administers the jungle kingdom. Animal bullies, though, are the least of Lune's problems.
As Ham Egg's group, now under the villain's own command, plunges destructively through the jungle searching for clues, the broad swath of torn down jungle brings it's own kind of disaster: a torrential rainstorm which washes Lune out to sea. The storm brings another revelation—as lightning silhouettes the outlines of the mysterious Mount Moon, the mountaintop appears to glow with the same peculiar color of the moonstone. Ham Egg has his clue.
Lune, meanwhile, is picked up by a ship and sold to a circus. Here, he meets Marie, a trapeze artist who takes an immediate affection to the cub. Here, too, Lune has his first encounter with the dark side of human nature; he looks on, horrified, as a trainer repeatedly lashes at an elephant that is too weak to perform. It is here that Lune also meets another animal friend, Jack the rat. Even though Marie's time in the story is short, Lune learns much from her. She convinces him to return to the jungle.
These events set the stage for the greater part of the story. Without going into the story any further, one can say that this film handles scenes of every type of emotion exceptionally well. There are moments of poignant sadness balanced with scenes of almost dreamlike joy. Both humans and animals learning to trust—even when the memories of past encounters urge them away from it. This seems to reside at the core of the film.
Just a few days before seeing this film, the author watched a few of the original JUNGLE TAITEI TV episodes, which were being rerun on Japanese TV. The interesting thing to note about both the TV series and the film is that while both are considered to be made with children in mind, the messages they contain are taught at a very adult level. For example, one TV episode ended with a safari hunter who, when realizing that one of the animals he killed was about to give birth, broke down into sobs even as he assisted the dying mother's newborn into the world. Similar events occur in the film, such as when Pagula the elephant—whose distrust of humans is absolute—allows Higeoyaji to treat his son's deadly sickness. That such lessons can be contained in what is essentially children's programming—this is what raises the art form above the ordinary.
It will be interesting to see what adventures are in store for Lune and Lukio in the years to come.

JUNGLE TAITEI (JUNGLE EMPEROR LEO) © 1997 Tezuka Production, Matsutake, Jungle Emperor Leo Production Committee Original Story: Tezuka Osamu Director: Takeuchi Hirokazu Released: 1 Aug 1997 Running Time: 110 minutes (approx)