News Archive (January 2006 back to May 2002)

January 2006:

It is very difficult to come up with definitive attributions of which actor played which character. I have added a cast listing on this page, from information provided by Fred Ladd, executive producer of the original American Kimba series.

Added a detailed listing of the cuts made to the first Kimba episode in its two English translations.

December 2005:

Unfortuately, Gilbert Mack passed away on December 5. I have added a brief tribute to Mr. Mack, who was the voice of Pauly Cracker and Mr. Pompus.

November 2005:

Added my review of the new Kimba Ultra DVD Box Set.

Added a new music file that EVERYBODY knows! It's Kimba to the rescue!

October 2005:

Added a brief review of the Australian Kimba DVD box set. It's enough to make Kimba fans on this side of the world drool with envy! (The American DVD box set came out the next month.)

Speaking of the American DVD set, here are some scans of the artwork that will be on individual boxes inside the big box.

June 2005:

Corrected a mistake in the Leo The Lion episode guide, and added pictures so that now every episode title is clickable to reveal at least one more picture.

April 2005:

Added a very interesting image to the top of my "Lion King?" page.

Added a 1995 interview with Billie Lou Watt.

Added some commentary about the Leo The Lion series, and added a dozen pictures (some of them quite large) to the Leo The Lion Episode Guide, available by clicking on the appropriate episode titles.

Added some details about the 1966 Kimba movie.

March 2005:

On my "Intelligent Life Is All Around Us" page, added a link to New Line Productions' web site about their movie, Passion in the Desert. Click on the movie poster.

Since Mendo_chan has unfortunately decided to close his Kimba site, and as a result offered his materials for others to use, I have preserved his recording of the Kimba theme from the Netherlands on my Music page.

Added a short history of Kimba on TV as a Kimba Timeline.

February 2005:

I updated the listings for home videos of the 1993 version of Kimba. Since this is being shown on TV now, more and more people will want to find videos of this version of Kimba, and the situation is very confusing, because there are currently no official home videos being made. There have been several in the past, often with episode titles changed, so here is a list of what you may find on ebay or elsewhere.

September 2004:

Update on the never ending search for English-subtitled original-version DVDs of Kimba. The news, unfortunately, is still not good.

Added a new section to the FAQ explaining why Tomy wears a hat in the Jungle Emperor Leo movie. It's about three-quarters of the way down the page. (English adaptation of the Jungle Emperor manga by Harvey Francis.)

June 2004:

The movie "Two Brothers" is really wonderful, and it's getting across the same message that was so important in Kimba: the need to peacefully co-exist with our animal kin. I've added a page with links to the movie's official web site. This page also has links and info about other works in the same spirit, including Peter Gabriel's beautiful song, "Animal Nation".

February 2004:

Added ordering info for Leo the Lion episodes on DVD.(updated June 20, 2006)

January 2004:

Added a couple of new pictures via links on the Kimba Episode Guide. The new pictures are for "The Trappers" and for "Jungle Fun".

October 2003:

Thanks to an advance copy of the new DVD from AnimeWorks, I've updated my review of the Jungle Emperor Leo movie. (I liked it. I really liked it.)

September 2003:

Added a Table of Contents frame to the article on the history of the original Kimba show, "How Kimba Came To Be", to make it easier to find each section of information.

August 2003:

Updated the FAQ page. Revised the Lion King Controversy page a bit, including a nice little tidbit from Roy Disney.

July 2003:

Added a link to allow you to order the Jungle Emperor Leo movie. (updated June 20, 2006)

June 2003:

Added a page with pictures and information about the Jungle Emperor Leo movie as released in the US on DVD.

May 2003:

Changed the theme for the lost version of the first Kimba episode to reflect my current restoration efforts.

April 2003:

Added some thoughts and questions to the end of my essay on the ongoing discussion over the relationship between Kimba and The Lion King.

February 2003:

Added a new version of the sound file of Kimba's mother appearing to him in the stars (also on the audio page). This has the Japanese original version in the left channel and the lost English version in the right.

Updated the info on the lost version of the first Kimba episode. Also added a video clip from it to the video page! We have completed a restoration of this alternate version, but we're still looking for even better source materials. We still need your help!

Thanks to Hector Montalvo for permission to use one of his drawings on the audio page. It is perfect to go with the Kimba theme as performed by the "Wyncote Orchestra".

January 2003:

Added a full Site Map as another way to get around this site.

Minor revisions to the Japanese titles in all three episode guides.

November 2002:

Added pictures for the episode guide to the 1989 version of Kimba.

Added two more pictures to the "extras" for Episode 7 in the Episode Guide. Yes, one of them has been here before, but now it has a permanent home.

Added yet another picture, a very unusual one.

Added another picture, this one showing the idyllic pre-history of the Brodo birds, from the episode The Monster of Petrified Valley.

Added the Owls' Song to the Audio page.

The video page now has a second song never heard outside of Japan. This one is sung by Kimba himself.

October 2002:

Added a supporting cast picture to the list of characters.

Two more new pictures, one linked from the Pictures page and the other on Kitty's Page, but you can also get to them here: Kitty, Kimba, Rukio and Rune and Kimba and Kitty.

September 2002:

A video clip of a song never played outside of Japan is now on my video page. It's from the episode "The Pretenders". Since it was never in any translated version of Kimba, the song is in Japanese, but it's a good tune and the images are amazing.

August 2002:

Added a complete plot description, with pictures, for the "Promise" episode from the 1989 Kimba series. When they made their English-language home videos, Pioneer decided you shouldn't see this episode. Here's your chance to find out what it was all about.

Added a whole bunch of pictures all over the site. There are now over 600 Kimba pictures on this site, and 160 of them were added in the past 2 weeks.

Improved the story synopses in the episode guide for the original series. All the pictures are there now.

Added an episode guide for the 1989-90 series.

July 2002:

A second manga adaptation of a TV episode, "The Day the Sun Went Out" is here now.

And a third! "Silvertail the Renegade".

June 2002:

A manga adaptation of the episode "Gypsy's Purple Potion" is here now!

A page of unusual pictures added as a link from the main Pictures Page.

Five new MP3 music files added to the Music Files page.

The Kimba Symphonic Poem is no longer available on VHS, and its link has been removed. Info about availability on DVD added to the Symphonic Poem page.

May 2002:

The Episode Guide for the Leo The Lion series now has all its pictures.

A new page: Christian the Lion. The love between a real-life lion and the people who raised him is a beautiful thing.