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Disney has claimed Lion King was based on Hamlet--but did they rip off a sixties animie Kimba "The White Lion" ?

Judge for yourself

They claimed to have never even  heard of Kimba, before----however:


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Lion King's main character:Simba

Kimba "The White Lion" main character: Kimba
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Both are orphaned as cubs and destined to become rulers
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Both lose their father in treacherous circumstances
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Lion King: Simba turns to eccentric but wise baboon Rafiki for guidance

Kimba "The White Lion" : Kimba turns to eccentric but wise baboon Dan'l Baboon for guidance.
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Lion King: One of Simba's friends is a hysterical yet comical bird(Zazu)

Kimba "The White Lion: One of Kimba's friends is a hysterical yet comical bird(Polly)
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Lion King: Simba has a cute girlfriend cub named Nala

Kimba "The White Lion": Kimba has a cute girlfriend cub named Kitty
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Lion King: Simba's main enemy is Scar-an evil lion with a scar over his left eye.

Kimba "The White Lion":Kimba's main enemy is Claw-an evil one-eyed lion with a scar over his blind left eye.
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Lion King: Scar has three hyena thugs(Shenzi,Banzai, Ed)

Kimba "The White Lion" : Claw has two hyena thugs (Tib and Tab)
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Lion King: Simba speaks to his father's spirit in the clouds.

Kimba "The White Lion": Kimba speaks to his father's spirit in the clouds.
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The image of Simba standing out on Pride Rock is almost exactly identical to an image of Kimba standing out on a jutting rock in Kimba "The White Lion"
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In 1993 someone tried to release Kimba to home Video but was stopped by a lawsuit from an undisclosed company--at the same time details of Disney's "newest" movie began to surface.

In an online chat, Roy Disney mentioned Kimba(yes, Kimba)the lead character in Disney's next animated film The Jungle King.

Kimba "The White Lion" originally had a different English title: The Jungle Emperor.



It's impossible for this many similarities to have happened without Disney having ripped Kimba "The White Lion" off-especially for a company that had "Never heard of Kimba" they ripped it off all right. (IMHO at least)

Disney didn't rip off Kimba about as much as Vanilla Ice didn't rip off David Bowie and Queen for his "Ice Ice Baby" riff. They're both full of sh!t and I guess they figure that by simply saying "no" over and over again, eventually everyone else will go along with them.

A buddy of mine is a big fan of older cartoons and he told me about this a while ago... effing Disney.

You paranoid people, why the two films are like comparing apples, and um, Asian Pears!   Chalk up another one for the big mouse. 
-Ed

Nitpick from your list.  Simba was not orphaned.  His mother survived.

Well, someone went and ripped off Disney for good measure anyway:

http://www.dingo-pictures.de/en/king-1.htm

this was the biggest ripoff since Webster!

disney denied it all the time, and still does, but Matthew Broderick auditioned for his role under the impression it was a remake of KIMBA.  eventually, disney had to pay the Tezuka estate an undisclosed sum of money for the "not-remake" of a superior property.

David

This is old news. I've known about this ever since "The Lion King" was first released to theaters. Having seen both "The Lion King" and "Kimba," "The Lion King" is superior in every way.

I don't think the question is about superiority Kev, I think Dye is just asking if people believe Disney's "we ain't never heard uh no 'Kimba' before" b.s. or if they know that Mickey's people are just shameless rip-off artists. When you compare the two, of course The Lion King's a better made movie. Throw enough money and talent at a project based on a 30+ year old property and 9 times out of 10 you'll get a superior product... unless you're talking about the Planet of the Apes remake...  :wink:

Another nit-pick:
Lion King: Simba has a cute girlfriend cub named Nala

Kimba "The White Lion": Kimba has a cute girlfriend cub named Kitty

You know they'd never portray a girlfriend as anything but cute. Age-appropriate, cute, and of the opposite sex, and with a name. . . It really can't go any other way. . 

(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/96/Kimbasimba.JPG)

Absolutely it's a ripoff, no doubt about it. What really ticked me off about the affair is the Disney has the audacity to say that they never heard of the original. That was completely laughable. Walt and Tezuka had a longstanding friendship. The style which became modern anime has roots in Disney. Disney is a very sad company.  They took a company which truly was a part of American cultural heritage and just drove it's credibility straight into the ground.

"Kimba!... err... I mean Simba!"

I remember reading somewhere that at an in-house Disney celebration party upon completion of the Lion King, someone wore a Kimba suit.  Apparently, many people working on it were well aware of the similarities, and considered it a tribute of sorts.

On a side note, the design of the lions in Kimba is AWFUL.  They look like mice, ala Jerry.

(http://members.aol.com/dragon456/kimba_gallery/images/kimba_c.gif)

I'm going to have to show these similarities to my family, Disney's been a part of our lives and we'll all find this a bit funny/weird.

Also, I'm not sure if it's true but according to Dan Brown, there is a single frame in The Lion King where a cloud of dust over Simba's head spells the word "sex".  Might not be true though.  Read The Da Vinci Code.

What hasn't Disney ripped off?

I understand the original point being made, and I don't disagree with it. My point was, and let's be frank, there is really, very little out there that is truly original, if you are going to do a rip off, do it right. "The Lion King" (IMHO) was done right. "Kimba," original or not, wasn't.

I would consider giving credit where credit is due an important part of "doing it right". .

I do, too. But to be fair are we only going to critize Disney, as a tempting target, as they may be, or are we going to critize everybody that rips off someone else to make a film?

The thing is with Disney and The Lion King the offense was so egregious. Usually when someone makes a remake or uses well trod material they let be known. A film based on the works of blah... blah... Of course any other company that rips off another in the same manner as Disney should be called out.

I agree. Disney is a stupid for do it, but one must keep in mind that they're not the ONLY ones who do it, unfortunatly.

I'm not sure if there's a motion picture seperate from the episodic series, but I picked up a dubbed tape of two episodes (was it ever optioned for tv is the USA?) and they're PAINFULL.

Seriously, take the accusation or leave it, but don't try to seek out the episodes.

They are (skull) unwatchable.

those were re-dubbed episodes you picked up.  seek out the Ultra Edition (http://www.buy.com/retail/product.asp?sku=40725045&listingid=15709691&dcaid=17902), and the dubbing is much better, done by actual actors.

Kimba aired in the US from 66 to at least 78, if not longer. 

David