:
Osamu Tezuka,
Osamu Tezuka
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: 
: Anime Works
: Anime, Foreign, Animation, Cel
: 99 min.
: English, Japanese
: English
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Leo, a rare white lion, is not only a proud father and husband, but reigning king of the jungle. His life with Riya, his wife, and two children, Rune and Rukio, is just as it should be until a greedy mercenary and his flunkies visit the jungle in search of the mysterious but precious moonlight stones. Though the animals of the jungle are enraged by their presence, the humans take no notice unless their lives are personally threatened--and in that case, they let their weapons do the talking. To make matters worse, a highly contagious germ is devastating what little jungle the mercenaries haven't destroyed themselves. ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide
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| Scattered, but beautifully animated and emotionally charged.
by JTurner1
March 30, 2005 - 11:41 AM PST
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2 out of 2 members found this review helpful
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Don't expect a typical happy Disney-style fantasy with Jungle Emperor Leo: although lush and gorgeous and overflowing with cuddly animal characters, this is actually a more sophisticated story charged with dramatic twists and packed with one-two-three emotional punches. Osamu Tezuka crafted this tale more than fifty years ago, and its impact still seems to be in effect to this day. The story was adapted into two television series-the first of which chronicles the opening years of Leo the white lion and his destiny to become king (shades of The Lion King here, huh?), and the second involving Leo's adulthood. The second TV show was eventually remade into this feature film by Tezuka Productions, released eight years after Tezuka's death in 1989. The purpose of Tezuka Productions is to provide new incarnations of his work through animation, and this film (in addition to another, Metropolis) is no exception.
Jungle Emperor Leo has only one major thing going against it, and that is a somewhat split plotline. On one hand, you have Leo the white lion, trying to deal with a greedy treasure hunter destroying his jungle as well as a deadly virus threatening many of the animals' lives. On another, you have one of his two cubs, Lune, curious about the humans after discovering a music box in a wrecked airplane, swept away from his home and sold to a circus, discovering just how complex humans can be. Then we have a long, perilous journey to a snowy mountain where some supposedly powerful "Moonlight Stones" can save the world from an energy crisis. While these stories are well told and leave the viewer with something to think about, they never intertwine and occasionally come off as a bit forced. In fact, it sometimes feels as though this movie is trying to do too much in 99 minutes, leaving little time for character development. Minor characters such as a bullying little elephant and his intimidating father, a gazelle, a mynah bird, a baboon, and even a woolly mammoth have rather small screentime and never really emerge as fully defined personalities, making their presence a tad superfluous. This is only a minor quibble, however, as this movie nonetheless is very engrossing and appealing not just for children, but for grownups too.
The animation is lush and amazing to look at, and Isao Tomita's music is simply breathtaking. (And to think that I knew him as the man responsible for the trippy yet innovative "Tomita Planets"!) The movie isn't for very young children, however, for the sight of animals shot mercilessly (including a warthog and a rhino!) may be disturbing. But the real emotional gutwrenchers of the movie are seeing the animals suffer from the effects of the jungle plague and the climactic finale, which involves a very moving yet heartbreaking sacrifice which will leave youngsters in tears as much as it left me. Such sequences, however shocking they may be, only help make the strong messages this movie carries very clear, and they do that with a huge touch of pathos.
One thing I forgot to mention was the dub, recorded by NYAV Post. It is probably one of the most underrated, less talked about English tracks of Anime from 2003, which is unfortunate, because this adaptation deserves better recognition. Directed by Michael Sinterniklaas (whose biggest dream was always to dub a Tezuka production into English), this dub features not only a very commendable script adaptation (by Sinterniklaas himself, who also voices Tommy the gazelle in the dub) and vocal performances which breathe life and emotion to the characters. Dan Green voices the title character with resonance and regality, and Tara Jayne (best known as Filia from The Slayers Try) does an amazing job accentuating Lune's spunkiness. Veronica Taylor has a small part as Lune's wife, Queen Lyre, but she makes the use of it... there's one scene where she'll make you cry. The best voices belong to the greedy hunter Ham Egg, voiced, interestingly, by Etoh himself from Record of Lodoss War, Ed Paul, and especially Mike Pollock as the kindly Dr. Moustache. I never would have guessed that his performance was just a "quick and dirty" affair; he does an absolutely bang-up job delivering just the right amount of gentle comic relief, sternness, and later, emotional pathos. When I met Sinterniklaas at the ANIME NEXT 2004 convention, he told me that it meant so much to him that I really enjoyed this dub; I found it so hard to believe that he had a short period of time to record it. He told me that he has plans to get the dub revamped for a theatrical release. Whether it happens or not, I nonetheless rate this dub very, very highly as one of the best around. (If you're reading this, Mike, I hope you know that I haven't changed my thoughts on this dub since the first time I heard it. Keep up the good work!)
Unfortunately, the DVD release by Media Blasters isn't really anything special; the transfer is good and the audio is brilliant, but the only extra is the Japanese trailer. A gem like this deserves better. Nonetheless, this is a very beautiful, emotionally charged jungle adventure, and I recommend it heartily, despite its flaws.
Anime fans have accused Disney of using this work by Tezuka as a source of inspiration for The Lion King. I don't know whether this is true or not, but my appeal for Jungle Emperor Leo does not diminish my admiration for the Disney movie of the same title. Both are excellent jungle stories in their own right. |
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GreenCine Member Rating
(Average 7.33)
12 Votes
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