Is Kimba a rip-off of Simba from “The Lion King”? understand the story

Exactly 29 years ago, one of the biggest hits ever released Disney: “the king lion”. After many animes based on old tales or stories of real people, the plot of Simba, Mufasa and company was the first from the studio to be created from an original idea.

However, although the production was a resounding success, at the time of its release, rumors began to appear in the press that the story would not be as original as the original. Mickey’s house humans.

As evidenced by the Omelete portal, in the 1990s many vehicles inside and outside the United States began to suggest that the plot about the lion Simba was in fact a plagiarism of a Japanese animated series about a lion called Kimba.

But who is Kimba?

Kimba, as he is known in the West, is the protagonist of the manga.Taiti Jungle(“Emperor of the Jungle”, in Portuguese), released in 1950 by Osamu Tezuka. In the plot, a young lion, who on the pages is named Leo, is the son of Banya and Eliza, but ends up losing his parents after his mother is captured by a zoo and his father is killed by poachers.

Before being taken prisoner, Eliza tells her son to return to Africa and take back the throne that once belonged to his father. The franchise was a success in Japan, and in 1966, it received its first anime by Tezuka Production, which was also very well received by the audience, and ended up being exported to many countries in the 1960s.

However, despite these similarities, it’s not the entire plot that resembles the one that Disney presented – but still, that was enough to keep accusations of plagiarism going.

accusations

Production of animations about Simba began in 1989, the same year that Kimba’s creator, Osamu Tezuka, He died. In addition, initially the project was not called “The Lion King”, but “The King of the Jungle”. At the time, the anime about the Japanese lion was about to receive a second series.

All of these facts have been used as strong arguments to accuse Disney of copying a story Tezuka Once Simba’s Story was released. At the time, to defend themselves, the Disney producers spoke out on the subject, claiming that they were unaware of Kimba’s plot.

According to Omelette, Rob MinkoffThe director of “The Lion King” said he only learned about the similarities between the two works when the team traveled to Japan to promote the film, and was asked about the alleged plagiarism.

The situation took on dimensions that no one expected, which directly affected the film’s box office at the studios Walt Disney In the Japanese lands, which was not one of the best places – after all, the Emperor of the Forest was considered practically the cultural heritage of the country.

With so many arguments, it would be easy for Tezuka Production, the company founded by Kimba’s creator and responsible for the character’s rights, to win a copyright lawsuit against Disney. However, the story ended with a completely different ending than some expected.

like Osamu A big fan of Disney characters, he was inspired by the studio’s animators to create his own characters, Takayuki MatsutaniThe head of the company stated at the time that if he were alive, the founder would be honored with his likenesses.

In an interview with The Baltimore Sun, Takayuki He said that “instead of suing, we were very happy to hear that the people at Disney saw action TezukaHe concluded by saying that the two stories are different.