Kimba, the White Lion-Volume 2 (Jangaru Taitei)(Warner Vision) (1965) |
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General | Extras | ||
Category | Animation |
Notes-Fan Info - History of the Novel Gallery-Picture gallery |
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Rating | |||
Year Of Production | 1965 | ||
Running Time | 89:42 (Case: 88) | ||
RSDL / Flipper | No/No | Cast & Crew | |
Start Up | Menu | ||
Region Coding | 1,2,3,4,5,6 | Directed By | Eiichi Yamamoto |
Studio
Distributor |
Aust. Screen Ent. Warner Vision |
Starring | Gorô Naya |
Case | Amaray-Transparent-Secure Clip | ||
RPI | $19.95 | Music | Paul J. Zaza |
Video | Audio | ||
Pan & Scan/Full Frame | None | English Dolby Digital 2.0 (192Kb/s) | |
Widescreen Aspect Ratio | None | ||
16x9 Enhancement | No | ||
Video Format | 576i (PAL) | ||
Original Aspect Ratio | 1.33:1 | Miscellaneous | |
Jacket Pictures | No | ||
Subtitles | None | Smoking | No |
Annoying Product Placement | No | ||
Action In or After Credits | No |
NEWSFLASH! Kimba, the White Lion is a lefty, pinko, tree-hugging hippie. I mean, between getting all the animals to form a commune and deciding that predators shouldn't eat meat any more because they don't want to hurt their friends, this is straight out of the socialist guidebook. But, jokes aside...
It's funny, I remembered this series from my childhood with affection but it seemed somehow different this time around. After some scouting around I have worked out why: this version is a revoiced version with new music done in the 1990s by some Canadians, using the original animation but none of the original audio. When I worked this out I was very disappointed, especially considering that the proper series with the original audio is available in Region 1. Some of the stories and character names have been changed as well. The box has the audacity to read in large print 'The original white lion king!', which it clearly is not.
The series was originally made in the 1960s in Japan and was state of the art animation at the time. Obviously, the animation is not quite at the Finding Nemo level but considering the age this is to be expected. Even without the original audio this is not a bad show, and my young son and I enjoyed it, although he did refer to Kimba as 'dog' despite me pointing out he was a white lion.
This is the second disc in a series of three released locally of this revoiced version of Kimba. The episodes included here are:
So, not a bad series but if you really want the original series do not buy this disc.
The video quality is poor even taking into account the age of the material.
The feature is presented in a 1.33:1 aspect ratio which is the original aspect ratio.
The picture was not particularly sharp although some scenes were better than others. There was no evidence of low level noise. There was significant grain throughout.
The colour was reasonable but quite dull.
Artefacts are everywhere including many film artefacts like lines, specks, marks and hairs but the worst offender is pixelization which occurs on every camera pan or fast motion. Obviously, the MPEG compression has not been done very well.
There are no subtitles.
Sharpness | |
Shadow Detail | |
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Film-To-Video Artefacts | |
Film Artefacts | |
Overall |
The audio quality is good.
This DVD contains one audio option, an English Dolby Digital 2.0 mono soundtrack encoded at 192 Kb/s.
Dialogue was generally clear and easy to understand. Some of the new character voices, especially Polly Parrot, are annoying.
The new music by Paul J Zaza is not bad but the new theme song becomes annoying.
The surround speakers and subwoofer were not used.
Dialogue | |
Audio Sync | |
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts | |
Surround Channel Use | |
Subwoofer | |
Overall |
The menu is simple and includes a still from the series and the ability to choose specific episodes.
Two text pages in small type, which are a continuation of an article started on the first disc, and continued on the third. So, on its own, fairly useless.
8 pictures including original design studies, posters and other artwork.
NOTE: To view non-R4 releases, your equipment needs to be multi-zone compatible and usually also NTSC compatible.
The Region 4 version of this series misses out on;
The Region 1 version of this series misses out on;
Based upon the above, the Region 1 wins, however reviews indicate that the picture quality is poor on the US release, being very dark and murky, so maybe there is no real winner.
The extras are hardly worth mentioning.
Video | |
Audio | |
Extras | |
Plot | |
Overall |
Review Equipment | |
DVD | Pioneer DV667A DVD-V DVD-A SACD, using Component output |
Display | Sony FD Trinitron Wega KV-AR34M36 80cm. Calibrated with Digital Video Essentials (PAL). This display device is 16x9 capable. This display device has a maximum native resolution of 576i (PAL)/480i (NTSC). |
Audio Decoder | Built in to amplifier/receiver. Calibrated with Video Essentials. |
Amplification | Pioneer VSX-511 |
Speakers | Bose 201 Direct Reflecting (Front), Phillips SB680V (Surround), Phillips MX731 (Center), Yamaha YST SW90 (Sub) |