forbidding Tombstone Cave, forcing Kimba to set off on a res­ cue mission. Said mission results in the discovery of the fabled city of the title (known here as “Goldopolis”), which is guarded by a grandfatherly turtle which proves itself capable of withdraw­ ing into its shell and whirling around the room in much the manner of kaiju mainstay Gam- era (minus actual rocket blasts)! The turtle and a massive earth­ quake are only some of the per­ ils Kimba braves in order to save Tom & Tab—but will they be grateful? Volume 5 opens with “The
Last Poacher,” in which a wounded ranger (Seymour Hart, not Roger) brings disturbing news regarding the nearby activi­ ties of a ring of poachers, led by a mysterious, witch-doctor- masked figure known only as Devilman, who sells the animals he abducts to a certain “Master Greedy.” Paulie Cracker (Kimba’s parrot friend) and Bucky allow themselves to be captured so as to infiltrate the operation (rather than exploit the talking antelope, Master Greedy instructs Devil- man to kill it so that it won’t be able to identify him to the au­ thorities!), while Kimba and Seymour attempt to put a stop to things by force. As with “The Wind in the Desert” (Volume 2), the very obvious death of an im­ portant character is defused with “just wounded” dialogue in this American version—but in this case, the scene is followed im­ mediately by said character’s fu­ neral: the spin given here is that we are witnessing a “rite of tran­ sition” for a new age in Africa— fortuitously, the episode itself lends credence to this explana­ tion with its inclusion of a new super-highway shown under con­ struction at an earlier point in the story. The final moments of this episode seem fairly ragged, in
contrast to the rest of the mate­ rial on these tapes (save for the title sequences). “The Trappers” provides
plenty of human characters for the American adaptors to rechris­ ten with funny names: “Mr. Lottamoney” funds an expedi­ tion to Kimba’s territory in search of exotic animals, while the challenge is taken up by “Viper Snakely” and his sidekick “Tubby.” When the two invaders stumble across the now-talking animals as they entertain a lonely Roger with a concert, they de­ cide to secure this potential goldmine by winning their trust and posing as friendly professors. Kimba, however, recognizes the duo as the very same hunters who deprived him of his par­ ents—the trouble is that almost no one, including Roger, is will­ ing to believe him. The two “pro­ fessors” invite the animals over to their camp for “soft drinks” (though it sure looks like wine is being served—in the meantime, the humans are watching a clip from Tezuka’s ASTRO BOY on a portable TV) and successfully drug all the takers. Kimba has the opportunity to set things right, but must resolve the issue of personal vengeance in his own mind in the meantime. “The Hunting Ground” is a
compound in which wealthy hunters pay for the privilege of stalking rare animals—and Kim­ ba and his friends may be forced into participation when both the cub and Roger Ranger fall for similar acts of duplicity. Tonga, the woman in charge of the com­ pound, is a dead ringer for Roger’s absent girlfriend Mary, while a trained lioness tricks Kimba into believing her to be is long-lost “Aunt Belladonna.” The action of this story takes a sur­ prising, mystical turn with the appearance—as if by magic—of a snowy mountain in the middle
of the jungle. Said mountain plays host to a massive wooly mammoth, which assures Kimba that while the time is not right
just yet, destiny will bring them together again one day... More mythology ends the
set in “The Legend of Hippo Valley.” When drought condi­ tions threaten the livelihood of Kimba’s realm, the young king must try to obtain some badly- needed water from a sacred well once maintained by the Kurdus. It looks like a peaceful ar­ rangement between Kimba and the sentinel hippos is to be achieved—but Claw and Cassius (with Tom & Tab in tow) have other ideas, and it suddenly seems that nothing short of di­ vine intervention will save the kingdom. With the encroachment of
human civilization and the promise of a religious destiny now firmly defined as series themes, and with all the major players now seemingly present and accounted for, one looks forward to further volumes with even higher expectations than before: KIMBA continues to work both as Saturday-morning fun and as rewarding, thoughtful viewing. To date, The Right Stuf has released 13 volumes of this series. —Shane M. Dallmann
NIGHTWATCH
Nattevagten 1994, Anchor Bay Entertainment, #SV11336, D/SS/LB/ST/+, $14.98, VHS WV11313, DD-5.1 and 2.0/MA/ST/LB/16:9/+, $29.98, DVD-1, 107m 8s
At the start of the academic
year, law student Martin Bork (Nikolaj Coster Waldau) takes a part time job to help offset the cost of his education. Present­ ing for night duty as a security guard in the Forensics wing of a
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