Comics Review: CHIP AND DALE'S RESCUE RANGERS #8 (July 2011, kaboom!)

Ian Brill wraps up his work on this sadly disappointing title with what, from all appearances, seems to be a heartfelt Valentine to Rescue Rangers fandom. If there were ever any doubt that "Stranger Danger" was very heavily influenced by the fan-culture, then part four should put the matter to rest. We get the return of yet another one-shot fan-fave character, several bits that appear to be directly lifted from existing fan-works, and a "Ranger-obsessed" antagonist who appears to have stepped straight out of a hitherto unseen "Gadget-gouging Angstfic." The overall plot still makes little sense in places, but I give Brill extra points for effort. I wonder: Did Brill write this story without knowing that RESCUE RANGERS was going to be cancelled, or did he find out "midstream" and tailor his ending to salute the fans? Either way, it made for a pretty good way to go out.

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Bringing Tammy back as a nurse who aids the injured Chip strongly suggests that Brill may have had a peek at "Of Mice and Mayhem." One difference: Tammy claims that "Chipper" and the other Rangers "inspired" her to become a nurse, but, judging by Dale's reaction, the Rangers apparently didn't know about Tammy's career choice until this very moment. That seems a little strange to me, as Tammy's expertise could clearly come in handy on the Rangers' cases. Wouldn't she want them to know how "one day" on a case with them changed her life?

We already knew that Glitch was obsessed with Gadget, but the dark-haired mouse's holding of a grudge since nursery school strikes me as a bit... excessive. Yes, even when compared with the mad-on sustained by Gadget's infamous sister Widget. Even before Widget began to plot her "crunchy vengeance" against her "perfect" sis in John Nowak's stories, she had been battered and bruised by harsh treatment; her desire to avenge herself on Gadget was as much a cri de coeur against the world's unfairness as it was an expression of hatred for Gadget. Glitch doesn't appear to have that excuse, as she was successful enough as a "Gadget wannabe" to build some inventions and hire a Ranger gang. What makes me suspect that Glitch may be Brill's version of Widget is an odd comment that the latter makes after Gadget has fallen into her paws: "For once in your life, things are not going to go your way." Um, I don't see "losing" Geegaw Hackwrench and subsequently hiding in an old plane protected by booby traps as comprising a perfectly "wonderful life." I can, however, imagine Widget saying such a thing to Gadget "off screen." I am actually sorry that we almost certainly won't be seeing Glitch again -- in "official form," that is.

Glitch subsequently pivots from a simulacrum of Widget into a sort of gloss on Leviathan, "The Dark Savior," by breaking down and pleading with Gadget to like her. Here is where I started to think that Gadget would make a later effort to rehabilitate Glitch, and such an offer indeed comes to pass... but not before Glitch switches gears again and lets her mates put Gadget, Dale, Monterey Jack, and Zipper in a cage with an owl (a possible reference to the one lonely action scene in "Death of a Comedian"?). Chip drags himself out of bed long enough to save the day with Foxglove's muscular help (since when has Foxy's physical strength become her main asset? I thought she was the magick-in-training?), Glitch "spurns with her heels" Gadget's offer to let Glitch be her assistant, and the other Danger Rangers are... either neutralized or eaten by the newly-tamed (thanks to Zipper!?) owl, I honestly don't know which. This was a pretty decent action sequence, but it was simply too short, at least given the buildup... and the refusal to explain what happened to the other DRs strikes me as being "too squeamish by half."

A concluding "coffee scene" back at the hospital, full of heavily portentous dialogue (from Dale! It's actually the most intelligent he's ever sounded, outside of a couple of fanfics) on the meaning of being a Rescue Ranger, has the feel of (1) a veiled apology for the title's cancellation and (2) a doggedly insistent that Brill really, truly did "get" these characters. That wasn't really the problem, Ian; the problem was pulling out-of-left-field plot stunts like having the body of the mysterious Reginald Deront actually be composed of... bugs? Or completely forgetting about the Ninja Porcupines? If Brill had paid more attention to basic plot construction and less to dialogue highlighting his "understanding" of the Rangers, then this title would have been a far easier read. As it was, I often got the impression that Brill was composing his RANGERS plots with half of his brain otherwise engaged in plotting for his first love, DARKWING DUCK. Using a RANGERS-only writer and sticking with the somewhat simpler plotting style of the TV series (with fan-friendly, extra-large helpings of Angst and character interactions, of course) may not have been enough on its own to cure the persistent problem of low sales, but it certainly couldn't have hurt.

So, will the Rangers ever appear again in comics form? I doubt it, but I certainly think that they deserve to. A lot depends on how long kaboom! lets its DARKWING and DUCKTALES titles run. If kaboom! is quick to abandon the field, then I can easily imagine Marvel-or-whoever concluding that titles based on "old TV shows" simply won't cut it and sticking to the classic characters, plus perhaps a comic based on a newer series like Phineas and Ferb. A word of advice to unhappy C&DRR fans: if you want to see the gang in comics again, then support the animated-Duck books!

THE BEST (AND REST) OF KIMBA: Episode 21, "The Bad Baboon"

And now for something completely different... a character who has it in for someone other than Kimba (in this case, Dan'l Baboon). Actually, the "bad baboon" Big-O (Gilbert Mack, reprising his Billy Bully voice from "Catch 'em If You Can") winds up broadening the scope of his evil efforts and tangling with Kimba anyway. IMHO, this is a fatal move that makes the episode rather less successful than it otherwise should have been, but primarily because Big-O's "bigger scheme" winds up making absolutely no sense whatsoever.

This is as close as the series gets to a Dan'l-focused ep, and the contours of the old baboon's personality are traced pretty expertly, I think. Starting out as obsessed with meeting Big-O's challenge to one-on-one battle -- a battle that Dan'l's pals, thinking that he doesn't stand a chance of winning, try to keep their friend from entering -- Dan'l shows flexibility when he decides to change his tactics. This is a good encapsulation of Dan'l's general attitude towards Kimba's plans for building up jungle civilization: Dan'l sometimes pays a bit too much obeisance to the way things always have been (remember the "it's the Law of the Jungle" arguments from "A Human Friend"?), yet he's willing to unbend when circumstances warrant.

Link to episode at Hulu

I suspect that we may have a few more "unacknowledged kills" (of the generic lion and rhino) in the opening scene. For sure, the lion appeared to be gouged quite badly, and, while the rhino is "only" seen tied up, I don't see any of Big-O's monkey minions going back to untie him after the fact.

I presume that "Mr. Stork" of the Richard Haydn voice (Ray Owens) is the same character whom we saw in "Go, White Lion!". Evidently, the stork has been a jungle denizen of long standing, which would explain why he seemed to have a clue as to little Kimba's "true mission" in the pilot episode.

The outcome of the "big baboon boss battle" (try saying that three times fast) is somewhat ironic in that the loser, Big-O, wound up being far more of a "boss" in the stereotypical sense (imperious manner, cowering cohorts) than did Dan'l. Dan'l does have a grand and glorious moment of inspired leadership in the upcoming "Gypsy's Purple Potion," but even that is more of a "rally the flagging troops" scenario than an "assemble the minions" situation. If Dan'l has ever acted like a "boss" -- and, if it happened at all, it was probably after Caesar's death but before Claw tried to muscle in and take over -- then he probably used the velvet-glove approach of Tom Platt, the "Easy Boss" of political fame.

The sudden switch to the ongoing fight between Dan'l and Big-O is a little jarring. I am unaware of any cuts being made in this scene, but wouldn't some sort of "So, we meet again!" scene have been called for here? It quickly becomes clear that, rage though Dan'l may, his friends made the right decision in trying to protect him from fighting. He is already "on the canvas," and Big-O hasn't even begun flinging the... well, um, the stuff that monkeys usually wind up flinging at some point.

....AAAAAAND Kimba makes a TREMENdous open-veldt tackle!!

Big-O's sudden decision to "abandon the field," trailing vaguely sinister threats in his wake, is our first hint as to what he really has planned for Kimba's kingdom. The problem is that he appears to resolve to "do the dirty deed" at this very moment, and we learn later that this is not actually the case.

Hal Studer again voices Cheetah, but with a different voice than the one he used in "Restaurant Trouble." Again, we're led to believe here that Big-O's plan to "destroy the animals" is entirely contingent upon Dan'l's willingness to continue the fight. This allows us to feel sympathy for the cave-jugged, semi-hysterical Dan'l, since all he wants to do is to conclude his "baboon business." As we'll see, though, it wouldn't really have mattered if Dan'l HAD broken out and immediately fell to fighting with Big-O.

I gather than the "Sulfur Valley" referenced here is the same location where Cassius trapped Kimba in "Battle at Dead River." This whole sequence of Pauley scouting, Big-O's minions singing, and Pauley's comedy pratfalls at the paws of the monkeys is evidently meant to be comic relief, and it's actually pretty successful, largely because (1) Gil Mack is at his funniest as Pauley and (2) the monkeys' "Oompa Loompa"-style song is decent as such things go in Kimba, albeit with a couple of strained rhymes. ("Rack and roooon?" Sounds like a bar frequented by D&D conventioneers.)

I'm not sure whether the input of Roger Ranger (whose role here is oddly -- and atypically -- of the "fifth wheel" variety) was really necessary in order for Kimba and the other animals to figure out Big-O's "gas-iose" plans, but I DO know that the hysterical search for the pipeline was completely unnecessary, since Pauley visited the site and saw the pipe being laid. The only reason the search was inserted here was probably to give Dan'l the time to escape, overhear the animals talking, and then resolve to think of "something else" to stop Big-O, apart from fighting. Pretty clumsy plotting.

If I were Big-O, I certainly wouldn't have broadcast the intended time of my attack (and BTW, Cheetah, villains are "unreasonable" by nature). Kimba seems unusually harried and nervous at the emergency meeting. Perhaps he was thinking, "Maybe I should simply have asked Pauley where the pipeline was"?

And now we learn that Big-O... intended to take over the jungle all along?! SWERVE!! To add insult to injury, he's only going to take over AFTER all of the animals have been destroyed. Isn't Big-O up to date on his Megavolt quotes? "If [Negaduck] destroys St. Canard, there'll be nothing left to rob!" Unless Big-O intends to repopulate the jungle with his monkey minions -- I believe a chap named Drax had a similar plan some 30 years ago, and we all know how (aesthetically) well that turned out -- I rather doubt that ruling over a poisoned patch of land filled with animal corpses will provide a thrill for more than, oh, half an hour or so.

In the scene where Big-O finally starts the gas attack, our opinion of the investigative skills of the animals in Kimba's kingdom drops another notch. So, the pipeline extended across an open field and they still couldn't find it? Luckily, it's Dan'l to the rescue with his big wad of "mystery grass" (I wonder how he knew exactly what grass to use to neutralize the poison). Kimba gets re-roped long enough to stage a dramatic breakout, tackle Big-O, and show forgiveness by leading the monkeys to safety after the pipeline breaks.

In the end, Big-O joins Claw in refusing to accept Kimba's forgiveness, and some extra punch is provided by the fact that Big-O's minions are (apparently) accepted into the kingdom, leaving the villainous baboon to wander Africa alone. And, no, he isn't coming back (unlike Claw, who has an interest in taking over WITHOUT destroying that which he intends to rule). An unusually bleak and nihilistic conclusion.

Another one of my particular faves awaits...

Up next: Episode 22, "Dangerous Journey."

Comics Review: RICHIE RICH: RICH RESCUE #2 (2011, Ape Entertainment/Classic Media)

I've decided to bow to the indicia and give Ape's "Richie reboot" the "factory-suggested" subtitle. Would that I had similar respect for this ish's lead story. "The Pursuit of Pesos" -- a title for which we are never provided even a particle of justification -- is a frequently illogical piece of hackery which takes a trope that was used on occasion during the Harvey era and, remarkably enough, actually underperfoms the expectations nurtured through several decades of reading RICHIE. I know that this comic is meant for young readers, but even they would probably scoff at the idea of Rich Rescue's going back in time "six million years" and running into that dear, familiar scenario of coexisting dinosaurs and humanoids. The kids of today have probably seen too many reruns of Jurassic Park and too many documentaries on The Science Channel to accept that premise without a heck of a lot more justification than what we're given here. And that isn't the longest faith-leap we're asked to take -- not by a long shot. Along with them having giant lizards as neighbors, we're asked to believe that the masked, brutish club-swingers who set a captured Gloria out as a feast for a local T-Rex possess (or have built, even) a "temple" that permits one to travel through time. I never bought Erich von Daniken's theories about ancient astronauts, but can you think of an explanation that would work better here?

In dishing out his "hot Jurassic mess" (Cadbury's words, not mine), writer Buddy Scalera evinces an almost cynical laziness and sloppiness. Our gang make with moss-covered comments such as, "I have a bad feeling about this" and "I have a feeling we're being watched," and Cadbury and Irona arrive in the past in time to help save Richie, Reggie, and Gloria's bacon... well, more or less because they do. It's not as if we learn how the duo managed it. "If [the time-travel device] worked once, perhaps it will work again," Cadbury comments. OK, but then how else could he have gone back in time? For sure, a lot of RICHIE time-travel and "ancient" stories from the Harvey era harbored illogical elements. Since this series begs to be taken "more seriously" as a modern-day updating of Richie's world, however, I think it is fair to hold it to a somewhat higher standard insofar as scripting is concerned. (Scalera also does absolutely nothing with the notion of Rich Rescue as a boon to the "less fortunate," unless you count a museum being desperate for the recovery of a "lost artifact" as one of life's unfortunate victims.)

The artwork for "Pesos" isn't the greatest, with Marcelo Ferreira drawing Gloria with something akin to praying-mantis limbs on more than one occasion, but it's hardly the main problem here. To be fair, there are a couple of nice, dramatic moments -- Richie (with a scared-sheetless Reggie in tow) parachuting in to try and save Gloria; Gloria flinging a wooden spear to cut a tangled Richie loose; Richie and Gloria sharing a heartfelt hand-clench when it seems that all is lost -- but my level of irritation with the script tended to undercut their effectiveness.

The "back matter" consists of a pair of short stories and another one-page "Keenbean's Corner" gag, the latter of which is arguably the best thing in the issue. "Ma Ma My Irona" (what kid will get that reference?) unspools yet another familiar notion from the Harvey past as Reggie, having won "rights" to Irona for a day, plans to exploit her but quickly lives to regret it. Actually, Reggie's actions are fairly tame compared with what he would typically do in similar Harvey stories; the worst thing that he asks Irona to do is to carry him to his limo. Artist Armando Zander draws a very attractive Irona, a Richie who looks like a child character on Pokemon, and an oddly angular Reggie. "Hello, Fellow Hostages, Are You Ready to Rock?," starring Cadbury and a gang of what can only be termed "anti-eco"-eco-terrorists, is about a guess-what situation and takes place guess where. I found it funny, if only because it reminded me of Cadbury's supposed "rock-posse past" as detailed in the made-for-video feature Richie Rich's Christmas Wish (1998), except that Cadbury does not "dress down" this time but is his typical, proper self. During the late 60s and early 70s, Harvey occasionally tried to place Cadbury in the incongruous situation of either being among hippies or dressing like a hippie; I'm glad that writer Matt Anderson allowed Cadbury to show his "with-it side" here without being patronizing or mocking. Finally, Patrick Rills and James Silvani show Keenbean engaging in some funny repartee with his "Know-it-All 3000," a sort of reprise of R.U.D.I. (from the 1985 version of The Jetsons) or P.C. (the "computer face thingie" that advises HD&L and their pals on the I-Team). They even include some "deleted scenes" from "Pesos" to bring the ish full circle.

Not without its bright spots, RR:RR #2 is nonetheless a big step backwards. Please, bring back the "rebooted" RICHIE villains and the "helping others" theme!

THE BEST (AND REST) OF KIMBA: Episode 20, "Restaurant Trouble"

The plot of "Restaurant Trouble" could not be sparer or more to the point. By opening up "diners" where animals can take their meals in peace without having to fight over their food, the animals of Kimba's kingdom take one more step up the ladder of civilization -- and are promptly hit by blustering blowback in the forbidding forms of Boss Rhino (already established as foul-tempered human-hater) and Kelly Funt, the (occasionally) Irish-accented leader of a more-or-less-autonomous herd of elephants. BR and Kelly's antagonistic efforts, Kimba's responses, and a bunch of "eating gags" are pretty much all we've got to work with here.

One thing I particularly like about this ep is Pauley Cracker's failure at running his own restaurant (which prompts him to join forces with Dan'l Baboon). No, I don't like the failure per se; what I like is the fact that Pauley's problems are not really of his own making. In previous episodes, Pauley has had a tendency to get himself into trouble with his big ideas; recall, for example, his scheme to stop the invading alligators in "Diamonds in the Gruff," which Kimba slapped down hard. Here, much like Donald Duck in certain Carl Barks stories, Pauley is primarily victimized by technicalities and misunderstandings, so we're legitimately sorry when he doesn't succeed.

Link to episode at Hulu

You could probably pick two more "logical" animals to fight over grass than a hippo (Gilbert Mack) and a gorilla (Hal Studer), but at least it makes for a good lead-off scene.

Pauley references his past life in a hotel ("Two Hearts and Two Minds") when arguing with Dan'l, but wasn't his perch (not "cage") attached to the front desk? So where was that hotel restaurant located, anyway? (Or how long was that chain on his leg?)

Nice to see the zebras finally cooperating with one of Kimba's plans, as opposed to bolting when times get tough. No doubt, the zebras' respect for Dan'l played a role here.


You must admit that Kelly Funt (Gilbert Mack, NOT using an accent) has reason to be angry over his elephant grass being taken for restaurant purposes. Even so, his bellowing seems just a tad over the top, as if it were being done for effect. Keep this in mind for later.

Kelly kind of wimps out during the first fight with Kimba, doesn't he? "Since my friends want me to stop, I'll let you win this time" is not exactly alpha-male-worthy dialogue. Despite the parting threat against the restaurant, this is our first indication that Kelly's bark is considerably worse than his bite. Part of the reason why is that Kelly, while he doesn't cotton to changing his ways, does not have the soul-curdling anti-human animus of Boss Rhino. The difference between Kelly and BR is much like the difference between a conservative and a reactionary.

Cheetah (Hal Studer) is unusual among regular supporting players in that, while he always looks the same, his personality and voice change on a regular basis. Here, Hal Studer appears to be channeling Paul Lynde, but with a somewhat higher voice. If ever a Kimba character could be described as "light in the paws"... More celebrity impersonations ensue as Papa River Hog (or Ground Pig -- Ray Owens) sounds a bit like Alfred Hitchcock, while the leader (Mack) of the clutch of lions and leopards who chase Cheetah is clearly modeled on Sheldon Leonard's "Hey, bud" character. This latter group must just be "passing through" as they seem to have no clue as to who Kimba is or the local restriction on meat-eating.

You have to admit, Pauley works his feathers to the bone trying to make his diner a success, braving confused advertising messages and difficult customers before coming a cropper vs. the elephants' literalism. This scene gives a whole new meaning to the phrase "eat you out of house and home." Interestingly, Kelly makes no reference to still holding a grudge against Pauley and Bucky before demolishing the place. If he's using the handbill loophole as a convenient cover to fulfill his promise to destroy the business, then it's an extremely effective cover.

The final battle scene isn't put together all that well, to be honest. We aren't given any particular reason for Kelly's change of heart (or, at least, lessening of antagonism) about the restaurant apart from the comment about Kimba "fight[ing] for what [he] believes in." We still don't even know what his true motivation for claiming Pauley's Gourmet was. A "glue scene" making this transition believable would not have been out of place, but I don't know whether such a scene existed in the Japanese version of the episode. If not, then the Titan crew fell down on the scripting job. Then, after Kelly stops Kimba's friends from helping Kimba during the fight with Boss Rhino, Kelly abruptly changes his own mind when he sees Kimba go down hard. If Kelly knew Kimba better, he'd realize that Kimba will take this temporary setback as just another challenge -- and, sure enough, Kimba winds up "on top" after, well, doing something behind that convenient dust cloud. This "Super Lion" feat (which Kelly, with no tangible evidence to back him up, attributes to Kimba's superior intelligence) is mocked by the later episode "Volcano Island," in which Kimba engages in a far harsher and far more physically punishing fight with Boss Rhino. Since Kimba obviously didn't lose strength between this episode and that later one, we have to put the quick K.O. in "Restaurant Trouble" down to the desire to wrap the ep up as quickly as possible.

The final scene doesn't exactly cure my chilblains, either; it seems to be begging for a product placement! Overall, an average effort, at best.

Up next: Episode 21, "The Bad Baboon."

Book Review: THE COMPLETE PEANUTS, 1979-1980 by Charles M. Schulz (Fantagraphics Press, 2011)

My last extended exposure to PEANUTS -- and, curiously, my only exposure to PEANUTS "in the raw," since the Wilmington paper did not carry the strip during my childhood -- came in the Fall of 1980. The Notre Dame student paper, THE OBSERVER, ran the strip, along with DOONESBURY and a most peculiar new panel called THE FAR SIDE. It was still readable, to be sure, but there's no question that I had fallen out of love with what Charles Schulz was trying to do at the time. Too much Snoopy and Woodstock, Peppermint Patty and Marcie, and Beagle Scouts, and not enough of the core cast and the clever philosophizing that I had come to enjoy so much in the PEANUTS reprint paperbacks. Schulz was on the brink of what THE COMICS JOURNAL's Kim Thompson once dubbed "the fallow 80s," the decade of "Snoopy relatives and talking schoolhouses." Well, the "talking schoolhouses" in fact predated the 80s, but I'll see Kim those and raise him "talking cacti in the desert near Needles." What I've seen of 80s PEANUTS, I haven't much liked, mainly because Schulz openly pandered to pop culture far more than he had ever done before (Flashbeagle, anyone? Or how about some Tapioca Pudding?). Perhaps more extended exposure to the era in FG's immediately upcoming volumes will change my opinion. For the time being, however, there is a definite fin de siecle feel to this end-of-the-70s collection.

There are only a handful of really memorable sequences here. Every PEANUTS fan "of that age" no doubt remembers the story of Charlie Brown checking into the hospital for a couple of weeks with a mysterious ailment. Schulz also takes the first of what will ultimately be several shots at fundamentalism by making the gang's 1980 trip to summer camp a trip to a "Jesus Camp," where the stories by the fireside have to do with "the last days." Schroeder is "flown" to music camp by the World War I Flying Ace, Peppermint Patty has an improbable "fling" with the long-forgotten Pig-Pen, and Charlie Brown and a Beagle Scout get lost in the snow, necessitating a seemingly interminable "rescue mission"... all cute, but in no way uber-meaningful. Even Schulz' touch with new Snoopy personae seems to have been mislaid. The April Fool is no threat to the Easter Beagle or the World War I Flying Ace, and let's not even talk about the "World Famous Surveyor." To his credit, Schulz does make some good, renewed use of the Flying Ace as a nostalgia-tinged character who spends more time quaffing root beers and buttering up Mademoiselles than engaging in aerial dogfights.

I hope that Fantagraphics takes a hint from the newly launched FLOYD GOTTFREDSON LIBRARY and puts some additional juice into the ancillary offerings in the remaining volumes of THE COMPLETE PEANUTS. Rather than celebrities of various alphabetical levels (Al Roker, here) who all seem to say the same basic things about how PEANUTS "spoke to" them when they were growing up, why not get some cartoonists to do the remaining introductions? Surely these creators would have many interesting things to say about how PEANUTS influenced comics in general and their own work in particular. The production of this series appears to have been put on "autopilot" of sorts, which has the advantage of giving pride of place to Schulz' work -- as it should be -- but looks increasingly shabby (and unworthy of Schulz as more) -- and more elaborate -- collections of classic strips hit the shelves. Let's see whether FG rises to the challenge and shakes things up a bit.

THE BEST (AND REST) OF KIMBA: Episode 19, "Mystery of the Deserted Village"

For the balance of the Summer, I'm going to try my level (or slightly lopsided, even) best to review at least two Kimba episodes per week. "Deserted Village" closes, in a manner of speaking, the loop that was opened at the end of the flashback sequence in "Journey into Time." Last millennium, as you recall, the adult Ur-Kimba was taken by the Kickapeel natives to the village near what would ultimately become Caesar's, and then Kimba's, kingdom. So how did the white lions actually come to "make the break" with the human world and settle in the jungle? And whatever became of those carefully preserved hides of generations of Kimba's ancestors?

We learn here that the hides have been zealously guarded for an undetermined period of time by Kimba's sister Leona (Sonia Owens). This is a radical simplification of the much gnarlier scenario presented in JUNGLE EMPEROR. Tezuka introduced Leona as Kimba's aunt, who had decided to stay behind in the native village after Caesar had acceded to the wishes of the local animals and became their ruler. Among the natives, Leona functioned as a cult leader/idol (albeit a more benign one than, say, Puffy Adder), complete with eager acolytes... including Kitty. (Kitty's original role will seem ironic indeed when you learn what transpires during the females' first meeting here.) In JUNGLE EMPEROR, Leona tried without success to convince Kimba to rule alongside her, and the two parted on somewhat less than amicable terms. Such is not the case in "Deserted Village," largely because the village in which Leona resides is now, well, deserted, and Leona, fixated on preserving the tangible evidence of the white lions' past, is perfectly willing to let Kimba leave to fulfill Caesar's dream. Indeed, Leona seems remarkably indifferent to anything going on outside her own tightly circumscribed universe -- rather the opposite of Kimba's expansive intention of civilizing the jungle, but certainly a reflection of the determined single-mindedness that seems to characterize the entire white-lion line. This obsession doesn't really cause problems here, but it certainly will during Leona's second appearance in "The Day the Sun Went Out." That episode is an absolute classic; this one doesn't quite rise to that level, but it's solid enough, despite a few continuity-related hiccups.

Many Kimba eps mix serious doings with slapstick, but the "cocktail" is particularly cockeyed here, thanks to the appearance of the strangest group of humans ever to impose themselves on Kimba's kingdom. No doubt, these folks were introduced to leach some of the starch out of a plotline that was already fairly well stiffened with exposition and the nastiest Kimba-Claw fight to date, but it would have been nice had the Snobbishes of Boston been able to contribute something to the party aside from making general nuisances of themselves (with one notable exception).

Link to episode at Hulu

For the first time, Claw uses pure guile to try to get the best of Kimba -- and Kimba, bless his trusting heart, gives Claw's gang a clear shot at him, only escaping immediate harm thanks to Speedy Cheetah's disobedience. Then, completely out of "left jungle," in rolls the 1966 version of Pete's Mammoth RV with the exquisitely named Vera Snobbish (Billie Lou Watt), Ignatzo Snobbish (Gilbert Mack), and Ninnie (Sonia Owens) in imperious tow. Usually, Kimba one-shotters with "character-defining" names promise more than they can deliver, but (Ig) not so these Snobbishes; they are a hoot. Even their hapless retainers Rocky (Ray Owens) and Rollie (Mack) and the incongruously Southern-accented Chef D'Oeuvre (Ray Owens) are cleverly and humorously characterized, in both voice and dialogue. And, wonder of wonders, Ninnie appears to recognize that Western pop music has progressed well beyond the Twist by this time!

We once again get mixed signals regarding Kimba and friends' ability to converse with humans. Rocky and Rollie appear to have a delayed reaction to Kimba's verbalization (perhaps their brief, unexplained dance lifted them to a "higher state of consciousness" or something?), while Vera doesn't appear to regard her talk with Kimba as being unusual at all ("This lion can talk to me... but of course, I'm so well bred!"). Generally speaking, the Snobbishes aren't actually as haughty as their name would seem to imply, but perhaps Vera's failure to invite the "common" Speedy inside the RV reflects a certain class bias. Ignatzo bridges the gap nicely as he displays his kindly nature for the first time, unwittingly foiling his mother's plan to bring Kimba home with her...

...and then the drugs kick in. After the brief celebration of Frug-ality, Leona makes her memorable first appearance. The dramatic meeting of brother and sister might have taken place a lot sooner had it occurred to Kimba -- as it apparently did not -- that the Kickapeel village discovered by Livingstone and described by Roger Ranger in "Journey into Time" was the very same "deserted village" seen here. Even if Kimba had no way of knowing that a relative of his still lived there, wouldn't he have been just a bit curious as to the location of those hides? For her part, Leona seems to be completely unaware of her brother's activities taking place right next door. Unless she has been living as a complete hermit, I should think that she would have learned something by this time, if only by a chance encounter with one of Kimba's subjects. Or perhaps the animals in Kimba's kingdom have maintained some sort of long-standing taboo against going to the village; I don't know.

Eeeeeerowwww! Sexual tension rears its ugly maned head, and I'm not talking "palpitations of the heart"! But why was Kitty in the village in the first place?

There is a certain poignancy to Leona's tale of how Caesar left the village and took up the mantle of jungle lord. Recall that the descendants of Ur-Kimba had been in that village and protecting the natives for literally thousands of years. While it's certainly understandable that Caesar might feel the need (and responsibility) to rejoin the animal kingdom, I certainly don't get the impression that the natives "moved away to the city." More than likely, they were forced to become nomads, leading to the extinction of their way of life. There is a definite "Trail of Tears" vibe to that scene of the long line of natives stretching into an indefinable distance.

Leona says that she "stayed on" after Caesar left in order to care for the hides. Um, I thought that Caesar met Snowene after he had established his kingdom? Perhaps Leona is actually Kimba's step-sister. Leona seems to be considerably older than Kimba, so this is definitely a possibility, though it raises the question of what happened to the putative "first" Mrs. Caesar.

So what "plan" of Claw's did the humans disturb? The one that Kimba already knows about?
After Rocky and Rollie's attempt to capture Kimba leads to them earning another "daze" pay, the drugs kick in again... and they're heavy-duty ones, this time. The Snobbishes' RV suddenly becomes the inverse of a Gabriel's Horn; though it has finite surface area, it apparently has infinite interior volume, or at least volume enough to accommodate several different "Revolutions in Home Appliances" (thanks to conveniently looped animation cycles). I've heard of air conditioners going on the fritz, but never causing the floor to suddenly turn into a sheet of ice! Between the crazy cold snap, the Frugging furniture, and the sudden barrage of lame puns, this definitely qualifies as one of the series' weirdest scenes.

The Kimba-Claw battle that we have been expecting from the beginning of the episode turns out to be the duo's first really brutal one -- a clinch that Kimba only wins by "Samsonizing" his opponent and knocking over a bunch of presumably valuable native artifacts. (Cue Launchpad: "It coulda been worse... it coulda been somethin' new!") The ep glides to Earth with Leona remaining at her lonesome last. I wonder whether the folks who criticize Kimba for "talking to his dead father's hide" are quite as hard on Leona, who has merely dedicated her entire life to watching over a pile of pelts? Even Kimba seems to be a bit distressed at the thought of the life that Leona has to look forward to. Still, as I noted above, the siblings' fates are all of a piece with the white lions' historical sense of dedication to a mission... whether it be externally or internally directed.

Up next: Episode 20, "Restaurant Trouble".