Kimboo
Kimboo | |
---|---|
Genre | Animated series |
Created by | Marie-Thérèse Houphouët-Boigny[1] |
Developed by |
|
Music by | Manu Dibango[3] |
Country of origin | |
Original language | French |
No. of episodes | 48[5] |
Production | |
Producers | |
Running time | |
Production companies | |
Budget | ₣12 million (entire series)[4] |
Original release | |
Network | FR3[2] |
Release | 23 October 1989[2] – 1990 |
Kimboo is a Franco-Ivorian animated television series which originally aired on France's FR3 during 1989–1990. Created by the Côte d'Ivoire's then-First Lady Marie-Thérèse Houphouët-Boigny, its title character—an Ivorian boy who journeys from his home village with a sister and a pet parrot—was designated as an ambassador for Africa's children and culture. Consisting of 48 five-minute episodes, the series was accompanied by a tie-in magazine and book series and also exported abroad. Kimboo and Kids, a 30-minute U.S. version featuring market-exclusive live-action segments, was the first animated program to air on the Black Entertainment Television (BET) network during 1991–1992, receiving a Parents' Choice Award after its run ended.
Synopsis
Kimboo, a 10-year-old boy, lives in the Côte d'Ivoire village of Yampoupou[a] with his sister Kita and pet parrot Ako. He daydreams of travelling around the world someday, but his grandfather insists he begin exploring his home country first. After winning a local singing contest, he sets off with Kita and Ako on an adventure that takes them to Abidjan, Benin, Senegal, Timbuktu, Tunisia, Marseille, Paris, and New York City.[2]
Voice cast
- Pilou Coton as Kimboo
- Marie-Christine "Maïk" Darah as Kita
- Mohamed Rouabhi as Ako
Episodes
- Kimboo blues
- Du feu dans la brousse
- Kimboo photographe
- Les échasses
- La grande course
- La légende de l'hippopotame
- Kimboo détective
- Kidnapping
- L'anniversaire de Kita
- L'oncle Théodore
- La case de l'oncle Ted
- On a volé le taxi-brousse
- Kita fait du cinéma
- Les braconniers de la maraque
- Kimboo reporter
- Le concours de musique
- Le départ
- Nuit d'angoisse
- Les bûcherons
- Croco-killer Joe
- La vengeance du crocodile blanc
- Pas de panique
- Le trésor du pirate
- Le gros cousin
- Les affaires sont les affaires
- Oeil pour oeil
- La cabane bambou
- Mystères sur l'hippocampe
- Escale à Abomey
- Dans la fourmilière
- Le roi des fourmis
- Les mamas Benz
- Course contre la mort
- Ako mène l'enquête
- Le bois d'ébène
- Les vaches
- Le forgeron de Tombouctou
- Naufragés du désert
- Touareg's tour
- Jambe de bois
- Ako se marie
- Paris beur
- Up hold
- Pirates de l'air
- Le révérend Thomas
- Retrouver Kita
- Tous les enfants du monde!
- Le concert du siècle
Development
Kimboo was the first animated series to feature a native African main character. It was created by Marie-Thérèse Houphouët-Boigny, the First Lady of the Côte d'Ivoire at the time.[1] Since African children wanted an animated character they could relate to instead of what they saw in Western-produced fare,[1] Houphouët-Boigny set out to produce a show whose title character would serve as an ambassador for the continent's children and culture;[8] "carry a message of hope" to that demographic; and "help create the foundations of true international brotherhood".[1] Her project was an effort to combat dated perceptions and depictions of African culture in media.[1] She spent one year developing the series,[1] which cost ₣12 million overall with support from France.[4] Among the series' crew were French filmmaker Alain Jaspard[5] and "Soul Makossa" composer Manu Dibango.[3]
Broadcast and marketing
Kimboo was first broadcast on 23 October 1989 on FR3 as a five-minute program, running for 48 episodes until 1990.[2] It premiered on Ivorian television in December 1989 as Houphouët-Boigny's "Christmas gift" to local young viewers, and was also exported within and outside the African market.[1] An eponymous tie-in magazine from Editions Magnans, which launched that November[8] and ran for five or six issues,[6] was illustrated by designer and Magnans owner Frédéric Beltran.[6] Around the same time, the show became the basis of Les aventures de Kimboo, a children's book series from EDICEF[8] with Ivorian distribution by CEDA.[6] Its first title, Boubou et Ako, was written by Caya Makhélé and illustrated by Laurent Lalo (Maïga).[6]
In late July 1990, Black Entertainment Television (BET) picked up the U.S. broadcast rights.[9] Although announced for January 1991,[10] the first tapings of their eventual version, Kimboo and Kids, did not occur until that March.[7] Airing as a half-hour Saturday-morning program and featuring hosted live-action wraparounds exclusive to the U.S. market,[7][11] Kimboo and Kids premiered on 20 April 1991[12] and ran until the following September.[13] The first animated series to air on BET, it preceded their in-house production Hey Monie! by 12 years.[14] In late November 1992, this version won a Parents' Choice Award in the National Television category alongside Lamb Chop's Play-Along, The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles, and Nickelodeon Special Edition: A Conversation with Magic.[15]
Legacy
In 2005, media historian Hal Erickson lamented Kimboo's obscurity and absence from the U.S. airwaves despite its landmark status for animation and BET:
It seems incredible that an animated series [from around] the early 1990s could have vanished as though the earth had completely swallowed it, but such seems to be the case with the half-hour [U.S. version].... Even BET seems to have forgotten all about Kimboo.[14]
See also
- Kirikou, a French animated franchise set in Africa
- List of programs broadcast by BET
Notes
- ^ Also spelled "Yampougou" (Cassiau-Haurie 2023, p. 66).
References
- ^ a b c d e f g "Ebony Update: Marie-Thérèse Houphouët-Boigny, First Lady of the Ivory Coast". Ebony. Vol. XLV, no. 8. June 1990. p. 58. Archived from the original on 15 June 2024. Retrieved 11 June 2024 – via Google Books.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Nizou (9 June 2020) [2005-05-05]. "Kimboo". Planète Jeunesse (in French). Archived from the original on 15 June 2024. Retrieved 11 June 2024.
- ^ a b "Manu Dibango - Fin de balade en saxo". AllAfrica.com (in French). 25 March 2020. Retrieved 14 June 2024 – via ProQuest.
- ^ a b c d e Bendazzi, Giannalberto (20 November 2020). "African Cinema Animation". A Moving Subject. CRC Press. p. 48. ISBN 978-1-00-020668-5. Archived from the original on 15 June 2024. Retrieved 11 June 2024 – via Google Books.
- ^ a b c Rège, Philippe (16 January 2010). "Jaspard, Alain". Encyclopedia of French Film Directors. Vol. 1. Scarecrow Press. p. 530. ISBN 978-0-8108-6939-4. Retrieved 11 June 2024 – via Google Books.
- ^ a b c d e Cassiau-Haurie, Christophe (2023). "L'époque des revues triomphantes (1970 et 1980)". La Bande dessinée en Afrique de l'Ouest. La Côte d'Ivoire (in French). Karthala. pp. 66, 68–69. doi:10.3917/kart.cassi.2023.01.0025. ISBN 978-2-8111-2888-3. Archived from the original on 15 June 2024. Retrieved 14 June 2024 – via Cairn.info.
- ^ a b c Corey, Mary (14 April 1991). "Greg Schwalenberg's other job takes him out to the ballgame". The Baltimore Sun. p. 1H. Retrieved 11 June 2024 – via ProQuest.
- ^ a b c Eisenegger, Aline (Summer 1990). "Revues de langue française: Journaux pour enfants" (PDF). La Revue des revues (in French) (133). Paris: Ent'revues: 71. ISSN 0980-2797. Archived (PDF) from the original on 15 June 2024. Retrieved 14 June 2024 – via BnF.fr.
- ^ Moca, Diane Joy (23 July 1990). "Television's Cable Table Is Set for a Fall Feast: Children Will Get an Extra Helping of Programming". Orlando Sentinel. p. C1. Retrieved 13 June 2024 – via ProQuest.
- ^ Jones IV, James T. (16 October 1990). "BET defies the odds in tough cable game; Ramsey Lewis' jazzy style". USA Today. p. 03D. Retrieved 11 June 2024 – via ProQuest.
- ^ Lenburg, Jeff (1999). "Kimboo". The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons (Second ed.). Checkmark Books (Facts on File). p. 446. ISBN 0-8160-3831-7. Retrieved 11 June 2024 – via Archive.org.
- ^ McDaniel, Mike (20 April 1991). "Today on TV". Houston Chronicle. p. 4. Retrieved 13 June 2024 – via ProQuest.
- ^ "Saturday Morning". The New York Times. 6 September 1992. p. TV50. Retrieved 14 June 2024 – via ProQuest.
- ^ a b Erickson, Hal (2005). "Kimboo". Television Cartoon Shows: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, 1949 through 2003. McFarland. pp. 475–476. ISBN 0-7864-2099-5.
- ^ Blowen, Michael (23 November 1992). "A groupie takes heart". Boston Globe. p. 27. Retrieved 13 June 2024 – via ProQuest.