Jungle Emperor Leo- Anime Review

I love many of Osamu Tezuka's work and this movie based on his manga is no different. I wanted to review a Tezuka work this month, but I reviewed most of the series I seen so why not this movie?

The Plot

Leo and his mate Lyra give birth to 2 cubs Lune and Luxio. Unfortunately, it is bad timing as humans are sent to the land Leo calls home to find a moonstone(no not the Pokemon one) said it can be used as a power source to solve an energy crisis. Ham Egg, and his men enjoy destroying the forest and its animals on the way to find the moon stone which puts the forest into chaos. To make matters worse, Lune ends up in a city circus. Will the forest be saved and will Lune find his way back to the forest?

My Review

I love this movie and how it's told by mostly songs and emotions. While there is close similarities between this and the Lion King, humans actually seem to exist in this movie's world and unlike a lot of environmental films there are both good and bad humans. Leo and Lune both have their own journey and lesson to learn and both are done well. I will also say this is not a happy tale it is quite tragic and not afraid to show death in this cute movie. If you are interested in the Tezuka work of Kimba but, not up to a long TV series, this may be the movie for you.