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Kimboo

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Kimboo
GenreAnimated series
Created byMarie-Thérèse Houphouët-Boigny[1]
Developed by
Music byManu Dibango[3]
Country of origin
Original languageFrench
No. of episodes48[5]
Production
Producers
  • Liliane Lombardo[6]
  • Dominique Meunier[2]
Running time
  • 5 minutes (France)[5]
  • 30 minutes (U.S.)[7]
Production companies
  • Ndaya International Foundation[4]
  • K.A. Productions[2]
Budget₣12 million (entire series)[4]
Original release
NetworkFR3[2]
Release23 October 1989 (1989-10-23)[2] –
1990 (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

Taken from Planète Jeunesse.[2]

Episodes

Taken from Planète Jeunesse. Original French titles only.[2]
  1. Kimboo blues
  2. Du feu dans la brousse
  3. Kimboo photographe
  4. Les échasses
  5. La grande course
  6. La légende de l'hippopotame
  7. Kimboo détective
  8. Kidnapping
  9. L'anniversaire de Kita
  10. L'oncle Théodore
  11. La case de l'oncle Ted
  12. On a volé le taxi-brousse
  13. Kita fait du cinéma
  14. Les braconniers de la maraque
  15. Kimboo reporter
  16. Le concours de musique
  17. Le départ
  18. Nuit d'angoisse
  19. Les bûcherons
  20. Croco-killer Joe
  21. La vengeance du crocodile blanc
  22. Pas de panique
  23. Le trésor du pirate
  24. Le gros cousin
  25. Les affaires sont les affaires
  26. Oeil pour oeil
  27. La cabane bambou
  28. Mystères sur l'hippocampe
  29. Escale à Abomey
  30. Dans la fourmilière
  31. Le roi des fourmis
  32. Les mamas Benz
  33. Course contre la mort
  34. Ako mène l'enquête
  35. Le bois d'ébène
  36. Les vaches
  37. Le forgeron de Tombouctou
  38. Naufragés du désert
  39. Touareg's tour
  40. Jambe de bois
  41. Ako se marie
  42. Paris beur
  43. Up hold
  44. Pirates de l'air
  45. Le révérend Thomas
  46. Retrouver Kita
  47. Tous les enfants du monde!
  48. 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 [fr] 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

Notes

  1. ^ Also spelled "Yampougou" (Cassiau-Haurie 2023, p. 66).

References

  1. ^ 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.
  2. ^ 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.
  3. ^ a b "Manu Dibango - Fin de balade en saxo". AllAfrica.com (in French). 25 March 2020. Retrieved 14 June 2024 – via ProQuest.
  4. ^ 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.
  5. ^ 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.
  6. ^ a b c d e Cassiau-Haurie, Chritophe (2023). "L'époque des revues triomphantes (1970 et 1980): Apparition du premier héros pour la jeunesse.". La Bande dessinée en Afrique de l'Ouest (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.
  7. ^ 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.
  8. ^ a b c Eisenegger, Aline (Summer 1990). "Revues de langue française: Journaux pour enfants" (PDF). La Revue des revues [fr] (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.
  9. ^ 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.
  10. ^ 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.
  11. ^ 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.
  12. ^ McDaniel, Mike (20 April 1991). "Today on TV". Houston Chronicle. p. 4. Retrieved 13 June 2024 – via ProQuest.
  13. ^ "Saturday Morning". The New York Times. 6 September 1992. p. TV50. Retrieved 14 June 2024 – via ProQuest.
  14. ^ a b Erickson, Hal (2005). "Kimboo". Television Cartoon Shows: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, 1949 through 2003. McFarland. pp. 475–476. ISBN 0-7864-2099-5.
  15. ^ Blowen, Michael (23 November 1992). "A groupie takes heart". Boston Globe. p. 27. Retrieved 13 June 2024 – via ProQuest.
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