Androcles

Journey into Time

Androcles was the ancestor of Kimba (Leo). He was the first white lion of the dynasty, living 4,000 years before in Egypt. He was the pet of King Tut-Tut's adviser, Thrates, who gave him a brain-improving medicine so that he could help lead the Pharaoh after he was exiled.

Appearances[]

Androcles was present in both the manga and the 65 anime adaption, though in the English dub he is not named. In the episode he greatly resembles Kimba.

In Kimba the White Lion (1966)[]

Androcles appears in episode 14: Journey into Time. In this episode, Roger Ranger, with the help of a library book, educates Kimba on the history of the white lions.

After the current Pharaoh exiles his adviser, desolation descends upon the land. One morning, a white lion cub is found between the paws of the Sphinx. Hailed as the Spirit of the Sphinx, this cub is brought to the ruler and offered the choicest food and bedding, which he rejects. King Tut-Tut does everything the way the cub insists, and the country prospers once again. The lion grows up, and is immortalized in hieroglyphics.

However, the cub wasn't a spirit, but the pet of Thrates, the Pharaoh's adviser. The older man, worried for his country, gives his pet a "brain improving medicine" that makes him wise, so that he may "take over and rescue Egypt in his place." Which he does, making the King look like the idiot he is, until the Kickapeels come and in appreciation of the tribe's entertainment, Tut-Tut offers them any treasure in the kingdom. They choose the white lion, and insist there will be war if they don't have him. And so, Androcles leaves Egypt, and helps his new people to prosper just as he did the Egyptians. Years later, Livingston comes across an abandoned village with a shrine filled with the hides of white lions - the ancestors of Kimba. This same shrine will appear again, in Episode 19, where we meet its guardian.

In The New Adventures of Kimba The White Lion (1989)[]

Androcles appears briefly in episode 1 of the 1989 series, but his name is not mentioned. His story is similar to the one in the original series, but is shorter and less detailed. A white lion cub was found playing between the Sphinx's paws by a pharaoh and his servants. Believing him to be a spirit, the pharaoh decides to take him home with him. Later, some of the pharaoh's servants kidnap the cub and run off into the jungle with him, intending to make him their own god. The pharaoh immediately sends his men after them, but they never find them. The pharaoh declares the jungle to be holy ground, and forbids anyone from treading upon it.

Gallery[]

Trivia[]

Androcles is never named in the dub, but the Japanese title of the episode is The Story of Androcles, leading to the assumption that this is his name.
But Androcles said; by name in the 1993 Canadian dub.

References[]

Images were taken from the YouTube video
Information regarding the Japanese title via Kimba the White Lion: Kimba W. Lion's Corner on the Web

Jungle Emperor Leo Wiki