Are there any well-known lions?

There are many famous (or infamous) real-life lions (plus few that should I believe should be).

Perhaps the most famous is 'Elsa', the lioness from the saga of "Born Free" by Joy Adamson. This is the true story of the Adamson's successful attempt to return a human-raised lion to life in the African wild.

There are the man eaters of Tsavo, which killed many workers who were building a railroad line in Africa. This true story of these lions has been retold (though not necessarily accurately) in the movie "The Ghost and the Darkness".

The MGM (Metro-Goldwin-Mayer) logo lion has been seen by many a movie-goer on both the big screen and on television. What is not always realized is that there was, in fact, more than one lion used.

Also known by many, is 'Clarence' the crossed-eyed lion. Which had a good life and a few adventures in a refuge.

I should also mention 'Christian'. Another lion whom has fairly wide-spread fame. This lion too, had a worthy existence in captivity.

Finally, I will add a lion that should be well-known, but hasn't for some reason captured the mainstream's consciousness. 'Sabu', a lion that was rescued from extreme malnourishment and terrible neglect in private ownership. This story wonderfully portrays the potential love between man and beast.

Just as plentiful (maybe even more so), are the fictional lions.

One of the first lion caricatures that has gained fame is 'Kimba'. Created by the Japanese animator, Tezuka Osamu, this cartoon series is often regarded as the start of the cartoon style known as 'animae'. In fact, this little white lion cub and his jungle friends has had a world wide audience. It has been translated into many languages and shown in many countries.

The most well known lion animations in the United States is, most likely, Disney's 'The Lion King' (and its sequel 'Lion King II; Simba's Pride'). Rumored to be a mimicry of Tezuka's Kimba (which I agree with) The Walt Disney Company, created a full length animated movie of a lion monarchy. Each film has a plot loosely based on a Shakpearean play. With superb animation, an excellent sound track, awesome voices, and well-done editing, it is what is to be expected from Disney.

The are also many other cartoons that have lion characters. I vaguely remember from my younger days a cartoon named "Davy and Goliath". Davy was a young boy. His dog named 'Goliath' would change into a lion with super powers. They both would then fight the bad guys.

Not only are there lions of ink, but there are also puppet lions. There exists on the children's television series, "Sesame Street", a little seen lion named 'Chicago'. Although this "king of beasts" has a loud roar, he is a 'vegetable' lion.

A relatively new series for children is "Between the lions" on the Public Broadcasting System (PBS). It is set in a public library that is maintained by a family of lions. 'Theo' is the father, 'Cleo' is the mother, and the cubs are 'Lionel' and 'Leona'. The show has excellent potential for assisting in the teaching of children to read. It also has enough "grown-up" humor to allow adults to watch along with their children.

I should also include a lion of literature.

Starting off as a bed time story that evolved into a book series, C. S. Lewis' "The Chronicles of Narnia" is a tale of the adventures of children from this world that visit an alternate realm. This other dimension has a few mythical creatures, some human-like beings, and many talking animals. Although the story includes a "secular" lion (although very briefly), the "Christian" savior of this land usually appears as an omnipotent lion. I find this work of literature to be a beneficial way of teaching some of the Christian beliefs to young people.

Although I have vague memories of a few more, the titles of such escape me. I welcome any emails that would jar my limited memory and expand this list.

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