The Bushbaby
Encyclopedia
The Bushbaby is a 1969 film based on the novel The Bushbabies
(1965) by William Stevenson
and adapted by Robert Maxwell
. It was directed and produced by John Trent and stars Margaret Brooks and Lou Gossett
in the title roles, also starring Donald Houston
and Laurence Naismith
.
The film tells an episode in the life of Jackie Leeds, daughter of John Leeds. When the Africa
n country in which they reside, Kenya
, declares its independence
, John Leeds assumes that he's lost his job and must leave for London
with his daughter. This proves difficult for Jackie, who is convinced that she belongs in Kenya, specially after their friend Tembo presents her with a pet bushbaby that she names "Komba," which she'll have to return to its natural habitat prior to leaving.
The film was the first adaptation of the book The Bushbabies
by William Stevenson. Decades later, in 1992, the story was adapted for television as an anime series belonging to the World Masterpiece Theater
from Nippon Animation
. The series received the international English title of The Bush Baby
(大草原の小さな天使 ブッシュベイビー, Sougen no chiisana tenshi busshu beibii)
n grassland
s, Jackie Leeds and her family's native friend and servant, Tembo Murumbi, chase a young galago
about its preferred habitat, a baobab tree
. Tembo catches the small animal and offers it to Jackie as a gift; she names the small bushbaby "Komba." A year or so passes since this first encounter, and one day at church, Komba's playfulness causes commotion, disrupting the daily hymn. Feeling defeated, the pastor yields the podium to Professor Crankshaw, who takes the opportunity to bid farewell to a number of church members. Jackie notices that Crankshaw, 'Cranky' as she calls him, looks firmly into her father's eyes as he speaks, and she becomes alarmed. After church, Jackie's suspicions are confirmed when her father explains that, due to the new powers in Kenya's government, his employment as a game warden
is likely to be terminated. They'll leave for London
where he'll fill an opening at the zoo
. Jackie is upset at the news, specially when she learns that Komba will have to be left behind. For Jackie, leaving Africa
means leaving the home she's known all of her life: her school, her friends, and the grave of her mother, Penelope Leeds, who had been killed in the uprising of 1961.
until December of 1993. It has not been released in either DVD
or Blu-ray format, becoming part of MGM's infamous moratorum of unreleased films.
The Bushbabies
The Bushbabies is a children's novel by Canadian author William Stevenson published in 1965. The book was inspired by Stevenson's own life in Kenya, where his daughter Jackie, to whom the book is dedicated, kept a bushbaby named Kamau as a pet...
(1965) by William Stevenson
William Stevenson (Canadian writer)
William Stevenson is a British-born Canadian author and journalist.His 1976 book A Man Called Intrepid was about William Stephenson and was a best-seller...
and adapted by Robert Maxwell
Robert Maxwell
Ian Robert Maxwell MC was a Czechoslovakian-born British media proprietor and former Member of Parliament , who rose from poverty to build an extensive publishing empire...
. It was directed and produced by John Trent and stars Margaret Brooks and Lou Gossett
Louis Gossett, Jr.
Louis Cameron Gossett, Jr. is an American actor best known for his role as Gunnery Sergeant Emil Foley in the 1982 film An Officer and a Gentleman and Fiddler in the 1970s television miniseries Roots...
in the title roles, also starring Donald Houston
Donald Houston
Donald Daniel Houston was a Welsh actor whose first two films – The Blue Lagoon with Jean Simmons, and A Run for Your Money with Sir Alec Guinness – were highly successful...
and Laurence Naismith
Laurence Naismith
Laurence Naismith was an English actor.Naismith appeared in films such as Carrington VC , Richard III , Sink the Bismarck! , Jason and the Argonauts , and Diamonds Are Forever . He also starred in a children's ghost film The Amazing Mr Blunden...
.
The film tells an episode in the life of Jackie Leeds, daughter of John Leeds. When the Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
n country in which they reside, Kenya
Kenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
, declares its independence
Independence
Independence is a condition of a nation, country, or state in which its residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory....
, John Leeds assumes that he's lost his job and must leave for London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
with his daughter. This proves difficult for Jackie, who is convinced that she belongs in Kenya, specially after their friend Tembo presents her with a pet bushbaby that she names "Komba," which she'll have to return to its natural habitat prior to leaving.
The film was the first adaptation of the book The Bushbabies
The Bushbabies
The Bushbabies is a children's novel by Canadian author William Stevenson published in 1965. The book was inspired by Stevenson's own life in Kenya, where his daughter Jackie, to whom the book is dedicated, kept a bushbaby named Kamau as a pet...
by William Stevenson. Decades later, in 1992, the story was adapted for television as an anime series belonging to the World Masterpiece Theater
World Masterpiece Theater
is a Japanese TV anime staple that showcased an animated version of a different classical book or story each year on 7:30p.m. on Sunday. It originally aired from 1969 to 1997 then resumed in 2007....
from Nippon Animation
Nippon Animation
is a Japanese animation studio. The company is headquartered in Tokyo, with chief offices in the Ginza district of Chūō and production facilities in Tama City....
. The series received the international English title of The Bush Baby
The Bush Baby
, shortened as The Bush Baby, is the title of a 1992 anime series consisting of 40, 25-minute episodes. It is based on the novel, The Bushbabies , by Canadian author William Stevenson....
(大草原の小さな天使 ブッシュベイビー, Sougen no chiisana tenshi busshu beibii)
Plot
One night in the KenyaKenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
n grassland
Grassland
Grasslands are areas where the vegetation is dominated by grasses and other herbaceous plants . However, sedge and rush families can also be found. Grasslands occur naturally on all continents except Antarctica...
s, Jackie Leeds and her family's native friend and servant, Tembo Murumbi, chase a young galago
Galago
Galagos , also known as bushbabies, bush babies or nagapies , are small, nocturnal primates native to continental Africa, and make up the family Galagidae...
about its preferred habitat, a baobab tree
Adansonia
Adansonia is a genus of eight species of tree, six native to Madagascar, one native to mainland Africa and the Arabian Peninsula and one to Australia. The mainland African species also occurs on Madagascar, but it is not a native of that island....
. Tembo catches the small animal and offers it to Jackie as a gift; she names the small bushbaby "Komba." A year or so passes since this first encounter, and one day at church, Komba's playfulness causes commotion, disrupting the daily hymn. Feeling defeated, the pastor yields the podium to Professor Crankshaw, who takes the opportunity to bid farewell to a number of church members. Jackie notices that Crankshaw, 'Cranky' as she calls him, looks firmly into her father's eyes as he speaks, and she becomes alarmed. After church, Jackie's suspicions are confirmed when her father explains that, due to the new powers in Kenya's government, his employment as a game warden
Game warden
A game warden is an employee who has the role of protecting wildlife. Game wardens may also be referred to as conservation officers or wildlife officers...
is likely to be terminated. They'll leave for London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
where he'll fill an opening at the zoo
London Zoo
London Zoo is the world's oldest scientific zoo. It was opened in London on 27 April 1828, and was originally intended to be used as a collection for scientific study. It was eventually opened to the public in 1847...
. Jackie is upset at the news, specially when she learns that Komba will have to be left behind. For Jackie, leaving Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
means leaving the home she's known all of her life: her school, her friends, and the grave of her mother, Penelope Leeds, who had been killed in the uprising of 1961.
Cast
- Margaret Brooks - Jacqueline 'Jackie' Leeds
- Louis Gossett, Jr.Louis Gossett, Jr.Louis Cameron Gossett, Jr. is an American actor best known for his role as Gunnery Sergeant Emil Foley in the 1982 film An Officer and a Gentleman and Fiddler in the 1970s television miniseries Roots...
- Tembo Murumbi - Donald HoustonDonald HoustonDonald Daniel Houston was a Welsh actor whose first two films – The Blue Lagoon with Jean Simmons, and A Run for Your Money with Sir Alec Guinness – were highly successful...
- John Leeds - Laurence NaismithLaurence NaismithLaurence Naismith was an English actor.Naismith appeared in films such as Carrington VC , Richard III , Sink the Bismarck! , Jason and the Argonauts , and Diamonds Are Forever . He also starred in a children's ghost film The Amazing Mr Blunden...
- Professor 'Cranky' Crankshaw - Marne MaitlandMarne MaitlandJames Marne Maitland was an Anglo-Indian character actor in British films and television programmes.He made his film debut in Cairo Road , and went onto be type cast as villains from the Far East, particularly for Hammer Film Productions...
- Hadj - Geoffrey Baylon - Tilison
- Jack GwillimJack GwillimJack William Frederick Gwillim was a prolific English character actor.-Career:Born in Canterbury, Kent, England, he served in the Royal Navy for over twenty years, attaining the rank of Commander...
- Ardsley - Noel HowlettNoel HowlettNoel Howlett was an English actor, principally remembered as the incompetent headmaster, Morris Cromwell, in the ITV 1970s cult television programme Please Sir!...
- Reverend Barlow - Tommy Ansah - Policeman
- Jumoke Debayo - Bus woman
- Harold GoodwinHarold Goodwin (English actor)Harold Goodwin was an English actor born in Wombwell, Yorkshire, England.Goodwin trained at RADA and was a stage actor at Liverpool repertory theatre for 3 years...
- Steward Bertie - Charles HyattCharles HyattCharles Hyatt was an actor. Born in Kingston, Jamaica, he was a character actor and comedian who appeared in numerous films and television shows, beginning in the 1960s...
- Gideon - Willie Johah - Police sergeant
- Simon Lack - First officer
- Victor MaddernVictor MaddernVictor Jack Maddern was an English actor.Born in Seven Kings, Ilford, Essex, Maddern was one of large group of dependable supporting actors that British film produced over the years....
- Barman - Ellario Pedro - Policeman
- Martin WyldeckMartin Wyldeck-Selected filmography:* My Wife's Lodger * Time Bomb * Timeslip * Just Joe * The Girl on the Boat * The Pot Carriers * Night Must Fall * The Return of Mr...
- Captain - Sid Hunt - 2nd Officer
- Mohinder Singh Matharoo - Sikh policeman
- Johan Mkopi - Police Constable
- Kasesa Mayega - Elephant Poacher
Home video releases
The Bushbaby was not released on home videoVHS
The Video Home System is a consumer-level analog recording videocassette standard developed by Victor Company of Japan ....
until December of 1993. It has not been released in either DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
or Blu-ray format, becoming part of MGM's infamous moratorum of unreleased films.
See also
- William StevensonWilliam Stevenson (Canadian writer)William Stevenson is a British-born Canadian author and journalist.His 1976 book A Man Called Intrepid was about William Stephenson and was a best-seller...
- The BushbabiesThe BushbabiesThe Bushbabies is a children's novel by Canadian author William Stevenson published in 1965. The book was inspired by Stevenson's own life in Kenya, where his daughter Jackie, to whom the book is dedicated, kept a bushbaby named Kamau as a pet...
(1965) - "The Bushbaby: Little Angel of the GrasslandsThe Bush Baby, shortened as The Bush Baby, is the title of a 1992 anime series consisting of 40, 25-minute episodes. It is based on the novel, The Bushbabies , by Canadian author William Stevenson....
" (1992)