Winner and the Golden Child

Winner and the Golden Child (Italian: Winner e il bambino della quinta profezia) is a 2004 special animated series, that was based off from two previous animated series, The Legend of Sleeping Beauty and Simba the King Lion and distributed by Mondo TV.

Synopsis
Prince Rakhal – accompanied by his convoy of the five knights of nature – return to the Royal palace in the land of dinosaurs. They escort Ari – the young son of Rakhal and Kindra, known by all as the child of the fifth prophecy who is to be crowned king of the Lands Forgotten in Time and the Land of Dinosaurs. Suddenly… without warning and with furious anger, the forces of evil– led by the wicked Maya and her allies – attack the palace and attempt to capture the young king.

Plot
With incredible violence, the forces of evil, led by the wicked Maya and her allies, Tanatos, Barbarian, Magic and Sterminio, attack the palace with the intention of capturing the little king. Rakhal, the dinosaurs and the knights of nature respond to the attack, but the most important thing is to keep the child of the fifth prophecy safe. The prophecy declares that he is the only one who will be able, as soon as he becomes an adult, to defeat, forever, the forces of evil. Light, the young lioness, daughter of Simba, thanks to her powers appears with her heavenly body in the throne room to help the little prince escape into the Black Forest.

The young prince hops on the back of Cordall, the saber-tooth leopard, and guided by Luce they reach the Black Forest. They find Winner, Cicci, Simba, Buckshot, and Fox stunned to behold the cub of a human and become even more so when Cordall explains that he is the young king of the Land of Dinosaurs and needs a place to keep himself hidden. Winner, Simba and the others assemble to understand the meaning of the fifth prophecy and to decide where they can bring Ari so that he can be raised safely.

The prophecy claims that the child must live in a place where no other king has trodden. So it cannot be the Black Forest, the kingdoms of Buckshot, Kilimanjaro, Simba, and nor of King Brion plus the Enchanted Forest. Nobody can find a resolution until Cicci, with the secret suggestion of little Ari, comes up with the perfect solution: the little king will grow up in the jungle, loved and protected the way Simba was during his time. Arbor immediately takes on the duty.

Light takes the advice of Winner and Cicci and begins to get comfortable with her new surroundings that were so unknown to her previously, while Fox is convinced that a dog from the Bronx is capable of surviving anywhere and takes the advice of no one. By exploring a completely unknown territory with such presumptuousness, he is forced to pay dearly; his misfortunes become Ari’s main source of entertainment.

The life of little Ari is never boring and there’s always something new for him to do, everyday a different animal personally teaches him his secrets under the watchful eyes of Cordall, Winner and Cicci who praise the progresses of the small king. Myellin, the wise old owl, aside from the values of life, teaches the young Ari how to get about in the dark by carefully listening to the sounds around him and identifying the almost imperceptible variations in smell and humidity, as well as many other little tricks.

Ari avoids telling Myellin that his special powers are starting to manifest themselves. Ari’s adventures continue day after day, packed with little thrills, fear and good times—even when he must face the dangerous and villainous tiger, Shere Khan that wants to conquer and take over the jungle. In the end, the great challenge was played out on a soccer field on which the tiger’s team squares off against Ari’s. Maya the witch was forever to be transformed into a vulture thanks to Ari’s magic powers.

Main

 * Winner
 * Ari
 * Fox
 * Cicci
 * Light/Luce
 * Micr, Piath, Proth, Argy, and Frick

Supporting

 * Arbor
 * The Elemental Knights
 * Aurora
 * Chaca
 * Cordall
 * Augustine
 * Mother Wolf
 * Cricket
 * Kaa
 * Baloo
 * Myellin
 * The King of the Rocks
 * Simba
 * Buckshot
 * Lennywig

Villains

 * Maya
 * Shere Khan
 * Kurdy/Iena
 * Maya's snake and vulture

Trivia

 * There seems to be a continuity error here. Fox acts this was the first time he has ever entered the Jungle and made friends with Buckshot and his herd; he does long for the city but despite the flashback on how he showed his heroism, this was another error as if they never met.

International versions

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