Lionel's Kingdom
Encyclopedia
Lionel's Kingdom is a set of fictional characters created in the 1960s-70s and appearing at the Monica's Gang
comic strips. All characters are animals, with the contact with human beings hardly happening. However, the animals are very personified, with almost all of them walking by two feet (except for Tim Turtle), most of them wearing clothes, and obviously, all of them being able to speak. Their home is a forest, presumably in Brazil
, although featuring mostly Africa
n animals.
Monica's Gang
Monica's Gang is a popular Brazilian comic book series. The series was created by Mauricio de Sousa, who signs his work as "Mauricio". Plots are centered on the adventures of a group of seven-year-old friends in the fictional neighborhood of "Limoeiro" in São Paulo...
comic strips. All characters are animals, with the contact with human beings hardly happening. However, the animals are very personified, with almost all of them walking by two feet (except for Tim Turtle), most of them wearing clothes, and obviously, all of them being able to speak. Their home is a forest, presumably in Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
, although featuring mostly 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 animals.
Characters
- Thunder (Jotalhão) – Although the English name of this set of characters is given after Lionel, Thunder is the true main character. He is a green elephantElephantElephants are large land mammals in two extant genera of the family Elephantidae: Elephas and Loxodonta, with the third genus Mammuthus extinct...
, with human-like hands, and one of the most beloved characters created by Mauricio de SousaMauricio de SousaMauricio de Sousa is a Brazilian cartoonist who has created over 200 characters for his popular series of children's comic books....
. He is very shy, calm, and a pacifist. He became famous when he appeared in a TV commercial for a tomato sauceTomato sauceA tomato sauce is any of a very large number of sauces made primarily from tomatoes, usually to be served as part of a dish...
of CICA, a defunct and now UnileverUnileverUnilever is a British-Dutch multinational corporation that owns many of the world's consumer product brands in foods, beverages, cleaning agents and personal care products....
-owned BrazilBrazilBrazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
ian food company. - King Lionel (Rei Leonino) - The king of the forest. This brown lionLionThe lion is one of the four big cats in the genus Panthera, and a member of the family Felidae. With some males exceeding 250 kg in weight, it is the second-largest living cat after the tiger...
feels really pleased to be occupying the throne and to be giving orders to his vassals, although he's not a dictator or an authoritarian. He lives in his palace, which is actually a cavern, protected by monkeyMonkeyA monkey is a primate, either an Old World monkey or a New World monkey. There are about 260 known living species of monkey. Many are arboreal, although there are species that live primarily on the ground, such as baboons. Monkeys are generally considered to be intelligent. Unlike apes, monkeys...
-guards. - Lou Courier (Ministro Luís Caxeiro) – Lionel's most important and loyal vassal and employee. Although he is officially the Minister of Come & Go, he serves Lionel more like a secretary. He serves as a messenger between Lionel and his kingdom, and vice-versa, making him also a spokesmanSpokesmanA spokesperson or spokesman or spokeswoman is someone engaged or elected to speak on behalf of others.In the present media-sensitive world, many organizations are increasingly likely to employ professionals who have received formal training in journalism, communications, public relations and...
. Lou is a blue hedgehogHedgehogA hedgehog is any of the spiny mammals of the subfamily Erinaceinae and the order Erinaceomorpha. There are 17 species of hedgehog in five genera, found through parts of Europe, Asia, Africa, and New Zealand . There are no hedgehogs native to Australia, and no living species native to the Americas...
. - Tim Turtle (Tarugo) – One of Thunder's best friends. This green jabuti wears glasses, and has his head coming out of the middle of his carapace, instead of the front edge, as a normal jabuti. Also, he has wheels instead of feet (although initially he would have normal feet). His Portuguese name is a pun on the word "Tartaruga", which means Turtle in that language.
- Raposão – Thunder's best friend, a smart foxFoxFox is a common name for many species of omnivorous mammals belonging to the Canidae family. Foxes are small to medium-sized canids , characterized by possessing a long narrow snout, and a bushy tail .Members of about 37 species are referred to as foxes, of which only 12 species actually belong to...
- Ant Rita (Rita Najura) – A small purple antAntAnts are social insects of the family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from wasp-like ancestors in the mid-Cretaceous period between 110 and 130 million years ago and diversified after the rise of flowering plants. More than...
. Her dream is to date Thunder, despite the extreme differences between them, either in size, either in species. Rita's attempts to date Thunder are almost the only subject of her strips. This situation may remind one of Piteco and Tooga, characters of another set related to Monica's Gang. Her Portuguese name is a joke on the word tanajura (Atta), a Brazilian species of ant. - Coelho Caolho – This rabbitRabbitRabbits are small mammals in the family Leporidae of the order Lagomorpha, found in several parts of the world...
also wears glasses and lives under the ground, on a burrowBurrowA burrow is a hole or tunnel dug into the ground by an animal to create a space suitable for habitation, temporary refuge, or as a byproduct of locomotion. Burrows provide a form of shelter against predation and exposure to the elements, so the burrowing way of life is quite popular among the...
filled with his uncountable children, a reference to the high rates of reproduction of rabbits. The official number of children is 118, although there are no instances where all 118 appear together.