Rabbit Ears: Koi and the Kola Nuts

'Koi and the Kola Nuts' was an unfamiliar story to me for a long time and it was actually this 1991 Rabbit Ears Productions adaptation from the "We All Have Tales" series that introduced me to it. Having loved how Rabbit Ears adapted it so much, it immediately gave me the incentive to get to know the story more and to this day it entertains and inspires me. It also inspired me to read more folk-tales, not just from Africa but from around the world.

While loving it first time and having always loved it, 'Koi and the Kola Nuts' is one of those Rabbit Ears Productions adaptations that got better with each experience. It is very close to being one of my favourites from Rabbit Ears, due to being one of their most colourful, most entertaining and best narrated, and has always to me been one of the standout adaptations of the "We All Have Tales" series, along with 'Peachboy', 'East of the Sun, West of the Moon' and 'The Fool and the Flying Ship'.

Don't know where to begin with the praise. A good start would be the narration from Whoopi Goldberg, which is nothing short of amazing. Her narration is regal and just love the individual personalities she gives to the various characters and the amount of depth she brought to Koi. Not just that she also injects a good amount of humour and was clearly having fun delivering it, the "he's no son of a chief" verse could easily have been ordinary or mean-spirited but Goldberg's delivery was infectiously amusing.

The visuals are terrific, the vibrancy of the colours and the meticulous richess of the background detail are a feast on the eye. Just as striking were the designs for the animals, especially the alligator. Herbie Hancock's music is an ideal fit too, it has always to me had a "transported me into the African jungle" vibe to it, so authentic were the sounds and rhythms. It has calmness at times when the story is more relaxed while also having some genuine foreboding with the alligator.

All the writing is immensely engaging and is never too simplistic or too complicated, Goldberg's delivery of it enhancing the impact. All the characters are colourful in personality and Koi has real progression as a lead character. The story is told with a lot of charm and energy, and to me the cannibalism theme while hardly a minor part of the story is not laid on too thick. Will say though that this is probably not the best introduction to the company's work for the younger viewers, big emphasis on probably as not everybody is going to be the same.

In conclusion, absolutely wonderful. 10/10.