The Little Lion Hunter

The Little Lion Hunter
The Little Lion Hunter
Directed by	Charles Jones
Story by	Robert Givens ; Tedd Pierce (uncredited)
Produced by	Leon Schlesinger
Music by	Carl W. Stalling
Animation by	Philip Monroe
Layouts by	Robert Givens
Backgrounds by	Paul Julian
Color process	Technicolor
Production; company	Leon Schlesinger Productions
Distributed by	Warner Bros. ; The Vitaphone Corporation
Release date	September 23, 1939; (earliest known date)
Running time	7:16
Language	None

Last updated February 06, 2026

The Little Lion Hunter is a Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies cartoon. The short was released to theaters as early as September 23, 1939.^[2] This short was the first of a series of five films featuring the Inki and mynah bird characters.^[3]

Plot

Little African boy Inki is out hunting in the jungle with his spear, but has some difficulty in capturing any animals. He is also oblivious to the fact that a ferocious lion has selected him as prey and is sneaking up on him.

Home media

The Little Lion Hunter is available in an unrestored version on both the VHS tape The Best of Bugs Bunny and Friends and the laserdisc The Golden Age of Looney Tunes Volume 2 (side 4).

Notes

↑ Archived from an September 24 article, this is based on the fact that new cartoon shorts would typically premiere in theaters on Saturdays.

References

↑ Jones, Chuck (1989). "The Writers: The Slum Kid, the Scion, and Me", Chuck Amuck: The Life and Times of an Animated Cartoonist (in en). Farrar Straus Giroux, page 114. ISBN 978-0374123482.
1 2 "The Little Lion Hunter - Earliest Known Date". The Daily Democrat-News. September 23, 1939. p. 4. Retrieved November 15, 2025.
↑ Beck, Jerry; Friedwald, Will (1989). Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies: A Complete Illustrated Guide to the Warner Bros. Cartoons. Henry Holt and Co. p. 94. ISBN 0-8050-0894-2.

External links

The Little Lion Hunter at IMDb

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[3] Archived from an September 24 article, this is based on the fact that new cartoon shorts would typically premiere in theaters on Saturdays.

[1] Jones, Chuck (1989). "The Writers: The Slum Kid, the Scion, and Me", Chuck Amuck: The Life and Times of an Animated Cartoonist (in en). Farrar Straus Giroux, page 114. ISBN 978-0374123482.

[earliest-2] 1 2 "The Little Lion Hunter - Earliest Known Date". The Daily Democrat-News. September 23, 1939. p. 4. Retrieved November 15, 2025.

[Beck-4] Beck, Jerry; Friedwald, Will (1989). Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies: A Complete Illustrated Guide to the Warner Bros. Cartoons. Henry Holt and Co. p. 94. ISBN 0-8050-0894-2.

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