Kimboo is a Franco-Ivorian animated television series which originally aired on France's FR3 during 1989–1990. Created by the Côte d'Ivoire's then-First Lady Marie-Thérèse Houphouët-Boigny, its title character—an Ivorian boy who journeys from his home village with a sister and a pet parrot—was designated as an ambassador for Africa's children and culture. Consisting of 48 five-minute episodes, the series was accompanied by a tie-in magazine and book series and also exported abroad. Kimboo and Kids, a 30-minute U.S. version featuring market-exclusive live-action segments, was the first animated program to air on the Black Entertainment Television (BET) network during 1991–1992, receiving a Parents' Choice Award after its run ended.

Kimboo, a 10-year-old boy, lives in the Côte d'Ivoire village of Yampoupou^[a] with his sister Kita and pet parrot Ako. He daydreams of travelling around the world someday, but his grandfather insists he begin exploring his home country first. After winning a local singing contest, he sets off with Kita and Ako on an adventure that takes them to Abidjan, Benin, Senegal, Timbuktu, Tunisia, Marseille, Paris, and New York City.^[2]

• Pilou Coton as Kimboo
• Marie-Christine "Maïk" Darah [fr] as Kita
• Mohamed Rouabhi [fr] as Ako

Kimboo was the first animated series to feature a native African main character. It was created by Marie-Thérèse Houphouët-Boigny, the First Lady of the Côte d'Ivoire at the time.^[1] Since African children wanted an animated character they could relate to instead of what they saw in Western-produced fare,^[1] Houphouët-Boigny set out to produce a show whose title character would serve as an ambassador for the continent's children and culture;^[8] "carry a message of hope" to that demographic; and "help create the foundations of true international brotherhood".^[1] Her project was an effort to combat dated perceptions and depictions of African culture in media.^[1] She spent one year developing the series,^[1] which cost ₣12 million overall with support from France.^[4] Among the series' crew were French filmmaker Alain Jaspard^[5] and "Soul Makossa" composer Manu Dibango.^[3]

Kimboo was first broadcast on 23 October 1989 on FR3 as a five-minute program, running for 48 episodes until 1990.^[2] It premiered on Ivorian television in December 1989 as Houphouët-Boigny's "Christmas gift" to local young viewers, and was also exported within and outside the African market.^[1] An eponymous tie-in magazine from Editions Magnans, which launched that November^[8] and ran for five or six issues,^[6] was illustrated by designer and Magnans owner Frédéric Beltran.^[6] Around the same time, the show became the basis of Les aventures de Kimboo, a children's book series from EDICEF^[8] with Ivorian distribution by CEDA.^[6] Its first title, Boubou et Ako, was written by Caya Makhélé [fr] and illustrated by Laurent Lalo (Maïga).^[6]

In late July 1990, Black Entertainment Television (BET) picked up the U.S. broadcast rights.^[9] Although announced for January 1991,^[10] the first tapings of their eventual version, Kimboo and Kids, did not occur until that March.^[7] Airing as a half-hour Saturday-morning program and featuring hosted live-action wraparounds exclusive to the U.S. market,^[7][11] Kimboo and Kids premiered on 20 April 1991^[12] and ran until the following September.^[13] The first animated series to air on BET, it preceded their in-house production Hey Monie! by 12 years.^[14] In late November 1992, this version won a Parents' Choice Award in the National Television category alongside Lamb Chop's Play-Along, The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles, and Nickelodeon Special Edition: A Conversation with Magic.^[15]

In 2005, media historian Hal Erickson lamented Kimboo's obscurity and absence from the U.S. airwaves despite its landmark status for animation and BET:

It seems incredible that an animated series [from around] the early 1990s could have vanished as though the earth had completely swallowed it, but such seems to be the case with the half-hour [U.S. version].... Even BET seems to have forgotten all about Kimboo.^[14]

• Kirikou, a French animated franchise set in Africa
• List of programs broadcast by BET

• Kimboo at IMDb