Sandokan - The tiger of Malaysia
(Cartoon)

Sandokan's cartoons were born from a co-production between Studio Sek, RAI and Mondo TV directed by Marco and Gi Pagot and screenplay by Giorgia Cecere, Alessandro Scalco, Lucia Zei. The first series "Sandokan, the tiger of Malaysia", made in 1998, consists of 26 episodes lasting 25 minutes each. The subsequent series"Sandokan, The tiger still roars" is "Sandokan, The courage of the tiger"are respectively from 2000 and 2004, also made up of 26 episodes lasting 25 minutes, but directed by Giuseppe Laganà.
The cartoon allows for some variations from the original novel by Emilo Salgari, as we find Sandokan who lives in Sigapore with Macassar, his old teacher who raised him and does not know his past. Right on the verge of death, Macassar tells the young Sandokan about his true identity. His father was the Raja of Kiltar who was killed with his family by Dayachi mercenaries, Sandokan as a child was the only survivor of the massacre. Macassar entrusts him with the medallion with the emblem of a tiger, the symbol of his father's kingdom, and directs him to James Brooke the Governor of Labuan, the only one who knew the secret of that terrible night. Sandokan embarks as a boy on a ship to go to Labuan and here he meets Yanez, a shrewd Portuguese gambler, involved in a fight. Sandokan and Yanez will become inseparable friends, as well as with Kammamuri, a ten-year-old Indian boy. Yanez's enemies set the ship on fire, but James Brook's granddaughter, the beautiful Marianna, remains locked in her cabin. Sandokan then bravely faces the flames and brings her to safety, but of her he will remain only the pendant with the pearl, which he wore around his neck and his sweet memory. Once in Labuan on a raft, Sandokan and Yanez meet Governor Brooke, who tells the facts of that bloody night, where the figure of the Raja of Kiltar is described as that of a ferocious tyrant, responsible for that tragedy. But something doesn't convince Sandokan, who, remembering Mocassar's story, realizes Brooke's lie, so he decides to frame him with the evidence of his misdeeds, behind the mask of a benevolent Governor. Disguised as a stable boy, Sandokan enters the garrison and discovers that Brooke is hiding a trade in diamonds from her father's kingdom, falsifying accounting records against the English kingdom. Sandokan goes to Queen Lady Carradine's emissary to accuse Brooke, but Brooke has him locked up in jail, along with his inseparable friend Yanez. The two manage to escape and leave Labuan with a makeshift boat, but they face a terrible storm, which forces them to shipwreck near the island of Mompracem. On the island they find the pirates led by the terrible Typhoon Fletcher, but thanks to some tricks, they put the pirate leader to flight and win the trust of his men, with whom they will give life to the Tigers of Malaysia. Thanks to that small army of pirates, Sandokan decides to attack the freight ship "Queen Victoria" commanded by Brooke, where his Malaysian allies fight valiantly, despite the military superiority of their opponents. After this battle they return to Mompracen. Sandokan tries to steal the ammunition inside Brooke's garrison, but is shipwrecked along the coasts of Labuan and here is found unconscious by the beautiful Marianna, who without recognizing him, takes him with her to the palace and falls in love with him. Sandokan, also in love with Marianna, is recognized by Brooke and imprisoned. Thanks to the girl's help, he manages to escape and Praho takes him back to Mompracem. In order to kidnap Marianna, Yanez sets up a plan: he pretends to betray Sandokan and hands him over to the British in exchange for his bounty. Yanez manages to remove Brooke from the residence so Sandokan can escape with Marianna.

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All characters and images of Sandokan are copyright Mondo TV, Studio Sek, RAI and of the right holders. They are used here for cognitive and informative purposes