Leonardo da Vinci's Vault was the thirty-sixth episode of the 1991 animated television series, James Bond Jr, produced by Murakami-Wolf-Swenson and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Animation. Written by Jeffrey Scott, the episode first aired on US television on 4th November 1991. The episode would also inspire the plot of the Super NES variant of the James Bond Jr. video game.
Plot[]
The episode opens as Maximillion Cortex steals a painting by Leonardo da Vinci from the museum of Venice; hypnotising one of the guards into helping him escape. At Warfield Academy, I.Q. sneaks out the front gate disguised as Principal Milbanks. As he travels to Italy to see the painting, the other students try to keep his departure a secret from the treacherous Trevor, who gloatingly shows the sick I.Q. (in reality a bundle of bed-sheets and a tape recorder) a newspaper headline detailing the painting's theft. They leave for Italy, through the school's drain system. In his secret hideout, Cortex examines the painting under an electron x-ray scanner; discovering a secret map detailing the location of a secret weapon designed by the inventor. Meanwhile at the museum, James Bond Jr. literally bumps into a distressed museum employee named Sophia; who is concerned that if the painting is not returned she well lose her job. Despite looking for the sightseeing I.Q., Bond volunteers to find the villain.
All their paths cross at an oil paint factory frequented by da Vinci. Looking for the next clue to the vault's location, Cortex and his henchmen, Left and Right Brain, steal a stained glass window created by the painter. The villains truss up the students and put them on a conveyor belt leading to a paint mixing machine. Bond escapes using the acetylene torch in his watch and frees his friends. In the process he falls into the mixer, but manages to evade the blades using his pair of Magnetic Sneakers. They examine I.Q.'s photograph of the window; noticing hidden clue pointing toward the Library of St. Coppola. The students check the museum archives and discover an x-ray copy of the painting and its hidden map; suddenly realising Cortex's plan.
At the library, Bond and Sophia discover a secret passageway leading to underground catacombs... and the vault. They are cornered by Cortex, who paralyses Bond using his Hypnosis Ring and seals them in one of the tombs. In Warfield, Trevor finally discovers that the "ill" I.Q. has been faking his presence there. Back in Italy, I.Q. and the gang follow Bond's footprints to the passageway. Nearly suffocating, Bond frees himself and Sophia by chipping through the crumbling stone using an old sword. They all meet in the vault, where Cortex has hijacked da Vinci's Laser-Equipped Submarine. Sophia boards as it departs for the ocean. She is followed by Bond, who uses a Grappling Device to barefoot ski behind the vessel and sneak on board. On the bridge, they manage to reclaim the painting; but are held at gunpoint and forced into the torpedo tube. Bond kicks the gun from Cortex's hand, sabotages the controls and escapes with the girl using the tube. The vessel's engines subsequently overheat and it violently explodes.
They episode ends with the group returning to Warfield. They pretend to sleep as Trevor brings the Principal to examine the "empty" bedroom; resulting in him being disciplined instead.
Cast & Characters[]
Trivia[]
- I.Q. leaves a message for Bond on his computer terminal prefaced "For Your Eyes Only".
- The episode features Bond Jr. using a harpoon gun to bare-foot ski behind a moving vehicle, harking back to Bond skiing behind a Sanchez Cartel air-plane in Licence to Kill (1989).