The Legend of Zelda (TV series)
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| The Legend of Zelda | |
 Title screen, shown at the beginning of each show |
|
| Genre | Fantasy, action, adventure |
|---|---|
| Format | Animated series |
| Starring | Cyndy Preston Jonathan Potts Len Carlson Colin Fox Elizabeth Hanna |
| Country of origin |  United States Canada |
| No. of episodes | 13 |
| Production | |
| Producer(s) | DiC Entertainment |
| Running time | 15 minutes |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | Fox PAX (Re-runs) |
| Original run | September 8, 1989 – December 1, 1989 |
The Legend of Zelda is an American animated series loosely based on the Japanese first and second The Legend of Zelda games for the Nintendo Entertainment System, Produced by: DiC Entertainment.
Contents |
[edit] Show premise
Each episode of Zelda followed the adventures of the hero Link and Princess Zelda as they defended the kingdom of Hyrule from an evil wizard named Ganon. Most episodes consisted of Ganon (or his minions) either attempting to capture the Triforce of Wisdom from Zelda, kidnap Zelda herself, or use another method to conquer Hyrule. Link and Zelda are in some episodes assisted and accompanied by a fairy-princess, Sprite.
A common running joke of the series was Link's repeated failure to convince Zelda that he deserved a kiss for his heroic deeds; whenever it seemed they were going to kiss, something bad would happen.
Zelda also had more of a protagonist role in the show than in the video games up to that point, where she is a character the player must rescue. While Link saves Zelda in a few episodes, she mostly battles with Link, often using a bow and arrow.
Link usually met Zelda's obstinate rejection with his trademark sarcastic catchphrase, "Well! Excuuuuuse me, Princess!". The series was to be continued but was canceled along with The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!. The series is one of only four productions in which Link talks, the others being the CD-i games, manga series and comic series.
[edit] Game references
While direct referencing of the game is loose, the series featured some recognizable monsters, items and locations from the game. The seemingly impossible numbers of items that Link and Zelda are able to carry is not directly explained in the series but instead in the episodes the items they carry are magically shrunk when the items are placed in pouches or pockets.
Sound effects from The Legend of Zelda are used. The TV series is based heavily on The Legend of Zelda, but a few references are made to Zelda II: The Adventure of Link (for example, Ganon is often seen riding a Lowder, an insect-like beetle seen in Zelda II, but not The Legend of Zelda).
Rather than arrows, the bows in the cartoon shoot beam-like projectiles, as does Link's sword (this happens in a few Zelda games when Link's hearts are full). Link's beams can destroy most monsters, but not people, as shown in the episode Sing for the Unicorn.
Some monsters seen in the series include Moblins, an Octorok, Gohma, Aquamentus, Keese and Ropes. Rupees appear, but are called Rubies. The series uses sound effects as well as renditions of background tunes from the games.
[edit] DVD release
[edit] North American releases
The Zelda cartoons were first shown every Friday as part of The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! in 1989. The Super Show introduction and live action sequences were kept intact, as they were the base format for the series, but Zelda was shown in place of the animated Super Mario Bros. series which ran during the rest of the week. Each episode ran for around fifteen minutes. The series was produced by DiC Entertainment and distributed for syndicated television by Viacom Enterprises (now CBS Television Distribution, though they, DiC and Nintendo now own full rights), and were made in association with Nintendo of America. Due to the syndicated nature of the The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!, only one season of sixty-five episodes was made, and Zelda was aborted after thirteen episodes. However, slightly modified versions of the characters of Link and Zelda, together with their original voice actors (Jonathan Potts and Cynthia Preston, respectively), were later transplanted into Captain N: The Game Master, also produced by DiC Entertainment.
Clips previewing the episodes were shown in the middle of the live-action segments when the Mario cartoon was shown. These clips were cut from most of the video releases as well as Yahooligans! TV, but restored for the Super Mario Bros. Super Show DVD set (except for "King Mario of Cramalot").
With the Super Mario Bros. cartoon, Zelda was first released to the public in the form of two-episode VHS tapes in the early 1990s. Only three volumes were issued, and the color of the VHS slipcases attempted to match the gold color of the original NES games.
The initial release of Zelda on DVD was by the animation company Allumniation Filmworks, in the early 2000s. The first DVD, Ganon's Evil Tower, was released on July 22, 2003, including three episodes of the Zelda cartoon and two of Sonic Underground. The second DVD was released on September 27, 2005, titled Havoc in Hyrule, containing a further five Zelda episodes.
The complete Zelda series was released on October 18, 2005 by Shout! Factory, with extra bonus features such as interactive DVD games and line art from the series. However, it did not include all of the associated The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! live action segments. Some were included as bonus features.[1]
[edit] United Kingdom
The Zelda cartoons were originally shown in the UK on the early morning TV show, TV-am, in the early 1990s, they were shown during the half-term holidays around 9am. They were never commissioned for a second rerun. They were also shown on CITV in the 1990s within The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!, they also were shown on Channel 4 on its Sunday morning kids line up that included the likes of Jayce and the Wheeled Warriors.
In 1992, Tempo Video released two videos with three episodes per tape. The Legend of Zelda shared a tape with Captain N: The Game Master, which included the episode Underworld Connections.
Shout Factory was unable to distribute the DVD in the UK or in Region 2 format DVD, as it does not have the licensing rights in the UK. They only hold the rights for the Region 1 release. The current distribution rights for the UK are held by Maximum Entertainment, so far though, there are no plans to release The Legend of Zelda at the present time.
[edit] Voice cast
- Cyndy Preston as Princess Zelda
- Jonathan Potts as Link
- Len Carlson as Ganon and Moblins
- Colin Fox as King Harkinian
- Allan Stewart-Coates as the Triforce of Power
- Elizabeth Hanna as the Triforce of Wisdom
- Paulina Gillis as Spryte and Sing
[edit] Episodes
| # | Title | Original airdate | Prod. | Summary # |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "The Ringer" | September 8, 1989 | 101 | Tired of lack of action, Link lets his guard down to invading Moblins. Link counter attacks with his sword and banishes the Moblins procuring a bow left behind. While Zelda resigns Link to fully guard the triforce, Ganondorf is angry with his failed minions and penetrates Hyrule in disguise. Ganondorf gets Link out of the way with a dragon attacking Zelda. Before Ganondorf can get away, Link cuts him off, defeats his skeletons and rescues the triforce of wisdom. |
| 2 | "Cold Spells" | September 15, 1989 | 102 | |
| 3 | "The White Knight" | September 22, 1989 | 103 | |
| 4 | "Kiss 'N Tell" | September 29, 1989 | 104 | |
| 5 | "Sing for the Unicorn" | October 6, 1989 | 105 | |
| 6 | "That Sinking Feeling" | October 13, 1989 | 106 | |
| 7 | "Doppelganger" | October 20, 1989 | 107 | |
| 8 | "Underworld Connections" | October 27, 1989 | 108 | |
| 9 | "Stinging a Stinger" | November 3, 1989 | 109 | |
| 10 | "A Hitch in the Works" | November 10, 1989 | 110 | |
| 11 | "Fairies in the Spring" | November 17, 1989 | 111 | |
| 12 | "The Missing Link" | November 24, 1989 | 112 | |
| 13 | "The Moblins Are Revolting" | December 1, 1989 | 113 |
[edit] Reception
IGN rated the DVD release of The Legend of Zelda a 3.0, or "Bad", citing poor writing, repeated plots, and over the top acting.[1] Link's catch phrase "Excuuuuuuse Me, Princess!" is a commonly used in-joke used by video game players, and is spoken by Link on 49 occasions throughout the 13 episodes.[1]
[edit] References
- ^ a b Michael S. Drucker (2005-09-30). "The Legend of Zelda: The Complete Animated Series". IGN. http://dvd.ign.com/articles/655/655002p1.html. Retrieved on 2008-04-06.
