The Legend of Zelda is an American animated series based on the Japanese first and second The Legend of Zelda games for the Nintendo Entertainment System, airing from September 8 to December 1, 1989. The show was produced by DiC Entertainment and distributed by Viacom Enterprises.
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 aside Link, often using a bow and arrow.
Link usually met Zelda's obstinate rejection with his 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.
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.
DVD release
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), 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 four 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 and Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, 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. Again, like The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! DVDs, neither the Viacom nor CBS Telvision Ditribution follows because due to the fact that CBS nor Viacom no longer retain any ownership.
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.
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
Main Characters
- Link closely emulates his video game sprite, wearing a green long hat with a lighter green stripe around the brow, and a green tunic with a brown belt. Underneath the tunic he wore a light leathery brown long shirt and pants and a pair of tall dark brown boots. He always carried his magic sword with him which was capable of firing bolts of pink colored energy to dispose of enemies. He is an adept swordsman and a quick thinker, he is somewhat childish in nature he often tries to get out of his own responsibilities and winds up in more trouble than he predicts. Despite his character flaws he has a very noble heart and will go out of his way to protect anyone; especially Zelda who he likes.
- Zelda has a more detailed view than her previous appearances in the video games, she is about as tall as Link with shoulder length blond hair. She wears a pair of garnet colored orb earrings and a blue linked tiara on her head. Her clothing consists of a blue vest and a purple overshirt, somewhat escaping the "traditional" role of a princess, she wears a pair of lavender pants and a pair of reddish tan boots. Her personality is somewhere between stuck-up and compassionate of others, she would die to protect her kingdom from harm. At one with the Triforce of Wisdom she is well versed in its magics and can wield its power, she is also quite skilled with the bow and the boomerang and uses both on several occasions. She secretly loves Link, though she doesn't tell him, mostly because she doesn't want it going to his head.
- Spryte is modeled after the generic fairies in the Legend of Zelda video game. She has a short tunic for an outfit and her short, cropped hair is a sandy blond color (though occasional glitches switch it to a darker brown). She is smart mouthed, quick and full of magical energy, her father is king of the fairies and she works as an assistant, or servant to Zelda.
- King Harkanian is Zelda's father, King of all Hyrule. Though never seen in the game he is all-too present in the series. He is a tall, somewhat rotund king with a snow white beard and a gold crown. Somewhat dim witted, as most fathers can be portrayed he also has a knack of ingenuity, loyalty to his country and a profound insight into those around him. He is a wise ruler, though forgetful and fearful of Gannon, unlike his daughter who is constantly fighting him. He has no affinity with magic and apparently portrays superior diplomatic abilities.
- Triforce of Wisdom is more of a magical object than a member of the castle, a glowing green triangular talisman her sage advise is often given in riddles and rhyme, which unlike the blood red Triforce of Power whose dominating male voice is more
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