The Legend of Zelda (TV series)


The Legend of Zelda is an American animated series based on the Japanese video game series The Legend of Zelda by Nintendo. The plot follows the adventures of Link and Princess Zelda as they defend the kingdom of Hyrule from an evil wizard named Ganon.
The series is heavily based on the first game of the Zelda series, The Legend of Zelda, but includes some references to the second, , a sequel to both games' events. The show was produced by DIC Enterprises and distributed by Viacom Enterprises in association with Nintendo of America, Inc. It comprises thirteen episodes which first aired in North America from September 8, 1989, to December 1, 1989.

Show premise

Each episode of The Legend of Zelda follows the adventures of the hero Link and Princess Zelda as they defend the kingdom of Hyrule from an evil wizard named Ganon, who somehow came into possession of the Triforce of Power. Most episodes consist of Ganon either attempting to capture the Triforce of Wisdom from Zelda, kidnap Zelda, or otherwise conquer Hyrule. Curiously, the Triforce of Courage is never seen or even mentioned in the series. In some episodes, Link and Zelda are assisted and accompanied by a fairy-princess, Spryte.
A common running joke of the series is Link's repeated failure to convince Zelda that he deserves a kiss for his heroic deeds. Whenever it seems they are going to kiss, they are interrupted. Although Link does kiss the clone of Zelda that Gannon creates in one episode and Zelda kisses Link in cross-over episodes of.
While Link saves Zelda in a few episodes, she often fights beside him using a bow and arrow or a boomerang.
Link usually meets Zelda's angry remarks with his sarcastic catchphrase, "Well, excuse me, Princess!". In the episode "Kiss'N Tell", Zelda uses a more elegant version reflective of her royal upbringing, "Well! Pardon me!"
The series was to be continued, but was canceled along with The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!.
The show is one of the few instances of Link having dialogue in The Legend of Zelda franchise. The games intentionally do not give Link dialogue. As Eiji Aonuma said, "since people have played Zelda over the years, they have their ideas of how Link might sound. If we were to put a voice in there that might not match up with someone else's image, then there would be a backlash to that. So we've tried to avoid that."

Voice cast

Game references

The TV series is based heavily on The Legend of Zelda. While direct referencing of the game is loose, the series features some recognizable monsters, items, sound effects, tunes, and locations. Some references are also made to . For example, in "The Ringer", Ganon is seen riding a Lowder, a beetle-like enemy seen in Zelda II.
Although there is no direct explanation for how Link and Zelda are able to carry seemingly infinite numbers of items, the TV series shows that the items they carry magically shrink when they are placed in pouches or pockets.
Rupees appear, but are called Rubies. Rather than arrows, the bows in the cartoon shoot beam-like projectiles. Just like in most of the games, Link's sword can shoot a beam attack. Link's beams can destroy most monsters, but not people, as shown in the episode "Sing for the Unicorn", when Link zaps Sing during a fight, but to no avail.

Broadcast

Edited versions of the episodes were a part of "Captain N and the Video Game Masters" from 1992 to 1993.

Home media

North American airings/DVDs

The Legend of Zelda was featured on every Friday episode of the Super Mario Bros. Super Show! in place of the Super Mario Bros. cartoons. Each episode ran for about fifteen minutes. The series was made in association with Nintendo of America, produced by DIC Enterprises, and distributed for syndicated television by Viacom Enterprises. Due to its syndicated nature, only one season of sixty-five episodes of the Super Mario Bros. Super Show! 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, were later transplanted into NBC's Saturday morning program , also produced by DIC Entertainment. In 1992, the episodes were time compressed and played in double episode format on the Captain N & The Video Game Masters syndication block. Zelda episodes were rarely shown, but at least once, the episodes "Underworld Connections" & "Doppleganger" aired with the titles switched around. It was played in this block from 1992–1993 in syndication, and from 1993–1995 on USA Network.
Clips previewing the episodes were shown in the middle of the live-action segments when the Mario cartoon was shown. These clips were cut out of the video releases and Yahooligans! TV, but were restored for the Super Mario Bros. Super Show DVD set.
Like with Super Show, Zelda was released onto VHS by Kids Klassics, who released the series on two-episode tapes in four volumes; the gold color of the VHS slipcases matched that of the original NES games.
Lions Gate Home Entertainment also included an episode each on their "Mario's Monster Madness" and "Action Adventures" VHSes; both also included on their DVD counterpart "Mario's Greatest Movie Moments".
Sterling Entertainment released another VHS/DVD titled Ganon's Evil Tower on July 22, 2003, which included three episodes. The DVD release also included 2 episodes of Sonic Underground as a bonus. The second DVD was released on September 27, 2005, titled Havoc in Hyrule, containing five episodes.
The complete Zelda series was released on October 18, 2005 by Shout! Factory and Sony BMG Music 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. This release has been discontinued and is out of print.
NCircle Entertainment eventually re-released Sterling's DVDs, and released another one titled "The Power of the Triforce" on July 22, 2008, which contained five episodes. NCircle re-released the complete series on May 22, 2012.

United Kingdom

The Legend of Zelda was originally shown in the early 1990s on the early morning TV show TV-am. They were not commissioned for a second run. They were also shown on CITV in the 1990s within the Super Mario Bros. Super Show!, and on Channel 4 on its Sunday morning kids' line up, which included shows such as Jayce and the Wheeled Warriors.
In 1992, Tempo Video released a set of two VHS tapes with three episodes per tape. The Legend of Zelda shared a tape with , which included the episode "Underworld Connections".
There are currently no plans for a Region 2 DVD release.

Germany

PIDAX FILM released a Region 2 DVD of the show on December 2, 2016. The two-DVD set includes all 13 episodes in German and English Dolby Digital 2.0 audio.

Reception

The series is notable for its negative 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. Link's catchphrase, "Well excuse me, Princess!" is an internet meme and commonly used in-joke used by video game players, especially Zelda fans, and is spoken by Link on 29 occasions throughout the 13 episodes.
James Rolfe of Cinemassacre has shown a more positive response to the series. While acknowledging that the dialogue "can make you cringe", he favored Link and Zelda's characterizations and found the action satisfying. He labeled "The White Knight" as the best episode for showing Link's heroic nature against the more pompous and vain Prince Facade, but described the following episode "Kiss'N Tell" as his least favorite for Link complaining throughout.