The Legend of Zelda (television series)

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The Legend of Zelda is an animated television series based on the first two The Legend of Zelda games, The Legend of Zelda and Zelda II: The Adventure of Link. The series consists of 13 episodes, and it ran from September 8 to December 1, 1989. It was produced by DiC Entertainment and was part of the same syndication package as The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!, which was also produced by DiC Entertainment.

Overview

Each episode follows the adventures of Link and Princess Zelda as they defend Hyrule from Ganon, who somehow came into possession of the Triforce of Power. Most episodes consist of Ganon (or his minions) either trying to steal the Triforce of Wisdom from Zelda, kidnap Zelda, or otherwise conquer Hyrule. In some episodes, Link and Zelda are accompanied by a fairy-princess, Spryte.

A recurring 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. Link usually meets Zelda's angry remarks with his sarcastic catchphrase, "Well, excuse me, Princess!".

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."

Broadcast history

While The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! was broadcast five days a week, Mario cartoons only aired from Monday through Thursday. On Fridays, a The Legend of Zelda episode would premiere, and was accompanied by a live-action The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! segment. Some of these segments were included as part of The Legend of Zelda's later DVD release because Mario, Luigi, and/or the guest star would speak out to the audience to promote that week's The Legend of Zelda episode, showing a preview consisting of scenes from the then-upcoming episode.

From 1991 to 1992, the series was syndicated on the Family Channel. From 1992 to 1993, edited versions of the episodes were included as a part of the Captain N & The Video Game Masters syndication package.

As of 2014, The Legend of Zelda television series has been made available for streaming on WildBrain's YouTube Channel "WildBrain - Cartoon Super Heroes", although the live action segments have yet to be included by the channel.

Characters

• Link closely emulates his video game appearance, wearing a long green hat with a lighter green stripe around the brow, a green tunic, and a brown belt. He wears a light leathery red long shirt underneath the tunic, pants, and a pair of tall dark brown boots. He has brown hair as in the first two games in the series. He carries a magic sword which is capable of firing bolts of pink colored energy to destroy his enemies. He is an adept swordsman and a quick thinker, but is somewhat childish. He often tries to get out of his 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.

• Princess Zelda has a more detailed depiction than 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 outside the "traditional" role of a princess. She wears a pair of lavender pants and a pair of reddish tan thigh-high boots. Her personality is somewhere between stuck-up and compassionate; 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. She secretly loves Link, though she does not tell him because she does not want it to go to his head.

• Spryte is modeled after the generic fairies in the Legend of Zelda video game. She wears a short tunic and her short, cropped hair is a sandy blond (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. She too has a crush on Link and is more obvious about it, constantly flirting with Link who usually brushes it off due to his attraction to Zelda.

• King Harkinian is Zelda's father, King of all Hyrule. Although he is never seen in the game, he is present in the series. He is a tall, somewhat rotund king with a snow white beard and a gold crown. Although somewhat dimwitted as a father, he has a knack for ingenuity, is loyal to his country, and possesses a profound insight into those around him. He is a wise ruler, though forgetful and fearful of Ganon. He has no affinity with magic but has superior diplomatic abilities.

• The Triforce of Wisdom, a sage-like glowing green triangular talisman, is more of a magical object than a member of the cast. Its feminine voice offered sage advice, in rhyming riddles.

• The Triforce of Power has a dominating male voice, is more casual in its speech than the Triforce of Wisdom, and in its only speaking role, it chose to admonish Ganon for pretending to be an amateur at the practice of magic.

• Ganon is a large anthropomorphic pig who is the main antagonist of the series. He uses an endless supply of magic to aid him in his attempts to overthrow the kingdom of Hyrule. Obtaining the powers of instant teleportation, he also owns the "Evil Jar," with which he can summon and create his deadliest minions. Ganon is short-tempered, and his plans are often flawed by the ineptitude of his servants. He has a high, shrill voice and wears a set of purple robes over his body; his hood can also act as a disguise for when he must go "incognito". His powers are limited outside of his underground dungeon domain, hence why he likes to spend more time loitering here. While on the surface, he must rely fully on his servants to perform tasks for him.

Voice cast

• Jonathan Potts — Link
• Cyndy Preston — Princess Zelda
• Len Carlson — Ganon and Moblins
• Colin Fox — King Harkinian
• Allen Stewart-Coates — Triforce of Power
• Elizabeth Hanna — Triforce of Wisdom
• Paulina Gillis — Spryte and Sing
• Don Francks — additional voices
• Marvin Goldhar — additional voices
• Christopher Ward — additional voices

Episodes

Episode no.	Name	The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! live action segment	Premiere date	Description
1	"The Ringer"	"Slime Busters"	September 8, 1989
2	"Cold Spells"	"Magic's Magic"	September 15, 1989
3	"The White Knight"	"Wild Thing"	September 22, 1989
4	"Kiss'n Tell"	"Mommies Curse"	September 29, 1989
5	"Sing for the Unicorn"	"Fred Van Winkle"	October 6, 1989
6	"That Sinking Feeling"	"Tutti Frutti, Oh Mario"	October 13, 1989
7	"Doppelganger"	"The Magic Love"	October 20, 1989
8	"Underworld Connections"	"Defective Gadgetry"	October 27, 1989
9	"Stinging a Stinger"	"The Great Hereafter"	November 3, 1989
10	"Hitch in the Works"	"Treasure of the Sierra Brooklyn"	November 10, 1989
11	"Fairies in the Spring"	"Pizza Crush"	November 17, 1989
12	"The Missing Link"	"Tutti Frutti Mario"	November 24, 1989
13	"The Moblins are Revolting"	"The Ghoul of My Dreams"	December 1, 1989

Trivia

• The The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! episode "Stars in Their Eyes" has aliens known as the Quirks singing The Legend of Zelda theme near the end of the episode. Similarly, "Doppelganger" depicts Link whistling the Super Mario Bros. theme while practicing with his sword.
• In the The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! episode "Mama Mia Mario", it is said that The Legend of Zelda is Mama Mario's favorite show.
• On June 13, 2019, Twitter user @hour_mario, who had obtained various production material for DiC Entertainment shows from the estate sale of a former DiC Entertainment employee, posted an image of a slide featuring artwork for what appeared to be a continuation of the cartoon titled The Adventures of Link. Little else is currently known about the cartoon, but, judging by the contents of the slide and another slide featuring the same artwork, the cartoon would have been part of a block titled Captain N & the Power Hour and would have been based on Zelda II: The Adventure of Link.