The Legend of Zelda (television series)

:This article is about the television program. For information on the series, see The Legend of Zelda (Series). For information on the first game in the series, see The Legend of Zelda.
The Legend of Zelda is an animated series loosely based on and . Produced by DIC Entertainment and distributed by Viacom Enterprises, the show aired from September 8 to December 1, 1989 with 13 episodes in total.
==General Information==
The Zelda cartoons were screened every week as part of The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!. While the Super Mario cartoons were aired from Monday to Thursday a week, the Zelda animated series was shown only on Fridays. Most episodes revolve around Ganon or his minions trying to obtain the Triforce of Wisdom and conquer Hyrule while he himself has the Triforce of Power. However, Link, accompanied by Princess Zelda and sometimes Spryte, always ruins Ganon's plans by either zapping him into the Evil Jar or eliminating the minions that were doing the work for the Prince of Darkness. The episodes each run for approximately 15 minutes.
The animated series was considered unsuccessful and was canceled after 13 episodes along with The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!. Later on, compressed versions of the episodes were shown along with another Nintendo-based cartoon which was also produced by DIC Entertainment: .
==Plot Elements==
Unlike most early video games of the core series, where Princess Zelda is typically captured by the story's villain and in need of rescue, the animated series portrays the princess in more of a protagonist role, often fighting alongside Link with weapons such as the Bow or the Boomerang, similar to later titles since The Wind Waker. 
One of the show's running jokes is Link's repeated attempts at trying to get Zelda to kiss him for saving her life, a parallel to Mario does for Princess Peach after rescuing her from Bowser in the Super Mario franchise. Most of the time, the princess rejects the young hero; however, even when she agrees to indulge him, it never occurs: they are interrupted by monsters, Spryte or any number of unfortunate circumstances such as something making Zelda so mad she no longer wants to kiss Link. This often resulted in Link using his infamous catchphrase: "Well, excuuuuuse me, princess!", which would later be regarded as a "beloved inside joke of many gamers."
Being loosely based on the first two Zelda games on NES, the animated series borrows many elements from those titles. The most noticeable ones are the sound effects when Link shoots Sword Beams (here called "Zaps") from his sword or when he retrieves an item from his pouch, which are taken directly from the games. The songs are also inspired by the Overworld and Underworld music, but they are orchestrated for the show. Although the show seems to mostly reference the original , such as featuring only the Power and Wisdom fragments of the Triforce, the series also takes some aspects from , such as the Lowder Ganon rides or the Moby seen in "Cold Spells".
While the games never truly explain how Link can carry so many items in his inventory, the cartoons interpret this by magically shrinking the items when they are placed in pouches, allowing the young hero to return the item back to its normal size whenever he retrieves it from his pocket.
Unlike the main series, Link almost never uses his sword to slash down enemies, preferring to use Sword Beams instead. This was likely done to tone down the violence in the cartoon series (as well as Nintendo has a strict policy against violent content at the time). Likewise, the Evil Jar is an original contribution to the Zelda mythos. It serves both to explain why enemies respawn after Link kills them, and to soften the violence. Only magical monsters are sent to the Evil Jar when they die, and Link's sword beams cannot kill humans.
==VHS and DVD Re-releases==
In the early 1990s, the series was released on VHS with two episodes per tape, but only four volumes were released in total. Although the animated series had been released in DVD before by in the early 2000s, it did not include all of the episodes. On October 18, 2005, however, , and NCircle Entertainment released the complete Zelda animated series with all 13 episodes. It was made of three DVDs which contained bonus content such as interactive games. One of them is the Trivia Game that consists of several multiple-choice questions about the show and the Zelda game series. The other, called the Match Game, gives the viewer about five seconds to "look at twelve pictures and then [are] asked detailed questions about them." The bonus features also had content that demonstrated "easy-to-draw representations of the Legend of Zelda characters."
==Voice Cast==
*Jonathan Potts as Link
*Cyndy Preston as Princess Zelda
*Len Carlson as Ganon and Moblins
*Colin Fox as King Harkinian
*Elizabeth Hanna as the Triforce of Wisdom
*Paulina Gillis as Spryte
==Episodes==
# 	Title 	Original airdate 	Production #
1 	"The Ringer" 	September 8, 1989 	101
2 	"Cold Spells" 	September 15, 1989	103
3 	"The White Knight" 	September 22, 1989	102
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 	111
11	"Fairies in the Spring" 	November 17, 1989 	112
12	"The Missing Link" 	November 24, 1989 	113
13	"The Moblins are Revolting"	December 1, 1989 	110
==Show Opening==
The opening of the show goes as follows:
:(Zelda theme music plays, as the scene opens up in Link's room. The Triforce of Wisdom is resting on a pedestal. The door opens, and Link and Zelda come into the room)
*Princess Zelda: This is the Triforce of Wisdom, Link. (Scene changes to Ganon's throne room) The evil wizard Ganon has the Triforce of Power. (Ganon laughs maniacally, as he sends his minions to Hyrule Castle) Whoever gets both Triforces will rule this land forever! You must help me, Link!
*Link: Hey, for you, Zelda, anything!
:(A short sequence occurs in which Link battles a few Moblins. The he rides on horseback. The scene changes to Link and Zelda heading towards Ganon's Castle. Moblins come charging out at them, and they jump into the river under the drawbridge. Link lands on some rocks, but Zelda lands in the water, soaking wet.
*Princess Zelda: (Sarcastically) Nice job, hero!
*Link: Hey, ex-CUSE me, Princess!
==Listings==
===Characters===
*Link
*Princess Zelda
*Ganon
*Spryte
*King Harkinian
*Prince Facade
*Sing
*Unicorn
*Catherine
*Triforce of Power
*Triforce of Wisdom
*Doof
*Zelda's Clone
*Sleezenose
*Spryte's Sister
*King Oberon
*Witch of Walls
===Enemies===
*Ache
*Aquamentus
*Armos
*Darknut
*Deeler
*Dodongo
*Dragon
*Eel
*Giant Fish
*Gibdo
*Gleeok
*Gohma
*Goriya
*Lowder
*Lynel
*Moblin
*Moby
*Octorok
*Patra
*Zora
*Rope
*Stalfos
*Tektite
*Tinsuit
*Vire
*Water Monster
===Items===
*Crissword
*Magical Shield
*Zelda's Bow
*Bomb
*Boomerang
*Crossbow
*Magic Rope
*Recorder
*Overworld Magnet
*Magic Bracelets
*Force Field Ring
*
*Magic Compass
*
*Jewel of Control
*Wand of Power
*Capture Staff
==Reception==
IGN.com comments that "younger viewers will probably feel bored and a bit put-off by the cheesy storylines and bad dialogue" of the series. The website also critiques the show for the repetitiveness of the plot, but comments on how the sound effects add "quaintness" to the cartoon. As for the DVD release, complaints were mostly about the overall quality, further saying that the colors were "a bit too bright" in some parts and how a character's hair changes from "frame to frame." IGN also cites how the DVD release felt rushed due to the episodes always starting with the Super Mario Bros. Super Show! animated segment.
==Trivia==
*The appearance of Spryte as Link's fairy companion predates Navi's appearance by almost ten years.
*The running time of all thirteen episodes combined is approximately 255 minutes.
*This series is the first media of the Legend of Zelda franchise where Link is shown speaking as opposed to his role in the video games as a "silent protagonist".
*According to the back of a VHS distributed by Tempo Video, Link and Zelda are both age 15 in the show."This animated fantasy-adventure (with a good deal of humour) stars Link - a fifteen-year-old adventurer, and Zelda - a princess of the same age." (The Legend of Zelda (Tempo Video))
*The Triforce of Courage does not appear nor was mentioned in the series. The reason for that is most likely because the Triforce only had two pieces in the original game.
*A set of promotional production art slides found from the estate sale of a former DiC employee in 2019 suggest that a continuation of the cartoon titled The Adventures of Link was planned, but ultimately scrapped.
*Princess Zelda and Link appeared in several cameos in the 1990 cartoon series "Captain N and the Video Game Masters". In the episode "Having A Ball", it is revealed that Princess Zelda and Link managed to defeat Ganon and put him into permanent suspended animation. However, this victory does not stop other evil creatures trying to steal the Triforces of Power and Wisdom, similar to The Adventure of Link. Link and Zelda also had cameos in the episodes Quest for the Potion of Power, Once Upon a Time Machine, The Trojan Dragon, and When Mother Brain Rules.
==Nomenclature==
==Gallery==
File:TLoZ TV Series Logo.png|The show's logo
File:Cartoondisk1.png|Disc one of the Shout! Factory DVD release
File:Cartoondisk2.png|Disc two of the Shout! Factory DVD release
File:Cartoondisk3.png|Disc three of the Shout! Factory DVD release
File:Triforce of Wisdom (Underworld Connections).png|The Triforce of Wisdom
File:Triforce of Power (The Moblins Are Revolting).png|The Triforce of Power
File:Link Zelda 4 (The Ringer).png|Link and Zelda fighting against enemies
File:Facade Link Zelda (The White Knight).png|Screenshot of the show
File:Ganon Magician Contest (The Ringer).png|Ganon with his magicans
==See Also==
* 
* The Legend of Zelda: The Misadventures of Link
Category:Animated series
de:The Legend of Zelda (Zeichentrick)