The Legend of Zelda

The Legend of Zelda would be an American-Japanese animated fantasy action adventure series created by Zelda Williams and Matt Braly and produced by Titmouse, Inc and Nintendo for Amazon Prime Video. Based on the videogame series of the same name by Nintendo, the series would be a co-production between DreamWorks Animation and Nintendo Pictures, and would star the voices of Zeno Robinson, Williams, Michelle Yeoh, Mark Strong, Paul Dano, Cate Blanchett, and Clancy Brown.
Development for an animated The Legend of Zelda series would begin in 2021, with The Legend of Zelda co-creator Shigeru Miyamoto being set to produce the series for DreamWorks Animation, while Williams would join the series as showrunner in early 2022. The series' plot would be mainly inspired by The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, as Williams would feel it would be the perfect source material due to it being the first game in the franchise's chronology. The Lord of the Rings and The Dark Crystal would also be inspirations for the series's plot. The series would be made with hand-drawn animation, as the filmmakers wanted the animation to "feel like an old storybook come to life". Animation services would be provided by Studio Grackle.
== Synopsis ==
In the kingdom of Skyloft, knight-in-training Link discovers that destiny holds great plans for him when, after the Princess Zelda becomes lost in the legendary Surface after an attempted kidnapping at the hands of the mysterious Ghirahim, he is suddenly called by the Goddess Sword, which reveals him to be the legendary hero who shall save the world from destruction. with the aid of Zelda, Fi, the sword's spirit and Link's guardian,, and Impa, a Sheikah from the Surface, Link must find the bravery inside himself and master the power of the Triforce of Courage in order to stop Ghirahim from releasing his master: the powerful warlord Demise, who plans to unleash his Demon World all over the world.
== Voice cast ==
=== Main cast ===
* Zeno Robinson as Link, a young knight-in-training who is revealed to be the prophesied hero that shall stop Demise, and wielder of the Triforce of Courage
* Zelda Williams as Zelda, the Princess of Skyloft who gets lost in the Surface, and wielder of the Triforce of Wisdom. Schafer would say that "Zelda wants to be a great princess, but she can't, until she realizes she has to be different from every kind of princess before her".
* Michelle Yeoh as Fi, the spirit of the Goddess Sword who becomes Link's mentor and guardian.
* Paul Dano as Ghirahim, a Demon Lord and Demise's apprentice, who plans to use Zelda's shard of the Triforce to released Demise. Dano would voice the character "with a style that is playful, but at the same time feeling like a devoted cultist".
* Cate Blanchett as Impa, an old woman from the Surface who was part of the Sheikah, and who helps Link and Zelda to follow their destinies.
=== Recurring cast ===
* John DiMaggio as Groose, Link's rival.
* Clancy Brown as King Harkinan, Zelda's father and the king of Skyloft, who hopes that his daughter may become an even better ruler than him.
* Mark Strong as Demise, the Demon King and wielder of the Triforce of Power, who was impresioned by the goddess Hylia, and who plans to gather the remaining shards of the Triforce to destroy the world and absorb it with his realm.
== Episodes ==
No. overrall 	No. in season 	Title 	Directed by 	Written by
1 	1 	"The Legend" 	Young Heller 	Matt Braly and Zelda Williams
Link is a young knight-in-training whose destiny changes forever when he discovers he's the one chosen to wield the legendary Goddess Sword	Link is a young knight-in-training whose destiny changes forever when he discovers he's the one chosen to wield the legendary Goddess Sword	Link is a young knight-in-training whose destiny changes forever when he discovers he's the one chosen to wield the legendary Goddess Sword	Link is a young knight-in-training whose destiny changes forever when he discovers he's the one chosen to wield the legendary Goddess Sword	Link is a young knight-in-training whose destiny changes forever when he discovers he's the one chosen to wield the legendary Goddess Sword
2 	2 	"The Surface" 	Emi/Emmett Yonemura 	Brandon Auman
In pursuit of Princess Zelda, Link finds himself in a land people only dreamt of: The Surface. 	In pursuit of Princess Zelda, Link finds himself in a land people only dreamt of: The Surface. 	In pursuit of Princess Zelda, Link finds himself in a land people only dreamt of: The Surface. 	In pursuit of Princess Zelda, Link finds himself in a land people only dreamt of: The Surface. 	In pursuit of Princess Zelda, Link finds himself in a land people only dreamt of: The Surface.
3 	3 	"The Goddess" 	Emi/Emmett Yonemura 	Eugene Son
Zelda makes an astonishing discovery about herself while held captive by the deranged Ghirahim, a discovery that shatter her entire world. 	Zelda makes an astonishing discovery about herself while held captive by the deranged Ghirahim, a discovery that shatter her entire world. 	Zelda makes an astonishing discovery about herself while held captive by the deranged Ghirahim, a discovery that shatter her entire world. 	Zelda makes an astonishing discovery about herself while held captive by the deranged Ghirahim, a discovery that shatter her entire world. 	Zelda makes an astonishing discovery about herself while held captive by the deranged Ghirahim, a discovery that shatter her entire world.
4 	4 	"The Trials" 	Young Heller 	Brandon Auman
Link must face off both Ghirahim and an ancient temple. 	Link must face off both Ghirahim and an ancient temple. 	Link must face off both Ghirahim and an ancient temple. 	Link must face off both Ghirahim and an ancient temple. 	Link must face off both Ghirahim and an ancient temple.
== Production ==
=== Animation ===
Animation services for the series would be provided by Studio Grackle; the studio had to expand its animation team in order to work on the project. According to co-showrunner Zelda Williams, CG animation was originally considered for the series, but it was ultimately agreed the film needed to "feel like an old storybook come to life", so they choose hand-draen animation instead; the producers hired Studio Grackle due to their high-quality animation and their work on the trailer for the videogame Hades.
For their work on the show, animators at Studio Gravkle would studio both the gameplay and cutscenes from multiple games in order to study their movejents and enviroments, so they could use them as "a starting point" from which they could work on how to adalt them to a "cinenatic 2D format", througth they would also incotporate the personalities of the characters' counterparts in their movements. The studio would also use the experience many of its animators on anime as a basis for the show's action sequences,
== Music ==
Hans Zimmer would compose the series' score, which would feature elements from the video games' scores. Zimmer would say that he would go for "an adaptable approach" for the film's score, in order for the film's themes to adjust to each scene's setting. Zimmer would create a theme for Link that would "sound coward but with an internal bravery" in order to reflect his character arc, while he would compose "a royal theme" for Zelda that would "hold give a hint that can be better than what it is", and would feature elements from "Zelda's Lullaby" that first appeared in The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, and he would compose a theme for Ghirahim that would reflect that character's mysterious nature, but also can be "threatening and playful".
== Trivia== 
*While the video game Skyward Sword would serve as a primary inspiration for the show's plot, several elements would be altered in order to streamline the story and make it work as a seires, such as Link starting with a somewhat fearful personality, Zelda being a princess (a title which she did held in most games), Ghirahim being Demise's apprentice rather than his sword, and the Time Travel elements from the game's story. 
**Co-showrunner Matt Braly would explain that he would remove the Time Travel aspects from the story in order to both prevent the film's plot from becoming too convulted, and in order to further develop Link and Zelda's relationship.
* Ghirahim's line after Demise is ressurrected, "My humble personage bows before your grandeur", would be a reference to the film Avengers: Infinity War, in which Tom Vaughan-Lawlor's character in that film said the same line to that film's main antagonist, Thanos. According to Jenkins, the line would be added because she felt "that was the best way to incorporate DreamWorks' pop culture-referencing style while keeping intact the character and the franchise".
===Easter eggs===
*The name of "King Harkinan" would come from the 1989 The Legend of Zelda animated series.
*The book featured in the opening is strikingky similar to the real-life Hyrule Historia book released by Nintendo.
*The prologue would be a near word-for-word adaptation of The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword's English prologue, with the writers only partially re-writing it in order to explain certain details to the audience unfamiliar with the original games.
*Link's dream begins with him waking in a pool of water within a cave, as an homage to the opening of The Legend of Zelda: Breat of the Wild.
*Link briefly comments he worried somebody locked his Loftwing when he appears late after calling him near the start of the film, which is a nod to what actually happened in Skyward Sword.
*The swords given to knights upon graduating are given by an old man, a nod to how players receive their first swords in the original Zelda game.
* After Zelda refuses to accompany Girahim, he respinds "Well, excuse me, princess. But I just can't take no for an answer rkght now", a reference to how Link often said "Well, excuuuuuse me, princess!" in the original Zelda animated series.
*Before Link jumps off Skyloft to pursue Girahim, he calls for his Loftwing, who dosen't appear until after he jumps. This is a nod to how Loftwings appeared in Skyward Sword.
*Zelda's horse while living with the Sheikah is modeled after Catherine, Link's horse in the original Zelda cartoon.
*The scene where Zelda wakes up in her cell is an homage to Link's first scene in wolf form in The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess.
*During the final battle, Zelda does some fight poses that bring to mind her Sheik identity
*The designs of the creatures featured in the film would be strongly based on their design in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, as Jenkins would feel "that's the creatures in their most monstrous look yet".
Category:The Legend of Zelda