The Legend Of Zelda Animated Series

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The Legend of Zelda animated series is a 13-episode television series that aired as part of the Super Mario Bros. Super Show! from September 8, 1989 until December 1, 1989. The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! consisted of live-action segments starring Lou Albano as Mario and Danny Wells as Luigi intermixed with animated stories following the adventure of the Super Mario Bros.

The show aired 5 days a week beginning on September 4, 1989 with 4 days a week dedicated to the Super Mario Bros. The fifth episode every week which aired on Friday’s still included the live-action segments of Mario and Luigi, but the animation portion was dedicated to The Legend of Zelda.

The show was based on the video game series of the same name taking most of its references from the original game which launched in 1987 however did incorporate some elements from the sequel Zelda II: The Adventure of Link. The premise of the show follows the adventures of Link and Princess Zelda as they defend the kingdom of Hyrule from Ganon.

Ganon has in his possession the Triforce of Power, one of three Triforces that if combined grant god like powers. Most episodes consist of Ganon and his minions trying to capture the Triforce of Wisdom from Zelda in a quest to conquer Hyrule. Ganon’s focus is solely on obtaining the Triforce of Wisdom and the third Triforce the Triforce of Courage is not mentioned in the series.

The show was produced by DIC Enterprises and distributed by Viacom Enterprises in association with Nintendo of America. The show’s original run was not part of any particular network’s lineup but sold as a first-run syndication receiving reruns on multiple networks until September 6, 1991 when The Family Channel picked up the series. The show continued to air as part of The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! reruns solely on the Family Channel until August 26, 1994.

Both the Link and Princess Zelda characters were incorporated into several episodes of Captain N: The Game Master. They made their debut on September 29, 1990 in the third episode of season 2 when Princess Zelda contacts Captain N for help. Episodes of the show were released on VHS by Kids Klassics in gold color cases matching that of the original Nintendo Entertainment System games. The entire series was made available on DVD by The Shout! Factory on October 18, 2005 in a 3-disc box set.

Category	Television -Animated Series
Network	First-Run Syndication
Production Company	DIC Animation City

Years	1989
Seasons	1 Seasons
Episodes	13

Producers	Andy Heyward (Executive Producer) Robby london (Co-executive Producer) John Grusd
Director	John Grusd
Writers	Bob Forward Phil Harnage Eve Forward Marsha Forward Dennis O’Flaherty

Cinemassacre Review of The Legend of Zelda Animated Series

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Intro & debut episode on the Super Mario Bros. Super Show!

Cast
Episode List
Artwork
VHS & DVD

Name	Role	Episodes
Jonathan Potts	Link	13 Episodes
Cynthia Preston	Princess Zelda	13 Episodes
Len Carlson	Ganon, Moblins	13 Episodes
Colin Fox	King Harkinian	13 Episodes
Allen Stewart-Coates	Triforce of Power	13 Episodes
Elizabeth Hanna	Triforce of Wisdom	13 Episodes
Tabitha St. Germain	Spryte	13 Episodes
Don Francks	Additional Voices	13 Episodes
Marvin Goldhar	Additional Voices	13 Episodes
Christopher Ward	Additional Voices	13 Episodes

Episode	Season	Air Date	Episode Name	Additional Details
1	S01E01	September 8, 1989	The Ringer	Link has grown bored with his lifestyle in Hyrule and seeks a true 'hero's' life, finding Zelda the only comfort worth having. Meanwhile, Zelda holds a wizarding competition and Ganon uses it as a plan to sneak into the castle and steal the Triforce. After he is discovered, Link and Zelda set aside their differences in order to stop him from escaping.
2	S01E02	September 15, 1989	Cold Spells	It is spring cleaning in Hyrule and Link has to pitch in, but he quickly fakes a cold in order to get sympathy, which works on Sprite. While at the market, Ganon secretly augments her powers to cause chaos at the castle in a very Fantasia-like manner, allowing him to steal the Triforce.
3	S01E03	September 22, 1989	The White Knight	Link and Zelda face off against an ambush of Tinsuits and an Octorock when Prince Facade, a prince from a neighboring kingdom called Arcadia, arrives and sweeps Zelda off her feet. Dejected by this "Prince Charming", Link quits his duties and prepares to leave, but Ganon knows Facade's one weakness and plans to exploit it in order to kidnap Zelda.
4	S01E04	September 29, 1989	Kiss 'N Tell	Zelda happens upon a damsel in distress, who insists on a handsome hero to rescue her from a Gleeok. When Link arrives and saves her, she rewards him with a passionate kiss, but she turns out to be a Gibdo in disguise who curses Link into a humanoid frog. Unable to be a hero in this form, Link takes the Triforce of Wisdom's advice and seeks help from the "Witch of Walls" for an answer after Zelda is kidnapped by Ganon.
5	S01E05	October 6, 1989	Sing For The Unicorn	Link's plans to romantically deliver flowers to Zelda are dashed when Ganon appears, attacking on the back of a unicorn. He kidnaps the king and they go to rescue him, meeting Sing, a woman from whom the unicorn had been stolen. Together they must face Ganon's traps, and rescue both the unicorn and the king from Ganon's capture.
6	S01E06	October 13, 1989	That Sinking Feeling	After a romantic picnic is ruined by Ganon, Zelda resolves to lay an assault on his lair, but as soon as they leave, the castle, along with the king and Sprite are pulled underground by a giant magnet and they need instead to rescue their friends before Ganon finds them.
7	S01E07	October 20, 1989	Doppelganger	Zelda receives a magic mirror, which suddenly creates an evil double of her. With the real Zelda kidnapped, the fake is tasked to trick Link into taking the Triforce of Wisdom into the underworld, where it will be easy for Ganon to capture.
8	S01E08	October 27, 1989	Underworld Connections	Link's sleepwalking is put to a stop before he can sneak into Zelda's bedroom chamber, but with the tower the Triforce is in is unguarded. A trio of Vires use a bomb to shatter the Triforce into three pieces to carry. They obtain one piece, and Zelda uses it in order to seek clues where the other two have been dropped, they venture into the Underworld to reunite the Triforce again.
9	S01E09	November 3, 1989	Stinging a Stinger	Sleazenose, a traveling merchant, is rescued by Link who stops bandits from robbing him, and in gratitude, he gives Link a beautiful bejeweled sword in exchange for his current one. Using it in battle, Link realizes the sword is a fake and he and Zelda are kidnapped. They find they need to work together with Sleazenose to outwit Ganon once again.
10	S01E10	November 10, 1989	Hitch In The Works	Not believing a story Link told her of Moblins attacking the castle when she found him unconscious and "sleeping" when he is supposed to be doing chores, Link has the house maintenance man make fake Moblins to attack her. She overhears the plan and does not react when the real Moblins come to kidnap her. Ganon puts a collar on her to force her to do his bidding; including marry him.
11	S01E11	November 17, 1989	Fairies In The Spring	The king is having a water park constructed to help his subjects cool off in the summer heat, when water monsters attack the construction crew. Zelda and Link investigate, but are startled to find the water monster does not belong to Ganon. When the King arrives to check their progress and while inspecting the pools of the water park, another monster pulls him in and vanishes. The pair collect the Triforce of Wisdom and return to the waterpark to find the King and the source of the disturbances.
12	S01E12	November 24, 1989	The Missing Link	Ganon tries to use a magic wand in order to kidnap Zelda, but she deflects the attack and it hits Link instead, sending his physical body to the Evil Jar. Her guilt is short lived after Link's spirit reveals himself to her, although no one else can see him. They realize that they need to travel into the underworld to reunite Link's spirit with his body trapped in the Evil Jar.
13	S01E13	December 1, 1989	The Moblins Are Revolting	Ganon demonstrates a new wand that makes a bubble around its victim that can only be popped by the Triforce of Power. Fed up with Ganon's orders, a Moblin uses the wand to trap Ganon in a bubble and throws him down a bottomless pit. The Moblin opens the Evil Jar and the monsters collectively decide to storm the castle of Hyrule, but are too incompetent to accomplish anything without Ganon's leadership.