tloz-cartoon

The Legend of Zelda Cartoon was an American animated series produced in the late 80′s as part of The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! During the first season of the Super Mario Bros. cartoon, Link and Zelda’s adventures would be shown every Friday in place of the usual adventures of the plumber duo. The Zelda cartoons weren’t a very big success and production of the show stopped after 13 episodes.

The series is set in North Castle, where Zelda and Link are living together with the King of Hyrule, Harkinian. Most of the episodes follow a common storyline: The evil Ganon wants the Triforce and devises numerous schemes to obtain it. He holds the Triforce of Power, and the Triforce of Wisdom is guarded by Link in the castle. Whoever holds both Triforces will rule the land of Hyrule. Each episode lasted approximately 15 minutes. In all the episodes, Link tries to steal a kiss from Zelda, and he always comes close, but something always interrupts him. However, Link’s fairy friend Sprite is always willing to give Link a kiss, but he never notices. Ganon, the obvious bad guy in the show, is a cruel Moblin-like creature like in the original Zelda game. His goal in life is to capture the Triforce of Wisdom, but Link and Zelda always manage to foil his dastardly schemes.

The series draws heavily from the first two Zelda games. Many enemies from the games appear, such as Stalfos, Octoroks, Keese, and Moblins. The music is inspired by the Overworld and Underworld music from the first Zelda game. Sound effects taken directly from this game are also common, such as when Link defeats enemies or uses items. As the cartoon is based on the first 2 games, Ganon is in his pig form, and Link has dark hair. The King of Hyrule, named Harkinian, appears in some of the episodes, although strangely, there is no sign or mention of Impa, Zelda’s nurse mentioned in the games.

Although the series ended after just 13 episodes, cut-down versions of the episodes were repeated with another Nintendo-based cartoon, Captain N the Gamemaster. Captain N was a show about a kid who loves playing Nintendo and is sucked into the world of Videoland, where the worlds of his video games are real. Link and Zelda feature in four of these episodes, and they are older than when they appeared in their own series. The voice actors returned to provide the voices in Captain N.

The show’s episodes were originally aired in a completely different order than they were intended. The episode number reflects the order in which the episodes were produced, not the order in which they were shown. The entire series was released on DVD in 2005 by Shout! Factory.

Episode Guide

Episode 1: The Ringer

 


Length: 15 Minutes, 10 Seconds
Original Air Date: September 8th, 1989
Writer: Bob Forward
Voice Actors:

  • Jonathan Potts as Link
  • Cyndy Preston as Princess Zelda
  • Colin Fox as King Harkinian
  • Elizabeth Hanna as the Triforce of Wisdom
  • Allan Stewart Coates as the Triforce of Power

 

Ganon, in disguise, enters an amatuer magician contest being held in Hyrule Castle. He quickly unleashes havoc, and in the midst of the confusion he steals the Triforce of Wisdom and races back towards the underworld. Link and Zelda frantically race to stop him and retrieve the Triforce, battling off his monsters before he can head underground.

 

Episode 2: Sing for the Unicorn

 


Length: 15 Minutes, 9 Seconds
Original Air Date: October 6th, 1989
Writer: Bob Forward
Voice Actors:

  • Jonathan Potts as Link
  • Cyndy Preston as Princess Zelda
  • Colin Fox as King Harkinian
  • Elizabeth Hanna as the Triforce of Wisdom
  • Allan Stewart Coates as the Triforce of Power

 

Ganon steals a flying unicorn, and uses it to kidnap King Harkinian. On their way to rescue the King, Link and Zelda bump into the owner of the unicorn, Sing, a girl who comes from a distant land. Link, Zelda and Sing work together to rescue the King and the unicorn from Ganon.

 

Episode 3: Kiss ‘N Tell

 


Length: 15 Minutes, 7 Seconds
Original Air Date: September 29th, 1989
Writer: Phil Harnage
Voice Actors:

  • Jonathan Potts as Link
  • Cyndy Preston as Princess Zelda
  • Colin Fox as King Harkinian
  • Elizabeth Hanna as the Triforce of Wisdom
  • Allan Stewart Coates as the Triforce of Power

 

Link rescues a beautiful young maiden from a Gleeok. Much to Zelda’s disgust, the maiden simpers and fawns all over Link, and rewards him with a kiss. As their lips meet, a spell is cast. Link has been transformed into a frog, and the beautiful maiden was actually a horrid Gibdo in disguise! Zelda tries to comfort the distressed Link, but is then captured by Ganon. Link turns to Spryte for help, who tells him to find the Witch of Walls, as she may be able to help. The Witch tells Link that the spell will only be broken if Link is kissed by a princess. Link sets out to rescue Zelda, so that he can get his kiss. Just as they are about to kiss, Ganon shows up, and knocks Link away. All of a sudden, Spryte kisses Link, and he is transformed back to normal. It turns out that Spryte is a princess – a fairy princess! Back to his normal self, Link easily defeats Ganon and they all escape.

 

Episode 4: Doppelganger

 


Length: 15 Minutes, 5 Seconds
Original Air Date: October 20th, 1989
Writers: Bob Forward, Eve Forward
Voice Actors:

  • Jonathan Potts as Link
  • Cyndy Preston as Princess Zelda
  • Colin Fox as King Harkinian
  • Elizabeth Hanna as the Triforce of Wisdom
  • Allan Stewart Coates as the Triforce of Power

 

Ganon uses a magic mirror to create an evil clone of Zelda, while kidnapping the real Zelda. Evil Zelda fools Link into taking the Triforce to fight against Ganon, although she is really trying to take it to Ganon. Along the way, Link notices that this Zelda doesn’t have a reflection, and realises that something’s not right. Meanwhile, the real Zelda manages to escape, and soon bumps into Link and the doppelganger. A fight breaks out, until both Zeldas fall into the mud, making it impossible for Link to tell them apart. Link suggests a kissing contest. One Zelda kisses Link, but the other doesn’t, and Link immediately knows that she’s the real one. He zaps away the clone, and he and the real Zelda escape.

 

Episode 5: Fairies in the Spring

 


Length: 15 Minutes, 5 Seconds
Original Air Date: November 17th, 1989
Writers: Bob Forward, Marsha Forward
Voice Actors:

  • Jonathan Potts as Link
  • Cyndy Preston as Princess Zelda
  • Colin Fox as King Harkinian
  • Elizabeth Hanna as the Triforce of Wisdom
  • Allan Stewart Coates as the Triforce of Power

 

King Harkinian is building a water park in Hyrule, to help bring relief from the hot summer. However, the construction is interrupted as monsters keep attacking the workers. Link goes off to deal with them, but he and Zelda discover that these monsters are different from Ganon’s monsters; they’re water-monsters. They follow the source of the water, and discover a fairy spring. It turns out that the fairies didn’t like their water being used for the park and were making the monsters. In the end, they agree to share.

 

Episode 7: Underworld Connections

 


Length: 15 Minutes, 10 Seconds
Original Air Date: October 27th, 1989
Writer: Bob Forward
Voice Actors:

  • Jonathan Potts as Link
  • Cyndy Preston as Princess Zelda
  • Colin Fox as King Harkinian
  • Elizabeth Hanna as the Triforce of Wisdom
  • Allan Stewart Coates as the Triforce of Power

 

Link sneaks off to see Zelda one night, but while he is away from the Triforce, it is stolen by Vires. Link races to stop them, while they use a bomb to split the Triforce into three pieces so that they can carry it. Link manages to save one piece, but the other two are carried away into the underworld. Using the magic of the Triforce, Link defeats the Vires, and Zelda can tell that one piece has fallen somewhere wet, and another somewhere hot. They journey into the underworld to reclaim the pieces, but as they collect the second piece, in a volcano, Ganon appears. He demands the Triforce, and so Link flips the hot piece to Ganon with his sword. Ganon catches it, but is burned and throws it away. Zelda catches it with the other two Triforce pieces, reuniting the Triforce before escaping.

 

Episode 8: The Moblins are Revolting

 


Length: 10 Minutes, 35 Seconds
Original Air Date: December 1st, 1989
Writer: Eve Forward
Voice Actors:

  • Jonathan Potts as Link
  • Cyndy Preston as Princess Zelda
  • Colin Fox as King Harkinian
  • Elizabeth Hanna as the Triforce of Wisdom
  • Allan Stewart Coates as the Triforce of Power

 

After being defeated by Link and yelled at by Ganon, a group of his monsters decide that they are sick of working for Ganon. They steal one of his weapons – a staff that can trap people inside a bubble that can only be broken by the Triforce of Power – and zap Ganon into a bubble before throwing him down a bottomless pit. They then attack North Castle, and Link and Zelda wonder why Ganon doesn’t appear. They decide that since Ganon isn’t around, they’ll go and steal the Triforce of Power from him. Meanwhile, Ganon uses his magic to float back up the pit. When he surfaces, Link thinks that it’s hillarious that Ganon is trapped. He plays around with Ganon and throws the bubble at Zelda. However she has the Triforce of Power, and this bursts the bubble and Ganon is set free. Link and Zelda quickly make their escape, without the Triforce of Power, while an infuriated Ganon deals with his monsters.

 

Episode 9: The White Knight

 


Length: 13 Minutes, 2 Seconds
Original Air Date: September 22nd, 1989
Writer: Bob Forward
Voice Actors:

  • Jonathan Potts as Link
  • Cyndy Preston as Princess Zelda
  • Colin Fox as King Harkinian
  • Elizabeth Hanna as the Triforce of Wisdom
  • Allan Stewart Coates as the Triforce of Power

 

One day while they are out, Link and Zelda happen upon a village being attacked by Ganon’s monsters. They begin to fight them off, when a handsome Prince arrives and helps defeat them. Zelda is immediately swept away by Prince Facade, and begins to ignore Link. Link is upset by this, and tries to win back her attention by wearing fancy clothes. When Zelda laughs him off, Link is infuriated and decides to leave. Meanwhile, Ganon has been spying on them, and he knows that Prince Facade has a weakness. Now that Link has gone, he uses the opportunity to send a Zola to kidnap Zelda. Prince Facade chases the Zola, but when she jumps into the water, Facade stops, as he is too vain to get his clothes dirty. Link hears Zelda’s screams, and rescues her. He’s very happy when she tells him how glad she is he was there, and how useless Prince Facade was.

 

Episode 10: Cold Spells

 


Length: 14 Minutes, 21 Seconds
Original Air Date: September 15th, 1989
Writer: Phil Harnage
Voice Actors:

  • Jonathan Potts as Link
  • Cyndy Preston as Princess Zelda
  • Colin Fox as King Harkinian
  • Elizabeth Hanna as the Triforce of Wisdom
  • Allan Stewart Coates as the Triforce of Power

 

It’s spring cleaning time in North Castle, but chores are the last thing that Link wants to do. He pretends that he has a cold and is too sick to work, and Spryte insists that he goes to bed, although Zelda is not happy about it. Meanwhile, Ganon discovers that it’s spring cleaning time, and so he casts a spell on Spryte that causes her to lose control of her magic. Suddenly, the cleaning supplies go crazy, flying around the room and throwing water everywhere. While Link and Zelda are helping Spryte, Ganon steals the Triforce of Wisdom. Link and Zelda go to the underworld to retrieve it, but are captured by Ganon. Spryte rescues them, and they escape.

 

Episode 11: Stinging a Stinger

 


Length: 14 Minutes, 20 Seconds
Original Air Date: November 3rd, 1989
Writer: Bob Forward
Voice Actors:

  • Jonathan Potts as Link
  • Cyndy Preston as Princess Zelda
  • Colin Fox as King Harkinian
  • Elizabeth Hanna as the Triforce of Wisdom
  • Allan Stewart Coates as the Triforce of Power

 

Link comes to the rescue of a man being attacked by thugs. The man introduces himself as a Sleazenose the Peddlar, and in thanks he gives Link a beautiful new sword. He offers to take Link’s old one off his hands, and Link hands it over. Suddenly, he hears Zelda call for help, and rushes off to help her with his new sword. But when the sword immediately breaks, Link realises that he’s been had. Helpless, Link and Zelda are captured by Ganon. He takes them into the underworld and chains them up. Meanwhile, Sleazenose is trying to sell Link’s old sword, and arrives at Ganon’s lair. Ganon decides that he shouldn’t have to pay for the sword, and steals it, then decides to feed Link, Zelda and Sleazenose to Gohma. They are able to escape, but are still without Link’s sword. They consult the Triforce of Wisdom for help on defeating Ganon without the sword, and it advises them to use natural means. Link, Zelda and Sleazenose set traps using beehives and ants. Link and Zelda also con Sleazenose, by making him believe a chest contains the Triforce of Wisdom. Sure enough, Sleazenose takes it and offers it to Ganon, but the chest contains bees, which swarm out and attack Ganon, enabling Link to recover his sword.

 

Episode 12: A Hitch in the Works

 


Length: 14 Minutes, 9 Seconds
Original Air Date: November 10th, 1989
Writer: Unknown
Voice Actors:

  • Jonathan Potts as Link
  • Cyndy Preston as Princess Zelda
  • Colin Fox as King Harkinian
  • Elizabeth Hanna as the Triforce of Wisdom
  • Allan Stewart Coates as the Triforce of Power

 

Ganon hasn’t attacked the castle in weeks, and so Zelda decides that Link needs to earn his keep. She orders him to help out Doof, the castle handyman. Link would rather be doing something else, like fishing, and when he discovers that Doof has been trying to build a robot to help him out around the castle, he asks Doof to make some fake Moblins for him to fight off, allowing him to get out of doing the chores. Zelda overhears them talking, and is determined not to let them get away with it. So when Moblins attack, she assumes they’re the fake ones and isn’t fussed. Unfortunately for her, they are actually real Moblins, who quickly carry her away to Ganon. Link gives chase, but by the time he arrives, Ganon has placed Zelda under his control via a magic necklace, and is forcing her to marry him. Zelda tells Link that she wants to marry Ganon, but he manages to rescue her from his control.

 

Episode 13: That Sinking Feeling

 


Length: 14 Minutes, 19 Seconds
Original Air Date: October 13th, 1989
Writer: Dennis O’Flaherty
Voice Actors:

  • Jonathan Potts as Link
  • Cyndy Preston as Princess Zelda
  • Colin Fox as King Harkinian
  • Elizabeth Hanna as the Triforce of Wisdom
  • Allan Stewart Coates as the Triforce of Power

 

While out on a potentially romantic picnic, Link and Zelda are attacked by monsters. After narrowly avoiding capture, they learn that Ganon has a new weapon: a powerful magnet that can pull items on the surface down into the underworld. Zelda is fed up with Ganon’s attacks, and resolves to defeat him once and for all. She and Link set out with the Triforce, right before Ganon uses his magnet to pull the entire North Castle underground. The King and Spryte are trapped inside the castle, and must hide while Ganon rampages through the castle, searching for the Triforce. Once Link and Zelda arrive, Ganon attempts to steal the Triforce, but Link eventually overcomes him. Ganon hits the magnet, which overloads and reverses its energy, pushing the castle back up to the overworld.