Les mystérieuses cités d'or

Like most of the rest of you I agree that this was the best cartoon series made in the 1980s. I wanted to be Esteban, to fly the golden condor, to visit Machu Picchu, I also even made a gold mediallon and of course drove my parents insane by singing the theme song all day every day. However, I've noticed that this program provided a lot more than happy memories. It taught me a great deal about South American history, geography, and ancient civilizations.

I saw some of the series again recently and what struck me admist the attacks of nostalgia was the actual historical accuracy of certain images and scenes. Obviously it was an exploration of the lives of conquistadors such as Pizarro and Cortes, but the use of myth (ie - that Esteban was the child of the sun, that there was a 'El Dorado') was common amongst early explorers. Vital characters such as La Malinche - la chingada, the lover and translator for Cortes, who is seen as the black stain in Mexican history by many Mexicans - pop up all over the place and the portayal of ancient tribes such as the Incas and Amazons in their magnificent Peruvian/Brazilian backdrops is remarkably accurate. The greed of the Spaniards is conveyed well, as is their undeniable bravery, and the romance of the heralded 'explorer' such as Mendoza shines through. The children are clearly the most important characters, and they actually reminded me of Mark Twain's Huck Finn, a cool intelligent 12 year old boy with adventurous blood and an active imagination, who seems trapped in the moral dilemma of helping European concepts of civilizations to overcome native tribes and 'savage' peoples. The journey they take explores the whole Latin American continent and no-one can say that they didn't want to go to Machu Picchu and walk in Esteban's footsteps after seeing this cartoon!

Having studied a course in pre-Colonial Latin American history at Uni and having been to Latin America it is remarkable how much this TV series taught me. Perhaps given the average intellectual level of most cartoons nowadays, the present generation of kiddies should be treated to re-runs of this fantastic program, or even a sequel?!

I watched this back in the early 90s when I was quite young and wow what a great series it was. An interesting storyline, it tells the story of a boy named Esteban who is renowned in Barcelona during the 1500s for being a child of the sun and having strange powers. He is then looking for the Mysterious Cities of Gold along with another child (an Inca girl named Zia) who also has the same medallion as him, both having a supernatural connection. Other characters include a boy from South America named Tao as well people from the old world Mendoza and co who are interested in seeking the cities.

The series was a great childhood anime as there are memorable characters and the storyline offers a philosophical and paranormal touch entwined with a balance of history. The MCOG is an anime that was very unique and it's a shame that there are no others like it today.

I have been on this earth for 20 years, and I have yet to see any cartoon that even matches this one!!! EVERYTHING about this cartoon is the best. The plot, characters, even the intro music is the best!!! I can still remember the golden days when I was a little kid and watch this cartoon on Nickelodeon. Those were the days!!! If it was still on, I would watch it faithfully everyday!! I can't say enough glorious comments about this cartoon. Hands down, the best cartoon. In my opinion, some honorable runner-ups are Cyber Cops, The Adventures of Tintin, The Real Ghostbusters, and Danger Mouse. As great as those are, they can't hold a stick to "The Mysterious Cities of Gold" My only regret is that when the show was on TV, I was old enough to figure out how the VCR worked.

Children of the sun, see your time has just begun, searching for your

way through adventures everyday... I remember when I was 5 years old

watching every episode, enthralled by what I saw. Recently, I discovered

that a friend had taped every episode back in the late 80s and allowed

me to copy all of them - talk about a find! I hear that the series is

now available on VCD thanks to collectors (on eBay). Nickelodeon will

never re-air the show, as Saban, the company who owned the American

rights to it, had a fire which their episodes were lost in. My friend

also had a copy of the French soundtrack (!) which I copied. It's great

to relive memories when you can :-)

I watched that cartoon when I was a kid.I remember that it was very nice.As it was a long time ago I had forgotten most of the plot and the characters.

Some months ago a local TV channel aired "The Mysterious Cities of Gold" .In spite of not being a 5-year old kid anymore I sat in front of the TV in order to watch it again.And I really enjoyed it!

It is a masterpiece in the animation genre-a cartoon with an exciting plot,memorable characters and terrific music.Moreover,it takes place at an interesting historical period-the conquest of South America. Most characters in cartoons are rather flat.But here all the characters are intriguing-especially the Spanish navigator Mendosa who is both greedy and kind-hearted.The kids Esteban,Zia and Tao are really nice.The villains also have their charm.

Hardly any other cartoon has better music score.Not only the starting song "Children of the sun" but all the other melodies are stunning.

So,if some TV channels in your countries air this cartoon,don't hesitate at all-take your seats in front of the TV and explore the mysterious cities of gold where adventures never end-as well as our enjoyment!