Le sourire du dragon

I just caught an episode of Dungeons and Dragons after viewing a preview of the cgi series Action Man on the Fox network. I was a bit surprised to see this show listed since I remember it from almost 20 years ago! Shadowdemon was my favourite character.

At first the crude animation seemed a bit jarring, but after the first ten minutes I was hooked(again). Its a wonderfully imaginative and memorable series.

In addition to the comments already made by others I have to highlight the fantastic musical score by Robert J Walsh and Johnny Douglas. I remember their rousing music for Gi Joe and the Transformers. I had forgotten their work on D & D and now wish i could get in on tape!

Those shows from the 80s were so much better in story and execution than the sterile cgi shows pushed on saturday mornings these days.

I have been playing D&D for over 15 years now, and I have to say the series ran just like the old D&D. Granted, the newer aspects of the game itself don't really apply, but back in the 80's, this series was right on target. I liked it so much, I have been searching and saving for it for some time now, and will eagerly buy it as soon as I can. The animation was good for its time, the story lines were always good, and there was always a great balance of good and evil. Every episode actually had a moral to it, though it wasn't always apparent. It was a great series for adults and children alike, for it's content and the action-packed sequences.

Nostalgia for cartoons for me will have to be the Hanna Barbera, Ruby and Spears, Sid and Marty Krofft period and Bugs Bunny, so to have this one tagged on is pretty rare for this child of the seventies, but its there.

It was different and unique. The voices were phenomenal, just now learned Adam Rich (Nicholas of 'Eight is Enough') was Presto and not Bobby as I always believed. Donny Most (Ralph Malph on 'Happy Days') and Willie Aames (Tommy on 'Eight is Enough') did the best thing for their careers by doing this cartoon. I managed to get about half or more than half of the cartoons on tape before Fox stopped showing them. Didn't get some I wouldhave liked to have, but I do have some treasures. None of htem ever really bothered me as being bad or less than average. Hands down, the direction in music and sound is what makes this fellow rare among eighties cartoons and cartoons in general, as well as the art and animation. Scooby Doo has a steady run of music with no pauses for effect or reflection, but D & D would get silent when Vengar entered or spoke or one of the kids was unhappy. the music would get gentle during thoughtful moments as well. The show strived to use all six kids evenly and not be dominated by Eric and Presto (Most and Rich) and did a good job doing this while keeping the shows upbeat and entertaining. The concept of a token will always bother me, but Diana did get a boyfriend in one episode and befriended a WW II German pilot in another. LIke Valerie in Josie and the Pussycats, she did often get stuck with the more interesting kids like Eric and Presto. Uni, too, had his moments and met his family of Unicorns. One that will always stand out to me from this show was when the kids decided they had enough of Vengar and wanted Dungeonmaster to tell them how to stop Vengar instead of telling them how they could get home. They meant business, and when DM told them what to do to stop Vengar, it was quiet, and he said "May I go now?" with such humility the likes of which I had never heard and have yet to hear again in a cartoon. Won't spoil how the showdown with Vengar went either. This show was a jewel.

I grew up watching this back in the 80's and since I've been in college I've had the privilege of getting the series through a collector basis. This is arguably one of the greatest animated series of the 80's, I refuse to call it a cartoon because it is so much more than that! It had great voice actors like Willie Aames(Charles In Charge) and Don Most(Happy Days) providing life to the characters. The theme of the series was that a group of young teenagers and little Bobby go on a rollercoaster ride called Dungeons & Dragons it transforms them to another land in a different time. They try to get home with the guiding wisdom of Dungeon Master(Sidney Miller) and fight off various antagonists along the way, mainly the evil Venger! The characters had much depth to them and the reason I say it was the best because it's competition was Strawberry Shortcake and The Get Along Gang. No Contest! It was on from 83-86.

First off, for all you fanatics out there, the D&D cartoon is on the air, at least for the summer of 2000. It's on every Saturday on Fox at 11 a.m.! By the way, this is a national thing, not just some syndicated local station.

Why is it back on the air? I'd bet it's cuz of the Harry Potter mania going around and Fox (Who has a toon deal with Saban, who in turn owns the D&D cartoon, G.I. Joe and Transformers). Check out foxkids.com for more details.

Regarding my Harry Potter theory, all the advertisements feature Presto, the magician of the group, so that's why I'm betting it's their way to cash in on the hero of the English kids books.

Anyway, they've run two episodes as far as I can tell and they were "The Illusionist" and "The Day of the Dungeon Master." Both surprised me at how fast-paced the stories were, giving little time for establishing shots or explanatory information.

"The Illusionist" was the worst of the two, a story about Presto rescuing a girl from Venger's clutches. "The Day of the Dungeon Master" centered around Eric and how he inherited the Dungeon Master's powers for a day. "Day" was very entertaining, mostly because it was so character driven.

Regarding animation, it isn't as good as I remember it, but still passable when you look at "Pokemon" and "NASCAR racers." I would say it's just one step below "G.I. Joe" quality.

Don Most, the actor from "Happy Days", is by far the best voice actor and really carries the rest of the cast. But Willie Ames, Peter Cullen and whoever does the Dungeon Master are right on the mark.

Remembering my love for the series, I must say it's cool to see it again, because I so rarely saw it during it's original run. Why? Cuz they always preempted it for sports or decade-old repeats of "Land of the Lost."

But you know what disappoints me most? With nearly 15 years of better technology and computer generated effects at their disposal, they couldn't kill that damn unicorn!