La Légende de Prince Vaillant

Along with Peter Pan and the Pirates, Pirates of Dark Water and Fish Police, The Legend of Prince Valiant gets my vote as one of the most overlooked animated series ever. Why so? Being a 17 year old girl, I thought this wouldn't be my style, but how wrong I was. This series is a gem, and is a animated series that is seriously needed to get animation back on track. There is something for everyone, boys will love the action, girls will love Rowanne and adults will be able to guess who voices which character, admire the detailed artwork, the beautiful theme tune and the messages it tries to convey.

The animation is simply wonderful, as well as colourful and vibrant it is also very detailed, especially the crisp backgrounds. The title song is stunning, not only does it have a gorgeous melody, but also I think a powerful message in a spiritual sense. And the incidental music is truly beautiful. I loved the characters, Prince Valiant and Arn aren't portrayed as selfish but instead courageous, and Rowanne is a beautiful engaging character. And who better to voice these characters other than Robby Benson, Michael Horton and Noelle North. All three of these talented actors brought appeal and earnestness into characters that could easily have been nothing special.

The other members of the voice cast also do brilliantly, particularly Efrem Zimbalist Jnr, Alan Oppenheimer, Jeff Bennett, Samantha Eggar and Tim Curry. And their characters were just as fully fleshed as the three title characters. I especially liked the fact that Merlin is very wise here, and often seen as the voice of reason. When I think of King Arthur, I have always thought Merlin as wise, clever, well looked up to and well-meaning, and that was exactly how he was portrayed here. The story lines are also outstanding, bringing sophistication, humour, depth and even poignancy to the series, and the writing is first-rate. This is definitely one of the in-depth animated series I have had the privilege of watching. The amount of depth involved was one of the main reasons why I love Peter Pan and the Pirates so much.

All in all, a very deep, in-depth and detailed animated television series. This is an amazing series, that deserves to be watched again, even if it's just on YouTube. Not only does it entertain, but it also teaches without preaching. My younger brother, who's 14 absolutely loves this, and so do I. I thought it wouldn't be my thing, and you know what I am so glad I gave it a chance, because it is really as amazing as people say it is. 10/10 Bethany Cox

I, too, remember this show. That is, at least I remember hearing and knowing of this due to the commercials advertising it actually. But it wasn't among the shows I watched when I was younger and smaller, and I didn't grow up on it. I recall it airing on what was then known as the Family Channel, but I don't recall the exact day(s) nor night(s) it aired, nor that it aired during prime time. Began getting into it after finally deciding to check out very few of the episodes I've seen so far on Youtube this past summer and now I'm hooked. Another one I'd add to my list of past shows that aren't a waste of time and actually are worth watching.

If I had seen this sooner, I'm not quite sure I even would've been appreciative of it at that time. But if I wouldn't have, I am now. It's an animated series set in medieval times that has since been added to my favorites. With the majority of T.V. cartoons airing these days unfortunately being less than impressive than ever before, finding and viewing something great that's new to me is such a breath of fresh air. I didn't know there was a comic on which this is based for the most part either, after reading about it on Wikipedia. However, even though I never read the comic, I still like the T.V. animated series adaptation despite whatever few, minor differences there are from that. What else I like about it is how it's a semi-original spin or twist expanding on the Arthurian legend. Although King Arthur may not be the lead character nor focus but rather makes appearances, there still is a connection made to it.

No, instead of him, this is the story of a young prince named Valiant who goes traveling on a quest to become a knight, along with two companions, Arn and Rowanne, who join him, sharing the same goal and aspiration. But not without having to get passed some obstacles and protecting their kingdoms or realms along the way. As I had overlooked the series myself for one reason or another, the other reviewers here are right about that. It's among the best for a variety of reasons, one of which is being the kind of cartoon that manages to be appealing enough for a middle ground or middle-of-the-road audience/demographic: It's mature enough and isn't too dumbed down for adults, and teens, but it also has plenty of exciting, entertainment values enough for kids to be kept engaged as well. Another reason would be the themes covered here, such as friendship, and lessons. Upon seeing this, one may get the idea, impression, or consideration that this is basically the previously untold story of another knight, as the Arthurian one is the more well-known of the two. I haven't seen the whole series, but I will continue to watch as it's refreshing, especially to me and anyone else who may be new to it also. It's now one of my most beloved shows. I recommend this, because it's amongst the strongest that one will find. It deserves so much more accolades and attention than it got. Everything about it is fine: The writing, the animation, the characters, the voices are all just fine. Some reviewer on here or another site claimed the animation isn't always perfect, I have yet to notice. Nonetheless, the animation might be inconsistent sometimes, but it's still among the better animated programs. One of the greatest ever made, I simply love it.

I discovered this cartoon when my son was three years old and he remembers it to this day. It came on t.v. on Monday nights and it entertained us adults too. The voices were more human like than cartoon style so it didn't have the hyper quality like typical cartoons of the day.

One of the most fascinating and unique qualities, however, was the level of music that you found only in movies in the 1990's. That gave this cartoon a sophistication no other had.

No t.v. cartoon gained that movie quality music until the sophisticated and beautiful colored Batman series began years later.

but i am currently looking for vhs or dvd releases or recordings of every episode of this show i am very much interested in it and would pay money to anyone who could find them but anyway im supposed to comment on this show what more can i say it was awesome i dont remember a better show or movie it is a must see sadly i missed most of the episodes but what i did see which was all of season 1 and some of the other seasons were the best shows i have ever seen.

All great people of legend have all became great because they started out with a dream, they strived throughout their life to make into reality. This is another one of my favorite animated/TV show of all time. This show is based on the old comic strip series from the King's Features, which at the time was sort of like Marvel and DC and the Prince was one of their famous comic hero figures. I saw this show when I was eight, I honestly never knew about the comic strip series at the time so seeing this show was a great introduction for me. I got into this show mainly because I'm a fan of the fantasy genre as I'm a "He-Man" fan but also, I really love the King Arthur legend.

However, this show really did me good as I saw this at a time when I was just moving away from my old home Yakima, Washington and transitioning into Auburn which is a town near Seattle; the Valiant saga was also about traveling far from your familiar surroundings and transitioning from them, so this show helped my transition a little easier as I had a hero I could easily emphasize with.

The animation in the show I feel is just excellent from the visuals along with the stories it accompanies you can easily forget your watching an animated show but a live action show. From the character designs of the characters that looking just perfect from their comic counterparts. But also, really love the background art from the forests to the castles that are all well detailed, some of them could easily be background art in an art gallery. However, the most important thing about this animation is that is it successfully captures a time long gone.

I really like how the series is sort of a balance with fantasy as well as an alternate history/period drama slightly similar to the alternate history books from author Bernard Cornwall who written a story on the Arthur legend being real and how it could have correlated with real history. The world of Valant is interesting, and you can say slightly predates a bit of "Game of Thrones" as it's a world where there is magic, but it is at the same time grounded, like with the fantasy creatures like a dragon and sea serpent their treated as they are a part of the animal kingdom that once existed but as time went on may have gone extinct. But we see some of the politics involved and showing how hard it truly was to create a land that was fair and just over tyranny and oppression.

Action is very solid; you have some good choreography in the swordfights and medieval combat and tactics. I even like how dark the series can be as people in this show can get injured and die. This was a daring and revolutionary move at the time as death and injury in animated shows was a rare almost nonexistent occurrence and I'm glad for this because it not just helped stay true to the comics, but it really gave the show a sense of jeopardy and helped remind us of the mortality of Valant and company. That what their doing isn't a game that and you can't afford to lose because there aren't always any second chances.

The music is great this show has some of the best tunes but that theme song is just beautiful it's one of my favorite theme songs of all time as it's just an inspiring tune.

But it's the story and the characters that really drive this series. The story structure of the series was also a revolutionary thing for its time and was before shows like "Game of Thrones" and other series out their made this format commonplace. The show goes on an ongoing linear developing structure where both the storyline and characters constantly develop as time in the show goes on. I really like this because it not just helped in staying true to the comic series but really was a breath of fresh air at the time where for once it felt like the show had direction and going somewhere, unlike most TV shows at the time which operated a bit like with skit comedies as each of the episodes was always random and not always connected with each other.

I even like that the characters in this show are all three dimensional which was rare at the time with most animated shows as most characters were two dimensional and were driven mainly by their assigned motive and persona. Each of the character in this show felt human as they have their strengths and weaknesses, agendas, and goals. But also like the character dynamics, the ones that Valant has with his friends and elders have a family dynamic to it. Even like the voice cast for the show which is another one of the best voice cast ensembles ever, as most consist not just veteran voice actors but some actors which really helped in the authentic feel of the show.

Robbie Benson is just excellent as Prince Valiant, his voice for the character just fit like a glove it's like how I feel about a lot of actors and voice actors where they are that role like Kevin Conroy is the animated "Batman", Karl Urban is "Judge Dredd", etc. Prince Valiant is another of my favorite fictional heroes.

I really like that he's a person with big dreams and ambitions as one of those dreams is to find and be a knight of Camelot. Which in a way the "Prince Valiant" saga can be a bit of a wish fulfillment fantasy, as this is about a regular person that is striving to be a knight in Camelot. Anyone that has read and is a fan of the "King Arthur" legend probably has dreamed of doing this if they ever lived within that world and time; you can say that's like with now with fans of "Justice League" or "Power Rangers" dream of being a hero alongside their ensemble.

But really that's relatable as all of us as most of us have big dreams and aspire to be what we want and more in life. He's tough and just he can be almost a badass as he doesn't take crap from anyone, nor does he let his friends and family. I also like how confidant he is in taking charge from injustices to be corrected but also simply to lead when it's needed as no one else can or is. I also like how smart, open minded and sometimes inventive he can be which sort of makes him almost "MacGyver" in the medieval times, well ok not quite more of a survivalist.

Though he's not perfect there are time when he can be a bit too prideful for his own good which can sometimes cloud his better judgement. But also, there is a naivety to him from living sheltered too long but simply inexperience in certain things in life. But one of the qualities of his character along with some of the rest is that he develops overtime, the more experience he gains the more he becomes less naïve, and his pride is more in check which helps him become the hero and person he wants to be.

Arn played by Michael Horton who is sort of just an ordinary peasant that also has big dreams. Though his character is ill confidant as he has a bit of an inferiority complex due as he lets class standing get in the way. Which makes his refrainment to Valiant and Rowanne and his time in Camelot a good thing as confidence is the very thing, he needs to achieve his dreams and be what he wants and we him slowly but surely become that.

Gawain played by my favorite actor Tim Curry his voice also fits like a glove for the role, let alone it's cool seeing him play the hero role. I like that his character has this scoundrel roguish charisma to him, a person that loves to have fun and a bit of a ladies' man. But I like that he has a strong sense of duty as he craves and never shies away from adventure, battle and doing the right thing. Even like that he's also one of the good mentor figures for Valiant for combat, Valiant is no doubt good but from Gawain's experience he knows can be even better.

Also, Merlin (played by Alan Oppenheimer whom of course was from "He-Man) he's solid as Merlin as he's another mentor figure for Valiant in not just science but also philosophy/wisdom. I like here that he's more of a scientist than a wizard, he does do some magic, but he mainly dabbles more in the word of science. Which makes this version of Merlin slightly more grounded in reality and it makes sense as science was looked upon almost as magic at the time.

King Arthur (played by Efrem Zimbalist Jr) he's sort of not just the other mentor figure for Valiant in politics, ethics, and leadership but in a way almost the secondary father figure of him. I like he's not some stereotypical two-dimensional king figure as we see how much of a gentle and just leader, he is but also just how understanding he truly is toward Valiant and others. And as usual isn't afraid to step up when he should.

I really like some of the moral and philosophical themes like Justice, Ethical standpoints, standing up against injustice and tyranny, conquering prejudice, how we shape the present and future, working hard to achieve goals, true heroism and a lot of other themes, which in a way make the show educational but in a good way. In the series that are handled well and aren't preachy (well okay in a episode or two may 'be) but there is a subtlety to them where they blend well with the story, unlike most shows and movies where there too concerned about sending a message but forgetting to tell an actual story. Sometimes what you don't say the message gets though and can go a long way.

I wouldn't mind if they did another animated adaptation of the comic strip series, but it can be more for mature audiences and even closer to the series by adapting some stories from the strip. Or even a live action TV series if the casting is correct and have the right look, feel and budget to make it possible, let alone put it on a premium channel and keep it away from dirty hands. Though this might by a tough order like with most comics of yesteryear it's not as popular as it uses to be, but then again adaptions to certain properties that don't get attention anymore do surprising spring up so only time will tell if the Prince will ride again.

"Prince Valiant" like any great legend that never dies is one you'll never forget.

Rating: 4 stars.