The Legend of Prince Valiant – The Complete Series:
Volume 2
Picture:
C+ Sound: C+ Extras: B- Episodes: C+
The
animated series which existed throughout the 1980s were rather amazing, each
holding a certain epic nature that made the series compelling for many viewers.
This epic pattern bled into the early 1990’s with shows like The Legend of Prince Valiant, proving
that the world always needs a hero. With
such great series as He-man and the
Masters of the Universe, Thundercats,
and now The Legend of Prince Valiant’s
release on DVD it is the perfect time to add such great animated series to your
animation collection. Prince Valiant- The Complete Series- Volume
2 finishes up the series on DVD. In
this Volume Prince Valiant is now a Knight of the Round Table in King Arthur’s
court, protecting Camelot to his fullest ability. A plethora of epic and historical characters
emerge in this series including Merlin, King Arthur, and Prince Valiant’s
counterparts Arn and Rowanne. The series
has great art direction and for the most part has a very detailed animation
style. The realism of the animation at
times can be off-putting and boring, but remains interesting with the mythology
backing the scenery.
The main
problem with the series is that it has become a bit dated since its release 15
plus years ago. Every episode, though
taking place in the time of King Arthur, seems to be a 1980s public service
announcement. The ‘public service
announcement’ nature that surrounds each episode tackles such issues as gun
violence (bow and arrow in this case), land rights, telling the truth, the use
for the elderly, and many more. Though
this style does get clichéd to a degree, younger viewers may have actually
learned from this at some point, which is interesting to explore as society and
its values evolve. Overall, for those
out there who must own He-man,
Thundercats, GI Joe, Transformers, Ducktales, Chip and Dale: Rescue Rangers and
so on; The Legend of Prince Valiant
is a must for everyone’s 1980’s/90’s animation library collection.
Prince Valiant is more than an early 90’s
animation staple from Filmation studios, but remained a comic strip and Film
figure head for many years. This area of
the Prince Valiant universe can be read about elsewhere on this site.
Beyond
the lovable nature of this epic and historically driven early 90s series is the
great voice talents which were utilized.
Where it remains true the dialogue for this animated series can be dry
and trite, the voice actors were quite good.
Such greats as Efrem Zimbalist Jr. who lent his voice to King Arthur,
also worked on all recent Batman and
Superman Series (including Justice
League) as Alfred Pennyworth, Spiderman
the Animated Series as Dr. Octopus, and was Don Alejandro de la Vega on the
1990 Zorro Series. Robby Benson who voiced Prince Valiant went
on to direct episodes of Friends, Ellen,
Dream On, and 8 Simple Rules. This
series also uses the masterful voice talents of Tim Curry of Home Alone 2 and The Rocky Horror Picture Show, need I say more? Many other voice actors on this series went
on to do many other voice acting parts as well as live action television
series.
The
technicals on this animated TV on DVD release are not especially good, but have
their merits. The picture is presented
in a 1.33 X 1 format that has balanced color, and is particularly clear for
being from the early 1990s. The only
problem that seems to dominate certain scenes is a degree of blurriness, which
is hard to say whether it is a bad transfer or in the original animated
filming? The sound is adequate but not
stellar in its Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo presentation, being clear but having
issues of sounding distant and distorted at times. The extras are nicely presented ands include interviews
with voice actors and writers from the series, which is always nice, audio commentaries
on select episodes that give great insight, stills, storyboards, all the scripts
in PDF format for home computers via DVD-ROM, trailers and “amazingly” a Bonus
Episode from Defenders of the Earth (#26), in which Prince Valiant made an
appearance. Also included is a full
color booklet explaining the episodes as well as the bonus features. Where the series is lacking in picture and
sound quality, it makes up for in extras and content.
In the end,
a classic series that is immortalized in this animated format for all to
enjoy. If you are a fan of The Legend of Prince Valiant or an 80s
– 90s cartoon connoisseur, this series is for you.
- Michael P Dougherty II
