Who all saw the The Legend of Zelda animated series from 1989? It’s a relic of its time and the hero of Hyrule’s “Well, excuuuuse me, Princess!” is a staple of pop culture.
In an interview, the man behind the Legend of Zelda cartoon said he’d used his family members as writers
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Now, thanks to interviews published by Polygon, we know the inside scoop from many of the show’s writers, voice actors, and creators.
This article was published as a part of Polygon’s Zeldathon, a yearlong celebration of all things Zelda leading up to the release of Tears of the Kingdom on May 12th. It includes reflections and thoughts from many of the show’s creators on the now-infamous cartoon. The show ran for one season, airing Fridays after The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!, and featured 13 episodes.
Bob Forward, the show’s story editor and writer, and his sister, Eve Forward, are responsible for one of our favorite anecdotes. Although Bob had never played a video game before, he had watched his sons play the original Legend of Zelda on the NES and was given a tape of a playthrough to watch for research purposes. Having nothing more to go on than “a franchise “bible” provided by Nintendo” and a Japanese copy of Zelda II: The Adventures of Link, Bob enlisted the aid of his relatives in order to create the show. Eve, his sister, remembers him saying:
“My brother somehow ended up suggesting I try writing an episode, and I was able to turn out a couple of scripts that, with his editing, ended up getting used. I was about 16-17 at the time. The only direction I had was the show bible, which outlined the basic characters and sorts of stories they were looking for. I didn’t have a Nintendo, so I rented one, and the game, and tried to play it, but I didn’t get very far. But the basic relationships were all established in the show bible…”
“Using her enjoyment of Dungeons & Dragons to help create a fantasy cartoon show, Eve says that the show’s seventh episode, ‘Dopleganger’, “was based on a cursed mirror in D&D”, and that she saw Link as “more of a rogue than a fighter.”
Others in the Forward family participated as well, not just Eve. Bob admits that he enlisted the help of his own mother in creating an episode:
“We had a schedule we had to put the scripts through, and I think it was two a week. That wasn’t hard — I worked on shows we had to do five a week, so two a week was just fine. Eve and I were just writing them on our own. We even had my mom pitch a story. She wrote something that we ended up having to do a lot of work on, but it wasn’t a bad initial concept.”
The episode “Fairies in the Spring,” based on an idea by Marsha Forward, is about the king constructing a water park. The premise may sound far-fetched if you haven’t seen the cartoon. Not at all. You have our word on that. It is from this show that we learn that Link is “the ultimate teenage boy, who was like a puppy,” as described by Jonathan Potts, who was also interviewed for this piece.
This is just one example of the many tidbits of information like this to be found throughout the article, including background on the Talking Triforce (again, I know it sounds crazy, but it’s real) and the history behind Link’s signature catchphrase (covered also by our lovely friends on Time Extension). It’s a great look back at a time many of us lived through firsthand but which others will never know. It’s an adventure, and for some, a special treat.
It’s all on YouTube if you’re interested in seeing it or just want to relive your childhood with a dose of nostalgia for cheesy 90s cartoon video game adaptations (thanks to GamePlayersUniverse.com).
Do you enjoy watching the Zelda animated series? No? Oh my goodness, I’m so sorry! Leave your thoughts on the program below.
