The 90s were a heyday for gaming cartoons. It felt like you couldn’t turn your head around without seeing a new one pop up. The game didn’t even have to be popular because for crying out loud, if Bubsy of all things in the universe could get a cartoon pilot, then pigs could fly.
But it’s possible you’re already aware of the classics. The Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog, Mega Man: Super Fighting Robot and The Super Mario Bros. Super Show (what a mouthful) are all great examples of fondly remembered classics. Don’t worry, Pac-Man had a cartoon, a pretty weird one, though. So what about the lesser discussed shows? The Legend of Zelda? Donkey Kong Country? Not only will we look back on these gems, but discuss the fascinating history behind them!
Admittedly, a middle ground had to be struck here. Each one of those aforementioned entries could suffice a full-blown article, but it would not only require an extensive dissection that’s honestly not always worth the energy, but it could get a bit dull. On the other hand, I would’ve loved to cover more shows, like the aforementioned Pac-Man and bizarrely unforgettable Captain N, but it could bloat the article, and it just feels better to go with the two we have today. That said, onto our first subject.
Ever sat down and watched the whole Zelda cartoon from beginning to end? No? Well, excuuuse me as I brief you on the plot and history of this show. But first, some great news! This show has only 13 episodes! If you ever find yourself itching for a nostalgia marathon, but you feel rather busy, this might be for you. The entire show actually rounds up to being 195 minutes long, making it a smudge longer than a 3 hour film especially if you skip the openings (which only add to the “excuuuse me” count).
The episodes themselves are rather engaging with creative scenarios and clever implementation of game mechanics. The plot is rather simple, but it kinda had no other option in the department, as this had the alluring production period of the second game in the series. You’re not reading that incorrectly, this came out exactly between the first and second Zelda. What a release window! It must be stated that this specific period is so ancient, there were only two pieces of the Tri-force. Yes, you are also reading that correctly. Funky times, weren’t they?
With so little to work with, not only is it hard to blame the cartoon for being so short, but you the reader would not be blamed for thinking this show didn’t have much going for it. But surprisingly? It did! This is actually one of the more fun adventure cartoons of its time, believe it or not. It’s got a ton of energy, a charismatic cast, some creative plots and probably the first ever portrayal of Zelda being an independent fighter. In fact, it might be Link who’s the damsel in distress at times!
Indeed, Link can be… kind of a loser, actually. But have no fair, he’s still the same heroic Link you’re used to! Just a bit on the goofier side. But yeah, to wrap things up, this show is definitely more than just that one meme and if you’re curious, yes he does say it in almost every episode. Quite literally. He says it 29 times and there are 13 episodes total. You do the math.
Now we move on to our next guest, the monkey with the name of a donkey, Donkey Kong! Full disclosure, it will not be easy to write this piece without getting a bit messy. This show is mayhem incarnate. It’s as if every single thing that could've gone wrong did go wrong, and the fact we still got a decent show out of it regardless is not only a miracle, but it’s plain ol’ unbelievable.
“Where do we even start?” would usually be the question asked here, but there is no place to start. If you begin with the first season, you uncovering production problems in the middle. Discuss those, you’ll see yourself jumping to issues in the last season, and it never ends, it’s like an early Christmas gift, if said gift required a Rube Goldberg mechanism to open.
See, this show already had most of its earlier episodes already story boarded, but the dialogue was deemed inappropriate for TV, so they were re-written, mostly by one writer and to match the already finished storyboards. If that isn’t a textbook definition of production hell, then I don't know what.
Now, to say the DKC show had troubled productions would be the understatement of the century, but I also had to verify the validity of the claim of it being entirely in motion capture and while that’s somewhat true, the series apparently suffered major budget cuts in the third season and the mocap animation had to be dropped alongside the CGI models quality. Yikes!
But even with all that in mind, the show had numerous great things going for it. Such as the many singing talents (Diddy’s voice notwithstanding), the dancing choreography was also quite nice. A few examples would include “I’m Nobody’s Hero”, “Metal Head” (again, Diddy’s voice notwithstanding) and “Our Love is Stronger than a Golden Banana”, the last one needs to be seen to be believed. It even made King K. Rool cry! DK has a truly angelic voice.
And of course, the plot, and characters were relatively enjoyable. And even with all the animation jank, it was still a decent show to look at. Congo Bongo Island (yes, they actually called it that) has decent scenery. Although, due to the mo-cap, the characters were apparently not allowed to swim. Sorry, it’s tough not to sneak in a few jabs. But it’s all in good fun! Oh, when I said jank, I meant it…
Now that we had our laughs, time for some further clarification. A large portion of this piece had to be cut out. It was actually going to cover “Kirby: Right Back at Ya!” but it was getting harder not to bloat this article as is. I actually think it’s possible I’ll revisit this one day and cover different shows like Captain N, which is probably the only one with a can of worms to rival even the DK cartoon. Did you know Mega Man is green in that one?
So yes, while it is a little trickier for me to review a show compared to a game, if you like this and feel like you want a continuation of this, let your voice be heard through commenting or liking the article. Sharing it can also help. There’s still a bit left, so may as well cover a bit about Kirby. Did you know he was accused of eating all the farm animals alive?
What a pleasant note to end things on! I hope you enjoyed this piece. Let us if you have any cartoon fun facts or nostalgic memories you’d like to share in the comments below!
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