Hey everybody!
As D&D week comes to a close here at spalanz.com, I wanted to take some time to talk about something particularly special to me, the D&D cartoon!
A product of the early 80s, I must admit to having come quite late to this one, being introduced to it around 2 years ago – again, my friend Tony has a lot to answer for! Something that I haven’t yet delved into on this blog is my love of retro cartoons. Being a child of the 80s, these are things I’ve grown up with and loved, and will always have a special place for me! Hopefully this year, I’ll get to share more of these classics with you, in my own inimitable fashion!
Anyway.
The D&D cartoon, as I said, is something that I’d been aware of, but hadn’t any real recollection of from my childhood. I recall a trip to the local HMV store back when I was in college, where Tony was eyeing up the D&D boxset, but I went for Visionaries back then… ah, happy days! But then, around two or so years ago, he loaned me his copies of the DVDs, so I sat down to watch them with a bag of tortilla chips and some salsa (this is very important!), and found myself really enjoying them!
The show tells the story of a group of kids who, after going on a D&D ride at a theme park, are transported to the realm of D&D and need to find their way home. They are pursued by Venger, but assisted by the Dungeon Master, who gives each a power weapon to assist in their quest. The feel of the show is very much along the lines of an adventure in the sense of the RPG, with the kids set a task they have to accomplish.
Enjoyed that? I hope you did! The second episode in the series is particularly good, featuring the classic D&D monster, the Beholder!
It wasn’t long after being introduced to this cartoon that I found myself having to move house, and what was a very stressful time became so much easier thanks to the little bit of escapism these shows offered to me! This, and BraveStarr, but that’s a subject for another blog! I’d watched maybe ten episodes before I was in my new place, and one of the first things I did was begin watching them again from the beginning, of course, with tortilla chips and salsa!
Over the course of about a month, I made it through all 27 episodes of the show, including this one, episode 13, a loose retelling of Jack and the Beanstalk:
OH MY GOODNESS ME, I remembered this episode almost word-for-word from when I was about 5 or 6! While it’s hardly a particularly awesome tale, for me it was absolutely awesome from start to finish! What a tidal wave of memories.
Yes, sadly, 27 episodes is the entire run. A 28th was written, but never produced. The kids never did find their way home on the screen, but in a way that’s not really a bad thing. I mean, we never really saw the beginning of the story, only the truncated events of the opening credits (which, really, is all that’s needed anyway). The show really doesn’t have a beginning or an end, it’s just a series of adventures. And I’m pretty fine with that, I must say!
I love this series, though. I hope that, in sharing some of these cartoons, I’ve been able to share some of the awesome with you – remember, if you want the whole lot, the box set is available!
Dungeons and Dragons week may be over now, but this is definitely not the last you’ll be reading of it on my blog, anyway!
Until next time!
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