''Conan and the Young Warriors'' is a 1994 American television
animated series
An animated series is a set of animated works with a common series title, usually related to one another. These episodes should typically share the same main characters, some different secondary characters and a basic theme. Series can have either ...
produced by
Sunbow Entertainment
Sunbow Entertainment (known as Sunbow Productions until 1995) was an American animation studio and distributor, founded on June 23, 1980, and owned until May 4, 1998, by Griffin-Bacal Advertising in New York City and in the United States. Griffin ...
and aired by
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...
as a sequel to the animated series
''Conan the Adventurer'', but featuring a different set of characters (besides Conan). The series was developed by
Michael Reaves
James Michael Reaves (born September 14, 1950) is an American writer, known for his contributions as scriptwriter and story editor to a number of 1980s and 1990s animated television series, including '' Disney's Gargoyles'' and '' Batman: The An ...
and directed by John Grusd. It lasted only for one season of 13 episodes.
Plot
With Wrath-Amon vanquished and his family returned to life from living stone, Conan thought that his questing had finished. However, now he has to train and protect the "Chosen Ones", a trio of new young warriors who are in possession of magical "star stones", until the time comes in which they are destined to rule over
Hyboria
The Hyborian Age is a fictional period of Earth's history within the artificial mythology created by Robert E. Howard, serving as the setting for the sword and sorcery tales of Conan the Barbarian.
The word "Hyborian" is derived from the ...
.
Aside from Conan's character design, which is identical to the one in ''Conan the Adventurer'', this series has a few small links to its predecessor. Occasionally, a trumpet line piece of background music mirroring the theme to ''Conan the Adventurer'' is used. At one point, a character uses Zulu's trademark sign of Jhebbal Sag to summon animals to help them. Conan once seeks out a wizard he claims "Grey Wolf of Xanthus" told him about; he also mentions that he once knew a firebird, and jokingly claims that he ate him. The fact that Conan's sword is made of metal from the stars is mentioned several times, a reference to the original series in which a major theme was that Conan's sword was made of a magical star metal.
Characters
*
Conan (voiced by Phil Hayes) – Largely the same as in ''Conan the Adventurer'', Conan is charged with bringing up the three Chosen Ones and helping them fulfill their destinies.
* Epimetrius the Sage – He is the only other character from ''Conan the Adventurer'' to appear in this series aside from Conan. It was he who chose Draegen, Brynne and Navah as the users of the starstones. Empimetrius assisted Conan in guiding the Chosen Ones.
* Draegen (voiced by
Mark Hildreth) – The oldest of the Chosen Ones, he grew up in
Aquilonia. The star stone on his bandana allows him to magically don a suit of invincible armor.
* Brynne (voiced by
Kelly Sheridan
Kelly Sheridan is a Canadian voice actress best known for being the voice for Barbie in the ''Barbie'' film series from 2001 to 2010 and from 2012 to 2015. She had also voiced in numerous animations and English-language dubs of Japanese animati ...
) – The middle Chosen One who grew up as a thief in Shadizar. The star stone that is the jewel of her ring allows her to create illusions.
* Navah (voiced by
Chiara Zanni
Chiara Zanni (; born July 19, 1978) is a Canadian actress and comedian. She is known for her roles as Amy Ryan on The N series '' About a Girl'' and Maggie Buckman on the CBC series '' Edgemont''.
She is also known for her voice-work as Hahli i ...
) – At eight years old, the youngest of the Chosen Ones. He grew up in the Pict Eagle tribe, and the star stone in his pendant allows him to take control of animals, specifically his
mongoose
A mongoose is a small terrestrial carnivorous mammal belonging to the family Herpestidae. This family is currently split into two subfamilies, the Herpestinae and the Mungotinae. The Herpestinae comprises 23 living species that are native to so ...
Tiki.
* Sulinara (voiced by
Kathleen Barr
Kathleen Barr is a Canadian voice actress. She is best known for voicing Marie Kanker and Kevin in ''Ed, Edd n Eddy'' and Trixie Lulamoon and Queen Chrysalis in '' My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic''. She also voiced Henri Richard Maurice D ...
) – The power-hungry, part-
Serpent Man sorceress who is the primary villain of the series. She will stop at nothing to possess all of the star stones, and thereby rule Hyboria by herself.
* Graak (voiced by
Michael Donovan
Michael Donovan is a Canadian voice actor and director known for his roles as Suikotsu in ''Inuyasha'' and Zoken Mato in ''Fate/stay night''. He has also directed many animated series and feature films.
Roles
Animation
* ''3-2-1 Penguins!''K ...
) – The winged demon that aids Sulinara in her attempts to steal the star stones, although he cannot touch either them or Conan's star metal sword.
Episodes
# "The Third Talisman" (written by
Michael Reaves
James Michael Reaves (born September 14, 1950) is an American writer, known for his contributions as scriptwriter and story editor to a number of 1980s and 1990s animated television series, including '' Disney's Gargoyles'' and '' Batman: The An ...
) - The evil sorceress Sulinara plans to steal the three star stones belonging to Conan's young friends.
# "Arena" (written by
Steve Perry
Stephen Ray Perry (born January 22, 1949) is an American singer and songwriter. He was the lead singer of the rock band Journey during their most commercially successful periods from 1977 to 1987, and again from 1995 to 1998. He also wrote/co ...
) - Conan and his friends attempt to free a city from an evil king, but the tyrant captures Conan and leaves him in the arena to compete in a fight to the death.
# "Dreamweaver" (written by
Brynne Stephens
Brynne Chandler (born 1958) is a writer and story editor best known for her work on animated television series such as '' Gargoyles, Spider-Man: The Animated Series, Batman: The Animated Series, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'', and ''He-Man an ...
) - Sulinara sends nightmares upon the children, as she wants to get to the precious stones.
# "Carnival of Cardolus" (written by Brynne Stephens) - Conan and his charges are looking for a
basilisk
In European bestiaries and legends, a basilisk ( or ) is a legendary reptile reputed to be a serpent king, who causes death to those who look into its eyes. According to the ''Naturalis Historia'' of Pliny the Elder, the basilisk of Cyrene i ...
, scales of which are an effective means against all poisons, but an unscrupulous circus owner is also after the curious animal.
# "Isle of the Lost" (written by
David Wise) - Sulinara is seeking a precious stone that has the power to transform people into mindless monsters.
# "Covenant" (written by
Len Wein) - Sulinara conjures the demon lord Demonicus to get the star-stones of Conan's young friends – in return, he can take revenge on Conan, against whom he has once suffered a bitter defeat.
# "Wolf in the Fold" (written by Michael Reaves and Steve Perry) - An earthquake awakens the shapeshifter that was sealed beneath the ruins where Conan and the children reside.
# "Once a Thief" (written by Bryce Malek and David Wise) -
Loki
Loki is a god in Norse mythology. According to some sources, Loki is the son of Fárbauti (a jötunn) and Laufey (mentioned as a goddess), and the brother of Helblindi and Býleistr. Loki is married to Sigyn and they have two sons, Narfi or Na ...
manipulates Brynne into stealing his hammer back from the King of Shadizar.
# "Brothers of the Sword" (written by Michael Reaves) - Conan reluctantly works with the shaman of Navah's Pict tribe to stop a possessed old ally from resurrecting a monster called the Unitaur.
# "Feet of Clay" (written by Bryce Malek) - A sorcerer steals a mystical shield that was being guarded by Draegen's cowardly former mentor, Commander Horus.
# "The Hand of Fate" (written by Brynne Stephens) - The Young Warriors encounter Tisara, a beautiful trained warrior with skills beyond their own. She claims that Brynne, an admitted former thief, stole the star stone that was rightfully hers.
# "The Separation" (written by Michael Reaves) - Epimetrius informs Conan that his time with the Young Warriors is at an end, and that they will now be mentored by Ninjus. Ninjus is actually a servant of Necromas, an evil deity who has enslaved Epimetrius.
# "The Night of the Serpent" (written by Lydia C. Marano and Brynne Stephens) - Draegen falls in love with a princess who a prophecy alleges will marry a descendant of Set.
Home video release
Eight episodes were released over four DVD volumes by MRA Entertainment in Australia, followed by a DVD pack containing the four DVD volumes:
Reception
According to ''
The A.V. Club
''The A.V. Club'' is an American online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was cre ...
'', this cartoon, like its predecessor, "has been significantly defanged,
dumbing down
Dumbing down is the deliberate oversimplification of intellectual content in education, literature, and cinema, news, video games, and culture. Originated in 1933, the term "dumbing down" was movie-business slang, used by screenplay writers, meani ...
and infantilizing the character to the degree that he’s robbed of his savage appeal". In 2009,
Topless Robot
Village Voice Media or VVM is a newspaper company. It began in 1970 as a weekly alternative newspaper in Phoenix. The company, founded by Michael Lacey (editor) and Jim Larkin (publisher), was then known as New Times Inc. (NTI) and the publicat ...
featured the "Cartoon Conan" from this show on the list of "The 8 Dumbest Barbarian Heroes".
References
External links
*
{{Children's programming on CBS in the 1990s
1990s American animated television series
1994 American television series debuts
1994 American television series endings
American children's animated action television series
American children's animated adventure television series
American children's animated fantasy television series
American sequel television series
Animated television series about children
English-language television shows
CBS original programming
Conan the Barbarian television series
Television series by Sunbow Entertainment
Television series by Claster Television