King Arthur and the Knights of Justice
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''King Arthur and the Knights of Justice'' is an
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 Golden Films, C&D (
Créativité et Développement Créativité et Développement or C&D (English: Creativity and Development) was a French animation production company founded in 1987 by Jean Chalopin.Faviez, Pierre. ''La Télé : un destin animé''. Paris: Société des Ecrivains, 2010 (pp. 47, ...
) and
Bohbot Entertainment Bohbot Entertainment was an American advertising and marketing company specializing in the children's market founded in 1985, and had traded under various different names over the years. The company produced and distributed programming under thei ...
. The series was created by
Jean Chalopin Jean Chalopin (born 31 May 1950) is a French bank executive. During the 1980s and early 1990s, he produced a range of successful animated series, first as the founder and president of the production company DIC, then at his newly created compa ...
along with Diane Eskenazi (
Golden Films Golden Films is an American production studio founded in 1994 by Diane Eskenazi, previously known as American Film Investment Corporation. The studio has produced a variety of animated films. The company's most notorious films were part of the ...
) and Avi Arad (
Toy Biz Toy Biz (also stylized as ToyBiz), was a toy company which later became a subsidiary of Marvel Entertainment and was renamed to Marvel Toys. It was best known for producing action figures and toys and holding the Marvel Comics license from 1990 t ...
chairman, CEO and the founder of
Marvel Studios Marvel Studios, LLC (originally known as Marvel Films from 1993 to 1996) is an American film and television production company that is a subsidiary of Walt Disney Studios, a division of the Walt Disney Company. Marvel Studios produces the Mar ...
) who were also executive producers of the series, which lasted for two seasons of 13 episodes each. Its first episode aired on September 13, 1992, and the last episode was on December 12, 1993. It aired as part of Bohbot's ''Amazin' Adventures'' programming block.


Plot

The show's premise had King Arthur Zelenski and the
Knights of the Round Table The Knights of the Round Table ( cy, Marchogion y Ford Gron, kw, Marghekyon an Moos Krenn, br, Marc'hegien an Daol Grenn) are the knights of the fellowship of King Arthur in the literary cycle of the Matter of Britain. First appearing in lit ...
trapped in the Cave of Glass by Arthur's sister, the evil enchantress Queen Morgana. Unable to free King Arthur and the Knights himself, the wizard Merlin searches the timeline for replacement Knights. He finds the quarterback of the New York Knights
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
team Arthur King and transports him and his teammates to
Camelot Camelot is a castle and court associated with the legendary King Arthur. Absent in the early Arthurian material, Camelot first appeared in 12th-century French romances and, since the Lancelot-Grail cycle, eventually came to be described as th ...
after one of their football games. He appoints Arthur King as their leader with his teammates as the new Knights of the Round Table and assigns them the task of freeing the true King and Knights. To do so, they must find the Twelve Keys of Truth, one for each knight that only the knight in question can initially touch. Once all the keys are found, the real knights will be free and the team will return home. In the meantime, they pledge "fairness to all, to protect the weak and vanquish the evil". The Knights are armed with special armor and are able to summon their respective creatures at any time when in battle armor. These animals, such as King Arthur's wyvern, are emblazoned on their shields. The series had a progressive story with both sides advanced towards their goals. Continuity was also established in the episodes which would be brought up in later episodes, along with some repeat minor characters, character relationships, and previously overcome weaknesses of the Knights. Despite the continual movement towards a resolution, the series is incomplete and ended abruptly during the second season.


Characters


The Knights of the Round Table

*
King Arthur King Arthur ( cy, Brenin Arthur, kw, Arthur Gernow, br, Roue Arzhur) is a legendary king of Britain, and a central figure in the medieval literary tradition known as the Matter of Britain. In the earliest traditions, Arthur appears as a ...
(Arthur King) (voiced by Andrew Kavadas) – The
quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...
of his football team, ''The Knights'', in his own time, Arthur uses his natural leadership skill in battle against Morgana's forces. While seeking Merlin's counsel at times, Arthur usually comes up with clever strategies and battle plans when needed. His shield houses the Dragon of Justice (also called the Dragon of the Shield), a
wyvern A wyvern ( , sometimes spelled wivern) is a legendary winged dragon that has two legs. The wyvern in its various forms is important in heraldry, frequently appearing as a mascot of schools and athletic teams (chiefly in the United States, Un ...
which can be unleashed to do his bidding when he needs it. The wyvern was the family crest of the original Arthur of legend, Arthur Pendragon. He stores the great sword
Excalibur Excalibur () is the legendary sword of King Arthur, sometimes also attributed with magical powers or associated with the rightful sovereignty of Britain. It was associated with the Arthurian legend very early on. Excalibur and the Sword in th ...
in his chestplate, rather than a sheath. His horse's name is mentioned once as being Valor. * Sir Lancelot (Lance) (voiced by
Scott McNeil Scott McNeil is an Australian-born Canadian actor. He currently resides in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. One of the best-known Canadian voice actors of all time, McNeil has provided voices to many characters in animated shows, most notabl ...
) – Lance is the second-in-command of the knights and Arthur's best friend. Fearless and brave, Lance is usually the most serious of the knights. His emblem is a
lion The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large Felidae, cat of the genus ''Panthera'' native to Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body; short, rounded head; round ears; and a hairy tuft at the end of its tail. It is sexually dimorphi ...
and his primary weapon is a lance. * Sir Tone (voiced by Scott McNeil in an Italian accent) – Tone is the team's
inventor An invention is a unique or novel device, method, composition, idea or process. An invention may be an improvement upon a machine, product, or process for increasing efficiency or lowering cost. It may also be an entirely new concept. If an ...
and
blacksmith A blacksmith is a metalsmith who creates objects primarily from wrought iron or steel, but sometimes from #Other metals, other metals, by forging the metal, using tools to hammer, bend, and cut (cf. tinsmith). Blacksmiths produce objects such ...
due to experiences in metal shop. He invents many machines based on ones he has seen in his own time. Tone's real name is Anthony. His chestplate houses a hammer and chisel with which he can build almost anything. * Sir Trunk (voiced by Scott McNeil) – The knights'
strongman In the 19th century, the term strongman referred to an exhibitor of strength or similar circus performers who performed feats of strength. More recently, strength athletics, also known as strongman competitions, have grown in popularity. Thes ...
. His primary weapon is a double-headed battle axe and his shield contains a giant
ram Ram, ram, or RAM may refer to: Animals * A male sheep * Ram cichlid, a freshwater tropical fish People * Ram (given name) * Ram (surname) * Ram (director) (Ramsubramaniam), an Indian Tamil film director * RAM (musician) (born 1974), Dutch * ...
strong enough to break down walls and carry several people on its back with ease. * Sir Wally (voiced by Lee Jeffrey) – A guard for ''The Knights'' football team, as a true knight his job is now to protect Arthur during attacks. Good-natured, but takes it hard when he makes mistakes. Sir Brick is his best friend. His shield emblem is a falcon. * Sir Brick (voiced by
Garry Chalk Garry Chalk is a British-born Canadian actor. He has provided the voices for Optimus Primal of '' Beast Wars: Transformers'' and ''Beast Machines'', as well as Optimus Prime in the anime English dubs of '' Transformers: Armada'', ''Transformer ...
) – Like Wally, Brick is usually used as Arthur's bodyguard. He has unwavering loyalty to his friends, including his best friend Wally. He is able to call an apparently unlimited supply of bricks out of his chest plate and create massive walls from them at will. * Sir Phil (voiced by Garry Chalk) – One of the stronger knights of the twelve. Is very adamant about returning "to the land of cheeseburgers and fries". His chestplate houses a club and his shield contains a black panther. * Sir Darren (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 only one of the knights with a crossbow, Darren is the team's pretty boy. Now he has found a steady girlfriend in Lady Elaine. He is usually cool and confident on and off the battlefield, perhaps too much so. His shield houses a giant
eagle Eagle is the common name for many large birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of genera, some of which are closely related. Most of the 68 species of eagle are from Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, just ...
capable of lifting multiple men in each talon. * Sir Gallop (voiced by Mark Hildreth) – The ladies' man, Gallop constantly thinks of women, though is also very respectful towards them. His chestplate houses a pike with a spiked ball on the end and his shield houses a two-headed hound. In season 2, he dates the peasant girl called Katherine. * Sir Breeze (voiced by Lee Jeffrey) – The team's wide receiver who is a big trash talker in the group. He also uses a lot of slang of his time, and is both afraid of heights and small spaces. His primary weapon is a pike which can shoot bolts from the tip; and his shield emblem is the
sphinx A sphinx ( , grc, σφίγξ , Boeotian: , plural sphinxes or sphinges) is a mythical creature with the head of a human, the body of a lion, and the wings of a falcon. In Greek tradition, the sphinx has the head of a woman, the haunches of ...
. He is a bit of an egotist but knows where his priorities lie. * Sir Lug (voiced by Michael Donovan) – Though originally the team's
equipment manager An equipment manager is the person in charge of equipment used by a business or organization. Their duties include purchasing, maintenance, repair, inventory, transportation, storage, cleaning, and liquidation. They are responsible for providing t ...
, in medieval times, Lug is in charge of Camelot's squires. Lug has low self-esteem and is usually picked on by some of the other knights, but he possesses great courage and can even hold his own against Lord Viper in a fight. His shield emblem resembles a kraken and his chest armor launches a football projectile at enemies. * Sir Zeke (voiced by Mark Hildreth) – The only Asian player on the team; he is also the genius of the group using tech lingo when speaking.


Camelot characters

* Merlin (voiced by Jim Byrnes) – The great wizard who served King Arthur. He was responsible for bringing Arthur King and his teammates into the past to fight against Morgana after the real King Arthur and his knights were imprisoned. Merlin is a great asset to the knights and uses his various spells, potions, and advice to assist them when needed. He is also the only person from his time period to know Arthur and the others' true identities. * Queen
Guinevere Guinevere ( ; cy, Gwenhwyfar ; br, Gwenivar, kw, Gwynnever), also often written in Modern English as Guenevere or Guenever, was, according to Arthurian legend, an early-medieval queen of Great Britain and the wife of King Arthur. First ment ...
(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 ...
) – Camelot's queen and the real King Arthur's wife. Guinevere was captured by Morgana at the show's beginning, but she was rescued by Arthur King (posing as her husband), Lance, and Trunk. She often wonders about the change in Arthur's demeanor and manner of acting, unaware of the whole truth. * Lady Elaine (voiced by
Venus Terzo Venus Terzo is a Canadian actress who played Detective Angela Kosmo in ''Da Vinci's Inquest'' and its spinoff, '' Da Vinci's City Hall''. She was nominated in 2002 for the Gemini Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Continuing Leading Dr ...
) – Guinevere's attendant and Darren's girlfriend. * Lady Mary – Guinevere's second attendant and aunt to Squire Everett. In "To Save a Squire", she and Sir Tone at first resent each other until the end of the episode where they show affection for each other. * Katherine – A peasant girl that becomes Sir Gallop's girlfriend starting season 2. * Squire Tyronne (voiced by Michael Donovan) – A squire who looks up to Sir Lug and has a strong desire to be a knight. * Squire Everett (voiced by Mark Hildreth) – Like Tyrone, Everett is very passionate about being a knight. Nephew of Lady Mary. * Lady of the Table (voiced by Kathleen Barr)  – The protector of the knights, her spirit can be seen as the knights are being equipped with their armor and weapons. The knights cannot see her until the Season 2 episode "What the Key Unlocked" where she reveals herself to Lance. She will usually tell Arthur and group to "speak the oath" prior to activating their transformation.


Morgana's forces

* Queen
Morgana Morgana may refer to: People * Morgana Gmach (born 1994), Brazilian female rhythmic gymnast * Morgana King (1930–2018), American singer and actress * Morgana O'Reilly (born 1985), New Zealand actress * Morgana Robinson (born 1982), British co ...
/ Lady Morgana (voiced by Kathleen Barr) – The evil sorceress who serves as the primary antagonist of the series. She was responsible for sealing Arthur and his knights into the Cave of Glass. Morgana despises Merlin and has great magical prowess. While she does not know where they came from, she knows the new Arthur and his set of knights are frauds. * Lord Viper (voiced by Garry Chalk) – The second-in-command and overall field commander of the Warlords. He seems to be the only human in Lady Morgana's army. Viper has a constant hatred for Arthur King and they have had several sword fights throughout the series. Viper's main weapon is a jagged-edge sword, but he also has a snake emblem on his armor which can attack Viper's opponent. He rides in a cart that doubles as a catapult. *
Warlord A warlord is a person who exercises military, economic, and political control over a region in a country without a strong national government; largely because of coercive control over the armed forces. Warlords have existed throughout much of h ...
s - The Warlords are Morgana's minions who were constructed out of stone. If the Warlords are broken or destroyed in battle, Morgana can reassemble them using her magic. ** Warlord Axe (voiced by Scott McNeil) – A warlord who is not too bright, Axe has a plethora of ax weapons and an ax cart. He has appeared in almost every episode and has defeated King Arthur on two separate occasions. ** Warlord Bash (voiced by Garry Chalk) – A primitive warlord who wields a bone club and skull-shaped shield. He likely represents the
Saxon The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic * * * * peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country (Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the Nor ...
barbarian A barbarian (or savage) is someone who is perceived to be either Civilization, uncivilized or primitive. The designation is usually applied as a generalization based on a popular stereotype; barbarians can be members of any nation judged by som ...
s that raid most of Europe in legend. ** Warlord Blackwing (voiced by Scott McNeil) – The third-in-command and Viper's right-hand man, Blackwing possesses
Pterodactyl Pterosaurs (; from Greek ''pteron'' and ''sauros'', meaning "wing lizard") is an extinct clade of flying reptiles in the order, Pterosauria. They existed during most of the Mesozoic: from the Late Triassic to the end of the Cretaceous (228 to 6 ...
-like wings and can fly, allowing him to attack his enemies with the mid-air dart attacks from his talons. He is also equipped with a pike. Warlord Blackwing is responsible for capturing Guinevere early in the series. ** Warlord Blinder – A warlord who is able to blind his opponents by striking together his two dirks. He can also throw them with perfect aim. ** Warlord Hammer (voiced by Michael Donovan) – A super strong behemoth with two hammers as weapons considered to be one of the strongest among them. ** Warlord Lucan – A savage
wolf The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the gray wolf or grey wolf, is a large canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, and gray wolves, as popularly u ...
-like berserker warlord with sharp claws, missile attacks, and a wolf-head cart that breathes fire. ** Warlord Slasher – A warlord with many sharp weapons including spears, a serrated–spiked cape and a spear cart. Also, his armor could be configured into a pair of deadly gauntlets. Like Blackwing, he can fly, but does so rarely. ** Warlord Spike – A warlord with a
voulge A voulge (occasionally called a pole cleaver; also spelled vouge) is a type of polearm that existed alongside the similar glaive in medieval Europe. Superficially, a voulge might strongly resemble a glaive, but there are some notable differences i ...
style weapon and a spear cart that can shoot projectiles. He also seems to be one of the smartest as he leads many missions and applies battle strategies.


Purple Horde

* Master Chang – The
katana A is a Japanese sword characterized by a curved, single-edged blade with a circular or squared guard and long grip to accommodate two hands. Developed later than the ''tachi'', it was used by samurai in feudal Japan and worn with the edge fa ...
-wielding leader of the Purple Horde, an army of Asian warriors who menace the Knights in the second season. They have their mind set on conquest and are in a feeble alliance with the Warlords. Chang upholds a strict code of honor for the Purple Horde to abide by which allows a level of understanding between them and the Knights. * Awan – A warrior who uses a
nunchaku is a traditional Okinawan martial arts weapon consisting of two sticks (traditionally made of wood), connected to each other at their ends by a short metal chain or a rope. It is approximately 30 cm (sticks) and 1 inch (rope). A person wh ...
and carries a war horn. * Hung – A warrior who wields bow and arrows. * Ti Ben – A warrior who uses portable gunpowder-based artillery. * Rim – A warrior who uses a sword-dagger combo and bombs. * Po – A warrior who uses a
kusarigama A is a traditional Japanese weapon that consists of a ''kama'' (the Japanese equivalent of a sickle or billhook) on a kusari-fundo – a type of metal chain (''kusari'') with a heavy iron weight (''fundo'') at the end. The ''kusarigama'' is said ...
and
shuriken A ''shuriken'' ( ja, 手裏剣; literally: "hidden hand blade") is a Japanese concealed weapon that was used as a hidden dagger or metsubushi to distract or misdirect. They are also known as throwing stars, or ninja stars, although they were ...
.


Episodes


Season 1 (1992)


Season 2 (1993)


Video game

A video game based on the series was produced by
Enix was a Japanese video game publisher that produced video games, anime and manga. Enix is known for publishing the ''Dragon Quest'' series of role-playing video games. The company was founded by Yasuhiro Fukushima on September 22, 1975, as . Th ...
for the
Super NES The Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES), commonly shortened to Super NES or Super Nintendo, is a 16-bit home video game console developed by Nintendo that was released in 1990 in Japan and South Korea, 1991 in North America, 1992 in E ...
platform in 1995. The game features a final confrontation between King Arthur and Morgana, in the form of a giant dragon, providing a finale to the series where the Knights football team were able to return to their own time.


Merchandise

Mattel Mattel, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational toy manufacturing and entertainment company founded in January 1945 and headquartered in El Segundo, California. The company has presence in 35 countries and territories and sells products in more ...
released a handful of 5" action figures and vehicles/accessories based on the show.
Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...
released a three-part comic book miniseries written by Mike Lackey in 1993.


Home releases

Maximum Entertainment released the complete series of ''King Arthur and the Knights of Justice'' on Region 2
DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...
in the UK. In 2010, after several various partial VHS and DVD releases,
Image Entertainment RLJ Entertainment (formerly Image Entertainment) is an American film production company and home video distributor, distributing film and television productions in North America, with approximately 3,200 exclusive DVD titles and approximately 340 ...
released the complete series as a boxed set in North America with all 26 episodes in a three-DVD set ''King Arthur and the Knights of Justice: The Complete Animated Series''. For some time during late 2000s, the whole series has been made available for free watching through
Internet streaming Streaming media is multimedia that is delivered and consumed in a continuous manner from a source, with little or no intermediate storage in network elements. ''Streaming'' refers to the delivery method of content, rather than the content it ...
at the
Lycos Lycos, Inc., is a web search engine and web portal established in 1994, spun out of Carnegie Mellon University. Lycos also encompasses a network of email, web hosting, social networking, and entertainment websites. The company is based in Walth ...
' SyncTV service and on Kidlet. Between 2012 and 2014, it has been also available for instant streaming on
Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...
. In 2016, Golden Films released it via
Amazon.com Amazon.com, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational technology company focusing on e-commerce, cloud computing, online advertising, digital streaming, and artificial intelligence. It has been referred to as "one of the most influential economi ...
. As of 2019, the series is available from the subscription service Watch It Kid!. The series is also available on
tubi Tubi is an American over-the-top content platform and ad-supported streaming service owned by Fox Corporation. The service was launched on April 1, 2014, and is based in Los Angeles, California. In January 2021, Tubi reached 33 million monthly ...
.


Reception

The show has been ranked first on the lists of "The 10 Most Ridiculous Adaptations of Arthurian Legend" (2009) and the "8 Mostly Forgotten '90s Cartoons" (2011) by website
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 ...
, as well as "15 Most WTF Adaptations of King Arthur" by ScreenRant in 2017. Conversely, writer Mark McCray gave it a positive review "thanks to Chalopin's creative touches, which included a great premise, exceptional storytelling, and beautifully drawn animated characters."


See also

* ''
Princess Gwenevere and the Jewel Riders ''Princess Gwenevere and the Jewel Riders'' also known outside of North America as ''Starla & the Jewel Riders'' (and sometimes spelled as the more traditionally Arthurian "Guinevere") is a 1995–1996 American comic fantasy-themed girl audiences ...
''


References


External links

* (BKN International) * (Golden Films) * {{DEFAULTSORT:King Arthur and The Knights of Justice 1990s American animated television series 1992 American television series debuts 1993 American television series endings 1993 comics debuts 1993 comics endings English-language television shows American children's animated action television series American children's animated adventure television series American children's animated fantasy television series American time travel television series Canadian children's animated action television series Canadian children's animated adventure television series Canadian children's animated fantasy television series Canadian time travel television series Television shows adapted into comics Television shows adapted into video games Television series based on Arthurian legend Fantasy television characters Fictional military organizations Fictional sports teams First-run syndicated television programs in the United States Marvel Comics titles Mattel Television series created by Jean Chalopin Works based on Merlin 1990s American time travel television series 1990s Canadian time travel television series