Customer Reviews

The Legend of Prince Valiant - The Complete Series, Vol. 1

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The animated series Prince Valiant The Complete Series Volume One arrived on DVD July 4th. The series was a favorite with kids and teens in the early 90's. The show originally aired between 1991-1993. In the series, the fabled young Prince Valiant is on a quest to find Camelot. He wants to become a Knight of the Round Table. Accompanying him on his mission are Arn and maiden Rowanne. Prince Valiant will eventually have to defend Camelot and many adventures ensue. The shows writing is excellent and it's a very engaging series.

Prince Valiant is an entertaining series that teens and pre-teens will enjoy--especially teens who enjoy reading comic books. The show was based on the comic strip by Hal Foster. This is the first time the critically acclaimed series has arrived on DVD in any type of home media format.

The DVD set is really nice. Included with the set is a full color booklet that includes a complete episode guide. Also included are cool inserts about upcoming animated releases. The set includes 33 episodes of the series.

Special Features Include-
Interviews
Commentary
Storyboard Gallery
Slideshow
Selected Scripts in PDF Format

This is a GREAT SHOW with GREAT PLOTS that are interesting and well written for an animated series that was done 15 YEARS ago. The picture quality and sound are pretty good they are not perfect but pretty good. The Menus are nicely done, overall this is a very nice set , you really can't beat it for the PRICE. The show itself is done very well with GREAT PLOTS and ADVENTURES, King Arthur, Merlin, Valiant, Arn and Rowanne are all great characters. Once you start watching you wont be able to stop, this show has you addicted from the very start. I was very pleased with this set, they also put a nice booklet in the set that lists every episode with a brief description and picture of each episode, again nicely done. This set is a must buy and I am looking forward for the 2nd volume to complete this GREAT SERIES!!!!!!!!!!

Many people may remember this excellent cartoon from the early 90's, even though it was buried on a station not known for cartoons at the time. The show follows the adventures of Prince Valiant and his dream of joining the ranks of King Arthur's knights of the round table. The show aired for 2 seasons on the family channel based on the Hal Foster Legend of Prince Valiant newspaper strip. The series has been split into 2 volumes with each having the low suggested retail price of $29.99.

Volume one contains the first 33 episodes of the series, including all of season 1-26 episodes and the first 7 episodes of season 2. Bonus features include interviews with the series creaters and comic strip historians, storyboard of entire episode #32, 2 episode commentaries from the creator/producer/writer, 5 complete episode scripts, and a gallery of paintings and drawings from the show with background music.

Cover Art: **** (4 Out Of 5)

The Cover Art Features A Posterised Version Of Valiant On Caliburn. It's Nice, But I Would Have Liked More Of The Cast On It. Rowanne And Arn Should Have Been Added. Merlin And King Arthur Could Have Also Used A Space. The Side View Of The Box Is Really Quality. At The Top There Is A Shield Bearing Thule's Crest, With A Volume 1 Text Over It. When Volume 2 Is Released, They Should Look Snappy Together! The Set Will Look Great On Display In Any Bookshelf, Or DVD Cabinet.

Video Quality: ***** (5 Out Of 5)

The Transfer Is Amazingly Sharp. Colors Are Bright, Filled With Luscious Color, Bringing Out The Detail, And Beauty Of The Animation (Which Surprising Still Holds Up Today, For Being Over 15 Years Old!)

Audio Quality: ***** (5 Out Of 5)

The Audio Is Tremendously Clear. Even If You Don't Have A Home Theater With Surround Sound, You Will Still Feel Every Sound Effect, Music Note, Or Piece Of Dialog. I Found Myself Turning The Sound Down...... It's That Loud!

Bonus Features: *** (3 Out Of 5)

The Special Features Are Rushed, And Not Very Much Information Is Given. A Casual Fan Will Be Satisfied, But Die-Hard Fans Can Expect Disappointment. There Are Three Interviews Included: David Corbett (Creator/Producer) , Brooks Wachtel (Writer), And Rick Norwood (Historian). Rick Norwood Is Dull, And David Corbett Doesn't Say Much. Brooks Wachtel Is The Best, And He Reveals A Few Fun Stories That Went On Behind The Scenes. Much To My Relief, Noelle North (Rowanne) Takes The Place Of Rick On The Episode Commentaries, Joining Brooks And David, Along With Andy.
The Commentaries Are All Over The Place With Subjects, And For The Most Part Not Episode Specific As Listed Originally. I Would Have Liked To See Noelle Do An Interview, Because We Only Get To Hear Her Voice. Since Everyone Else Got An Interview, It Doesn't Seem Fair That We Miss Out On Seeing Her. Robby Benson (Valiant), And Michael Horton (Arn) Are Missed, And I Think If We Could Have Had Special Features Done By Robby, Michael, And Noelle Together, It Would Have Worked Better. There Are Some Art Drawings, And A Slide-show From The Flute, That Is Set To Music Of The Soundtrack. It's Fine, But If You Own The CD Of The Soundtrack, It's Nothing Worth Telling Home About.

Menu Screens: ***** (5 Out Of 5)

The Menu Screens Are Awesome! I Wasn't Expecting Animated Menus, With Music, So It Blow My Expectations Out Of The Window! Navigation Is Easy, And You Can Select An Episode From the Menus, Or Play All On The DVD.

Thoughts:

Volume 1 Is A Great Way To Experience The Legend Of Prince Valiant! The Only Downers Of The Set, Are Some Mistakes In The Episode Summaries Paper Guide, (Included With The Set), And That The Case Seems Over-Packed, (The Discs Are Hard To Pull Out). Other Than That It's Great! I Can't Wait To Buy Volume 2! Well Done BCI! Thank you For Bringing Prince Valiant To The Fans!

Overall Rating: ***** (5 Out Of 5)

I Highly Encourage Any Fan Of The Show To Buy This Set. It's Outstandingly Done, And While The Special Features Are Somewhat Lacking, The Timeless Episodes More Than Make Up For It. I'm 100% Satisfied With My Purchase.

It would be very easy to simply say that Prince valiant is a good cartoon, but in watching it now as 29 year old, it has exceeded all my memories of watching the series as a kid. Its the scripting and the storyline that puts Valiant way, way ahead of other cartoons, in fact the writing is so good I wouldn't even bother assigning a junior age-group classification - its definitely for everyone. The whole sentiment of Valiant is very universal, addressing issues that the human condition still goes through in these very times and its been a very long time in seeing an animation made for TV, that uses eclectic thought-out language and utilises a balanced perspective without there being a plain and bland idea on the concept of 'good and evil'. The whole venture is quite wholesome without being cheesy and is unafraid to break certain codes such as having characters say the words 'kill' and 'death' and also show swords penetrating bodies, arrows hitting bodies and people actually dying. Its all done with a dignified manner and its more like watching a live action television series in that respect, especially in the way the music is employed to add some eye-watering moments. My only minor gripe and it is minor, is that the animation can be a bit stagnant at times, its never unsmooth but it does appear to not be as free flowing as cartoons of that day and cartoons that came before. Overall though you can't be disappointed with this purchase.

I have both volumes...

What my family likes about the Prince Valiant Series is that they are fun to watch and are a good mixture of action, humor and a good story line. The animation is not Disney quality but it is as good if not better than most animated shows on tv these days. We like that there is always a moral. The voice of Prince Valiant is the voice of the Beast in Beauty and the Beast, Robbie Benson. This is especially good for boys, but my daughter loves it and is the one who asked that we buy it. Get these dvds and watch as a family.

Its been about 16 years since ive seen this. I got a good deal for it too. 33 episodes, each one containing adventure that get you wanting to watch one episode after another.
My only 2 complaints are one, the DVDs are sort of tough pull out of the festeners w/out possible snappage of the disc. And two, the DVD collector's case itself. I don't want to sound too petty, but the way the DVDs are racked up seem to be so tight together. The DVDs being 2-sided. Therefore dvd # 3 and 4 are due to an unavoidable scratch due to constant touching from the hinged DVD case rack of # 1 and 2 everytime you open the case. Some times you may notice how they cling themselvs to the rack when opening. (Definate scrtch there). If you get this collection, (don't get me wrong, it's worth every penny.) see about using a seperate CD case to contain these DVDs. Not urgent, just a suggestion.
I LOVE the barley noticeable "The Family Channel" logo after the credits of each episode. YEP IT'S THERE. ya gata look. LOL. Its about the only show production logo you'll see.
Those who don't know, that was the network before it was FOX family now turned to ABC family. A little history lesson to fellow retro-junkies.

Set in the romanticized time of King Arthur, this animated series(based on the weekly newspaper strip) tells the story of Prince Valiant and his journey to become a Knight in King Arthur's Camelot. On this journey,the life lessons learned by both Valiant and we as viewers set this series apart from the more conventional toy placement cartoons of the time.
The animation is okay for the time it aired and there's enough action involved to keep it interesting. I'm calling this a worthwhile purchase!

Allow me to begin this review with a very simple actuality: After having begun at the very first He-Man box set and venturing all the way through to the most recent in my series of reviews here on Associated Content, I found myself simply enamored with the quality of work put forth through each DVD compilation from BCI. As such, when the final He-Man set came to a close, I found myself ordering up nearly all of the remaining BCI fantasy collections in effort to return to the fandom bliss this company makes a reality through each of its collections.

Enter The Legend of Prince Valiant; an animated series from the early 1990s inspired by the long-standing Hal Foster comic strip of the same name. Interestingly enough, when the show was originally created it was broadcast in a prime time slot on the Family Channel (a network not known to offer animation). As a result, many potential viewers (myself included) knew nothing of the show's existence. As much of an embarrassment as it is to admit this, my first knowledge of the program wasn't until a few weeks ago when browsing BCI's other collections on Amazon.com. I purchased both Volume One and Volume Two with absolutely no prior expectations save for an occasional glance in the Sunday paper comics many years ago. Was it a wise investment worthy of the BCI label? Read on to find out.

For those unaware, the story centers on the exploits of an unlikely trio of teenagers striving to reach the fabled Camelot. Led by young Valiant, a prince disgusted with his father's fall from glory, the remaining members of the party are the nomadic orphan Arn and brave bow-wielding daughter of a blacksmith, Rowanne. The story literally begins at the very beginning as we witness Valiant's father's castle come under siege by the evil King Cynan then follow the survivors of the onslaught as they relocate into the marshes of barbarian owned territory. The pacing is brisk and efficient, wasting no moments on unnecessary detail and the character development is absolutely wonderful. By the end of the first disc, it is nearly impossible not to find yourself immersed in the tapestry of each character's personality and ambitions.

The set itself is a bit unique, even for a company with a long roster of similar releases. The five disc set is made up of four double sided DVDs, each containing 4 episodes per side. The fifth and final disc contains the 33rd episode of the show and a whole host of bonus material as assembled and produced by the ever-enthusiastic Andy Mangles.

Before delving into the intricacies of the set itself, allow me to first focus on the material itself. To begin I was literally astonished with the animation style, which, although dated when compared to today's era of computer rendering, surpasses the detail in nearly every other animated work up until then. The backgrounds are simply spectacular, having been designed after original renaissance masterpieces. The character textures, colors, and lighting are all spot on and truly a marvel of skill considering that cells were still hand drawn and painted at the time. Also noteworthy is the fact that the cast (lead characters especially) are endlessly drawn in different clothing and hair styles which further pushes away the viewer's attention to the fact that this is a cartoon.

Then there are the stories themselves; simply masterpieces in every sense of the word. Bear in mind that this was prime time cable television programming and with that came the ability to tackle issues never even imagined in children's specific animation such as death, revenge, slavery, and hunting for nourishment. Leery parents relax, never is this done though violent imagery or adult-specific tone, rather it's more accurate to think of how Disney handles these themes in their animated motion pictures. To summarize the experience in a single word, tasteful would have to be the one. The themes are used much like those appearing in classic literature and offer up a feeling of timelessness in their presentation that will mesmerize viewers of all age groups. Also interesting is the fact that the stories are designed as stand alones for newcomers to the series but actually link together very lineally to form one massive quest. It is very refreshing to note that Hearst Entertainment, the company behind the series, didn't resort to the standard "villain attempts to destroy hero unsuccessfully" archetype. Rather, here we find an interweaving tapestry of characters taken directly from legend (King Arthur, Merlin, Sir Gawain) whose stories gradually deepen throughout the series.

Also present here are a voice ensemble that rivals the best of live-acted programs of the time including Beauty & The Beast's Robby Benson, James Avery (Uncle Phil from The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air), the spunky Noelle North (The Smurfs, Jem, Disney's Gummi Bears), Efrem Zimbalist Jr., and old Skeletor himself (Alan Oppenheimer) as Merlin just to name a few. The actors lend an impeccable degree of realism to the experience all throughout.

That now famous attention to detail I mentioned above in BCI's works is present here as well with two full episode commentaries, interviews with the show's creators, story board gallery, slideshow of the character paintings and background work, and as always, a full color book that simply puts all other DVD slip card inserts to shame. The set is bound in a hard plastic multi-disc case with an outer cardboard sleeve loaded with excellent artwork.

The Legend of Prince Valiant has won a Humanitas Award and three Silver Angel awards honoring its excellence as an animated series with social and ethical values, stirring storylines, and sumptuous visuals, and after having enjoyed this DVD compilation, I can attest that it was with good reason. This is the type of universally appealing story telling that makes films like Braveheart, Gladiator, and King Arthur timeless classics. My only regret is that I did not discover this gem earlier.

My young children and I ran into this show when it originally ran and loved it so much we taped some episodes onto VHS. Those tapes were ground into the dust over ensuing years. Even my 18 year old was excited to finally purchase the whole series. My family loved seeing the whole cycle and found themselves begging for more.