Arthurian Animation
(c) Michael N. Salda
University of Southern Mississippi
Michael.Salda@usm.edu
2nd ed., May 2005 (1st ed., October 1998)
This chronological, annotated listing provides a catalog of animated works dealing with stories of King Arthur and his court. "Arthurian" has been defined rather broadly to encompass direct and loose animated adaptations of plots, characters, motifs, and themes from the Arthurian canon. Included here are first-run entries for theatrical and television shorts, longer shows originally shown on network and syndicated television, direct-to-film/video releases, and full-length theatrical films. For the sake of completeness—and to keep others from tracking down a copy of, say, the Super Chicken episode of "Merlin Brando"—I have included as well entries for a small number of items of dubious relevance and even a few with Arthurian-sounding titles that, upon inspection, turn out to be unrelated to the matter of cartoon Arthuriana. If you are aware of Arthurian cartoons not on this list or can provide summaries for items for which I haven't been able to locate information, please contact me.
There is no definitive bibliography for animation, much less Arthurian animation, though the bibliographic landscape continues to improve. Jeff Lenburg's Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons, rev. ed. (New York: Facts on File, 1991) [2nd ed., 1999] has proven invaluable for identifying cartoons titles that might be Arthurian. (Lenburg's 1991 edition, with extensive episode listings for cartoons in series, is a necessary adjunct to the 1999 edition, where many of these useful listings were eliminated to make room for new entries for cartoons of the 1990s.) Lenburg's work has been supplemented with cartoons listed or discussed in Leonard Maltin's Of Mice and Magic: A History of American Animated Cartoons, rev. ed. (New York: New American Library, 1987), Hal Erickson's Television Cartoon Shows: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, 1949 through 1993 (Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 1995), Jerry Beck and Will Friedwald's Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies: A Complete Illustrated Guide to the Warner Bros. Cartoons (New York: Henry Holt, 1989), John Grant's Encyclopedia of Walt Disney's Animated Characters, 3rd ed. (New York: Hyperion, 1998), and Charles Solomon's The History of Animation: Enchanted Drawings, rev. ed. (New York: Wings Books/Random House, 1994). Bibliographies, filmographies, and studies focused specifically on Arthuriana have also been mined for information. The most helpful have been Kevin J. Harty's two pioneering collections, Cinema Arthuriana: Essays on Arthurian Film (New York: Garland, 1991) [revised as Cinema Arthuriana: Twenty Essays (Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 2002)] and King Arthur on Film: New Essays on Arthurian Cinema (Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 1999), and Bert Olton's Arthurian Legends on Film and Television (Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 2000). Film and television online databases, at times serendipitously more comprehensive than print resources, have provided still more items. Among the best websites for this purpose are the Big Cartoon Database, the Internet Movie Database, TV Tome, Jerry Beck's Cartoon Research, Ron Kurer's Toon Tracker, and Aaron Higgins's Toonarific. Several sites devoted to particular all-but-forgotten television cartoon series have also been quite useful. The fans who manage these shrines to blips on the pop culture radar have generously answered many questions. Naturally the Library of Congress online catalog, OCLC, and similar databases have been searched as well for animation with Arthurian themes.
Although it's getting easier every day to rent or purchase older Arthurian live-action films, the sheer brevity of animated works makes it much more difficult to find individual cartoons, which tend to be bundled together with other short works and marketed under meaningless titles such as "Kids' Kartoons, vol. 6." Nevertheless, some vendors are better than others. Facets Multi-Media and Toon Tracker are perhaps the best places to begin looking for out-of-the-way cartoons on video and DVD, while Netflix, Blockbuster, and Amazon stock the more mainstream titles and cartoons of every type eventually find their way to eBay. On American television, Cartoon Network, the Disney Channel, Fox, the Family Channel, Nickelodeon, and Boomerang currently broadcast several of the titles below.
I've discussed many of these animated works in greater detail in three articles: "'What's Up, Duke?' A Brief History of Arthurian Animation," in King Arthur on Film: New Essays on Arthurian Cinema, ed. Kevin J. Harty (Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 1999), "Arthurian Animation at Century's End," in King Arthur and Popular Culture, ed. Elizabeth Sklar and Donald Hoffman (Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 2002), and the forthcoming "The Earliest Arthurian Animation: 'Bosko's Knight-Mare' (1933) and King Arthur's Knights (1941)," in The Reel World of King Arthur: Essays about the Arthurian Legend on Film and Television, ed. Michael A. Torregrossa and Daniela Şoeva (Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 2006).
Note 1: Dates provided are generally copyright dates, though a release or first-broadcast date has been used when the copyright date is unknown. In practice, copyright and release or first-broadcast dates are usually identical or no more than one year apart.
Note 2: This checklist is devoted primarily to traditional cel animation and animation based on drawn illustrations. It does not include stop-action Arthurian animation, such as segments that appear in the Animagic Willy McBean and His Magic Machine (1965) and Claymation Gumby: The Movie (1995), or puppet shows, such as "The Brush in the Stone" (1994) episode of The Adventures of Timmy the Tooth and "Elvis the King and His Knights of the Round Table" (1996) on Muppets Tonight!
"Bosko's Knight-Mare," Warner Bros., 1933. Bosko falls asleep while reading Arthurian literature and finds himself meeting the Knights of the Round Table and battling a Black Knight to save Honey; influenced by Connecticut Yankee.
King Arthur's Knights, Hugh Harman Productions, 1941. Unfinished feature-length project.
"Wotta Knight," Famous Studios/Paramount, 1947. Popeye vs. Bluto in a medieval setting with an undeveloped reference to the Knights of the Round Table.
Crusader Rabbit television series, Jerry Fairbanks/Creston Studios, 1949-51. Random Arthurian allusions, e.g., Galahad Glen, home of Crusader Rabbit.
"Knights Must Fall," Warner Bros., 1949. Bugs Bunny in a version of Connecticut Yankee without the time-travel frame.
"Knight-Mare Hare," Warner Bros., 1955. Bugs Bunny in a version of Connecticut Yankee.
"Penny Antics," Famous Studios/Paramount, 1955. Recycles footage from 1947's "Wotta Knight."
"The 51st Dragon," The Gerald McBoing Boing Show, UPA, circa 1956-57. Based on Heywood Broun's 1921 short story of the same name.
"Knighty Knight Bugs," Warner Bros., 1958. Round Table court jester Bugs Bunny recovers the Singing Sword.
"King Arthur," Peabody's Improbable History, Rocky and His Friends series, 1959. Time-traveling Peabody and Sherman visit the king and save the realm from a dragon.
"Sir Galahad, or The Tomorrow Knight," Fractured Fairy Tales, Rocky and His Friends, 1959. Anti-war fable set in Arthur's kingdom.
"Sir Lancelot," Mel-o-Toons television series, 1959. Reading-induced dream-vision of a young boy who becomes Lancelot to save his girlfriend from bullies.
"Tom Thumb," Fractured Fairy Tales, Rocky and His Friends, 1959. Tom Thumb story with Arthurian references; satirically explores the problem of juvenile delinquency.
"Huck's Hound Tale" (mistakenly a.k.a. "Huck's Hound Table"), The Huckleberry Hound Show, Hanna-Barbera, circa 1960-61. Not Arthurian.
"Knight School," The Huckleberry Hound Show, Hanna-Barbera, circa 1960-61. Huck trains to be a knight, joins the Round Table, and defeats a fire-breathing dragon by leading it into a lake.
"Knight of the Square Table (The Joust and the Unjoust)," Tooter Turtle, King Leonardo and His Short Subjects, Leonardo Television/Total Television Productions, circa 1960-63. No information available (perhaps not Arthurian).
Alakazam the Great, Toei Animation, 1961. The arrogant Monkey King is made worse when he learns magic from Merlin, a wizard probably so named through incompetent English dubbing rather than by the film's Japanese writers.
"Speeding Beauty," Fractured Fairy Tales, Rocky and His Friends, 1961. Merlin figures briefly as a wizard who determines that a bewitched princess, now a race horse, needs a prince's kiss in a typically twisted tale.
"The Black Knight," King Features, 1962. Popeye in a version of Connecticut Yankee.
"I Was a Teenage Thumb," Warner Bros., 1963. Tom Thumb story with several Arthurian references.
The Sword in the Stone, Disney, 1963. Version of T. H. White's tale of Arthur's youth.
"The Terrible Time Gun," Astro Boy, Mushi Productions, 1963. Astro Boy appears in a loose version of Connecticut Yankee when Dr. Tempo sends the hero and Dr. Elefun back in time; a plot by an evil courtier and Marvin the Magician to overthrow King Cnut is foiled by the time-travelers.
Tom Thumb in King Arthur's Court, Coronet, 1963. Moralistic tale tracing Tom's career from birth to knighthood in Arthur's court.
"Mr. Magoo's King Arthur," The Famous Adventures of Mr. Magoo, UPA, 1964. Version of Malory with Magoo as Merlin.
"Time Machine," The Flintstones, Hanna-Barbera, 1964. Time-travel machine takes Fred and the gang to various places; in the medieval segment, Fred is mistaken for Lancelot and must joust.
"What a Knight," Peter Potamus and So-So (a.k.a. Peter Potamus and His Magic Flying Balloon), Hanna-Barbera, 1964. Peter and So-So float to the Arthurian realm.
"Pain Strikes Underdog" (4 episodes), The Underdog Show, Leonardo Television/Total Television Productions, 1965. While Underdog guards the British Museum's collection of Excalibur Swords en route to San Francisco by train, Riff Raff launches the first of several attempts to steal the collection, causing both a derailment and a strange pain in Underdog's back (at the end shown to be the result of a missing sword that lodged into the superhero's cape during the accident).
"The Black Knight," The Adventures of Superboy, The New Adventures of Superman, Filmation, 1966. Superboy travels back in time to rescue a friend transported to the Arthurian realm by Merlin's magic cape.
"Merlin's Magic Marbles," The New Adventures of Superman, Filmation, 1966. Superman must stop Luthor when his rival uses Merlin's marbles to help him commit crimes.
"I'm Only Sleeping," The Beatles, TVC-London/CanaWest/Artransa/Graphik/King Features, 1967. John falls asleep while reading a book about King Arthur; in his dream he helps Merlin fight a dragon.
"Merlin Brando," Super Chicken, George of the Jungle, Jay Ward Productions, 1967. Little Arthurian beyond the name of Super Chicken's nemesis.
Merlin the Magic Mouse theatrical series, Warner Bros., 1967-69. Little Arthurian beyond the name of the vaudeville magician who headlines the five cartoons in this short-lived series produced as Warner Bros. prepared to close its animation studio.
"Myron the Magician," Batfink, Hal Seeger Productions, 1967. Despite a promising title, not Arthurian.
"Nuts of the Round Table," Batfink, Hal Seeger Productions, 1967. Despite a promising title, not Arthurian.
Arthur and the Square Knights of the Round Table television series, Air Programs International (Australia), 1968. Monty-Pythonesque nonsense humor in the Arthurian kingdom.
Taiyo no oji: Horusu no daiboken (a.k.a. Little Norse Prince, Prince of the Sun: The Great Adventure of Horus, Horus: Prince du Soleil), Toei Doga, 1968. Arthurian themes as Viking-era youngster Horus pulls the sword of the sun from stone giant Moog's shoulder and then begins adventures to save the land from enemies.
A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, Air Programs International (Australia), 1970. Sanitized version of Twain's novel made for American network television.
"Merlin the Magician, Jr.," The Reluctant Dragon, The Reluctant Dragon and Mr. Toad Show, Mushi Studios/Rankin-Bass, circa 1970-72. No information available (perhaps not Arthurian), in a two-season series loosely based on Kenneth Grahame's works.
Daffy Duck and Porky Pig Meet the Groovie Goolies, Filmation, 1972. Daffy's plan to produce and star in a version of King Arthur and His Knights of the Round Table (with Foghorn Leghorn as Uther the Chicken-Hearted, Porky as Merlin, Petunia as Guinevere, and Yosemite Sam as Mordred) is disrupted by "The Phantom of the Flickers," a disgruntled star of the black-and-white era; the Groovie Goolies help get matters back on track and Daffy's film, twelve minutes of which are shown in a cartoon within a cartoon, wins an Ozzie Award for Best Picture.
"Marlon's Birthday Party," The Brady Kids, Filmation/Redwood/Paramount, 1972. The Kids' magical mynah bird, Marlon, accidentally summons Merlin to the twentieth century; the wizard puts the horse back into horseless carriage.
"Merlin and the Toothless Knights" (a.k.a. "Merlin's Magical Message"), British General Dental Council/I.D. Television, 1974. Merlin introduces dental hygiene to the kingdom to strengthen the knights.
Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Python Pictures, 1975. Several limited and collage animation sequences within this live-action film.
"Scared a Lot in Camelot," Scooby-Doo/Dynomutt Hour, Hanna-Barbera, 1976. Criminals posing as the ghosts of Merlin and the Black Knight make trouble for Shaggy's uncle at Camelot Castle.
A Connecticut Rabbit in King Arthur's Court, Chuck Jones Enterprises/Warner Bros., 1977 (retitled as Bugs Bunny in King Arthur's Court in 1979). Warner Bros. all-stars play the roles in this version of Connecticut Yankee that adds a sword in the stone episode to make Bugs the king at the end.
"The Ghost," The All-New Super Friends Hour, Hanna-Barbera, 1977. The Super Friends use the Rods of Merlin to conquer an enemy.
Merlin's Magic Cave, World TV, 1977. Morgan introduces non-Arthurian fairy and folk tales from Merlin's book.
The Freedom Force, Tarzan and the Super 7 series, Filmation, 1978-80. The Freedom Force–leader Isis, Hercules, Super Samurai, Sinbad, and Merlin–fight evil.
"The Time Trap," The Challenge of the Super Friends, Hanna-Barbera, 1978. Sinistro loots famous gold reserves throughout history, including the one in Camelot, as the Super Friends pursue him.
Merlin's Magic of Learning, Gilbert Altschul Productions, 1979. Merlin shows youngsters the value of schoolwork.
"Space Knights of Camelon," The World's Greatest Super Friends, Hanna-Barbera, 1979. Complex plot with amnesiac Superman fighting King Arthur VII of planet Camelon for control of the realm.
"The Super Globetrotters vs. Merlo the Magician," The Super Globetrotters, Hanna-Barbera, 1979. No information available (perhaps not Arthurian).
"Richie of the Round Table," The Richie Rich/Scooby-Doo Show—and Scrappy, Too!, Hanna-Barbera, 1980. Richie travels back in time, rescuing princess Glorianna from the evil sorcerer Morecash in a storyline that shares more with Star Wars than the Arthurian legend.
"Gone with the Wand," Fonz and the Happy Days Gang, Hanna-Barbera, 1981. Time-traveler Cupcake transports Richie, Ralph, and the Fonz to the past for a visit with King Arthur, Merlin, the Black Knight, and a dragon; hijinks ensue.
King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table series, Toei Animation/ZIV International, 1981. Arthurian anime in a plot drawn freely from Malory, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, and elsewhere.
"Knights and Demons," Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends, Marvel/PNR, 1981. Marginally Arthurian episode with an evil magician named Modred, a good Black Knight, and a battle settled through the use of Merlin's medallion, all against the backdrop of Peter Parker's university hosting a medieval fair with real artifacts on display.
"The Night of No Tomorrow," Dungeons & Dragons, Marvel/TSR, 1983. Mastermagician-wannabe Presto is tricked by Venger, posing as the long-dead Merlin, in the opening episode of a three-year series that traces the adventures of Presto and his friends to return home from the Realm.
"Excalibur Scooby," The New Scooby-Doo Mysteries, Hanna-Barbera, 1984. Scooby and pals thwart an unnamed magician attempting to pull the sword from the stone.
The Black Cauldron, Disney, 1985. Diffuse Arthurian themes filtered through Tolkien's
The Lord of the Rings and Lloyd Alexander's Chronicles of Pyrdain series.
"A Decepticon Raider in King Arthur's Court," Transformers: Generation 2, Marvel/Hasbro, 1985. A cave is the portal through which Autobots and Decepticons are transported to Camelot in 543 AD (and at the end back to the present) in this version based, as the title suggests, very loosely on Connecticut Yankee.
"Excalibur," G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero, Marvel/Sunbow/DIC/Claster, 1985. Storm Shadow obtains Excalibur when his jet crashes in an English lake, separating the sword from the Lady of the Lake and so beginning the process of flooding the British Isles with unceasing rain; the G.I. Joe "Freedom" manages to return the sword and clear the skies.
"Excalibur," Thundercats, Rankin-Bass, 1985. The evil Mumm-Ra obtains Excalibur from the Lady of the Lake and uses it to defeat Thundercat Lion-O's Sword of Omens, but then Merlin appears and returns Excalibur to the lake to await Arthur's return; some Malorian elements.
"Merlin's Lost Book of Magic," Yogi's Treasure Hunt, Hanna-Barbera, 1985. Snagglepuss becomes king by pulling the sword from the stone while Yogi and his friends help Merlin find his book of spells so that the magician can stop Bailey's Comet from colliding with earth.
Starchaser: The Legend of Orin, Daewoo/Dr. Movie/Young Sung, 1985. Arthurian motifs and themes (young boy, sword, stone, wizard, computer named "Arthur," star system called "Vortigon," etc.) in Star Wars–influenced South Korean anime theatrically screened in 3-D.
"Arthur and the Sword," English Folk Heroes series, Milliken Publishing, 1986. Animated still-picture version of Malory's tale from Arthur's birth to coronation, stressing the importance of the Church in the king's rise to power.
"Merlin," The Centurions, Ruby-Spears, 1986. Complex plot involving a female descendant of Morgana, Merlin, Doc Terror, and the Centurions in a struggle to control Morgana's mirror and Arthur's crown.
"Over the River and through the Trolls," Disney's Adventures of the Gummi Bears, Disney, 1986. Sir Gawain, grandfather to Calvin, appears in this medieval but non-Arthurian series tracing the Ewok-like Gummi Bears' quest to recover their heritage and follow their true destiny; this time Gawain stops trolls from stealing gold.
"The Table Round," English Folk Heroes series, Milliken Publishing, 1986. Animated still-picture version of Malory's tale of Galahad repackaged to make it conform with James Russell Lowell's "Vision of Sir Launfal."
"Where There's a Well There's a Way," Danger Mouse, Cosgrove Hall, 1986. Danger Mouse seeks Merlin's wish-granting ink well.
"Sir Gyro de Gearloose," DuckTales, Disney, 1987. Huey, Dewey, and Louie accompany time-traveling inventor Gyro to Quackalot in a tale based, initially at least, on Connecticut Yankee.
"He Who Laughs Last," Disney's Adventures of the Gummi Bears, Disney, 1988. Sir Gawain tries to prove Gummi Bears really exist; another non-Arthurian entry in this series.
"Paws of the Round Table," Hello Kitty's Furry Tale Theater, Sanrio/DIC/MGM/UA, 1988. Hello Kitty and crew reenact the story of young King Arthur as he obtains "the light sword" Excalibur and rescues Lady Bunnyvere from the dragon, George; other characters include Lancelot, the Black Knight, Merlin, and Morgan.
"The Pig Who Would Be Queen," Muppet Babies, Marvel/Jim Henson Productions, 1988. Miss Piggy, Sir Kermalot of the Lily Pond, and others in quest of the Singing Sword.
Pound Puppies and the Legend of Big Paw, Family Home Entertainment/Tonka, 1988. Begins with the story of how young Arthur's dog, Digalot, pulled from the stone the Bone of Scone, apparently the lynchpin that allowed Arthur to free Excalibur.
"Hamelot," U.S. Acres (a.k.a. Orson's Farm), Garfield and Friends, Lee Mendelson Films/Paws, Inc./Film Roman, 1989. Orson Pig and pals seek the Holy Pail.
"King Mario of Cramalot," Super Mario Brothers Super Show!, DIC/Nintendo, 1989. Mario and friends, aided by Mervin the Magician, need to pull a golden plunger from a golden sink to save Cramalot from the villainous Koopa.
"Nightmare On Mother Brain's Street," Captain N: The Game Master, DIC, 1989. Mother Brain's poisoned apples provide the gate of sleep that takes several characters to a non-Arthurian land of wizards and warriors called Excalibur, where their worst nightmares seem real.
Sárkány és Papucs (a.k.a. Dragon and Slippers), Tibor Hernádi /Pannóniafilm, 1989. Feature-length Hungarian film with Arthur, Guinevere, Lancelot, Merlin, and a dragon named Goliath; misdirected love potion causes Lancelot (rather than Arthur) to cast affections toward Guinevere.
"Smurfs of the Round Table," The Smurfs, Hanna-Barbera/Sepp, 1989. The vaguely medieval Smurfs, who for a decade had been playing out vaguely Arthurian themes, end the series with a tale in which they must recover Excalibur from Morgan to save Camelot.
Camelot: An Animated Adventure for Children, New Pacific Pictures, 1990. No information available.
Merlin and the Dragons, Lightyear Entertainment, 1990. Based on Jane Yolen's tale of the same name, a conflation drawn from Nennius, Geoffrey of Monmouth's History, and the Vita Merlini.
The Quest for Olwen, Metta/Soyuzmultfilm, 1990. A Welsh-Soviet coproduction of Gwyn Thomas's 1988 adaptation of the Mabinogion's "Culhwch and Olwen."
"Tootles and the Dragon," Peter Pan and the Pirates, Southern Star Entertainment/Fox, 1990. When little Tootles is left out of a Arthurian reenactment game, he entertains himself by imagining that he pulls the sword from the stone (a rod from rock), unintentionally releasing a dragon held there by a spell; Tootles must show true chivalry if Neverland is to be saved.
"Day for Knight," Steven Spielberg Presents Tiny Toon Adventures, Warner Bros./Amblin, 1991. Allusive short drawing from earlier Warner Bros. Arthurian cartoons, Disney's 1941 The Reluctant Dragon, and Monty Python and the Holy Grail, to name but a few of its sources/targets.
"Family Scarelooms," Beetlejuice, Tim Burton/Geffen/Nelvana/Warner Bros., 1991. Beetlejuice and Lydia seek a missing coat of arms in the Land of Lost Stuff, where Sir Lostalot rules from the dragon-shaped castle of Camelost.
"King BJ," Beetlejuice, Tim Burton/Geffen/Nelvana/Warner Bros., 1991. Beetlejuice and Lydia visit Merlin just as the wizard plots to take over Camelot, but Merlin has to compete with Beetlejuice when the latter pulls the Board from the Bone and so becomes the latest impediment to Merlin's scheme.
"Knights of Neverland," Peter Pan and the Pirates, Southern Star Entertainment/Fox, 1991. Having assumed the role of Guinevere, Wendy directs Peter and the Lost Boys in a recreation of the story of King Arthur and the Knights of Camelot; as usual, Peter takes the game too far.
The Legend of Prince Valiant series (2 seasons), Hearst Entertainment/King Features/Family Channel, 1991-94. Traces Prince Valiant's adventures and life-lessons as he makes his way to Camelot to become a knight of the Round Table.
Tom Thumb, Gary Delfiner Productions/World-Vision Home Video, 1991. Still-picture retelling with Tom saving Arthur's court from a giant; based on Richard Jesse Watson's 1989 illustrated children's book.
Blazing Dragons (a.k.a. The Quest for Camelhot) series (2 seasons), Ellipse/Nelvana, 1992-94. Adventures in Terry Jones's Camelhot, a kingdom occupied by chivalric dragons: King Allfire (and his Knights of the Square Table), Queen Griddle, Sir Burnevere, Sir Galahot, Sir Loungelot, Flicker, Flame, etc.
King Arthur and the Knights of Justice series (2 seasons), Golden Films/Centre Nationale de la Cinematographie/Bohbot Entertainment, 1992-93. Football quarterback Arthur King and his New England Knights teammates are drawn back in time to save King Arthur and Camelot.
Salad ju yushi: Tomato-man (a.k.a. Sarada ju yushi, Sarada Ten Fighter, Tomato-man, Tomato-man and the Knights of the Salad Table) series, Gakken/Animation 21, 1992-93. King Melon sends magical hermit Withered Plum to transform fruits and vegetables into mighty knights to defend the realm from the Bug-Bugs (probably not Arthurian).
"Hedgehog of the Hound Table," Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog, DIC/Sega/Bohbot Entertainment, 1993. Robotnik and the Badniks gain the Emerald of Invincibility from the magician Merlynx; Prof. Caninestein's time machine helps Sonic defeat the villains, save the kingdom of Arfur and Gwendolyn, and become a knight.
The Legend of Percival: The Search for the Holy Grail, Gateway Films/Vision Video, 1993. Still-picture version based of Wolfram von Eschenbach's version of Perceval's adventures.
"Shredder's New Sword," Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Fred Wolf Films, 1993. The Turtles visit the British Museum to view a painting of Arthur and Guinevere, fight Shredder to recover Excalibur, and finally are helped by the spirits of the legendary king and queen to overcome Shredder and return the sword to its rightful owner.
"Sir Yaksalot," Animaniacs, Steven Spielberg Presents Animaniacs, Warner Bros./Amblin, 1993. Yakko, Wakko, and Dot save Arthur's kingdom from a dragon—another of Brain's plots for world domination—in an allusive Pinky and the Brain/Animaniacs crossover episode.
"Spell-Bound," Pinky and the Brain, Steven Spielberg Presents Animaniacs, Warner Bros./Amblin, 1993. Brain tries to use Merlin's book of spells to take over the world.
"Goodknights," dir. Zoltán Lehotay, Varga Studio (?), 1994. Hungarian short exploring what happens when Arthur, Lancelot, and Merlin grow old.
"A Lighthouse in the Sea of Time," "Avalon" (3 parts), "Sentinel," "Pendragon," Gargoyles, Disney, 1994-97. The three-season series borrows freely from a number of mythologies and legends, including the Arthurian one, bringing Arthur directly into the plot in these six episodes.
"Biker Knights of the Round Table" (2 parts), Biker Mice from Mars, Marvel/Brentwood TV Funnies/New World Family Filmworks, 1995. When the evil Limburger time-travels to Camelot to usurp the throne, the Biker Mice and Charley follow to help Arthur and the Round Table knights protect the land; a plot thread has Lancelot falling in love with Charley.
"Middle-Aged Felix," The Twisted Tales of Felix the Cat, Film Roman, 1995. Felix and Sheba in a time-traveling episode that pits the cat and his bag of tricks against Merlin's skills.
Princess Gwenevere and the Jewel Riders series (2 seasons), New Frontier/Enchanted Camelot Productions/Bohbot Entertainment, 1995-96. Bohbot Entertainment returns for a shot at the girl market that was ignored with their previous entry, King Arthur and the Knights of Justice; pastels and ponies everywhere as we watch the struggles of young Gwenevere, Merlin, and Leader of the Pack Drake against their foes, Morgana and Lady Kale.
"The Alchemist," The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest, Hanna-Barbera, 1996. An evil scientist steals the Philosopher's Stone and uses it to make gold until the spirits of Faust and Merlin deactivate the Stone's powers; an attempt to use Hadji to reactivate the Stone fails.
"Quest for the Holy Pail," Aaahh!!! Real Monsters, Klasky-Csupo, 1996. An eclipse sends Ickis on a quest (for a garbage pail) inspired more by Indiana Jones and Monty Python than authentic Arthurian sources.
Camelot, Anchor Bay Entertainment, 1997. Arthur, orphaned son of Gerdlach, lives with Merlin until he and his animal friends begin adventures leading to pulling the sword from the stone.
"D & DD," Dexter's Laboratory, Cartoon Network Production, 1997. Dexter imagines himself as a character in a game of Monsters and Mazes; one of the weapons is "the magic grail," an anti-tip goblet that will never spill its contents.
"Target," The New Batman/Superman Adventures, Warner Bros., 1997. Lois wins the Excalibur Award for Outstanding Journalism, is almost killed by a large falling crystal sword prop at the awards ceremony, and dreams that she unsuccessfully uses the award as a weapon against an intruder; Clark uses the award's sword to cut through a convertible's roof.
"Alley Oops!" Angry Beavers, Gunther-Wahl/Nickelodeon, 1998. The first series appearance of the consumptive Lady of the Lanes, an overweight character snarled in fluorescent lighting who descends from the ceiling of the medieval-themed Camelot Lanes bowling alley to give Daggett the Excaliball that allows him to get a strike every time.
Camelot, Golden Films/Sony Wonder, 1998. Arthur, adopted son of Merlin and the sorceress of Avalon, rescues Guinevere from a dragon and makes her his queen before Mordred stirs up trouble and forces Arthur into battle with Lancelot.
Camelot: The Legend, GoodTimes Home Video, 1998. Based predominantly on White, the 1967 Camelot, and Excalibur, complete with some of the less seemly parts of the story.
"The Demon Within," The New Batman Superman Adventures, Warner Bros., 1998. A plot revolving around the demon Etrigan and the theft of Morgan's magic branding iron.
"Enchanted Adventures," Oh Yeah! Cartoons, Frederator/Nickelodeon, 1998. Pilot episode for an unmade series featuring Sir Galen, who uses his morphing sword Calibron to attempt to save his father's kingdom from plague and the villainous Kaltor; a female character named Brangwen also figures into the story.
"Histeria Satellite TV," Histeria!, Warner Bros., 1998. King Arthur appears opposite a skeptical Fred Moppel on Monty-Pythonesque "Medieval Knight-Line" to deny rumors that he is a legend; appearances by a fat, old Lady of the Lake, Merlin, Lancelot, Galahad, and Malory himself (who cites Geoffrey of Monmouth and Chrétien de Troyes).
"The Lost Ball," Disney's Recess, Beantown/Disney, 1998. Although frightened by a daydream brought on by reading a tale of King Arthur, the tale also seems to stir timid Gus to find the courage to enter the Yard of No Return to retrieve a lost ball and thus become a playground hero.
Quest for Camelot, Warner Bros., 1998. Two of Arthur's subjects, Kayley and Garrett, must recover the stolen Excalibur for the king; based very loosely on Vera Chapman's The King's Damosel, itself an elaboration of Malory's story of the Damsel Maldisant with additions from Tennyson.
"The Wife of Bath's Tale," Animated Epics: The Canterbury Tales, Leaving London, Beryl Productions/S4C/HBO/BBC Wales, 1998. Not-for-youngsters animated version of Chaucer's nominally Arthurian tale.
"E-I-E-I-D'oh!" (a.k.a. "E-I-E-I-[annoyed grunt],") The Simpsons, Gracie Films/Klasky-Csupo/Film Roman/Fox, 1999. While at the Springfield Googolplex cinema, the family sees "The Poke of Zorro," a historical mishmash in which Zorro defeats the Three Musketeers and Man in the Iron Mask before he announces that he's come to return Arthur to the throne, but then Arthur cedes his title to Zorro after the latter gets the Scarlet Pimpernel to admit to being a coward.
"Leafy," Flint the Time Detective, Pioneer Entertainment/Saban, 1999. Although Arthur pulls the sword from the stone, it takes a lesson in friendship from time-traveling Flint and the crew to help the young king overcome timidity and lead his people; dimly reminiscent of Malory and White.
"Neptune's Spatula" [working title was "The Spatula and the Stove"], SpongeBob SquarePants, United Plankton Pictures/Nickelodeon, 1999. While visiting the Fry Cook Museum, SpongeBob proves himself worthy to be Neptune's fry cook by pulling the golden spatula from a bucket of ancient grease [Greece?], yet Neptune demands further proof of SpongeBob's qualifications for the job.
Poppa Beaver's Story Time, CINAR/France 3/Canal J, 1999. Largely non-Arthurian cautionary tale of vows and consequences in which Merlin plays a central role.
"Sang 'em High," Angry Beavers, Gunther-Wahl/Nickelodeon, 1999. Unable to win an argument with his brother Norbert, Daggett enlists the aid of the Lady of the Lanes (here called the Lady of the Pond after she's knocked from her speedboat and falls into the beaver's lake) to leave Norb speechless.
"Brave Sir Lancelot," Mike, Lu & Og, Kinofilm/Cartoon Cartoons/Cartoon Network, 2000. The pet turtle Lancelot's devotion to his master, the imperious Princess Lu, is once again put to the test in this series when Lu gets mad and casts him out; later Lancelot becomes king of the island turtles and has to rescue Mike, Og, and (reluctantly) Lu when the turtles don't want to let their new ruler leave.
"Piedmon's Last Jest," "Apocalymon Now," "The Fate of Two Worlds," Digimon: Digital Monsters, Toei Animation/Saban, 2000. Warp-digevolved MagnaAngemon uses his special power, the sword Excalibur, in a decisive battle against Piedmon and the Dark Masters, and reappears briefly in the next two episodes as the season ends and the Digidestined children secure both the real and digital worlds.
"It Hits the Fan," South Park, Comedy Partners/Celluloid Studios/Braniff/Comedy Central, 2001. Overuse of the word "shit" on national television causes the return of the Black Plague and awakens the Knights of Standards and Practices to set things right in the world of CGI-collage animation; the boys travel to the Excalibur Casino in Las Vegas for help in understanding the rune stone needed to defeat a curse-word-invoked dragon.
"The Time Machine," The Brak Show, Wild Hare Studios/Williams Street/Cartoon Network, 2001. Brak and Zorak return to the past to prevent (White-inspired) battling identical wizards Merlin and Marlon from ever inventing homework.
"Brakstreet: Men in the Band," The Brak Show, Wild Hare Studios/Williams Street/Cartoon Network, 2002. Merlin is a losing participant in a rap contest: "All the wizards in the house say 'Yo,' / Put a 40 in your goblet, let it glow...."
"A Knight of Shadows" (2 episodes), Justice League, Cartoon Network/Warner Bros., 2002. Morgaine seeks the infinite power of the Philosopher's Stone (a jewel once in the hilt of Excalibur and reputed true source of the sword's power) to turn modern-day London into Camelot and give son Mordred a kingdom to rule; the Justice League and Etrigan stop her.
"Knighty Knight," The Fairly Oddparents, Frederator/Nickelodeon, 2002. Displeased by the artificiality of Dimmsdale's 595th Camelot Festival, Timmy wishes himself to the fifteenth century, where he and the Fairly Oddparents help wimpy and nearsighted Arthur Lebowitz, nephew to a golddigging Merlin, become king.
"Renaissance," Home Movies, Burns & Burns/Science Court/Cartoon Network, 2002. The kids are hired to work as Medieval Fair characters (Arthur, Guinevere, Robin Hood) and end up fighting with other kids from the Sci Fi Fair one field over; Dwayne's band Scäb performs a rock opera about the stormy relationship between Arthur and Robin Hood.
Tristan et Iseut (a.k.a. Tristan and the Princess of Irelandis), Neuroplanet/Oniria, 2002. Sanitized, happy-ending, CGI-animated feature film of Tristan, Iseut, Marc, evil baron Ganelon, Morold, wood-nymph Puck, and fairy Teazle; tagline from Oniria's website: "Who's afraid of giants and dragons when you've got love and a couple of magical mischief-makers on your side?"
Potatoes and Dragons (a.k.a. Patates et Dragons) series, Cookie Jar Entertainment Inc./Alphanim/CINAR, 2003-?. Hugo III, king of the potatoes, offers his daughter to any knight or knight-pretender who can stop the dragon ravaging his land; daughter Melodine, however, is already in love with the court jester, requiring her to call on the services of Merlin (and others) to stop each and every suitor who comes to court.
"Kid Stuff," Justice League Unlimited, Cartoon Network/Warner Bros., 2004. Ever-petulant boy Mordred gains the Amulet of First Magic and casts a spell to banish all adults to a shadow realm, requiring the Justice League to join with Morgaine so that the Leaguers and Etrigan can become children again, escape from limbo, and defeat Mordred.
"Me First," Harry and His Bucket Full of Dinosaurs (a.k.a. Harry and His Bucketful of Dinosaurs), CCI Entertainment/Collingwood O'Hare/Silver Fox Films, 2005-?. In this series based on Ian Whybrow and Adrian Reynolds's books, Nana tries to teach Harry manners by having him read a book about chivalric King Arthur and the Round Table, but Harry is more interested in the knights' fighting; it takes an adventure with a dragon to drive home Nana's lesson.
Shrek 3, DreamWorks SKG/Pacific Data Images, 2007. The ogres and sidekick Donkey travel with the young prince Artie, who will one day become king of the land.
University of Southern Mississippi
Michael.Salda@usm.edu
2nd ed., May 2005 (1st ed., October 1998)
This chronological, annotated listing provides a catalog of animated works dealing with stories of King Arthur and his court. "Arthurian" has been defined rather broadly to encompass direct and loose animated adaptations of plots, characters, motifs, and themes from the Arthurian canon. Included here are first-run entries for theatrical and television shorts, longer shows originally shown on network and syndicated television, direct-to-film/video releases, and full-length theatrical films. For the sake of completeness—and to keep others from tracking down a copy of, say, the Super Chicken episode of "Merlin Brando"—I have included as well entries for a small number of items of dubious relevance and even a few with Arthurian-sounding titles that, upon inspection, turn out to be unrelated to the matter of cartoon Arthuriana. If you are aware of Arthurian cartoons not on this list or can provide summaries for items for which I haven't been able to locate information, please contact me.
There is no definitive bibliography for animation, much less Arthurian animation, though the bibliographic landscape continues to improve. Jeff Lenburg's Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons, rev. ed. (New York: Facts on File, 1991) [2nd ed., 1999] has proven invaluable for identifying cartoons titles that might be Arthurian. (Lenburg's 1991 edition, with extensive episode listings for cartoons in series, is a necessary adjunct to the 1999 edition, where many of these useful listings were eliminated to make room for new entries for cartoons of the 1990s.) Lenburg's work has been supplemented with cartoons listed or discussed in Leonard Maltin's Of Mice and Magic: A History of American Animated Cartoons, rev. ed. (New York: New American Library, 1987), Hal Erickson's Television Cartoon Shows: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, 1949 through 1993 (Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 1995), Jerry Beck and Will Friedwald's Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies: A Complete Illustrated Guide to the Warner Bros. Cartoons (New York: Henry Holt, 1989), John Grant's Encyclopedia of Walt Disney's Animated Characters, 3rd ed. (New York: Hyperion, 1998), and Charles Solomon's The History of Animation: Enchanted Drawings, rev. ed. (New York: Wings Books/Random House, 1994). Bibliographies, filmographies, and studies focused specifically on Arthuriana have also been mined for information. The most helpful have been Kevin J. Harty's two pioneering collections, Cinema Arthuriana: Essays on Arthurian Film (New York: Garland, 1991) [revised as Cinema Arthuriana: Twenty Essays (Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 2002)] and King Arthur on Film: New Essays on Arthurian Cinema (Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 1999), and Bert Olton's Arthurian Legends on Film and Television (Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 2000). Film and television online databases, at times serendipitously more comprehensive than print resources, have provided still more items. Among the best websites for this purpose are the Big Cartoon Database, the Internet Movie Database, TV Tome, Jerry Beck's Cartoon Research, Ron Kurer's Toon Tracker, and Aaron Higgins's Toonarific. Several sites devoted to particular all-but-forgotten television cartoon series have also been quite useful. The fans who manage these shrines to blips on the pop culture radar have generously answered many questions. Naturally the Library of Congress online catalog, OCLC, and similar databases have been searched as well for animation with Arthurian themes.
Although it's getting easier every day to rent or purchase older Arthurian live-action films, the sheer brevity of animated works makes it much more difficult to find individual cartoons, which tend to be bundled together with other short works and marketed under meaningless titles such as "Kids' Kartoons, vol. 6." Nevertheless, some vendors are better than others. Facets Multi-Media and Toon Tracker are perhaps the best places to begin looking for out-of-the-way cartoons on video and DVD, while Netflix, Blockbuster, and Amazon stock the more mainstream titles and cartoons of every type eventually find their way to eBay. On American television, Cartoon Network, the Disney Channel, Fox, the Family Channel, Nickelodeon, and Boomerang currently broadcast several of the titles below.
I've discussed many of these animated works in greater detail in three articles: "'What's Up, Duke?' A Brief History of Arthurian Animation," in King Arthur on Film: New Essays on Arthurian Cinema, ed. Kevin J. Harty (Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 1999), "Arthurian Animation at Century's End," in King Arthur and Popular Culture, ed. Elizabeth Sklar and Donald Hoffman (Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 2002), and the forthcoming "The Earliest Arthurian Animation: 'Bosko's Knight-Mare' (1933) and King Arthur's Knights (1941)," in The Reel World of King Arthur: Essays about the Arthurian Legend on Film and Television, ed. Michael A. Torregrossa and Daniela Şoeva (Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 2006).
Note 1: Dates provided are generally copyright dates, though a release or first-broadcast date has been used when the copyright date is unknown. In practice, copyright and release or first-broadcast dates are usually identical or no more than one year apart.
Note 2: This checklist is devoted primarily to traditional cel animation and animation based on drawn illustrations. It does not include stop-action Arthurian animation, such as segments that appear in the Animagic Willy McBean and His Magic Machine (1965) and Claymation Gumby: The Movie (1995), or puppet shows, such as "The Brush in the Stone" (1994) episode of The Adventures of Timmy the Tooth and "Elvis the King and His Knights of the Round Table" (1996) on Muppets Tonight!
"Bosko's Knight-Mare," Warner Bros., 1933. Bosko falls asleep while reading Arthurian literature and finds himself meeting the Knights of the Round Table and battling a Black Knight to save Honey; influenced by Connecticut Yankee.
King Arthur's Knights, Hugh Harman Productions, 1941. Unfinished feature-length project.
"Wotta Knight," Famous Studios/Paramount, 1947. Popeye vs. Bluto in a medieval setting with an undeveloped reference to the Knights of the Round Table.
Crusader Rabbit television series, Jerry Fairbanks/Creston Studios, 1949-51. Random Arthurian allusions, e.g., Galahad Glen, home of Crusader Rabbit.
"Knights Must Fall," Warner Bros., 1949. Bugs Bunny in a version of Connecticut Yankee without the time-travel frame.
"Knight-Mare Hare," Warner Bros., 1955. Bugs Bunny in a version of Connecticut Yankee.
"Penny Antics," Famous Studios/Paramount, 1955. Recycles footage from 1947's "Wotta Knight."
"The 51st Dragon," The Gerald McBoing Boing Show, UPA, circa 1956-57. Based on Heywood Broun's 1921 short story of the same name.
"Knighty Knight Bugs," Warner Bros., 1958. Round Table court jester Bugs Bunny recovers the Singing Sword.
"King Arthur," Peabody's Improbable History, Rocky and His Friends series, 1959. Time-traveling Peabody and Sherman visit the king and save the realm from a dragon.
"Sir Galahad, or The Tomorrow Knight," Fractured Fairy Tales, Rocky and His Friends, 1959. Anti-war fable set in Arthur's kingdom.
"Sir Lancelot," Mel-o-Toons television series, 1959. Reading-induced dream-vision of a young boy who becomes Lancelot to save his girlfriend from bullies.
"Tom Thumb," Fractured Fairy Tales, Rocky and His Friends, 1959. Tom Thumb story with Arthurian references; satirically explores the problem of juvenile delinquency.
"Huck's Hound Tale" (mistakenly a.k.a. "Huck's Hound Table"), The Huckleberry Hound Show, Hanna-Barbera, circa 1960-61. Not Arthurian.
"Knight School," The Huckleberry Hound Show, Hanna-Barbera, circa 1960-61. Huck trains to be a knight, joins the Round Table, and defeats a fire-breathing dragon by leading it into a lake.
"Knight of the Square Table (The Joust and the Unjoust)," Tooter Turtle, King Leonardo and His Short Subjects, Leonardo Television/Total Television Productions, circa 1960-63. No information available (perhaps not Arthurian).
Alakazam the Great, Toei Animation, 1961. The arrogant Monkey King is made worse when he learns magic from Merlin, a wizard probably so named through incompetent English dubbing rather than by the film's Japanese writers.
"Speeding Beauty," Fractured Fairy Tales, Rocky and His Friends, 1961. Merlin figures briefly as a wizard who determines that a bewitched princess, now a race horse, needs a prince's kiss in a typically twisted tale.
"The Black Knight," King Features, 1962. Popeye in a version of Connecticut Yankee.
"I Was a Teenage Thumb," Warner Bros., 1963. Tom Thumb story with several Arthurian references.
The Sword in the Stone, Disney, 1963. Version of T. H. White's tale of Arthur's youth.
"The Terrible Time Gun," Astro Boy, Mushi Productions, 1963. Astro Boy appears in a loose version of Connecticut Yankee when Dr. Tempo sends the hero and Dr. Elefun back in time; a plot by an evil courtier and Marvin the Magician to overthrow King Cnut is foiled by the time-travelers.
Tom Thumb in King Arthur's Court, Coronet, 1963. Moralistic tale tracing Tom's career from birth to knighthood in Arthur's court.
"Mr. Magoo's King Arthur," The Famous Adventures of Mr. Magoo, UPA, 1964. Version of Malory with Magoo as Merlin.
"Time Machine," The Flintstones, Hanna-Barbera, 1964. Time-travel machine takes Fred and the gang to various places; in the medieval segment, Fred is mistaken for Lancelot and must joust.
"What a Knight," Peter Potamus and So-So (a.k.a. Peter Potamus and His Magic Flying Balloon), Hanna-Barbera, 1964. Peter and So-So float to the Arthurian realm.
"Pain Strikes Underdog" (4 episodes), The Underdog Show, Leonardo Television/Total Television Productions, 1965. While Underdog guards the British Museum's collection of Excalibur Swords en route to San Francisco by train, Riff Raff launches the first of several attempts to steal the collection, causing both a derailment and a strange pain in Underdog's back (at the end shown to be the result of a missing sword that lodged into the superhero's cape during the accident).
"The Black Knight," The Adventures of Superboy, The New Adventures of Superman, Filmation, 1966. Superboy travels back in time to rescue a friend transported to the Arthurian realm by Merlin's magic cape.
"Merlin's Magic Marbles," The New Adventures of Superman, Filmation, 1966. Superman must stop Luthor when his rival uses Merlin's marbles to help him commit crimes.
"I'm Only Sleeping," The Beatles, TVC-London/CanaWest/Artransa/Graphik/King Features, 1967. John falls asleep while reading a book about King Arthur; in his dream he helps Merlin fight a dragon.
"Merlin Brando," Super Chicken, George of the Jungle, Jay Ward Productions, 1967. Little Arthurian beyond the name of Super Chicken's nemesis.
Merlin the Magic Mouse theatrical series, Warner Bros., 1967-69. Little Arthurian beyond the name of the vaudeville magician who headlines the five cartoons in this short-lived series produced as Warner Bros. prepared to close its animation studio.
"Myron the Magician," Batfink, Hal Seeger Productions, 1967. Despite a promising title, not Arthurian.
"Nuts of the Round Table," Batfink, Hal Seeger Productions, 1967. Despite a promising title, not Arthurian.
Arthur and the Square Knights of the Round Table television series, Air Programs International (Australia), 1968. Monty-Pythonesque nonsense humor in the Arthurian kingdom.
Taiyo no oji: Horusu no daiboken (a.k.a. Little Norse Prince, Prince of the Sun: The Great Adventure of Horus, Horus: Prince du Soleil), Toei Doga, 1968. Arthurian themes as Viking-era youngster Horus pulls the sword of the sun from stone giant Moog's shoulder and then begins adventures to save the land from enemies.
A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, Air Programs International (Australia), 1970. Sanitized version of Twain's novel made for American network television.
"Merlin the Magician, Jr.," The Reluctant Dragon, The Reluctant Dragon and Mr. Toad Show, Mushi Studios/Rankin-Bass, circa 1970-72. No information available (perhaps not Arthurian), in a two-season series loosely based on Kenneth Grahame's works.
Daffy Duck and Porky Pig Meet the Groovie Goolies, Filmation, 1972. Daffy's plan to produce and star in a version of King Arthur and His Knights of the Round Table (with Foghorn Leghorn as Uther the Chicken-Hearted, Porky as Merlin, Petunia as Guinevere, and Yosemite Sam as Mordred) is disrupted by "The Phantom of the Flickers," a disgruntled star of the black-and-white era; the Groovie Goolies help get matters back on track and Daffy's film, twelve minutes of which are shown in a cartoon within a cartoon, wins an Ozzie Award for Best Picture.
"Marlon's Birthday Party," The Brady Kids, Filmation/Redwood/Paramount, 1972. The Kids' magical mynah bird, Marlon, accidentally summons Merlin to the twentieth century; the wizard puts the horse back into horseless carriage.
"Merlin and the Toothless Knights" (a.k.a. "Merlin's Magical Message"), British General Dental Council/I.D. Television, 1974. Merlin introduces dental hygiene to the kingdom to strengthen the knights.
Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Python Pictures, 1975. Several limited and collage animation sequences within this live-action film.
"Scared a Lot in Camelot," Scooby-Doo/Dynomutt Hour, Hanna-Barbera, 1976. Criminals posing as the ghosts of Merlin and the Black Knight make trouble for Shaggy's uncle at Camelot Castle.
A Connecticut Rabbit in King Arthur's Court, Chuck Jones Enterprises/Warner Bros., 1977 (retitled as Bugs Bunny in King Arthur's Court in 1979). Warner Bros. all-stars play the roles in this version of Connecticut Yankee that adds a sword in the stone episode to make Bugs the king at the end.
"The Ghost," The All-New Super Friends Hour, Hanna-Barbera, 1977. The Super Friends use the Rods of Merlin to conquer an enemy.
Merlin's Magic Cave, World TV, 1977. Morgan introduces non-Arthurian fairy and folk tales from Merlin's book.
The Freedom Force, Tarzan and the Super 7 series, Filmation, 1978-80. The Freedom Force–leader Isis, Hercules, Super Samurai, Sinbad, and Merlin–fight evil.
"The Time Trap," The Challenge of the Super Friends, Hanna-Barbera, 1978. Sinistro loots famous gold reserves throughout history, including the one in Camelot, as the Super Friends pursue him.
Merlin's Magic of Learning, Gilbert Altschul Productions, 1979. Merlin shows youngsters the value of schoolwork.
"Space Knights of Camelon," The World's Greatest Super Friends, Hanna-Barbera, 1979. Complex plot with amnesiac Superman fighting King Arthur VII of planet Camelon for control of the realm.
"The Super Globetrotters vs. Merlo the Magician," The Super Globetrotters, Hanna-Barbera, 1979. No information available (perhaps not Arthurian).
"Richie of the Round Table," The Richie Rich/Scooby-Doo Show—and Scrappy, Too!, Hanna-Barbera, 1980. Richie travels back in time, rescuing princess Glorianna from the evil sorcerer Morecash in a storyline that shares more with Star Wars than the Arthurian legend.
"Gone with the Wand," Fonz and the Happy Days Gang, Hanna-Barbera, 1981. Time-traveler Cupcake transports Richie, Ralph, and the Fonz to the past for a visit with King Arthur, Merlin, the Black Knight, and a dragon; hijinks ensue.
King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table series, Toei Animation/ZIV International, 1981. Arthurian anime in a plot drawn freely from Malory, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, and elsewhere.
"Knights and Demons," Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends, Marvel/PNR, 1981. Marginally Arthurian episode with an evil magician named Modred, a good Black Knight, and a battle settled through the use of Merlin's medallion, all against the backdrop of Peter Parker's university hosting a medieval fair with real artifacts on display.
"The Night of No Tomorrow," Dungeons & Dragons, Marvel/TSR, 1983. Mastermagician-wannabe Presto is tricked by Venger, posing as the long-dead Merlin, in the opening episode of a three-year series that traces the adventures of Presto and his friends to return home from the Realm.
"Excalibur Scooby," The New Scooby-Doo Mysteries, Hanna-Barbera, 1984. Scooby and pals thwart an unnamed magician attempting to pull the sword from the stone.
The Black Cauldron, Disney, 1985. Diffuse Arthurian themes filtered through Tolkien's
The Lord of the Rings and Lloyd Alexander's Chronicles of Pyrdain series.
"A Decepticon Raider in King Arthur's Court," Transformers: Generation 2, Marvel/Hasbro, 1985. A cave is the portal through which Autobots and Decepticons are transported to Camelot in 543 AD (and at the end back to the present) in this version based, as the title suggests, very loosely on Connecticut Yankee.
"Excalibur," G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero, Marvel/Sunbow/DIC/Claster, 1985. Storm Shadow obtains Excalibur when his jet crashes in an English lake, separating the sword from the Lady of the Lake and so beginning the process of flooding the British Isles with unceasing rain; the G.I. Joe "Freedom" manages to return the sword and clear the skies.
"Excalibur," Thundercats, Rankin-Bass, 1985. The evil Mumm-Ra obtains Excalibur from the Lady of the Lake and uses it to defeat Thundercat Lion-O's Sword of Omens, but then Merlin appears and returns Excalibur to the lake to await Arthur's return; some Malorian elements.
"Merlin's Lost Book of Magic," Yogi's Treasure Hunt, Hanna-Barbera, 1985. Snagglepuss becomes king by pulling the sword from the stone while Yogi and his friends help Merlin find his book of spells so that the magician can stop Bailey's Comet from colliding with earth.
Starchaser: The Legend of Orin, Daewoo/Dr. Movie/Young Sung, 1985. Arthurian motifs and themes (young boy, sword, stone, wizard, computer named "Arthur," star system called "Vortigon," etc.) in Star Wars–influenced South Korean anime theatrically screened in 3-D.
"Arthur and the Sword," English Folk Heroes series, Milliken Publishing, 1986. Animated still-picture version of Malory's tale from Arthur's birth to coronation, stressing the importance of the Church in the king's rise to power.
"Merlin," The Centurions, Ruby-Spears, 1986. Complex plot involving a female descendant of Morgana, Merlin, Doc Terror, and the Centurions in a struggle to control Morgana's mirror and Arthur's crown.
"Over the River and through the Trolls," Disney's Adventures of the Gummi Bears, Disney, 1986. Sir Gawain, grandfather to Calvin, appears in this medieval but non-Arthurian series tracing the Ewok-like Gummi Bears' quest to recover their heritage and follow their true destiny; this time Gawain stops trolls from stealing gold.
"The Table Round," English Folk Heroes series, Milliken Publishing, 1986. Animated still-picture version of Malory's tale of Galahad repackaged to make it conform with James Russell Lowell's "Vision of Sir Launfal."
"Where There's a Well There's a Way," Danger Mouse, Cosgrove Hall, 1986. Danger Mouse seeks Merlin's wish-granting ink well.
"Sir Gyro de Gearloose," DuckTales, Disney, 1987. Huey, Dewey, and Louie accompany time-traveling inventor Gyro to Quackalot in a tale based, initially at least, on Connecticut Yankee.
"He Who Laughs Last," Disney's Adventures of the Gummi Bears, Disney, 1988. Sir Gawain tries to prove Gummi Bears really exist; another non-Arthurian entry in this series.
"Paws of the Round Table," Hello Kitty's Furry Tale Theater, Sanrio/DIC/MGM/UA, 1988. Hello Kitty and crew reenact the story of young King Arthur as he obtains "the light sword" Excalibur and rescues Lady Bunnyvere from the dragon, George; other characters include Lancelot, the Black Knight, Merlin, and Morgan.
"The Pig Who Would Be Queen," Muppet Babies, Marvel/Jim Henson Productions, 1988. Miss Piggy, Sir Kermalot of the Lily Pond, and others in quest of the Singing Sword.
Pound Puppies and the Legend of Big Paw, Family Home Entertainment/Tonka, 1988. Begins with the story of how young Arthur's dog, Digalot, pulled from the stone the Bone of Scone, apparently the lynchpin that allowed Arthur to free Excalibur.
"Hamelot," U.S. Acres (a.k.a. Orson's Farm), Garfield and Friends, Lee Mendelson Films/Paws, Inc./Film Roman, 1989. Orson Pig and pals seek the Holy Pail.
"King Mario of Cramalot," Super Mario Brothers Super Show!, DIC/Nintendo, 1989. Mario and friends, aided by Mervin the Magician, need to pull a golden plunger from a golden sink to save Cramalot from the villainous Koopa.
"Nightmare On Mother Brain's Street," Captain N: The Game Master, DIC, 1989. Mother Brain's poisoned apples provide the gate of sleep that takes several characters to a non-Arthurian land of wizards and warriors called Excalibur, where their worst nightmares seem real.
Sárkány és Papucs (a.k.a. Dragon and Slippers), Tibor Hernádi /Pannóniafilm, 1989. Feature-length Hungarian film with Arthur, Guinevere, Lancelot, Merlin, and a dragon named Goliath; misdirected love potion causes Lancelot (rather than Arthur) to cast affections toward Guinevere.
"Smurfs of the Round Table," The Smurfs, Hanna-Barbera/Sepp, 1989. The vaguely medieval Smurfs, who for a decade had been playing out vaguely Arthurian themes, end the series with a tale in which they must recover Excalibur from Morgan to save Camelot.
Camelot: An Animated Adventure for Children, New Pacific Pictures, 1990. No information available.
Merlin and the Dragons, Lightyear Entertainment, 1990. Based on Jane Yolen's tale of the same name, a conflation drawn from Nennius, Geoffrey of Monmouth's History, and the Vita Merlini.
The Quest for Olwen, Metta/Soyuzmultfilm, 1990. A Welsh-Soviet coproduction of Gwyn Thomas's 1988 adaptation of the Mabinogion's "Culhwch and Olwen."
"Tootles and the Dragon," Peter Pan and the Pirates, Southern Star Entertainment/Fox, 1990. When little Tootles is left out of a Arthurian reenactment game, he entertains himself by imagining that he pulls the sword from the stone (a rod from rock), unintentionally releasing a dragon held there by a spell; Tootles must show true chivalry if Neverland is to be saved.
"Day for Knight," Steven Spielberg Presents Tiny Toon Adventures, Warner Bros./Amblin, 1991. Allusive short drawing from earlier Warner Bros. Arthurian cartoons, Disney's 1941 The Reluctant Dragon, and Monty Python and the Holy Grail, to name but a few of its sources/targets.
"Family Scarelooms," Beetlejuice, Tim Burton/Geffen/Nelvana/Warner Bros., 1991. Beetlejuice and Lydia seek a missing coat of arms in the Land of Lost Stuff, where Sir Lostalot rules from the dragon-shaped castle of Camelost.
"King BJ," Beetlejuice, Tim Burton/Geffen/Nelvana/Warner Bros., 1991. Beetlejuice and Lydia visit Merlin just as the wizard plots to take over Camelot, but Merlin has to compete with Beetlejuice when the latter pulls the Board from the Bone and so becomes the latest impediment to Merlin's scheme.
"Knights of Neverland," Peter Pan and the Pirates, Southern Star Entertainment/Fox, 1991. Having assumed the role of Guinevere, Wendy directs Peter and the Lost Boys in a recreation of the story of King Arthur and the Knights of Camelot; as usual, Peter takes the game too far.
The Legend of Prince Valiant series (2 seasons), Hearst Entertainment/King Features/Family Channel, 1991-94. Traces Prince Valiant's adventures and life-lessons as he makes his way to Camelot to become a knight of the Round Table.
Tom Thumb, Gary Delfiner Productions/World-Vision Home Video, 1991. Still-picture retelling with Tom saving Arthur's court from a giant; based on Richard Jesse Watson's 1989 illustrated children's book.
Blazing Dragons (a.k.a. The Quest for Camelhot) series (2 seasons), Ellipse/Nelvana, 1992-94. Adventures in Terry Jones's Camelhot, a kingdom occupied by chivalric dragons: King Allfire (and his Knights of the Square Table), Queen Griddle, Sir Burnevere, Sir Galahot, Sir Loungelot, Flicker, Flame, etc.
King Arthur and the Knights of Justice series (2 seasons), Golden Films/Centre Nationale de la Cinematographie/Bohbot Entertainment, 1992-93. Football quarterback Arthur King and his New England Knights teammates are drawn back in time to save King Arthur and Camelot.
Salad ju yushi: Tomato-man (a.k.a. Sarada ju yushi, Sarada Ten Fighter, Tomato-man, Tomato-man and the Knights of the Salad Table) series, Gakken/Animation 21, 1992-93. King Melon sends magical hermit Withered Plum to transform fruits and vegetables into mighty knights to defend the realm from the Bug-Bugs (probably not Arthurian).
"Hedgehog of the Hound Table," Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog, DIC/Sega/Bohbot Entertainment, 1993. Robotnik and the Badniks gain the Emerald of Invincibility from the magician Merlynx; Prof. Caninestein's time machine helps Sonic defeat the villains, save the kingdom of Arfur and Gwendolyn, and become a knight.
The Legend of Percival: The Search for the Holy Grail, Gateway Films/Vision Video, 1993. Still-picture version based of Wolfram von Eschenbach's version of Perceval's adventures.
"Shredder's New Sword," Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Fred Wolf Films, 1993. The Turtles visit the British Museum to view a painting of Arthur and Guinevere, fight Shredder to recover Excalibur, and finally are helped by the spirits of the legendary king and queen to overcome Shredder and return the sword to its rightful owner.
"Sir Yaksalot," Animaniacs, Steven Spielberg Presents Animaniacs, Warner Bros./Amblin, 1993. Yakko, Wakko, and Dot save Arthur's kingdom from a dragon—another of Brain's plots for world domination—in an allusive Pinky and the Brain/Animaniacs crossover episode.
"Spell-Bound," Pinky and the Brain, Steven Spielberg Presents Animaniacs, Warner Bros./Amblin, 1993. Brain tries to use Merlin's book of spells to take over the world.
"Goodknights," dir. Zoltán Lehotay, Varga Studio (?), 1994. Hungarian short exploring what happens when Arthur, Lancelot, and Merlin grow old.
"A Lighthouse in the Sea of Time," "Avalon" (3 parts), "Sentinel," "Pendragon," Gargoyles, Disney, 1994-97. The three-season series borrows freely from a number of mythologies and legends, including the Arthurian one, bringing Arthur directly into the plot in these six episodes.
"Biker Knights of the Round Table" (2 parts), Biker Mice from Mars, Marvel/Brentwood TV Funnies/New World Family Filmworks, 1995. When the evil Limburger time-travels to Camelot to usurp the throne, the Biker Mice and Charley follow to help Arthur and the Round Table knights protect the land; a plot thread has Lancelot falling in love with Charley.
"Middle-Aged Felix," The Twisted Tales of Felix the Cat, Film Roman, 1995. Felix and Sheba in a time-traveling episode that pits the cat and his bag of tricks against Merlin's skills.
Princess Gwenevere and the Jewel Riders series (2 seasons), New Frontier/Enchanted Camelot Productions/Bohbot Entertainment, 1995-96. Bohbot Entertainment returns for a shot at the girl market that was ignored with their previous entry, King Arthur and the Knights of Justice; pastels and ponies everywhere as we watch the struggles of young Gwenevere, Merlin, and Leader of the Pack Drake against their foes, Morgana and Lady Kale.
"The Alchemist," The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest, Hanna-Barbera, 1996. An evil scientist steals the Philosopher's Stone and uses it to make gold until the spirits of Faust and Merlin deactivate the Stone's powers; an attempt to use Hadji to reactivate the Stone fails.
"Quest for the Holy Pail," Aaahh!!! Real Monsters, Klasky-Csupo, 1996. An eclipse sends Ickis on a quest (for a garbage pail) inspired more by Indiana Jones and Monty Python than authentic Arthurian sources.
Camelot, Anchor Bay Entertainment, 1997. Arthur, orphaned son of Gerdlach, lives with Merlin until he and his animal friends begin adventures leading to pulling the sword from the stone.
"D & DD," Dexter's Laboratory, Cartoon Network Production, 1997. Dexter imagines himself as a character in a game of Monsters and Mazes; one of the weapons is "the magic grail," an anti-tip goblet that will never spill its contents.
"Target," The New Batman/Superman Adventures, Warner Bros., 1997. Lois wins the Excalibur Award for Outstanding Journalism, is almost killed by a large falling crystal sword prop at the awards ceremony, and dreams that she unsuccessfully uses the award as a weapon against an intruder; Clark uses the award's sword to cut through a convertible's roof.
"Alley Oops!" Angry Beavers, Gunther-Wahl/Nickelodeon, 1998. The first series appearance of the consumptive Lady of the Lanes, an overweight character snarled in fluorescent lighting who descends from the ceiling of the medieval-themed Camelot Lanes bowling alley to give Daggett the Excaliball that allows him to get a strike every time.
Camelot, Golden Films/Sony Wonder, 1998. Arthur, adopted son of Merlin and the sorceress of Avalon, rescues Guinevere from a dragon and makes her his queen before Mordred stirs up trouble and forces Arthur into battle with Lancelot.
Camelot: The Legend, GoodTimes Home Video, 1998. Based predominantly on White, the 1967 Camelot, and Excalibur, complete with some of the less seemly parts of the story.
"The Demon Within," The New Batman Superman Adventures, Warner Bros., 1998. A plot revolving around the demon Etrigan and the theft of Morgan's magic branding iron.
"Enchanted Adventures," Oh Yeah! Cartoons, Frederator/Nickelodeon, 1998. Pilot episode for an unmade series featuring Sir Galen, who uses his morphing sword Calibron to attempt to save his father's kingdom from plague and the villainous Kaltor; a female character named Brangwen also figures into the story.
"Histeria Satellite TV," Histeria!, Warner Bros., 1998. King Arthur appears opposite a skeptical Fred Moppel on Monty-Pythonesque "Medieval Knight-Line" to deny rumors that he is a legend; appearances by a fat, old Lady of the Lake, Merlin, Lancelot, Galahad, and Malory himself (who cites Geoffrey of Monmouth and Chrétien de Troyes).
"The Lost Ball," Disney's Recess, Beantown/Disney, 1998. Although frightened by a daydream brought on by reading a tale of King Arthur, the tale also seems to stir timid Gus to find the courage to enter the Yard of No Return to retrieve a lost ball and thus become a playground hero.
Quest for Camelot, Warner Bros., 1998. Two of Arthur's subjects, Kayley and Garrett, must recover the stolen Excalibur for the king; based very loosely on Vera Chapman's The King's Damosel, itself an elaboration of Malory's story of the Damsel Maldisant with additions from Tennyson.
"The Wife of Bath's Tale," Animated Epics: The Canterbury Tales, Leaving London, Beryl Productions/S4C/HBO/BBC Wales, 1998. Not-for-youngsters animated version of Chaucer's nominally Arthurian tale.
"E-I-E-I-D'oh!" (a.k.a. "E-I-E-I-[annoyed grunt],") The Simpsons, Gracie Films/Klasky-Csupo/Film Roman/Fox, 1999. While at the Springfield Googolplex cinema, the family sees "The Poke of Zorro," a historical mishmash in which Zorro defeats the Three Musketeers and Man in the Iron Mask before he announces that he's come to return Arthur to the throne, but then Arthur cedes his title to Zorro after the latter gets the Scarlet Pimpernel to admit to being a coward.
"Leafy," Flint the Time Detective, Pioneer Entertainment/Saban, 1999. Although Arthur pulls the sword from the stone, it takes a lesson in friendship from time-traveling Flint and the crew to help the young king overcome timidity and lead his people; dimly reminiscent of Malory and White.
"Neptune's Spatula" [working title was "The Spatula and the Stove"], SpongeBob SquarePants, United Plankton Pictures/Nickelodeon, 1999. While visiting the Fry Cook Museum, SpongeBob proves himself worthy to be Neptune's fry cook by pulling the golden spatula from a bucket of ancient grease [Greece?], yet Neptune demands further proof of SpongeBob's qualifications for the job.
Poppa Beaver's Story Time, CINAR/France 3/Canal J, 1999. Largely non-Arthurian cautionary tale of vows and consequences in which Merlin plays a central role.
"Sang 'em High," Angry Beavers, Gunther-Wahl/Nickelodeon, 1999. Unable to win an argument with his brother Norbert, Daggett enlists the aid of the Lady of the Lanes (here called the Lady of the Pond after she's knocked from her speedboat and falls into the beaver's lake) to leave Norb speechless.
"Brave Sir Lancelot," Mike, Lu & Og, Kinofilm/Cartoon Cartoons/Cartoon Network, 2000. The pet turtle Lancelot's devotion to his master, the imperious Princess Lu, is once again put to the test in this series when Lu gets mad and casts him out; later Lancelot becomes king of the island turtles and has to rescue Mike, Og, and (reluctantly) Lu when the turtles don't want to let their new ruler leave.
"Piedmon's Last Jest," "Apocalymon Now," "The Fate of Two Worlds," Digimon: Digital Monsters, Toei Animation/Saban, 2000. Warp-digevolved MagnaAngemon uses his special power, the sword Excalibur, in a decisive battle against Piedmon and the Dark Masters, and reappears briefly in the next two episodes as the season ends and the Digidestined children secure both the real and digital worlds.
"It Hits the Fan," South Park, Comedy Partners/Celluloid Studios/Braniff/Comedy Central, 2001. Overuse of the word "shit" on national television causes the return of the Black Plague and awakens the Knights of Standards and Practices to set things right in the world of CGI-collage animation; the boys travel to the Excalibur Casino in Las Vegas for help in understanding the rune stone needed to defeat a curse-word-invoked dragon.
"The Time Machine," The Brak Show, Wild Hare Studios/Williams Street/Cartoon Network, 2001. Brak and Zorak return to the past to prevent (White-inspired) battling identical wizards Merlin and Marlon from ever inventing homework.
"Brakstreet: Men in the Band," The Brak Show, Wild Hare Studios/Williams Street/Cartoon Network, 2002. Merlin is a losing participant in a rap contest: "All the wizards in the house say 'Yo,' / Put a 40 in your goblet, let it glow...."
"A Knight of Shadows" (2 episodes), Justice League, Cartoon Network/Warner Bros., 2002. Morgaine seeks the infinite power of the Philosopher's Stone (a jewel once in the hilt of Excalibur and reputed true source of the sword's power) to turn modern-day London into Camelot and give son Mordred a kingdom to rule; the Justice League and Etrigan stop her.
"Knighty Knight," The Fairly Oddparents, Frederator/Nickelodeon, 2002. Displeased by the artificiality of Dimmsdale's 595th Camelot Festival, Timmy wishes himself to the fifteenth century, where he and the Fairly Oddparents help wimpy and nearsighted Arthur Lebowitz, nephew to a golddigging Merlin, become king.
"Renaissance," Home Movies, Burns & Burns/Science Court/Cartoon Network, 2002. The kids are hired to work as Medieval Fair characters (Arthur, Guinevere, Robin Hood) and end up fighting with other kids from the Sci Fi Fair one field over; Dwayne's band Scäb performs a rock opera about the stormy relationship between Arthur and Robin Hood.
Tristan et Iseut (a.k.a. Tristan and the Princess of Irelandis), Neuroplanet/Oniria, 2002. Sanitized, happy-ending, CGI-animated feature film of Tristan, Iseut, Marc, evil baron Ganelon, Morold, wood-nymph Puck, and fairy Teazle; tagline from Oniria's website: "Who's afraid of giants and dragons when you've got love and a couple of magical mischief-makers on your side?"
Potatoes and Dragons (a.k.a. Patates et Dragons) series, Cookie Jar Entertainment Inc./Alphanim/CINAR, 2003-?. Hugo III, king of the potatoes, offers his daughter to any knight or knight-pretender who can stop the dragon ravaging his land; daughter Melodine, however, is already in love with the court jester, requiring her to call on the services of Merlin (and others) to stop each and every suitor who comes to court.
"Kid Stuff," Justice League Unlimited, Cartoon Network/Warner Bros., 2004. Ever-petulant boy Mordred gains the Amulet of First Magic and casts a spell to banish all adults to a shadow realm, requiring the Justice League to join with Morgaine so that the Leaguers and Etrigan can become children again, escape from limbo, and defeat Mordred.
"Me First," Harry and His Bucket Full of Dinosaurs (a.k.a. Harry and His Bucketful of Dinosaurs), CCI Entertainment/Collingwood O'Hare/Silver Fox Films, 2005-?. In this series based on Ian Whybrow and Adrian Reynolds's books, Nana tries to teach Harry manners by having him read a book about chivalric King Arthur and the Round Table, but Harry is more interested in the knights' fighting; it takes an adventure with a dragon to drive home Nana's lesson.
Shrek 3, DreamWorks SKG/Pacific Data Images, 2007. The ogres and sidekick Donkey travel with the young prince Artie, who will one day become king of the land.
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