The Legend of Zelda (1996 TV series)

The Legend of Zelda is an American animated series based on the Japanese video game series The Legend of Zelda by Nintendo. Unlike the DiC series, this series has a much darker tone than its predecessor and the episodes ran in its traditional 22-minute episodic format. The plot follows the adventures of Link and Princess Zelda as they defend the kingdom of Hyrule from an evil wizard named Ganon. It is heavily based on the first game of the Zelda series, The Legend of Zelda, but includes some references to the second, Zelda II: The Adventure of Link and the third, The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past. The show was produced by Adelaide Productions and distributed by Sony Pictures Television (formerly Columbia TriStar Television) in association with Nintendo of America, Inc. The show ran on FOX Kids from September 14, 1996 to April 21, 2001.

Production
The first season of the show used traditional hand-colored cel animation, although the opening sequence used digital ink and paint. Starting with the second season, the show switched to digital ink and paint for coloring afterwards.

Voice Cast

 * Corey Burton as Link
 * Tara Strong as Zelda
 * Jim Cummings as Ganon
 * Tony Jay as Future Ganon

Crew

 * STORYBOARD ARTISTS: Mark Zoeller, Shawna Cha, Keith Tucker, Dave Arnett, Travis Cowsill, Sean Bishop, Llyn Hunter, Stephen DeStephano, Alan Gibson, Curt Walstead, Byron Vaughns, Milton Knight, Paul Schibli
 * OVERSEAS ANIMATION STUDIOS: Hanho Heung-Up, Co. Ltd, Koko Enterprises, Rough Draft Korea, Lotto Animation, Tokyo Movie Shinsha (TMS Entertainment), Toon City Animation
 * OPENING SEQUENCE ANIMATION: Hanho Heung-Up, Co. Ltd
 * DIGITAL INK AND PAINT: USAnimation, Inc.

Reruns
After the show ended in April 2001, Fox Kids began re-running the series until it was replaced with 4Kids Entertainment's own children program block on September 14, 2002. The show later moved over to Nicktoons and reran there until July 7, 2005. It later reran on Teletoon Retro in Canada.

Home Media
From 1998 throughout 2000, Columbia Tristar Home Video released episodes from three of the five seasons on VHS.

In 2003, the entire complete series was released on DVD by Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment for the first time. This 6-disc set contains all episodes from five seasons of the show.