"Voltron: Defender of the Universe" (1984) TV series

User Rating:

7.8/10   

Director:

Franklin Cofod

Seasons:

1

Genre:

Animation | Family | Sci-Fi

Plot:

This series focuses on 5 lion robots and their pilots as they fight vs. the evil forces of king zarkon and prince lotor.

Plot Keywords:

Pilot | Planet | Robot | American | Young Man

Cast

Jack Angel	...	King Zarkon (20 episodes, 1984)
Michael Bell	...	Lance / ... (20 episodes, 1984)
Peter Cullen	...	Narrator / ... (20 episodes, 1984)
Neil Ross	...	Keith / ... (20 episodes, 1984)
B.J. Ward	...	Haggar / ... (20 episodes, 1984)
Lennie Weinrib	...	Hunk / ... (20 episodes, 1984)

Also Known As:

"The New Adventures of Voltron" (USA) (reissue title)

Country:

USA | Japan

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour

Certification:

Australia:PG | Iceland:L (some epiosodes) | Iceland:LH (some epiosodes) | USA:TV-Y7

Company:

World Events Productions Ltd.

Trivia:

Pidge, who was a member of the Lion Voltron Force, had a brother named Chip, who was part of the Vehicle Voltron Force. However, the two Japanese inspirations for the show, "Hyakujû ô Gô-Rion" (1981) and "Kikô Kantai dairugger XV" (1982) are not related, up to and including these characters.

Goofs:

Continuity: In order to activate the lions, each team member had to insert a special key. In many instances when Keith is starting the Voltron forming sequence, his key can still be seen on his tunic, but then is also seen on the panel of his lion.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Narrator: From days of long ago, from uncharted regions of the universe, comes a legend; the legend of Voltron, Defender of the Universe, a mighty robot, loved by good, feared by evil. As Voltron's legend grew, peace settled across the galaxy. On Planet Earth...

Movie Connections:

Referenced in American Pie Presents Band Camp (2005) (V)

From days of long ago, from uncharted regions of the universe, comes a legend, the legend of… Voltron, defender of the universe!

When I think of all the great robot cartoons, I always come back to the five lions that form the great robot ‘VOLTRON'. With so many stories that were great entertainment, I still enjoy watching an episode or two of Voltron today. I have never forgotten the transformation that takes place by the lions for them to be Voltron. ‘Form feet and legs, form arms and body, and I will form the head!' Once this happens one of the great cartoons of the 80's is in full flight.

Voltron, a mighty robot who defended peaceful planets and justice in the galaxy seemed invincible until an evil witch, Haggar, tried to destroy him. Instead she split him into 5 parts, each a large robotic lion. Each one was powered by an element of planet Arus.... the Black Lion by lightning, the Red Lion by magma, the Green Lion by cyclone, the Blue Lion by water, and the Yellow Lion by the sands of the desert. After the confrontation with Haggar, each lion found themself a hiding place, somewhere in Arus, totally unused, for years. Arus, not being protected by Voltron, is consequently defeated by the forces of the evil Zarkon. Now sent by Galaxy Garrison after another terrible battle, five space explorers flee from planet Doom to find the secret to restoring the super-robot known as Voltron.

The many storylines that were thought up for Voltron were really good. I like how Zarkon's evil witch, Haggar, is always willing to try and destroy Voltron. There also the great bravery that the Voltron force has, which is second to none. With something like 50 or more episodes being made, they really did have some inventive ideas to which they portrayed. This cartoon also has fine graphics and pictures. Voltron is such an impressive looking robot when he is formed, as are the individual robot lions. Other remarkable pictures from this cartoon include the Castle of Lions, Planet doom, and the many ro-beasts that Zarkon has Haggar release on Voltron.

The story has some interesting characters. The five space explorers (Keith, Lance, Pidge, Sven and Hunk) are a great team, with some talents giving them the ability to escape any kind of danger. When they discover the castle of lions, we also get to meet two fascinating characters, that being Princess Allura and her trusted advisor, Coran. They have been through so much with Planet Arus. The baddies have some weird and wonderful people. King Zarkon is an evil man, treating people with contempt and has no conscience while he is doing it. His only desire is to rule the universe, with his adversary's including Witch Haggar, Zarkon's own son Prince Lotor, commander Yurak, and his evil brigade of fighters and ro-beasts.

Voltron has many fine voice-overs from people such as Peter Cullen, Neil Ross, Jack Angel, Michael Bell, B.J. Ward, and Lennie Weinrib. Theses people do so many varying characters that they show how good their voice-over talents really are. Their voices have also been used on other cartoons such as the transformers and other Voltron series, with some being used on some movies as well. There have been many spin-offs to try and top Voltron. You have shows such as the ‘mighty morphine power rangers' that was a series I did not like. Then take the new ‘3D' Voltron. Sure it might have some of the same people voicing the same characters, but the show itself does not have the same ‘nostalgia' which accompanies ‘Voltron, defender of the universe'.

This cartoon brings back so many memories from so long ago. Innocent days spent in front the TV, barracking for Voltron to defeat the evil forces of King Zarkon. There was another TV series continuing on ‘the adventures Voltron', which was made up of ‘a land, air and sea team'. The problem I had with that series was that it did not embody what the other Voltron was about. If you are a fan of Voltron and can not find it on TV, then I recommend that you get a hold of the 4 tape series of Voltron (released in Australia by Siren Entertainment), I am certainly glad that I did.