Dungeons & Dragons is an American fantasy animated television series based on TSR's Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game. It is a co-production of Marvel Productions and TSR, with animation services provided by Japanese studio Toei Animation. It ran on CBS from 1983 through 1985 for three seasons, for a total of twenty-seven episodes.
The show focuses on a group of six friends who are transported into the realm of Dungeons & Dragons, following their adventures as they try to find a way home with the help of their guide the Dungeon Master while combating an evil wizard.
Overview The show focuses on a group of friends aged between 8 and 15 who are transported to the realm of Dungeons & Dragons by taking a magical dark ride on an amusement park roller coaster. Upon arriving in the realm they meet Dungeon Master (named for the referee in the tabletop role-playing game), who gives each child a magical item granting each of them powers appropriate to a D&D character class.
The children's main goal is to find a way home, but they often take detours to help people or find that their fates are intertwined with that of others. The group comes across many different enemies, but their primary antagonist is Venger. He is a powerful wizard who wishes to rule the realm and believes the power from the children's weapons will help him to do so. Another recurring villain is Tiamat, who is a five-headed dragon and the only creature that Venger fears.
Throughout the series, a connection is suggested between Dungeon Master and Venger. At the end of the episode "The Dragon's Graveyard", Dungeon Master calls Venger "my son". At the end of "The Treasure of Tardos", he states "We all make mistakes. Venger... was mine." The final unproduced episode "Requiem" would have confirmed that Venger is the Dungeon Master's corrupted son (making Kareena the sister of Venger and the daughter of Dungeon Master), redeemed Venger (giving those trapped in the realm their freedom), and ended on a cliffhanger where the six children could finally return home or deal with evil that still existed in the realm.
This unproduced episode would have served as both a conclusion to the story and as a re-imagining of the show, had it been picked up for a fourth season, but was canceled before the episode was made. The script has since been published online and was performed as an audio drama as a special feature for the BCI Eclipse DVD edition of the series.
Characters Heroes
Hank, the Ranger (voiced by Willie Aames) – at 15 years of age, he is the leader of the group. Hank is brave and noble, maintaining a focus and determination even when presented with grave danger. Hank is a Ranger, with a magical bow that shoots arrows of glowing energy. These arrows can be used in many different ways such as a climbing tool, to hurt enemies, to bind them, to create light, or to form temporary makeshift cages. Eric, the Cavalier (voiced by Don Most) – a Cavalier who is 15, he is a spoiled child, originating from a rich home. On the surface, Eric is a big-mouthed comic relief coward. Eric has a heroic core, and frequently saves his friends from danger with his magical shield decorated with a griffin, which can project a force field. Despite his aloofness and several instances of selfishness, Eric shares the common camaraderie of the group, and occasionally steps to the fore as a substitute leader in Hank's absence. Diana, the Acrobat (voiced by Tonia Gayle Smith) – a brave, athletic, and outspoken 14-year-old girl, she is an Acrobat who carries a magical quarterstaff which can change size to suit her needs and be easily reconstructed if broken. Diana is also known to provide inspiration, guidance, and support for her friends at times of peril or worry. Presto, the Magician (voiced by Adam Rich) – a 14-year-old Wizard of the team, equipped with a magic hat. Friendly and fiercely loyal to all in the group, Presto fulfills the role of the well-meaning, diligent magic user whose spells frequently—though not always—either fail or produce unintended results. Sheila, the Thief (voiced by Katie Leigh) – as a Thief, Sheila, aged 13, has a cloak which makes her invisible when the hood is raised over her head. Although occasionally emotionally vulnerable, somewhat worrisome and with a great fear of being alone in the realm, Sheila regularly utilizes the stealth attributes of her cloak at great peril to herself for the benefit of the common goals of her group. Bobby, the Barbarian (voiced by Ted Field III) – the youngest member of the team at nine years old and the younger brother of Sheila. He is a Barbarian, as indicated by his fur pants and boots, horned helmet, and cross belt harness. Brash, brave and selfless but occasionally impulsive, Bobby's personality frequently puts himself and his friends in danger. His magic cudgel, which can shake the ground when struck against it, saves the protagonists from peril on numerous occasions. Uni (vocal effects provided by Frank Welker) – Uni is Bobby's pet, a baby unicorn. Markedly timid, she is remarkably intelligent, shown to be capable of using Presto's hat's magic on at least one occasion, and can teleport once per day. Dungeon Master (voiced by Sidney Miller) – the group's mentor, he provides important advice and help, but often in a cryptic manner that does not make sense until the team has completed the quest of each episode. Dungeon Master supplies the companions with their weapons and clues for their numerous opportunities to return home.
Villains
Venger, the Force of Evil (voiced by Peter Cullen) – the main antagonist and the Dungeon Master's son, Venger is an evil wizard of great power sporting one horn, white skin, fangs, and bat-like wings. He seeks to use the children's magical weapons to bolster his power. Shadow Demon (voiced by Bob Holt) – a shadowy demon who is Venger's personal spy and assistant. Shadow Demon often informs Venger about the children's current quests and refers to them as "Dungeon Master's young ones". Night-Mare – a black horse that serves as Venger's mode of transportation. Tiamat (voiced by Frank Welker) – a fearsome five-headed dragon with a reverberating multi-level voice. Her five heads are a white head that breathes ice, a green head that breathes poison gas, a central red head that breathes fire, a blue head that breathes lightning, and a black head that breathes acid. Tiamat is known to be the sole creature that Venger fears. Kareena (voiced by Diane Pershing) – Venger's sister and rival. Kareena first appears in the episode "Citadel of Shadow" when she encounters Sheila as she herself is confined within a force field imposed by Venger. Sheila's altruism within this episode unleashes humanity within Kareena. The unmade final episode to the series "Requiem" was planned to confirm that Kareena was also Dungeon Master's daughter.
Episodes
Season 1 (1983)
Season 2 (1984)
Season 3 (1985)
Unfinished finale The intended final episode from the third season, and potential series finale, entitled "Requiem," was written by the series' frequent screenwriter Michael Reaves, but was not finished due to the show's cancellation. It would have served as both a conclusion to the current story as well as a re-imagining of the series, had the show continued into a fourth season. Reaves has discussed the episode online, and published the original script on his personal website. The BCI Eclipse Region 1 DVD release includes the script recorded in the form of an audio drama as a special feature.
A fan-made animated version of the finale appeared online in 2020. It includes the original audio drama, with animations mostly recut from the series. It stars Wally Wingert as Dungeon Master and Hank, Daniel Roebuck as Eric, Jarrod Nead as Presto, Neil Kaplan as Venger, and Ryan Nead as Redeemed Venger, with Katie Leigh and Frank Welker reprising their roles as Sheila and Uni, while Leigh also voices Bobby.
Cast Willie Aames – Hank the Ranger Don Most – Eric the Cavalier Tonia Gayle Smith – Diana the Acrobat Adam Rich – Presto the Magician Peter Cullen – Venger, The Darkling (in the episode "The Winds of Destruction"), additional voices Teddy Field III – Bobby the Barbarian Katie Leigh – Sheila the Thief Sidney Miller – Dungeon Master Frank Welker – Uni, Tiamat, Sir John (in the episode "The Eye of the Beholder"), Starfire (in the episode "The Time Lost"), Fairy, Jimmy's Dad, Pilot (in the episode "The Time Lost"), Rugar (in the episode "Dungeon at the Heart of Dawn"), Fairie Dragon (in the episode "Cave of the Faerie Dragons"), additional voices
Additional voices Laurie O'Brien Jennifer Darling Gary Goren Bob Holt – the Shadow Demon Georgi Irene Maia Mattisse Diane Pershing – Kareena (in the episode "Citadel of Shadow") Hank Saroyan Russi Taylor – Amber the Fairie Dragon (in the episode "Cave of the Faerie Dragons")
Reception The series received critical acclaim but the level of violence was controversial for American children's television at the time, and the script of one episode, "The Dragon's Graveyard," was almost canceled because the characters contemplated killing their nemesis, Venger. In 1985, the National Coalition on Television Violence demanded that the FTC run a warning during each broadcast stating that Dungeons & Dragons had been linked to real-life violent deaths. The series spawned more than 100 different licenses, and the show led its time slot for two years.
Awards For her work on the series, Tonia Gayle Smith (as "Diana") was nominated for Outstanding Young Actress in an Animation Voice-over at the 1984–1985 Youth in Film Awards. In January 2009, IGN ranked Dungeons & Dragons at #64 on its "Best 100 Animated Series" list.
Home media In 2004, Contender Entertainment Group released the series on four stand-alone DVDs (under license from Fox Kids Europe/Jetix Europe). Extra features on each volume include fan commentary tracks on two episodes, character profiles, and DVD-ROM content. The original series bible, scripts, character model sheets, original promo artwork, an interview with Michael Reaves (writer on the unproduced finale episode "Requiem"), and a featurette on the title sequence are spread amongst the discs. The fourth volume includes the script for "Requiem" and a featurette about it. The four DVDs each have different original cover artwork (by Eamon O'Donoghue) that form a panorama when placed side by side, depicting the main characters of the series: Hank and Sheila with Venger, Presto with Tiamat, Eric and Diana with Shadow Demon, and Bobby with Uni and Dungeon Master.
The first Region 1 DVD release, Dungeons & Dragons – The Complete Animated Series, was released on December 5, 2006, by BCI Eclipse LLC, under its Ink & Paint classic animation entertainment brand (under license from Disney). The 5-disc set featured all 27 episodes, uncut, digitally re-mastered, and presented in story continuity order, as well as an extensive array of special features including documentaries, commentaries, character profiles, a radio play of the unproduced finale episode "Requiem", and more. This release is now out of print, as BCI Eclipse ceased operations in December 2008.
In 2009, Mill Creek Entertainment released the complete series on August 25 (once again under license from Disney), in a 3-disc set without any special features, but with almost all the original music restored; the release contains all the televised episodes but does not contain the radio play of "Requiem".
The complete series was streamed on Twitch on July 9, 2021, as part of the Saturday Morning D&D Secret Lair, which is a limited edition of Magic the Gathering cards showcasing characters from the cartoon, later released on October 29 the same year.
Merchandise and other media
The show produced a variety of spin-off merchandise.
Board games