Dungeons and Dragons is one of the classic cartoons of the eighties. It is based on the Dungeons and Dragons Board Game of the same name. The story-line is simple, six kids get onto a theme park ride called ‘Dungeons and Dragons’, as is normally the case in these types of situations something goes wrong! The kids are transported to the magical realm of Dungeons and Dragons, where they find a friend and guide ( The mysterious Dungeon Master ) and also an enemy or two, namely Venger and Tiamat the Dragon Queen. The kids have six magical weapons, and we follow them through their various adventures as they try to find their way home.
What made this cartoon great was the strong basic premise of the Dungeons and Dragons realm, coupled with some great script writing The cartoon was considered violent and disturbing for its time, one episode ‘The Dragon’s Graveyard’ almost got cancelled as the characters considered killing Venger to allow them to get home. The cartoon was brought to an abrupt end in its third season and so the final show was never aired and the kids never found their way home. However, if you look at the Resources section of this page, you will see that one of the writers, Michael Reeves has published on-line the final, never-aired episode, ‘Requiem’.
Hank the Ranger (voiced by Willie Aames)
Hank is both the oldest member of the group and the natural leader. His bow produces unlimited magical flaming arrows which he uses as both a weapon and a firebrand ( to light dark areas). Hank is the typical hero, always level-headed, brave and with a strong moral outlook. He sees himself as the chief protector of the group (the real knight) and takes it upon himself to keep up their morale.
Sheila the Thief (voiced by Katie Leigh)
Sheila is Bobby’s older sister. Within the realm of Dungeons and Dragons, she is the thief. Pulling her cloak over her head makes her completely invisible. Sheila embodies all of the traditional feminine stereotypes, she acts as a mother to her younger brother Bobbi, she is continually having to calm and placate frictions within the group, especially betwen Eric and Hank.
Eric the Knight (voiced by Donny Most)
Eric ironically is the Knight of the Group. His weapon is a magical shield that can deflect most weapons and also can create a localised forcefield when necessary. Eric is as far from the ideal of a knight as it is possible to get. He is self-obsessed, cowardly, pessimistic, and sarcastic. Despite all of these characteristics, Eric is the funniest and most realistic character in the group. He prevents the show from becoming too sickly-sweet and fills the show with great one-liners. Donny Most, the actor that voiced Eric, went on to become Ralp Malph in tv’s ‘Happy Days’
Presto the Magician (voiced by Adam Rich)
Presto is the goof-ball of the group. He is a wizard and so his ‘weapon’ is his magic wizard’s hat, from which he can pull any item his spells can conjure. Presto is the archetypal geek, he complains almost as much as Eric, but has none of Eric’s other less admiral qualities. Presto provides a more slapstick form of comedy, often in the form of misfiring spells e.g. the gang will need to defeat a dragon he will pull a bucket of water from his hat, or an uncontrollable fire hose.
Diana the Acrobat (voiced by Tonia Gayle Smith)
Diana is definetely the second in command. She has a very strong character and with the exception of Hank is the only character to not voice doubts and fears. Diana also has the closest relationship with Eric. She is the only member of the team that can parry with Eric verbally and often trades one-liners with the sarcastic knight. Diana has a magic staff that can extend to become a weapon or even a type of Javelin pole.
Bobbi ( Teddy Field III) & Uni ( Frank Welker)
Being the youngest Bobbi also displays and feels his emotions with tantrums. He sees things very simply and has a real hatred for Venger and often needs to be calmed down and held back from acting rashly by the rest of the group. Bobbi’s weapon, fits with his tantrums well, as it is a club which he can bang on th ground to create earthquakes etc. Bobbi also looks after Uni, the Unicorn.
Uni is a baby Unicorn that the kids meet and look after. Being a baby she bleats like a goat, but also articulates semi-intelligible words. Bobbi loves Uni as much as he hates Venger, therefore hanging over them is the problem that when they do finally leave the realm of Dungeons and Dragons, they will have to leave Uni alone & defenceless. In the episode ‘Valley of the Unicorns’ we do see however that Uni has a family of Unicorns to look after her. We also learn that Uni can teleport (very small distances), presumably as she grows this will improve.
Venger (voiced by Peter Cullen)
Venger is the force of evil in the realm. However, we also discover that he is the Dungeon Master’s son. Venger has one horn, and rides a very evil looking flying black stallion. His goal is to gain ultimate power within the realm, however this puts him into constant battle with not only the Dungeon Master and the kids, but also with Tiamat the Dragon.
The Dungeon Master (voiced by Sidney Miller)
The Dungeon Master is the force of good in the realm of dungeons and Dragons. The Dungeon Master probably has the power to send the children home, but he instead guides them from adventure to adventure. Whether this is for the purpose of character building, or whether he genuinely needs them to help him right the wrongs in the realm is something we never discover.
Tiamat the Dragon (voiced by Frank Welker)
Tiamat is the Queen of the Dragons, she is also Venger’s arch-rival within the realm. The kids often escape many sticky situations due to Tiamat’s intervention. Tiamat is a five headed dragon, each head represents one of the Dragon types within the Dungeons and Dragons game. She is named after the Babylonian Monster/Goddess Tiamat. The Sumerian for Tiamat is Ti:Life and Mat:Mother.
Dungeons and Dragons Intro Theme
