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King Arthur and the Knights of Justice
King Arthur and the Knights of Justice is an animated series produced by Golden Films, C&D (Créativité et Développement), and Bohbot Entertainment and created by Diane Eskenazi and Avi Arad, who also served as executive producers. The series aired from September 13, 1992, to December 12, 1993, with two seasons and twenty-six episodes. It aired as part of Bohbot's Amazin' Adventures programming block.[2]
Plot
After King Arthur's sister, the evil sorceress Queen Morgana, traps him and the Knights of the Round Table in the Cave of Glass, the wizard Merlin is unable to free them himself. He searches the timeline for replacement Knights. In modern times, he finds Arthur King, the quarterback of the New Englandfootball team The Knights, and transports him and his teammates to Camelot after one of their football games. He appoints Arthur as their leader and his teammates as the new Knights of the Round Table and tasks them with freeing King Arthur and the Knights. To do so, they must find the Twelve Keys of Truth, one for each knight that only the knight can initially touch and one for King Arthur. Once all the keys are found, the knights will be free and the team can return home. In the meantime, they pledge "fairness to all, to protect the weak and vanquish the evil".
Characters
The Knights of the Round Table
Members of the football team The Knights, whom Merlin transports to Camelot to serve as replacements for King Arthur and the Knights until they can be freed. The Knights are armed with special armor and can summon their respective creatures when in battle armor. These animals, such as King Arthur's wyvern, are emblazoned on their shields.
King Arthur (Arthur King) (voiced by Andrew Kavadas) is the quarterback of his football team, The Knights, in modern times. While he sometimes seeks Merlin's advice, he usually comes up with strategies and battle plans on his own and his leadership helps to bring the team together. He wields Excalibur as well as a shield that houses the Dragon of Justice, also known as the Dragon of the Shield, a wyvern that was the family crest of the original Arthur. He also has a horse named Valor.
Sir Lancelot (Lance) (voiced by Scott McNeil) is the second-in-command of the knights and Arthur's best friend. He is fearless and brave and usually the most serious of the knights. His primary weapon is a lance and his shield emblem is a lion.
Sir Tone (Anthony) (voiced by Scott McNeil) is the team's inventor and blacksmith due to his experience in his school's metal shop, inventing machines based on those he has seen in his own time. His primary weapons are a hammer and chisel, which he uses to build.
Sir Trunk (voiced by Scott McNeil) is the knights' strongman. His primary weapon is a double-headed battle axe and his shield emblem is a ram, whose strength allows it to break through walls and carry several people on its back.
Sir Wally (voiced by Lee Jeffrey) is a guard for The Knights and Arthur's bodyguard, as well as Sir Brick's best friend. He is good-natured, but harsh on himself when he makes mistakes. His shield emblem is a falcon.
Sir Brick (voiced by Garry Chalk) is Arthur's bodyguard and Sir Wally's best friend, whose loyalty to his friends is unwavering. He can call forth a supply of bricks from his chest plate, which can be used to create walls.
Sir Phil (voiced by Garry Chalk) is one of the stronger knights of the twelve. His primary weapon is a club and his shield emblem is a black panther.
Sir Darren (voiced by Michael Donovan) is Lady Elaine's love interest, who is cool and confident both on and off the battlefield. His shield emblem is an eagle that can carry several people in its talons.
Sir Gallop (voiced by Mark Hildreth) is one of the knights. While he often flirts with women, he is respectful towards them, and later begins dating the peasant girl Katherine. His primary weapon is a pike with a spiked ball on the end and his shield emblem is a two-headed hound.
Sir Breeze (voiced by Lee Jeffrey) is The Knights' wide receiver, who is afraid of heights and small spaces. While he can be egotistical, he knows where his priorities lie. His primary weapon is a pike which can shoot bolts from the tip and his shield emblem is the sphinx.
Sir Lug (voiced by Michael Donovan) is The Knights' equipment manager, who in medieval times is in charge of Camelot's squires. He has low self-esteem and is often picked on by the other knights, but has great courage and can hold his own in a fight. His chest armor launches a football projectile at enemies and his shield emblem resembles the kraken.
Sir Zeke (voiced by Mark Hildreth) is the sole Asian player of The Knights, who is also the genius of the group.
Camelot characters
Merlin (voiced by Jim Byrnes) is a wizard who served King Arthur. He was responsible for bringing Arthur King and his teammates into the past to fight Morgana after King Arthur and his knights were imprisoned since his magic can't free King Arthur and his knights from the Cave of Glass. Merlin is a great asset to the knights and uses his spells, potions, and advice to assist them. He is also the only person from his time period to know their true identities.
Queen Guinevere (voiced by Kathleen Barr) is Camelot's queen and King Arthur's wife. She was captured by Morgana, but is later rescued by Arthur King, Lance, and Trunk. As she is unaware that Arthur King is not King Arthur, she often worries about the change in his demeanor.
Lady Elaine (voiced by Venus Terzo) is Guinevere's attendant and Darren's girlfriend.
Lady Mary is Guinevere's second attendant and Squire Everett's aunt.
Katherine is a peasant girl who becomes Sir Gallop's girlfriend in season two.
Squire Tyronne (voiced by Michael Donovan) is a squire who looks up to Sir Lug and dreams of becoming a knight.
Squire Everett (voiced by Mark Hildreth) is Lady Mary's nephew who is passionate about being a knight.
Lady of the Table (voiced by Kathleen Barr) is the protector of the knights, whose spirit is seen as the knights are equipped with their armor and weapons. They cannot see her until the episode "What the Key Unlocked" where she reveals herself to Lance. She usually tells them to "speak the oath" before activating their transformation.
Villains
Queen Morgana / Lady Morgana (voiced by Kathleen Barr) is an evil sorceress and the main antagonist of the series who possesses great magical powers. She was responsible for sealing Arthur and his knights in the Cave of Glass. While she does not know where they came from, Morgana knows that the new knights are not the real ones.
Lord Viper (voiced by Garry Chalk) is Morgana's second-in-command and overall field commander of the Warlords who harbors hatred towards Arthur King and sports a viper-themed helmet. While he primarily wields a sword, he also has a snake emblem on his armor that can attack others. Lord Viper rides in a cart that also functions as a catapult. While Lord Viper's action figure bio lists him as a high-ranking warlord, the comic book adaption lists him as a human.
The Warlords are Morgana's minions who were constructed from stone. If they are broken or destroyed in battle, Morgana can reassemble them using magic.
Warlord Axe (voiced by Scott McNeil) is a warlord with axe blades on his helmet who is not too bright. Axe has a plethora of ax weapons and an ax cart. He has appeared in almost every episode and has defeated King Arthur on two separate occasions.
Warlord Bash (voiced by Garry Chalk) is a primitive warlord in a skull-shaped helmet who wields a bone club and skull-shaped shield. He likely represents the Saxonbarbarians that raid most of Europe in legend.
Warlord Blackwing (voiced by Scott McNeil) is the third-in-command and Viper's right-hand man in a pointy helmet. Blackwing possesses
Episodes
Season 1 (1992)
Season 2 (1993)
Video game
A video game based on the series was produced by Enix for the Super NES platform in 1995. The game features a final confrontation between King Arthur and Morgana, in the form of a giant dragon, providing a finale to the series where the Knights football team were able to return to their own time.
Merchandise and comics
Mattel released a handful of 51⁄2" action figures and vehicles/accessories based on the show.[3]Marvel Comics released a three-part comic book miniseries written by Mike Lackey in 1993.[4]
The first issue of a soft reboot comic book series by Mad Cave Studios, written by Joe Corallo, was published in April 2024,[5] to be continued in June 2025."We find Arthur King and the Knights in school, having moved on from the drama of their recent kidnapping in Camelot. But when Gallop gets a new girlfriend and Morgana breaks free in Camelot, Arthur and his teammates find themselves having to become knights once more in order to defend their home world–and Camelot–from the threat of evil magic."[6]
A crossover with Princess Gwenevere and the Jewel Riders, written by Jordie Bellaire and Joseph Corallo, is also to be released on the Free Comic Book Day in May 2025."The newly combined teams must use their magical powers and knightly prowess and join forces for the first time and save their worlds, once and for all."[7]
Home releases
Maximum Entertainment released the complete series of King Arthur and the Knights of Justice on Region 2 DVD in the UK.In 2010, after several various partial VHS and DVD releases, Image Entertainment released the complete series as a boxed set in North America with all 26 episodes in a three-DVD set King Arthur and the Knights of Justice: The Complete Animated Series.Discotek Media will release the series on Blu-ray in 2025.[8]
For some time during late 2000s, the whole series has been made available for free watching through Internet streaming at the Lycos' SyncTV service and on Kidlet.Between 2012 and 2014, it has been also available for instant streaming on Netflix.In 2016, Golden Films released it via Amazon.com.[9] As of 2019, the series is available from the subscription service Watch It Kid!.[10] The series is also available on tubi.
Reception
The show has been ranked first on the lists of "The 10 Most Ridiculous Adaptations of Arthurian Legend" (2009) and the "8 Mostly Forgotten '90s Cartoons" (2011) by website Topless Robot,[11][12] as well as "15 Most WTF Adaptations of King Arthur" by ScreenRant in 2017.[13] Conversely, writer Mark McCray gave it a positive review "thanks to Chalopin's creative touches, which included a great premise, exceptional storytelling, and beautifully drawn animated characters."[14]
-like wings and can fly, allowing him to attack his enemies with the mid-air dart attacks from his talons. He is also equipped with a pike. Warlord Blackwing is responsible for capturing Guinevere early in the series.
Warlord Blinder is a warlord who is able to blind his opponents by striking together his two daggers. He can also throw them with perfect aim.
Warlord Hammer (voiced by Michael Donovan) is a super-strong warlord with two hammers as weapons considered to be one of the strongest and largest of the Warlords.
Warlord Lucan is a savage wolf-themed warlord with sharp claws on his gloves, missile attacks, and a wolf-head cart that breathes fire.
Warlord Slasher is a warlord with many sharp weapons including spears, a serrated–spiked cape that is almost bat-shaped, and a spear cart. Also, his armor could be configured into a pair of deadly gauntlets. Like Blackwing, he can fly, but does so rarely.
Warlord Spike is a warlord with a voulge style weapon, two long spikes on his helmet, and a spear cart that can shoot projectiles. He also seems to be one of the smartest as he leads many missions and applies battle strategies.
The Warlord Foot Soldiers are the generic foot soldiers
The Purple Horde is an army of Asian warriors who oppose the Knights in the second season. Led by Master Chang, they aim for conquest and are in an alliance with the Warlords.
Master Chang (voiced by Michael Donovan) is the leader of the Purple Horde who upholds a strict code of honor for them to abide by, allowing for a level of understanding between them and the Knights.
Awan is a warrior who uses a nunchaku and carries a war horn.
Hung is a warrior who wields bow and arrows.
Ti Ben is a warrior who uses portable gunpowder-based artillery.
Rim is a warrior who uses a sword-dagger combo and bombs.
