DUNGEONS & DRAGONS (1983) - Retro Toon Review

[@bearerofbadnews1375]

I remember this cartoon. A group of kids get Isekai’d into the world of dungeons and dragons.

[@nuqjatrh]

An Early 80s Western Isekai

[@JohahnDiechter]

Portal fantasy. It is a classic category of fantasy story popular in the 19th and 20th century, especially in children's literature. Wizard of Oz and Alice in Wonderland.

[@Arosukir6]

@@JohahnDiechter Damn, what a cool term!

[@tminus543]

This is by far one of the best underrated Saturday morning cartoons EVER!!!

[@MrUniq]

As a grade school kid this show was very special to me and I didn't miss one episode of it. People make fun of the 'violence' but it was one of the few cartoons where it felt like the stakes were real for the kids involved..atleast from a kids point of view back then. The ending credits was amazing, and I always wondered how they were going to get home.

[@johndavis1290]

Frank Welker the voice of Uni the Unicorn also voiced doctor claw from inspecter gadget and the voice of Megatron from transformers, such an AWESOME talent!!!!

[@jonathancoco4568]

you forgot he also voiced the dad in that "Laser Tag Academy" cartoon as well.

[@johndavis1290]

@@jonathancoco4568 Oh yeah,True!!👍

[@jonathancoco4568]

@@johndavis1290 you're welcome

[@danielramsey6141]

And avenger is voiced by Optimus Prime!

[@ToruKun1]

And he's been voicing Fred from Scooby-Doo since 1969

[@markj7226]

The episode "dragon's graveyard" is one of the best Saturday morning cartoon episodes of the 80s.

[@brianng8350]

Watching it as an adult, it is very dark, but it is a great episode!

[@keldorthebluemack]

​@@brianng8350 Yeah I think that episode sealed its fate too many parents complained about this show and specifically that episode

[@marcusaurelius5149]

I watched this show as a child and loved it. As started watching it again as an adult and the themes were far more interesting as a coming of age cartoon. The characters were given magic weapons and classes that forced them to confront their fears and insecurities. For example, Eric was a cavalier who was given a magic shield to protect others. Shiela was the popular girl who was given a cloak of invisibility to hide. Diana was a gymnast who was afraid to compete was an acrobat (thief acrobat was a class in AD&D's Unearthed Arcana) and given a magic staff to aid her gymnastics and acrobatics. And so on. What I like about the characters is they're not losers who were given super powers. They're imperfect kids.

[@angelalita77]

YES! I loved this series! I was so upset it was canceled from super uptight over worried parents 😤. My favorite character was the Cavalier because I love sarcastic humor. And as a black girl I was happy to see they made a female black character beautiful, smart and strong that didn't rap or had exaggerated features.

[@Abrakadabro666]

Hell yeah sis!!

[@bimmyfrizzo3988]

Just like the concerned parents butchered the TMNT movie sequels with their super uptight over worrying! smh

[@RazorRex]

Glad to see you guys branching out to 80s/90s animated shows.

[@DanJackson1977]

This show was forgotten? It's been on DVD for years. Brazil even did a live action commercial of it for a car ad.

[@RazorRex]

@@DanJackson1977 Good point.

[@comixproviderftw_02]

@@DanJackson1977 must be popular over there

[@CLDJ227]

Haven't they been doing that with this series 😅 😅.

[@starbrand3726]

This was my show. I watched it every week. I wanted that Energy Bow soooo bad. Venger wanted the kid's weapons because their combined power would give Venger the ability to destroy Tiamat. Something he can't do on his own.

[@Night-Mayor]

One of my favorite episode was when they found a girl from their world. Who had the power of precognition. In the end, Bobby, the barbarian, sent her home while he and others fought. But before she left, she threw her locket. They had grown close. In the end, we see her final dream of being back home on earth at school. When Bobby asked if she forgot something while holding the locket. He looked slightly older to me, so it wasn't soon, but I knew one day they would return home.

[@geardog24]

I know we already have Vox Machina, but there should be another D & D cartoon like this just for the kids.

[@myfavoritecolorisrage]

Oh god no! I wouldn't wish for that at all! Cartoons today are too concerned about "the message" than entertainment. I'd hate to see this classic ruined by activist writers.

[@colinsmith3945]

"That hydra dragon" is Tiamat. Venger is after their magic weapons and is the Dungeon Master's son.

[@Kylopod]

I remember back in the ‘80s when I was a kid, the A-Team was listed as “the most violent show on TV.” This sounds kind of incredible, given that the show hardly ever showed anyone even getting hurt. It featured a lot of stuntwork involving cars getting overturned and smashed up, but the people would always be miraculously unharmed. “Violence” can have different meanings; it doesn’t always refer to graphic blood or gore, it was sometimes also criticized if you showed a lot of fighting without realistic consequences. The Three Stooges and Bugs Bunny cartoons were “violent” by this standard.

[@Ravuun]

I ADORED this cartoon when I was a kid in the 80's. It had more than one girl in it and neither was a chronic damsel in distress, which was huge for me, a tomboy that never saw myself reflected in any media I grew up with.

[@LuizBarrosPoa]

My child's head almost fell off of my child's body when The Dungeon Master reveal that Venger was his son! That was a Vader/Luke moment I never forget.

[@keldorthebluemack]

Glad he turned good again and went back to lookin like a regular human.He only turned evil bcuz of his last for power and basically made a deal with the devil that creature who they said looked like green goblin

[@nichescenes]

People today have no attention span and call every thing MID and overrated. This would be perfect for them. Fast paced and no down time. Shows are so much faster today but people say their all slow.

[@jermainewilliams9491]

As a huge fan of D&D, there is so much I want to say about this show, I still watch it to this day, the jokes are timeless, the references are on point and I am pissed that the best Dungeons and Dragons adaptation is a damn car commercial.

[@QueenViolet8]

I would love to see a remake where they finally get home! I really liked the He Man 2000 remake!

[@keldorthebluemack]

This should've been a live action movie this is begging for a nice trilogy

[@keldorthebluemack]

​@@QueenViolet8 I wouldn't mind seeing that too or a live action movie

[@CLDJ227]

​@@QueenViolet8 I think most cartoons from this toy commercial era need a shopisticated reboot.

[@dillbert4084]

@@QueenViolet8 On an episode of Fatman on Batman, Kevin Smith said this is a cartoon he would like to try a continuation of, if that interests you.

[@dancedj2k2]

I truly loved this show. I maintain that it is one of the top 10 or 20 cartoons and animations of all time. I feel that one of the reason it got canceled is because they move the time of the show because of the parents panic back then. The show used to come on around 9am, but then they moved it to as late as 11am depending on where you lived. that time change ruined it for many kids because it got buried with other shows.

[@Damar158]

They did Eric dirty in the cartoon, if they ever made a remake Eric should be the adult of the group going 'No, stop, think for a second guys'. And post-Captain America, a character having a shield is considerably cooler.

[@MotorcycleUS]

Acrobat was a class from 1st edition Unearthed Arcana. Along with Barbarian & Cavalier.

[@themadmonk6700]

The Cavalier sounds a lot like Paul Riser with a little bit of Seinfeld. Imagine him saying, "I work for the company, but don't let that fool you. I'm really an okay guy."

[@jonblack7606]

I never played D&D, but as a kid in Jamaica I never missed an episode of this cartoon show. Definitely on my list of favorite old school cartoon series. Loved it! 💯😎

[@JovelJohnson]

YESSS!!! After primary school! One of my shows in that one to two-hour block of cartoons.

[@SergioLeRoux]

When I was a kid I always hated how Eric was treated. Not until later I found out it was a thing from the 80s , there's even an article by one of the creators of the show where the Moral Guardians forced them to make Eric "the complainer who is always wrong" because the big thing back then was to have all kids conform to peer pressure and gang mentality. I think the original intent was to make Eric the voice of reason and almost a co-leader (with Hank being the charismatic "let's all get along" guy") but he devolved into spoiled annoying cowardly wiseguy who never wanted to take risks or spend any effort on things. Some of this shows up in the alleged script for the finale that never got made.

[@highwayman187]

I remember this from the heyday of Saturday morning cartoons if you weren't a kid at the time, you just can't understand what it meant to get up on Saturday and have a lineup of cartoon shows it was something special

[@werebaneceo]

I still own this awesome series😊😂 one of the best,coolest thing was you felt more involves because it was normal kids put in the world with full d&d abilities

[@DikaWolf]

The thing about this show was they never actually sold any toys of the main characters until long after the show was cancelled. They only sold toys of Tiamat and side characters like Strongheart, so there wasn't a Uni toy nor any of the kids, Dungeon Master, and Venger until the kids that used to watch this show were already in their 40s. The only thing TSR made for this show during its run was the Unearthed Arcana book which added the classes Barbarian, Cavalier, and Acrobat from this show to the AD&D rules.

[@skittles7306]

Let's go! You're finally reviewing this!

[@cybergothika6906]

I remember it was FILLED with subliminal messages, quite literally everywhere. Mostly with out of context symbolism, things not related to the scene. It was probably just artistic shenanigans, giving this special vibe. But helped create legend that says the kids actually died in the rollercoaster.

[@DanJackson1977]

If you havent seen the Brazillian car commercial with live action versions of the 80s D&D show, it's a must watch. That's the version I wanna see made.

[@PeterZeeke]

God I have a massive grin watching this. I LOOOOOVVVED this show. It’s crying for a real life remake on Netflix

[@dianefraizer1521]

Aw man I always love this show when I was in school I always wish they could have make the live movies like the 80s cartoon too n I also like the black girl the arrow boy n also the barbarian boy n the rest of them too n the barbarian boy always reminds me of bam bam from the Flintstones cartoon lol

[@ericbarnes2930]

Christ... I was a late teen when this came on air and I loved it! Finally got my first girlfriend when it went off the air, lol....!

[@dieseltyme]

All the most powerful wizards have luscious locks.

[@VidWatcher01]

The villain looks like he bought one horn & is saving up for the other. 😂🤣

[@elektralyte1]

My little brother and I used to watch this back in the day. I was 18 when it first came out, and was a fan.

[@biguy617]

There is a finale episode on KZbin. It does well at wrapping up the show.

[@QueenViolet8]

I loved this series ❤ I never missed watching it and bought the dvd collection 😮 I had no idea there was a car commercial with these characters you need to see it😂😂

[@hamhockbeans]

I also have the complete dvd series. Sad that its final episode was never finished because it was too dark. That the kids died on the ride and they was trapped in a afterlife.

[@markbalaam9542]

It was my favourite cartoon as a kid.

[@LARKXHIN]

IF there's anything that scares Black parents, it's pop culture with imagination lol

[@Dookieman1975]

Not just black parents either. Just stupid ones. Adult versions of those kids that’ll go off nothing but rumors

[@ALT3REDB3AST]

No way this was too violent. Maybe the Satanic drama, but as far as violence, you had Hurculoids, Thundar the Barbarian Inhumanoids and a host of old/lost world shows that had a lot of fighting. No, what ended D&D and shows like it was the rise of the transforming robots and tech shows. Transformers, Gobots, Mighty Orbots, Voltron, Centurions etc.

[@renji90998]

I stumbled upon the series back when Jetix still existed. Ever since the Voltron and She-Ra remakes, I thought maybe this series will get a remake as well.

[@bearerofbadnews1375]

I hope if it does get a remake hope it turns out more like the She-Ra remake. And not like Voltron legendary defender where it started good then became bad like Gundam seed destiny bad.

[@jaysonraphaelmurdock8812]

Hopefully closer to the first He-Man reboot from 2000.

[@Dodtodt1]

Love that they put a nice homage to the toon in the new movie

[@blackmagician7645]

22:35 That unicorn was like- so long young suc-...He Left Me Here With These Abandoned Fosters!?!? Son Of A-! 😂

[@josegohan7279]

39:45 Weird… I thought I had seen a finsl episide, where Presto actually stays with the inicorn while all the kids return to their world. Maybe that was the fan-made video.

[@keldorthebluemack]

I thought they all stayed but you're probably right.Deep down I think he was the chosen one even though he was the one who failed the most

[@myfavoritecolorisrage]

I watched this as a kid. I certainly wouldn't call it mature or overly violent. But some stories were surprising good. City at the Edge of Midnight was one of the scarier stories, as being pulled under your bed by slavery demons would scare any kid. Dragon's Graveyard was probably the best episode since it answered a timeless question. You have to remember, kids in the 1980s watched things like Gilligan's Island. And questions like "why don't they kill Gilligan to escape the island?" were common in school lunchrooms. So having these young kids actually plan a murder, no matter the price, was a zeitgeist moment. I always thought the reason Hank didn't kill Venger was because he realized Bobby, the youngest kid, was the only one who wanted to do it. But killing Venger wouldn't accomplish anything because they'd lose the Dungeon Master's help, they'd have no chance of finding a portal home on their own, and Bobby would become a psychopath. Imagine a cartoon teaching kids murder has consequences?

[@Zentron]

Lol, what toys? There was none, the first toys we've ever got based on the show only got released this very year 😂 The pilot episode was actually a rush job, they basically had weeks to get it written. Speaking of the fan produced final ep, Katie Leigh, the voice of Sheila in the show, came back and did her voice, as well as Bobby for it.

[@robert_bbiii]

I credit my parents for not falling for the panic and saw it was just a game. It was a cool cartoon in an age when many didn't get more than a season

[@keldorthebluemack]

Fun Fact: Same voice actor for Optimus Prime in Transformers did the voice for Venger on D&D.He said he would never voice another character like that again bcuz he was too evil

[@StreetsofATL_19]

Peter Cullen did the voice of not only Optimus Prime from Transformers but Vader from Dungeons and Dragons! 😂. P.S. He did the voice of Mario in Donkey Kong, too!😂

[@jahigains9201]

Well after that rousing endorsement, I might have to give this a chance

[@MooneShadow]

They show up in the new dungeons and Dragons movie. I almost flipped when I saw this!

[@dillbert4084]

What??! 😱

[@MooneShadow]

@@dillbert4084 yeah the new movie is outstanding. It's not overt at first but the entire team is there. And to put them in the Forgotten Realms setting was just an amazing Easter egg. My inner child was screaming while my 13 year old was like "What? What did I miss?"

[@barrythompson7336]

Yeah I literally screamed at the screen when I saw them. I don't think they made it out. Lol

[@danielramsey6141]

What’s fun about that Cameo is that Gary Gygax wanted a nod to them in his D&D movie as well. It’s just sad that the other head of TSR f’ed him over 😢 So I’m glad that there was ALOT of thought placed into the current movie.

[@brianng8350]

Spoiler! People should see it for themselves and be pleasantly surprised…. Wished they had a speaking role or just Uni making noise… haha…

[@richardmark9161]

MAZES & MONSTERS for a Bad Movie Roast 🔥 🎞️

[@jaymz010]

37:59 Yeah, I remember that episode. Something about The Dragon’s Graveyard - A reality where the kids weapons are stronger than in the main realm. So they all band together & manage to defeat & nearly kill Venger. They also find out that Venger & Dungeon Master are related. Which is kinda messed-up. This sweet old man got these kids to essentially settle a family grudge

[@barrythompson7336]

The dragon is Tiamat the mother of evil dragons. God I'm such a NERD. 😊

[@danielramsey6141]

We all are my friend :)

[@trikeonabike4949]

^This is the comment I was looking for lol. And you're not alone 😅

[@keldorthebluemack]

So the dragon was a she and I thought Tiamat was neither good or bad

[@barrythompson7336]

@@keldorthebluemack Tiamat is a she and is EXTREMELY evil. I should clarify. Each one of her heads is a specific color (red, green, black, white, and blue) representing a specific colored dragon species. They all see her as the progenitor of their race, but hate and fear her.

[@kaind.badguy]

I watched this when it was first aired and wasn’t really interested in it. I randomly decided to watch it a few years ago and loved it.

[@LeckyBarnacles]

That revenge episode was great. There’s also a big reveal in that ep that was supposed to be in the finale

[@Littlestar201285]

wow, if they said that about d&d before, I wonder what they would say when "vampire: the masquerade" came out

[@SteinarrBattlefist]

I mean, Call of Cthulhu came out around the same time as this cartoon, give or take a couple years.

[@brianng8350]

The show was well written. Even the 1st episode with the hair/hare was a fun bit as a kid. And glad you mentioned the Dragon’s Graveyard episode. The animation was done by the same people as Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends as well as some of the voice actors.

[@discantuz]

Never watched a better cartoon than this full of magic realms weapons cool monster and adventures hope they get their own movie

[@cashewnuttel9054]

Someone put these on their next Bad Movie Roast list: - The Happening, - Lady in the Water, - The Nutcracker in 3D (2010)

[@dillbert4084]

My absolute favorite 80s cartoon. I hope they picked a good episode.

[@blackmagician7645]

26:59 That's some Jurassic World dinosaur slaying gymnastics right there.

[@Mantis_AB]

Have you guys done a David the Gnome Retro Cartoon Review yet? Would love to see your review on it

[@guthax30]

This is just a theory: I think satanic panic has to do with not just those sensationalized news stories about murder but also the name of the game itself. “Dungeon”. A word most parents only heard in relation to torture. “Dragon” is actually a biblical term associated with evil. Probably also a trigger word for those wacko parents…

[@christopherjones8448]

Nope it's specifically the presence of wizards, I grew up in a Christian home that banned this, Yugioh, harry potter, lord of the rings and anything similar to it. Usually what would happen is one parent specifically would come in some time after the thing got popular and say "This has witchcraft in it!" and point out the wizard character and that property was then added to the ban list. They also banned pokemon because apparently saying "Pika pikachu" is the equivalent of speaking tongues and thus evil Me and the kids at school played/watched the stuff anyway, actually I remember becoming the cool kid in elementary school because I was the only one who could draw reasonably well, so the other kids payed me like a dollar per card or something like that to recreate yugioh cards on flash cards which we had a special hiding place for. So imagine just a bunch of 7 year olds with shittily drawn black and white yugioh cards with misspelled abilities trying to imitate anime characters and you get the gist of it lol

[@guthax30]

@@christopherjones8448 Kinda long-winded response lol but sure yeah the "wizard" thing. i grew up with...whatever those people are called church of latter day retards or whatever and they wouldn't let their kids read harry potter either. i'll read the rest of this novel later ✌️

[@dnice4145]

I loved this show. Too bad kids today no longer have the institution of Saturday morning cartoons.

[@brianng8350]

Now cartoon is 24/7…. 😮😂. Spoiled.

[@treyblack3751]

@@brianng8350 Plus, parents groups kept pushing for more educational shows and actually managed to get that regulated…

[@EdgeO419]

Why was child kidnapping such a staple of 80's and 90's cartoons?

[@danielramsey6141]

God is so strange huh…

[@PeterZeeke]

Absolute classic series. Bring it back

[@benderchump]

The cartoon kids cameo in the movie.the toys just came out 40 years later this year.

[@trikeonabike4949]

I swear they could've used that opportunity to have them actually go back home in the after credit scene, with the theme music...

[@Stablemable2]

As a kid I just kept thinking that Eric was voiced by Ralph Malph from Happy Days. Eric reminds me of a Han Solo type. The other cast from Eight is Enough tv show. Peter Cullen is from every 80s cartoon.

[@Fenris30]

Last episode was actually finished, Animation and all. It's pretty cool. Choked me up. it's on KZbin.

[@wtk6069]

It's a fan project based on the unproduced script, but it does a petty good job of providing closure. It's well done!

[@MsBroadway209]

Is a review for the new D&D coming? I saw it last night and really liked it. Interested to see what you guys think

[@brianng8350]

Probably in my top 5 movie so far this year. Really enjoyed it.

[@elijaharvinger1178]

Michelle Rodriguez ruins anything she's in

[@trikeonabike4949]

I enjoyed it very much, especially the 'easter egg' ;-)

[@bluray76]

Hell yeah. This is childhood right here. Love this cartoon. Yes Dragons Graveyard is the best episode because they were frustrated and wanted to end venger. Also the girl who dreamed of tomorrow. Where another girl from their time comes to the realm and in the end basically tells the kids they will go home. Such a great show. 80’s show forever.

[@keldorthebluemack]

I think the last episode that never aired they decided to stay and fight evil.Venger turned good again bcuz spoiler alert . . . He was Dungeon Masters son and that was the reason the kids were brought there to try and bring him back to the good side of the force as Luke Skywalker would say.Venger only turned evil bcuz of his lust for power and made a deal with that creature they were talking about who looked like green goblin

[@blackmagician7645]

2:53 Risque fantasy wardrobe for kids. Though later- Disney will have a sixteen year old teen girl wearing nothing but a clamshell bra top.😂

[@thebossrayden]

Swore you reviewed this already too

[@blackmagician7645]

Hey, sleep is important. I understand where this dragon fella's angst is coming from.😄

[@ROLLINTHUNDERNUMBER1]

The guy who voiced Eric was Ralph mouth from the tv series Happy Days

[@Shadoestar]

I watched this as a kid back in the 80s. I caught episodes of it on Cartoon Network in the mid-2000s and was surprised at how well it held up.

[@adralestosdragonrider8759]

Recently they animated the last episode. It is called ‘Requiem’ it can be found on youtube

[@panthazt29]

I love this show. In my top 5 favorite cartoons of all time.

[@dandrelewis814]

Awesome Cartoon Loved this As A Kid...

[@04m11]

Peter Cullen is the voice of Venger and Don Most from Happy Days voiced Eric

[@chyannaturner9110]

I remember this cartoon!!! It was the last one to come on Saturday morning!! I remember one episode were they almost made it home, I swear it was on one week and then gone the next!!

[@RiakeemKelley]

Did you all review the new movie? I've seen it now and went to look for it but couldn't find it

[@ItsTheFizz]

You could make a case that this show was the very first Isekai anime...

[@JohahnDiechter]

Alice in Wonderland is quite a bit older than this cartoon.

[@blackmagician7645]

If the scantily clad teenage girl outfits get to you here. Just remember. Sailor Moon and her sailor scout friends were 14.

[@kinglord7707]

I want to see you guys do 8 seasons of Voltron next in the 80s Voltron is that show!!!! 😂😂😂

[@jazzigems26]

Watched this show as a kid, never played dnd so the dm irritated the hell out of me. Now playing it, I get it.😂

[@Night-Mayor]

There's an Easter egg in the new Dungeons and Dragons movie during the area battle. I think a lot of the fans are going to be geeking out about it. 🤓

[@brianng8350]

Spoiler! But it was fun seeing them on the big screen even if it is just a gag.

[@trikeonabike4949]

I legit gasped when I saw it!

[@melbagarcia-ventura]

I loved this show, it played on Toon Disney so I got to watch the re runs

[@P.E.NumberOne]

I keep confusing this with Defenders of the Earth

[@JohnSmith-fm3pn]

A young tom Hanks losing his mind in the satanic panic d&d hit piece Mazes and Monsters ( 1982 ) couldn't be more toastable

[@calvomedia8427]

Taimak is a female right? It's been a long time. One OF my favorite cartoons. Good video DD.

[@christopherjones8448]

Well according to google-fu she is named after the Goddess of the same name from Mesopotamian mythology, so yes she is a female

[@iamtheworm1327]

Love the video 😅😂

[@adampellett4917]

I hope Paramount and Nickelodeon should’ve continuing their franchise with a new cartoon reboot to make more adventures even trying to get back home.

[@Silencer3121]

@Lenin Dominguez There's a new Dungeons and Dragons movie out now.

[@shumworld]

What episode is Korey talking about with the green monster?

[@blackmagician7645]

😮Wait- Willie Aames was Hank? Buddy from Charles In Charge? Bible man!?!! 😂Yep. We can diffidently say-. Religious witch hunt definitely got to this show at the time. And Peter Cullen. The voice of Optimus Prime himself.

[@darkwolf4830]

They needed to make this live action or the concept of get stuck in the game like Jumonji.

[@jarrodedson5441]

When u guys gonna review the new DND film

[@blackmagician7645]

The man with white hair. Holding a white rabbit- or white hare. Ha...ha....ha.

[@blackmagician7645]

I'd like to impose a dark theory on how the ride ended them up into the fantasy world of Dungeons and Dragons universe. The coaster malfunctioned and they all died. This is a version of after life dimension. Where they are fated to spend the rest of eternity. There, I provided an explanation. If you don't like it- don't cast spells on me.😂

[@torchwood00]

i loved Dungeons & Dragons cartoon