With The Legend of Zelda TV series being a common target of criticism amongst many fans of the game franchise, the idea of Nintendo having a lack of involvement in the direction of the show may not be too surprising to some.
In our ongoing retrospective series of the cartoon, however, you’ll see that I’m generally rather fond of it, and if Nintendo truly had no involvement in the series’ direction, then I’m even more impressed at what the team behind it achieved.
In a 2012 interview with UK gaming publication Pixel Nation, Link’s voice actor, Jonathan Potts, explains how the team behind the TV series had little to no supervision from the official source. “To my recollection, there was never a visit from anyone at Nintendo.”
The resources given to them were quite limited, and the actors were also restricted in what they could contribute to the show’s direction. “We were given notes on how the game worked,” Potts says, “but it was only to help us understand the magical effects employed — to make the performance better. The only input I had on the show was regarding the voice of Link.”
On the topic of Link’s voice, Potts also touched on the cultural impact following the character’s infamous “excuse me, princess” catchphrase. “The snotty-nosed, indignation was all me. At the time it was just another line in the show. Sure, it was a catchphrase, but I never imagined it would gain momentum like it has. I’ve seen the video on YouTube that has me saying it over and over about 40 times.”
While Potts wasn’t surprised at the show’s cancellation, he sounds enthusiastic about the idea of a revival. “I wasn’t shocked that the show ended. I’d be more shocked if they brought the show back. I could do it too – I still sound young!”
You can read the full interview with Jonathan Potts and Cynthia Preston (Zelda’s voice actress) in the first issue of Pixel Nation, with the Kindle edition available to purchase on Amazon.
