Princess Gwenevere and the Jewel Riders

Princess Gwenevere and the Jewel Riders, also known outside of North America as Starla & the Jewel Riders and sometimes spelled as the more traditionally Arthurian "Guinevere", is an American fantasy animated television series aimed at a pre-teen girl audience and produced by Bohbot Entertainment in association with Hong Ying Animation Company Limited. It was internationally syndicated by Bohbot on their syndicated Amazin' Adventures block, where it originally ran from 1995 to 1996, with two seasons and twenty-six episodes.

The series follows the titular protagonist, Princess Gwenevere of Avalon, and her fellow Jewel Riders, Fallon and Tamara, in their quest to find the seven lost enchanted jewels and stop the evil sorceress Lady Kale from conquering Avalon. In the second season, the Jewel Riders gain new powers and fight against Kale and new enemy Morgana as they search for more magical jewels in order to rescue their banished mentor, Merlin, and restore harmony in magic.

The series bears similarities to The Adventures of the Galaxy Rangers, as they had the same creator and director, Robert Mandell, as well as some writers in common, notably Christopher Rowley. The series was initially planned to be an adaptation of Dragonriders of Pern and came in the wake of Bohbot's earlier take on the Arthurian legends, King Arthur and the Knights of Justice.

In the 2000s, the series was rebooted as the novel series Avalon: Web of Magic. In 2023, a sequel comic was announced by Mad Cave Studios. Its first volume was released in May 2024.

Premise
The series is set on the legendary island of Avalon, where mystical jewels help their users cast spells, and whose inhabitants include several characters from Arthurian legend, such as Merlin and the Lady of the Lake. It is threatened by unstable "wild magic", which comes from another dimension also known as Wild Magic and is kept in check by the Crown Jewels of the Kingdom, which each represent a realm of Avalon. The story takes place a thousand years after Merlin's initial victory over the evil queen Morgana and her dark wizards. The eponymous Jewel Riders are an order of magical guardians of the city of New Camelot who, mentored by Merlin and aided by their magic animals, have defended the realm and its people for centuries, with each generation bequeathing their jewels to the next generation. When a new evil threatens Avalon and Merlin suddenly disappears, the current generation of Jewel Riders is tasked with recovering the scattered Crown Jewels and containing wild magic before it gets out of control.

The latest incarnation of the group consists of its leader, the 16-year-old Princess Gwenevere, a distant descendant of King Arthur's wife, Queen Guinevere, who was named after her, and her friends Fallon and Tamara. In addition to granting them powers, their personal jewels allow them to safely traverse the tunnels of Wild Magic and communicate with their Special Friends, magic animals who wear a jewel identical to that of their rider. They are often aided by the Pack, a trio of wolf-riding knights of Avalon who wield the Forest Stones. Together, they fight against the evil Lady Kale, the former princess of Avalon who wields dark magic and seeks to command all magic and rule the kingdom. An emphasis is placed on the "power of friendship", which allows the Jewel Riders to overcome evil and befriend some of their enemies. In the second season, the threat to Avalon is not yet over, as the Jewel Riders battle not only Kale, but also Morgana. Instead of the Crown Jewels, they search for another set of magical jewels while battling the forces of darkness and containing the growing chaos in magic.

First season
Princess Gwenevere, the daughter of the rulers of Avalon, Queen Anya and King Jared, is being prepared by Merlin for the ceremony in which she will receive the Sun Stone, one of the Enchanted Jewels, and meet her magic animal, who will bond with it. This will allow her to become the new leader of the Jewel Riders along with Tamara and Fallon, who wield the Heart Stone and Moon Stone, respectively. Meanwhile, the sorceress Lady Kale, Queen Anya's power-hungry sister who was banished after being denied the Sun Stone, plans to steal Merlin's Crown Jewels and use their magic to conquer Avalon. She finds a mysterious jewel of dark magic, which she names the Dark Stone, and uses it to banish Merlin to Wild Magic. However, in an effort to prevent her from using the Jewels' power, he sends them back to where they came from, scattering them throughout the kingdom and beyond. However, without the Jewels, magic becomes unstable and goes out of control, causing dangerous outbreaks until they can be gathered, which the Jewel Riders learn may also be the only way to free Merlin from Wild Magic.

Gwenevere successfully completes her Sun Stone bonding ceremony with Sunstar, a flying unicorn she rescues from Lady Kale's castle. The story then follows the adventures of the Jewel Riders as they search for the Crown Jewels while dealing with outbreaks of wild magic. The seven Crown Jewels are the Jewel of the North Woods, the Rainbow Jewel, the Jewel of the Burning Ice, the Misty Rose Jewel, the Desert Star Jewel, the Jewel of the Dreamfields, and the Jewel of the Jungle. The Jewel Riders must find them before Kale does in order to save Merlin and Avalon.

In the season finale, Lady Kale seizes control of the Jewel Keep at the Crystal Palace and overthrows Anya, unleashing dark magic onto Avalon and stripping the Jewel Riders of their powers. She then seeks out Merlin to finish him off and become queen, but he uses his remaining power to pull her into Wild Magic, allowing the Riders to release the hidden magic of the Crystal Palace, which is revealed to be an Enchanted Jewel. Kale attempts to absorb the powers of the Crown Jewels, but is destroyed. As the Riders celebrate their victory, they discover that the Crown Jewels have been tuned to their Enchanted Jewels, allowing them to channel the magic of Avalon. Merlin also appears to congratulate them, informing them that he sacrificed his staff jewel so that Kale could be defeated and that without it, he will be lost to Wild Magic.

Second season
While Lady Kale is defeated and Avalon is at peace, Merlin is still trapped in Wild Magic and the kingdom is not yet safe, as outbreaks of wild magic continue and, without Merlin's jewel, they have lost a chance of solving the magic crisis. However, the Jewel Riders gain new and more powerful magic from the Crown Jewels, allowing them to deal with the outbreaks. Meanwhile, Kale's Dark Stone is summoned to a floating palace, where she re-materializes and meets her rescuer: the legendary enchantress Morgana, the creator and original wielder of the Dark Stone. A millennium ago, she led the ancient wizards against Merlin but failed and, having lost her jewel, has been trapped in Wild Magic since. United by their mutual hatred of Merlin and his followers, the two decide to join forces, and Morgana sends Kale to Avalon in search of the Wizard Jewels in preparation for her return.

As the Jewel Riders search for the Wizard Jewels, they fight against Kale, who has her own agenda and seeks the Jewels for herself while working for Morgana, who wants to use their magic to conquer Avalon. The seven Wizard Jewels, not counting the Dark Stone, are the Unicorn Jewel, the Jewel of Arden, the Garden Jewel, the Jewel of the Sea, the Time Stone, and the Fortune Jewel. Soon, Tamara gains a magic animal for herself; the otherworldly unicorn Shadowsong.

In the final battle between the Riders and Kale and Morgana at the Heart of Avalon and then at the Heart of Wild Magic, Gwenevere is given the magic Staff of Avalon by the Lady of the Lake, the Spirit of Avalon, allowing her to defeat her a second time. The Riders and their allies then unite to fight Morgana, and Gwenevere fuses the Dark Stone with the Sun Stone and obtains the One Jewel, which is forged from the Wizard Jewels. A restored Merlin uses it to destroy Morgana and the ancient wizards' ghosts, after which the Riders and their friends reunite with Merlin and return home.

Jewel Riders
The Jewel Riders consist of Gwenevere (Starla in the Starla version), Fallon, and Tamara, who each possess an Enchanted Jewel, a special magical gemstone that grants them powers and allows them to communicate with their magic animal.


 * Princess Gwenevere (voiced by Kerry Butler in the first season and Jean Louisa Kelly in the second season) is the daughter of the rulers of Avalon, Queen Anya and King Jared, and its destined future queen, who is adventurous and romantic. She is the current leader of the Jewel Riders and wields the royal Sun Stone, which gives her powers of light and goodness. Her magic animal is the winged unicorn Sunstar (voiced by Deborah Allison).


 * Fallon (voiced by Deborah Allison) is a member of the Jewel Riders and Gwenevere's bodyguard, who is tomboyish and practical. She wields the Moon Stone, which gives her powers of movement and illusion. Her magic animal is the unicorn Moondance (voiced by Barbara Jean Kearney).


 * Tamara (voiced by Laura Dean) is a member of the Jewel Riders, who is empathetic and spiritual and a longtime close friend of Fallon. She wields the Heart Stone, which gives her the ability to talk to animals as well as healing powers and magical music. In the second season, she pairs with the "zebracorn" Shadowsong (voiced by Henry Mandell).

Allies

 * Merlin (voiced by Bob Kaliban), is a wizard who serves as a mentor to the Jewel Riders. After Kale banishes him to Wild Magic, the Jewel Riders search for the Crown Jewels to save him and Avalon, and his talking owl familiar, Archimedes (voiced by John Beach 'Voiceguy'), becomes their companion.
 * The Wolf Pack is a trio of knights of the Crystal Palace, who wield the Forest Stones and serve as allies to the Riders. They are led by Drake (voiced by John Beach), who Gwenevere has a crush on and who rides the wolf Thunderbolt. Its other members are Josh (voiced by Bob Kaliban) and Max (voiced by Peter Fernandez), whose wolves are Stormrunner and Windwalker, respectively.
 * Queen Anya (voiced by Corinne Orr) and King Jared (voiced by Bob Kaliban) are the rulers of Avalon and Gwenevere's parents. Anya was previously a wielder of the Sun Stone, while Jared was the previous leader of the Wolf Pack and wields a Forest Stone.
 * Ian (voiced by Bob Kaliban) is a man-wolf prince of the Forest of Arden who falls in love with Gwenevere and becomes her devoted champion and second romantic interest after Drake.

Villains

 * Lady Kale (voiced by Corinne Orr) is Gwenevere's aunt and Anya's twin sister, who wields the Dark Stone. She is an "outlaw princess" who believes she is the rightful heir to the throne, a position which was "stolen" from her after Merlin chose Anya to be queen. She was once Merlin's prodigy student and would-be Jewel Rider, but was denied the Sun Stone and then banished for plotting against him and Anya. After being defeated at the end of the first season, she is revived and teams up with Morgana to find the Wizard Jewels while having her own agenda to use their power for herself. She has her own bonded magic animals, the dragon Grimm (voiced by Peter Fernandez) and a duo of mischievous dragon-weasel creatures, brothers Rufus and Twig (voiced by John Beach and Henry Mandell, respectively). She also has human servants, including a gang known as the Outlaws.
 * Queen Morgana (voiced by Deborah Allison), is an enchantress who was the creator and original wielder of the Dark Stone. A millennium ago, she led the ancient wizards against Merlin but failed and, having lost her jewel, has been trapped in Wild Magic since. After Kale is revived and teams up with her, they fight against the Jewel Riders together, but secretly plot to betray each other.
 * The ancient wizards were wizards who allied with Morgana against Merlin. Among them, the most notable is Derek, who sides with Merlin against Morgana.

Development
Princess Gwenevere and the Jewel Riders was produced by the New York-based studios New Frontier Entertainment and Enchanted Camelot Productions for Bohbot Productions (later BKN) in 1995. The series was produced by much of the team behind the late 1980s science fiction cartoon The Adventures of the Galaxy Rangers, including the creator, co-writer and main director of both shows, Robert Mandell, after a long development process. Despite a similar theme and title, there are no connections with King Arthur and the Knights of Justice, which was Bohbot Entertainment's other Arthurian-inspired cartoon series that was produced in 1992–1993. It was originally supposed to be a cartoon adaptation of the Dragonriders of Pern series of fantasy novels by Anne McCaffrey but eventually went in a different direction. The project was renamed repeatedly in the course of its development, including to Enchanted Jewel Riders sometime in late 1994 or early 1995 and Princess Guinevere & Her Jewel Adventures in March 1995, before ultimately becoming Princess Gwenevere and the Jewel Riders (which was again retitled as Starla & the Jewel Riders for the export version). One of the several work-in-progress titles for the show was Enchanted Camelot, which was acquired as such in March 1994 by LIVE Entertainment (along with Skysurfer Strike Force and Highlander: The Animated Series). Enchanted Camelot had some major differences in its character design. The August 1994 draft script for the pilot episode of Enchanted Camelot ("Enchanted Quest", which would become "Jewel Quest") has been different in many aspects.

According to The Buffalo News, "the production team intended for the Jewel Riders to serve as positive role models for girls." Bohbot's press kit for the series described it as "classic story-telling," incorporating "strong themes of friendship, teamwork, responsibility and conflict resolution." Each episode was constructed as an animated minimusical. The animation work on the series was done in Taipei, Taiwan by Hong Ying Animation Company Limited; one of the show's character designers was the future Emmy Award winner Rob Davies. The overall design was done by Jane Abbot, with Billy Zeats and Greg Autore serving as art directors. Enrico Casarosa was one of the storyboard artists. It was the first series scored by Louis Fagenson; though the French version's soundtrack was the work of Julie Zenatti. The show's CGI effects were created by Ian Tetrault in Autodesk 3ds Max and Adobe After Effects. The actress for Gwenevere/Starla was changed for the second season because Kerry Butler had to go to Canada for the musical Beauty and the Beast.

The show was not renewed for 1997, but a third season was rumored in 1998. The series' art director Greg Autore said about the making of the second season in 1995: "Bohbot wanted European distribution which required 26 [episodes]. So they made the next 13. They would have made more but were waiting to see how it succeeded. When the second set of episodes was turned on, the only two directions to start with were – 1) Search for wild magic jewels since the first set was all found 2) Use Morgana as the ultimate villainess instead of Lady Kale. Fortunately, director Robert Mandell was open to many of my suggestions. That second season had many episodes that grew from my concepts and a very rough storyline suggestion. Since the second season were not yet written and were rushed into production, this was where I had the most fun. Instead of just translating the characters and creating new fashions, I was free to create many new powers and adventures for the show. While I had input on many of the first episodes, I was now creating the basic storylines for entire episodes. Robert always had Morgana in the back of his head as a villainess he wanted to do. Now we could break out and expand the world of Avalon in different ways."

Broadcast
The series was first broadcast in the United States in 1995–1996 on Bohbot Entertainment's "Amazin'! Adventures" block, had U.S. coverage of 80% and aired on 106 stations. Internationally, it has been shown in more than 130 countries in the Starla version. It was acquired by Fox Kids Europe in 2000 (Fox Kids UK had aired it in 1996 before the rest of Fox Kids Europe in 2000).

Release
There have been four VHS releases in America by Family Home Entertainment in January 1996 covering only part of the first season and consisting of Jewel Quest (episodes "Jewel Quest Part 1" and "Jewel Quest Part 2"), Wizard's Peak ("Wizard's Peak" and "Travel Trees Can't Dance") and For Whom the Bell Trolls ("For Whom the Bell Trolls" and "The Faery Princess"), followed by Full Circle ("Revenge of the Dark Stone" and "Full Circle") in July 1996. Leading up to the release date, Hasbro and Toys 'R' Us offered an episode from the program on video for free with the pre-order purchase of a related toy. The UK (Carlton Video 1997), Serbian (Vidcom 1996, "Prizor" dub) and French (Warner Home Video 2000) VHS releases include some episodes from the second season.

In 2005, the rights for the DVD retail in the United States and Canada were given to Digiview Entertainment, which has reserved the right to release the show on DVD. They announced plans to release the first two volumes in 2006 and subsequent volumes over the course of the next year. However, the only DVD released by Digiview was Wizard's Peak, containing the first five episodes of the show and available in Wal-Mart stores. Though it says "Princess Gwenevere & the Jewel Riders" on the cover, the show on the DVD is the international version (Starla & the Jewel Riders); in the case of both the cover and the show itself, the Starla-style title fonts (similar to the title fonts in Gargoyles) are used in the logo, and the disc appears to be region-free. The complete first season was released on DVD in France in 2008 dubbed into French. The series was also released on DVD in Serbia in 2007 and 2008 with a Serbian dub. Pidax Film released the German dub together with the English original on DVD in 2021.

In 2008–2009, the series was available to be watched for free in a streaming media form on the Lycos Cinema service and later Kidlet.tv; while it was titled as Princess Gwenevere and the Jewel Riders, it was actually the Starla version. In 2009, the show was also made freely available for users of the Internet service SyncTV (available online from the browser for the American users and downloadable for watching for the others). In 2011, the Starla version became available for streaming through Netflix for the users in the United States, expanded to the entire first season in 2012. The first two episodes ("Jewel Quest") have been put on YouTube by 41 Entertainment, a new company founded by the producer Allan J. Bohbot. In 2018, most of the episodes have been released in high quality and wide aspect ratio through the subscription service Watch It Kid!. It has been since also made available on other streaming platforms, including Apple TV, Amazon Prime Video, Tubi, and PeacockTV.

Merchandise
According to Robert Mandell, the show was originally commissioned by Hasbro through reverse toyetic to accompany their line of toys (albeit only in the form of vague outline and the creators developed the plot and the characters). However, according to Variety, Bohbot "took the Princess Gwenevere concept to Hasbro Toys, which after extensive market research, put itself enthusiastically behind the project, collaborating in equal partnership with Bohbot on the development of the property." A national "Watch and Win" contest in February 1996 offered viewers the opportunity to win Princess Gwenevere videos and toys if they mailed in the correct code words from the show. The Hasbro/Kenner toy line had two series of action figures for girls ages 4 and up. The first series contains Princess Gwenevere (Starla), Sun Power Gwenevere, Tamara, Fallon, Drake, Lady Kale, Sunstar, and Moondance; and the second series contains Deluxe Princess Gwenevere (Starla), Deluxe Tamara, and Deluxe Fallon. According to Time to Play, the action figures' sales "bombed". In the fall of 1996, Hasbro planned to reintroduce revamped versions of the figures as well as new characters from the animated series. The toys had a television advertising campaign featuring a 30-second commercial.

Other merchandise included a series of collectible trading cards released by the Upper Deck Company in 1996, a "play-a-sound" children's illustrated sound book by Nancy L. McGill based on the first two episodes and published by Publications International that same year, Panini Group collectible stickers, a makeup kit, Happy Meal and Long John Silver's premium toys, lunchboxes, clothing items, and such. There were unrealized plans to produce a video game adaptation and the series' theme song was included on Mastermix's TV SETS CD 14.

Ratings
Princess Gwenevere and the Jewel Riders was reported to be "struggling with a 0.6 national Nielsen rating among girls 2–11" in 1995. Bohbot hoped heavy promotion of the merchandise products would raise awareness of the show. Nevertheless, it was the most popular of the first-run cartoon series in the 1995 edition of Bohbot's "Amazin' Adventures II" weekend syndicated package. Daily Herald reported it was "the number one syndicated television show in the U.S. among girls 6 to 11" in 1996. It was reported that Starla became "a huge hit" when it was shown in France. First broadcast there in April 1996, it reached the top of the channel France 3's ratings in children's time slots with a 77.6% market share average, proving "that action, knights and fantastic stories work very well with boys, too."

Critical reception
The show's critical reception has been mixed and highly divisive. According to Video Librarian, "a cross between She-Ra: Princess of Power and the saccharine My Little Pony, the Princess Gwenevere and the Jewel Riders series is standard Saturday morning cartoon fodder." Scott Moore of The Buffalo News compared the "underwhelming" Princess Gwenevere to the "overhyped" Sailor Moon. Retrospectively, Rob Bricken of Topless Robot ranked Princess Gwenevere fifth on his 2009 list of "most ridiculous" adaptations of Arthurian legend, commenting that shows like that "were clearly made to take advantage of a small, low-aiming school of girl-oriented action cartoons, but it ultimately lost out to a slightly more tolerable Japanese import."

In Arthurian Legends on Film and Television, Bert Olton opined that "Princess Gwenevere and the Jewel Riders combines all the worst elements of minimalist cartooning, modern commercialism and vacuous storytelling with a tiny portion of Arthurian legend." In The Middle Ages in Popular Culture: Medievalism and Genre, Clare Bradford and Rebecca Hutton described it as "a disappointing production that is markedly sexist and racist with only tenuous links to the Arthuriad." Kathleen Richter of Ms. called the show "so sexist and racist" for how it has "the powerful female figure demonized as evil and the main character blonde and blue-eyed."

On the other hand, Samantha Kelly of Manchester Metro News called it as "a real gem" of a fairy tale style good-versus-evil story for young girls, who in her opinion would strongly identify with its beautiful royal heroine on her quest against the menace of Lady Kale, praising the show as "full of action and fantasy" and featuring "excellent" character animation. Bustle's Lucia Peters wrote, "Princess Gwenevere and the Jewel Riders followed a pretty classic 'special kid and special friends have awesome powers and must defeat the forces of darkness' format. The fact that it met at the intersection of horses, sparkly things, and girl power, though, means that it holds a special place in many '90s kids' hearts." In King Arthur in America, authors Alan and Barbara Lupack that the show, "with its strong female heroine, is interesting in part because it is designed primarily for girls." In Adapting the Arthurian Legends for Children, Barbara Lupack added that it successfully "translated the Arthurian story into an idiom easily accessible to preteen female viewers and (...) appealed to its young audience." Retrospectively, France's Fun Radio included it among the 14 "probably the best" cartoons of the 1990s as "one of the quintessential girl series".

Contrary to above mentioned criticism of perceived sexism and racism by some, some others noted the show for its positive values for its intended audience. Keith Busby remarked in Arthurian Literature that "the series appeals to young girls and teaches them the values of friendship." According to Billboard, the plot of this "popular" series, "specifically targeting young girls", features "life lessons to be learned along the way, and the program in general promotes brains over brawn." Syfy's Brittany Vincent wrote about how this "pleasant and kitschy relic of the past" had been a "perfect fodder for young girls like me looking for strong women and heroes to imitate."

Legacy
Natoo's jewel line Joyau Magique (Magic Jewel) was inspired by Jewel Riders, her favourite childhood cartoon.

Spiritual sequel
In 2001, author Rachel Roberts began writing her contemporary fantasy book series Avalon: Web of Magic loosely based on the show and borrowing various concepts and names (including even some of the episode titles), as well as lyrics from some of the songs used in Jewel Riders. As of 2012, the series consists of 12 novels, as well as the three-volume graphic novel adaptation, titled Avalon: The Warlock Diaries. A film adaptation of Avalon: Web of Magic was announced in 2012, but was never released. An Avalon animated series project was revealed in 2017.

Sequel
In 2023, nearly three decades after the end of the television series, licensed Princess Gwenevere & the Jewel Riders graphic novels were announced to be released by the Mad Cave Studios imprint Maverick. According to the cartoon's executive producer and copyright holder Allen Bohbot from 41 Entertainment, they are going "to reflect a modern take of the Arthurian legends with a more dramatized version [and] will target an older audience," and it "may well serve as a foundation of story and design content for potential new YA animated project."

The comic series, written by Jordie Bellaire and illustrated by Koi Carreon, began with Volume 1 published on 28 May 2024. It is a sequel to the animated series: "While the girls remain friends, things are not as they once were. Gwenevere - once the leader of the Jewel Riders - has had to take a step back from her true passion, being a Jewel Rider and protecting Avalon from evil, in order to step into a new role as the future queen. Fallon, holder of the Moon Stone now leads the Pack--an elite group of Avalon's protectors, a role once held by Gwen's fiance. Tamara trains under Merlin to better harness the power of her Heart Stone, but wonders where she--and her powers--truly belong. When Merlin begins acting oddly, it's a sign that evil Wild Magic has returned to the kingdom--and so has a foe the Jewel Riders thought they'd once vanquished. With her kingdom, friends, and magic on the line, Gwenevere must choose between the life she loves and knows as a Jewel Rider and her newfound duties." The art in the series is more manga-esque.

According to Kirkus Reviews, the "story captures the animated television series’ essence while making subtle contemporary updates (...) There’s an unmistakable positivity to the narrative, which encourages openness and demonstrates that vulnerability isn’t always a weakness. (...) Sparkling characters highlight this diverting illustrated fantasy tale."

Other sources

 * Enchanted Jewel Riders Show Bible.
 * Full Production Credits at NYTimes.com.
 * Jewel Riders at Super3 channel's website.
 * Kevin J. Harty, King Arthur on Film: New Essays on Arthurian Cinema, 1999, p. 224.