In our “2020 Twenty Questions” special interview with singer, musician, and URBAN Magazine’s Editor In Chief Dakari Eli, she told us one of her two favorite cartoon characters was Lion Force Voltron.
A cultural phenomenon, Voltron: Defender of the Universe is an icon in animation. Adapted from Japan’s Best King GoLion, the 1984 series saw a secret force of five space explorers – Keith, Lance, Sven, Hunk, and Pidge – ordered by a federal alliance to find the mythical gladiator comprised of 5 robot lions.
Their quest brought them to planet Arus where they’d meet and eventually team up with Princess Allura. Together they battled the relentless forces of evil King Zarkon, his spoiled, egomaniacal, and Allura-obsessed son Lotor, and their robeast-creating witch Haggar.
It began as a 5-part miniseries. Zarkon’s forces launched an assault on Arus as our heroes worked urgently to retrieve Voltron’s lion body parts. Their search was eventually successful and so was the cartoon. Voltron was an immediate and enduring hit that ran for 52 episodes through ‘85.
Remarkably, the character has maintained its popularity for nearly 40 years. Its toys and merchandise remain popular with collectors and children.
The adventures of the Lion Force have been revived twice over the years. The 1998 computer animated Voltron: The Third Dimension picked up 5 years after the original series in canon and in 2016 Dreamworks Animation released complete remake Voltron: Legendary Defender. |THIS.
[By Mr. Joe Walker]
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