The Legend of Prince Valiant is an American 65-Episode Cartoon based on the Prince Valiant comic strip created by Hal Foster. Set in the time of King Arthur, it's a family-oriented adventure show about an exiled prince (voiced by Robby Benson) who goes on a quest to become one of the Knights of the Round Table. He begins his quest after having a dream about Camelot and its idealistic New Order. This television series originally aired on what was then The Family Channel from 1991 to 1993.

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Tropes:

• Adaptation Name Change: The conqueror of Thule was renamed from Sligon to Cynan.
• Berserk Button: Arthur is normally a very reasonable fellow, but betrayal of any kind enrages him. Valiant accusing Mordred of treachery is enough to get Arthur yelling, due to how long the guy has served Camelot and often saved his own life. Arthur outright orders Valiant out of the throne room for even suggesting a thing, only to later learn the truth (which in turn makes Mordred himself a button for Arthur in Season 2).
• Big Bad: The series does not have one single main villain but one for each season.
  • Cynan for Season 1. He conquered Thule and thus inadvertently was a big reason Valiant began his quest. While Valiant trains in part to one day save his homeland, Cynan proves to have designs on Camelot itself and makes his own preparations, leading to an inevitable showdown in the season's closing episodes.
  • Mordred for Season 2. After being banished for his treachery early into Season 1, he begins his own plans to take over Camelot with the New Dawn (an elaborate alliance of old and new enemies).
• Black Knight: The Villain of the Week in "The Gift" is a rogue that has been attacking everyone in the area, as well as proves more than a match for Sir Bryant and Valiant. It takes Rolf to subdue him, but at the cost of his own life.
• Black Vikings: The Ambiguously Brown Sir Bryant looks like an example of this at first, until it is explained in a centric episode that he is an exiled Moorish prince who joined King Arthur's knights after arriving in England and suffering quite a few misfortunes there too — among them the assassination of his wife and son by thieves.
• Bloodless Carnage: There is some blood, but nowhere near what would be expected from a show where most characters have bladed weapons. Justified, as this was a show on what was then the Family Channel.
• Canon Foreigner: While Valiant did have a very good friend called Arn in the comic strip (although he was a completely different character, the prince of Ord who gave Valiant his iconic sword Flamberge and who Valiant named his first-born son after), Rowanne and Sir Bryant had no counterparts in either the comic or the Arthurian legends it and the show were based on.
• Compressed Adaptation: Valiant and his family were driven out of Thule when he was a young child in the comic strip. As a result of it happening while he is a young adult in the show, it means the time in the swamp is considerably shorter.
• Dirty Coward: The rogue knight in "The Gift" talks a good game when in control of the situation, but he's a pleading mess once Rolf manages to best him and is poised to kill him. The second Rolf shows mercy and turns back is turned, the knight stabs him In the Back, only to again beg for mercy once this mortally wounded man manages to beat him back down.
• Early-Installment Weirdness: The Season 1 episode The Trap would state that Arthur and Guinevere have been married for ten years, combined with Arthur traditionally being fifteen or sixteen when he pulls the sword from the stone, would mean that they are at least in their mid-twenties at the youngest. By the second season, it was established that Arthur has been king for forty years, and both he and Guinevere are treated as being older.
• Expy: At least three characters are based on characters from the comic strip, albeit loosely:
  • Rowanne is based on Ilene whom both Valiant and Arn were in love with while in this show they both had feelings for Rowanne.
  • Bryant is based on Sir Tristram who, though not a Moor, was one of the earliest knights Valiant befriended and was often seen alongside him and Gawain.
  • Denys is based on Geoffrey, who found himself free from a cruel home and went on to be the most developed of Valiant's squires.
• Gender Flip: In contrast to his comic counterpart Sligon, Cynan is the father of a brace of sons rather than a single daughter.
• Grand Finale: Knowing that the show was going to be cancelled, the writers did an excellent job of wrapping up (most of) the plot-threads and loose ends in a four-part finale.
• The Good King: Arthur, of course. He rules fairly, has a strict code of honor, and tends to give the young charges advice about their problems.
• Guys Smash, Girls Shoot: The Power Trio is trained in all forms of weaponry, but Valiant and Arn favour melee weapons while Rowanne is an excellent shot.
• Heel–Face Turn: Duncan Draconarius, once a ruthless baron of Rowanne's hometown and an enemy of Camelot, he becomes a wise king and an ally of Camelot after seeing the tragic effect of his actions and the mercy of King Arthur.
• Karmic Death: Many villains fall to their own treachery and on two occasions (Cynan and the Baron of Lionsgate) the actions of a villainous father led to the death of his son, ending the bloodline and leaving the father broken.
• The Legend of X
• Love Triangle: Valiant, Rowanne and Arn. It later became a Love Quadrangle with the introduction of Princess Aleta. It was a Love Pentagon with Prince Michael of Northland around. This one was seriously complicated and not all that consistent. At first it's revealed that Arn and Valiant are both in love with Rowanne, who sees them both as friends. Then it's never mentioned again until Valiant falls for Aleta, whereupon Rowanne becomes jealous. Then, although the events of that episode should mean that a) Valiant knows how Rowanne feels about him and b) she knows how he feels about Aleta, that doesn't stop Rowanne thinking that Valiant is confessing love for HER, or her being surprised that he isn't. Then, whaddaya know, it turns out Rowanne KNOWS that Arn's in love with her, though there's never been any indication of this before. Then she nearly marries Michael... At the end of the series, Val and Aleta are to be married, however Rowanne chooses duty to Camelot over Michael, ending up being knighted. In the last few episodes, she is mostly seen at Arn's side, leaving their future as a pair ambiguous.
• Low Fantasy: Family Channel discouraged the show from using magic or dragons, so the show writers made the "wizards", such as Merlin, scientists and the "dragons" cannons.
• My God, What Have I Done?: Said word for word when Valiant almost killed a man.
• Nice Job Breaking It, Hero!: Once Mordred's treachery is out in the open, Arthur could've had him severely punished, but he opted for exile in all but name. Valiant questions this decision, but Arthur thought Mordred deserved at least to retain the good reputation he had achieved when he did serve with honor and that exile was a Fate Worse than Death. Come Season 2, Mordred has used his freedom and good name to start the New Dawn, posing a serious threat to Camelot.
• Nice Job Fixing It, Villain!: The witch whose son Valiant almost killed gives Valiant a potion which shows him Camelot in ruins. It is meant as revenge, but Valiant takes it as proof that Camelot really does exist, and it only fuels his desire to find and protect it.
• Not Worth Killing: Mortally wounded because a rogue knight played dirty, Rolf is admittedly tempted to go for a Mutual Kill, but he says the guy just isn't worth it and tells Valiant to tie him up.
• Our Dragons Are Different: Due to the Family Channel not allowing the show's producer to use dragons and magic, the shows writers got creative, cannons brought from the far east were thought of as "dragons".
• Parents as People: Valiant and Willem have a bitter falling out over the decision to go to Camelot, to the point of Valiant refusing forgiveness for months and initially rejecting a letter delivered by Rolf (Willem's Lord of Arms and Valiant's closest friend before his departure). It takes Rolf dying for Valiant to finally read the letter, in which Willem expresses regret for how his attempt to protect his son resulted in driving them apart.
• Race Lift: The Moorish Bryant was based on the Briton Tristan.
• Real Women Don't Wear Dresses: The trope is discussed in an episode in which Rowanne worries that no one will take her desire to be a knight seriously if she dresses like a woman. Queen Guinevere assures her otherwise.
• Series Continuity Error: A Season 1 episode states that Arthur has ruled Camelot for ten years. Come the second season, it is stated that he has ruled for forty years.
• Spared By Adaptation: Valiant's mother dies just before he leaves for Camelot in the comic strip. She is still living by the the time of Thule's liberation in the show.
• Stab the Scorpion: Valiant and Arn's first meeting. They share fish and fruit, then get into a row. Valiant grabs a stick, and charges Arn. It turns out there's a huge snake behind him.
• Stolen Test Answers: One episode had a girl participate in a competition to become a knight. She wins the final contest, which is archery, but is then disqualified because she earlier convinced one of the heroes to make her better arrows. That means she must have broken the rules by peeking at the records stating what the finale will be.
• Tragic Keepsake: Both of Valiant and Arn's horses are these. Caliburn was tamed by Valiant's father and delivered by Rolf shortly before Rolf's death. Crux belonged to Rolf himself, who passed it on to Arn shortly after meeting him.
• Unrelated in the Adaptation: There are a number of examples.
  • Gawain is never stated to be Arthur's nephew nor Lot's son.
  • Mordred is never stated to be Arthur's nephew, son (Both from Arthurian myth) or half-brother (From the Prince Valiant comic strip) and thus makes his initial relationship with Morgana less squicky. He is also never stated to be Lot's son.
  • Lot is never stated to be Arthur's brother-in-law.
• Very Special Episode: The show tackled issues such as racism, sexism, child abuse, alcoholism environmentalism, and even gun responsibility (though they used crossbows).
• What Happened to the Mouse?: Morgana is missing entirely from the last episode after her plan was exposed in the previous episode.
• Would Hurt a Child:
  • Kirkwood viciously whips Denys (the younger son of Cynan who he sold after the fall of Thule due to Denys's mercy) after Denys returns a pouch to the owner after it was stolen by his band of thieves.
  • The episode "The Flute" is about child abuse, where the king beats his son for his clumsiness. Denys also reveals that his father Cynan also beat him.
  • In "The Tree", its shown that Sir Bryant's young son was murdered by highwayman trying to defend his fallen mother.

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