Princess Gwenevere and the Jewel Riders Wiki
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Princess Gwenevere DVD

"Wizard's Peak" DVD cover art

Princess Gwenevere and the Jewel Riders (PGJR, also known as Starla & the Jewel Riders in the export English version), is a 1995-1996 fantasy animated series that is the subject of this wikia. It also inspired the later Avalon: Web of Magic series of books and its adaptation projects, as well as an upcoming official Jewel Riders comics series. Internationally, it is known under various titles such as Princess Starla and the Magic Jewels (Princesse Starla et les Joyaux magiques) in France, Starla and the Crystal-saviors (Starla und die Kristallretter) in Germany, Starla and the Seven Gems of Mystery (Starla e le sette gemme del mistero) in Italy, Stella's Magical Journey (스탈라의 마법여행) in Korea, Starla and the Enchanted Jewels (Starla e as Jóias Encantadas) in Portugal, Princess Starla and the Lords of the Stones (Принцесса Старла и повелители камней) in Russia, Starla and the Jewel-knights (Starla och juvelriddarna) in Sweden, and just Princess Starla (La princesa Starla) in Spain.

Princesse Starla

In the show, the titular young heroine, Princess Gwenevere (named Starla in the Starla version) and her fellow teenage Jewel RidersFallon and Tamara—are sent by their wizard mentor Merlin on a great quest in which they will have to save their enchanted kingdom of Avalon and bring the now-exiled Merlin back home. The three girls share a special bond with their magic animal friends and each other, which allows them and their unicorns to work together as a team. Aided by the three boys of the Pack, they go on various adventures, using the power of their friendship and the magic of their Enchanted Jewels in order to defend Avalon from Gwen's evil aunt Lady Kale. As the story unfolds, the Jewel Riders receive more magic powers to compete for more magical jewelsagainst the returning Kale and Merlin's ancient nemesis Morgana.

Starla

Elements[]

Characters[]

Main article: List of characters
Jewel Riders Panini

The show's recurring characters include the eponymous Jewel Riders: Princess Gwenevere/Starla, Fallon and Tamara, as well as Lady Kale, Merlin, Morgana, Archimedes, Drake and the rest of the Pack, Sunstar, Moondance, Shadowsong, Rufus and Twig, Grimm, Queen Anya, King Jared, the Babies, Thunder, and Ian, among others.

(The various minor characters appearing only in one or two episodes are covered in the common article about the episodic characters.)

Episodes[]

Anya sticker
Main article: List of episodes
Gwenevere on Sunstar

There have been two seasons, each with 13 episodes:

  • The show's first season (originally aired between September and December 1995) began with "Jewel Quest, Part I" and ended with "Full Circle".
  • The second one (originally aired between September and December 1996) began with "Morgana" and ended with "The Last Dance" ("The One Jewel").

Production[]

Kale Grimm attack

Development[]

Abyss
Main article: Development
Grail

Arthurian Holy Grail motif visible within the Jewel Keep in "Fashion Fever"

Princess Gwenevere and the Jewel Riders was created by the New York-based studios New Frontier Entertainment and Enchanted Camelot Productions for Bohbot Productions (later BKN) in 1994-1996, in co-production with toy company Hasbro. The show had been originally planned as an adaptation of Anne McCaffrey's fantasy book series Dragonriders of Pern. Later there have been many different changes between the various early concepts and phases and the final animated version, including different working titles. Instead of McCaffrey, the show draws many ideas and concepts from the Arthurian mythology.

25-04

Merchandise[]

Panini stickers
Main article: Merchandise

Several dolls in two series from Hasbro and various other merchandise items released have been produced for the show, some of them exclusively in different countries. (The book is covered separately.)

Synopsis[]

Jewel magic-0

Premise[]

Kale Crown Jewels

"Great Jewels, Avalon will be mine!"

Starla IJD

The magic kingdom of Avalon has been a place of peace and serenity for many generations, and the realm with all its people and creatures has prospered under the protection of the good wizard Merlin ever since his victory over the ancient wizards 1,000 years ago. But darkness is looming as a new evil force emerges. The power-hungry Lady Kale desires to rule Avalon, envious of Merlin and jealous of her good twin sister Queen Anya. She plots to overthrow Merlin's order and reign forever by commanding all the magic of the kingdom. Adding to the crisis, the wild magic is now getting out of control with dangerous outbreaks all over Avalon...

Anya throne

"All of the kingdom gives thanks to the Jewel Riders, champions of Avalon!"

Heroines

The only hopes lies with three teen girls: the beautiful Princess Gwenevere (or Gwen, also known as Starla) and her fellow novice Jewel Riders, the tough and agile Fallon and the empathetic and musical Tamara, accompanied by their special friend unicorn mounts and Merlin's owl Archie, who must stand up to the terrible powers of Gwen's wicked aunt. The three young heroines, aided by the wolf-riding young knights of the Pack led by Gwen's suitor Drake, need to learn how to use the good magic of their Enchanted Jewels—Gwenevere's Sun Stone, Fallon's Moon Stone, and Tamara's Heart Stone—so they can deliver Avalon from evil in their great Jewel Quest.

Sunstone power

"By the magic of the Sun Stone!"

Villainesses

The adventurous girls and their friends, together riding the wild magic via the Travel Trees portals, have to combat destructive outbreaks of the wild magic and find the hidden magic jewels. The teens need to rise to the occasion so they can oppose and eventually stop Lady Kale and later also an even greater menace of the legendary witch queen Morgana, free Merlin, and restore peace in the kingdom and balance in the magic.

Good guys

"Friends together! Friends forever!"

Pack chase

Throughout the series, the questing girls and their magic animal friends learn lessons, experience romance, and courageously ride into adventures as they explore their fantastic world and oppose evil. The importance of teamwork and friendship is a key theme in all of the stories. Having distinctive Enchanted Jewels visually signifies the friendship bond between a Jewel Rider or the Pack member and his or her animal friend, and they even end up befriending some of their would-be foes. The meaning and values of friends, destiny, and accepting responsibility are expressed in the Circle of Friendship, a special and revered public ceremony celebrating the bonding with an animal friend.

Season 1 storyline[]

01-18

Lady Kale with the Jewel Box and all Crown Jewels

Main article: Jewel Quest
Dreamfields Jewel
Season 1

"I have the power of wild magic! I will rule Avalon!"

The evil Lady Kale, a former Princess of Avalon banished from the Crystal Palace by Merlin for scheming against her good sister Queen Anya, obtains the powerful Dark Stone and attempts to gain control of the Crown Jewels—seven mystic stones which bind the magic of the kingdom to goodness. Kale intends to use the magic of these jewels to turn Avalon into a dark realm and rule it for all of eternity. After Merlin refuses to give her the key to the Jewel Box in which the Crown Jewels are stored and scatters the jewels all across kingdom and beyond, she casts him into the Wild Magic to perish there. With Merlin now gone, Kale's meddling with magic already begins to spread chaos in the realm...

Kale 7

"I command the magic of Avalon!"

Adventure
Jewel Power!

"Jewel Power!"

But Merlin can still save their kingdom from evil and get the wild magic under control. As he vanished, Merlin put all his trust in his three inexperienced students, known as the Jewel Riders: the only way these young champions overcome Kale's dark magic and rescue their mentor is to find all seven Crown Jewels, now hidden through the seven lands. Gwenevere (paired with with Sunstar), Fallon with (paired with Moondance), and Tamara thus embark on a great quest as they search for these lost stones to get them secured before Kale can steal them away—and, in the end, hopefully get rid the world of her dark magic and let the exiled Merlin return to Avalon.

Season 2 storyline[]

Kale and Morgana 2
Merlin speaks

"It doesn't matter what kind of magic you use, as long as it comes from a good heart."

Merlin and the Jewel Riders seemed to have prevailed, but still Merlin has remained trapped inside the Wild Magic. What is more, they soon find out that Kale is back! And now she has a very dangerous new ally—a newly revived Queen Morgana, once the powerful leader of ancient wizards. The two evil women discover each other inside in the Wild Magic and, forced to work together by their situation, hatch a plan to gain control of legendary Wizard Jewels to at last destroy Merlin and rule Avalon and all the wild magic. With the combined jewels of the wizards, no one will be able to stand against their revenge. Meanwhile, Merlin's Jewel Riders champions discover that having the Crown Jewels tuned to their own Enchanted Jewels have given them greater powers too—and Tamara also soon gets paired with her new special friend and own steed: Shadowsong.

Season 2

"At long last, I will return to Avalon. Merlin will kneel before me!"

Riding the Wild Magic

Thus begins the new quest for hidden magic jewels. In a race against the forces of darkness, in both Avalon and the other realms, the Jewel Riders have to master their new magic powers for the goodness to prevail and the world freed of the threat of dark magic. With the help of their friends, old and new—including Gwen's new love interest, Ian—the three heroines must put an end to Kale's and Morgana's evil plans once and for all.

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Shadowsong facing Kale, Morgana and the dweasels

Legacy[]

Avalon: Web of Magic[]

Main article: Avalon: Web of Magic
Studying the classics

A PGJR episode studied during the production of the Avalon cartoon

Avalon: Web of Magic (and its spin-off Avalon: The Warlock Diaries) is a series of young adult novels and comics written by Rachel Robert and inspired by Princess Gwenevere and the Jewel Riders. In comparison to the Jewel Riders, the target audience of which was pre-teen girls, Avalon is aimed at an older (teenage / young adult) audience. An animated series adaptation of Avalon is currently in production for a planned 2018 premiere, also produced by the Jewel Riders creator Robert Mandell.

Fandom[]

Main article: Fandom

Princess Gwenevere and the Jewel Riders fandom has kept a small Internet presence for over two decades, in particular in its native North America and in France where the show was most successful.

TJRA

Fourth anniversary header of The Jewel Riders Archive (2019)

Further reading[]

Princess-Gwenevere-Adventure

Videos[]

References[]


External links[]

Avalon Princesses

General[]

Wikipedia[]

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