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 comic fantasy-themed animated television series aimed at pre-teen girl audiences 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 for two 13-episode seasons from 1995 until 1996. The show's plot follows the quest of the eponymous young Princess Gwenevere of Avalon and her two fellow teenage Jewel Riders, Fallon and Tamara, to find the seven lost enchanted jewels so they can stop the evil sorceress Lady Kale from taking over the kingdom. In the second season, the Jewel Riders receive more powers to compete against the returning Kale and the mighty new enemy Morgana for more magical jewels in order to rescue their banished mentor Merlin and restore harmony in magic.
The series is in many ways similar to The Adventures of the Galaxy Rangers, and both had the same creator and director, Robert Mandell, as well as some of its writers, notably Christopher Rowley. The series was initially planned as an adaptation of Dragonriders of Pern, came in the wake of Bohbot's earlier take on the Arthurian legend, King Arthur and the Knights of Justice, and shares similarities with the magical girl subgenre of anime and with some American cartoons. Although critics were divided on the show, it was a hit in France. It was later rebooted as the novel series Avalon: Web of Magic during the 2000s. In 2023, Princess Gwenevere sequel comic books were announced by Mad Cave Studios.
Plot
Premise
In the show's original North American version, the titular character's name, Gwenevere (Gwen) resembles that of King Arthur's wife, Queen Guinevere, even though Gwen is rather her distant descendant and just a namesake, while other Arthurian characters include Merlin and the Lady of the Lake. The series is set on the legendary island of Avalon, here portrayed as a fairy tale-style utopia in which mystical jewels help their users cast spells and do it safely. The dangerous raw wild magic coming from another dimension that is also called the Wild Magic is kept in check through the seven Crown Jewels of the Kingdom, each representing an area of the realm. The story takes place a thousand years after the good wizard Merlin's initial victory over the evil queen Morgana. The eponymous Jewel Riders are young female champions of goodness and magical guardians of the city of New Camelot who, using and mentored by the ageless Merlin and aided by their magic animal friends, have been upholding the just laws of this peaceful land and defending its people for generations. But when a new great menace looms over Avalon, and with their teacher Merlin suddenly gone, the current three new Jewel Riders are tasked with recovering the Crown Jewels controlling the wild magic.
Avalon's fate now rests with the latest incarnation of the Jewel Riders, currently made of the 16-year-old Princess Gwenevere (Gwen) leading her friends Fallon and Tamara of around the same age. Their personal jewels, besides their various unique powers, allow them to "ride" safely through the tunnels of a perilous dimension of the Wild Magic, as well as to communicate with their Special Friends, the magic animals wearing a jewel identical to that of their rider. The girls are often assisted by the Pack, the also teenage but male trio of wolf-riding Knights of Avalon who wield the Forest Stones. Together, they fight against Lady Kale, the evil former princess of Avalon who uses dark magic and has vowed to command all the magic and rule the kingdom no matter the consequences. An emphasis is set on the "power of friendship", which enables the Jewel Riders to overcome evil and even ultimately befriend some of their would-be enemies. In the second season, the threat to Avalon is not over yet, and actually gets even worse with the introduction of an even more dangerous adversary for the Jewel Riders to deal with besides Kale. Instead of the Crown Jewels, Gwen and her friends seek out another cache of magical gems while still struggling to hold off the forces of darkness and contain the growing chaos in the magic.