In 2023, the entertainment site Polygon is putting together a series of articles to celebrate The Legend of Zelda, and as part of the endeavour, it has today published an oral history of The Legend of Zelda cartoon show.
The Legend of Zelda cartoon aired in 1989 during episodes of The Super Mario Bros. Super Show and has since found notoriety online for its angsty depiction of the Hylian hero as well as Link's infamous catchphrase ("Well, excuuuuuse me, Princess!").
For the piece, Polygon's Nicole Carpenter spoke to a collection of writers, story editors, and directors about the show, and in doing so managed to find out plenty of details about how it all came together. One thing in particular, that interested us, however, concerns one quote given by the show's story editor and writer Bob Forward.
During the interview, Forward revealed to Carpenter how the show's infamous catchphrase came together, explaining that the DiC executive Robby London had requested its inclusion, inspired by a popular Steve Martin bit and the relationship in the 1980s TV show Moonlighting starring Bruce Willis and Cybill Shepherd.
You can find the full quote from Forward below:
"Robby London [DiC executive] wanted to have some signature lines, and Moonlighting had just come out, or was very popular. Robby London came up with the idea of the line, “Excuuuuse me, Princess,” which is inspired by the Moonlighting relationship and a snarky line from a Steve Martin routine.
"I’ll be honest, what I liked about Robby is that he would make quick decisions. As much as I was giving him a hard time about it, I put [that line] into the show way more than it was really necessary. But it turned out to be OK, even though people made fun of it. People remembered it, so I guess he was right. I have to admit, it caught on."
It's amazing to get more of an insight into the decision-making on the show and how a catchphrase like this ended up making an appearance. It's also bizarre to think of famous celebrities like Steve Martin or Bruce Willis having impacted the world of Zelda, however non-canon.
We recommend reading the full article over on Polygon, as there are a ton of other great anecdotes included within. You can also follow Carpenter on Twitter at @sweetpotatoes.