Princess Gwenevere and the Jewel Riders

Princess Gwenevere and the Jewel Riders, sometimes spelled as the more traditionally Arthurian "Guinevere", and known outside of North America as Starla & the Jewel Riders, is an American fantasy animated television series aimed at the pre-teen girl audience. It was produced by New Frontier Entertainment and Enchanted Camelot Productions in association with Hong Ying Animation Company Limited. It was internationally distributed by Bohbot Entertainment, and broadcast in the United States on their syndicated Amazin' Adventures block, where it originally ran from 1995 to 1996, with two seasons and twenty-six episodes.
The series follows the titular protagonist, Princess Gwenevere of Avalon, and her fellow Jewel Riders, Fallon and Tamara, in their quest to find the seven lost enchanted jewels and to stop the evil sorceress Lady Kale from conquering Avalon. In the second season, the Jewel Riders gain new powers and fight against Kale and new enemy Morgana, as they search for more magical jewels in order to rescue their banished mentor, Merlin, and restore harmony in magic.
The series bears similarities to The Adventures of the Galaxy Rangers. They had the same creator and director, Robert Mandell, as well as some writers in common, notably Christopher Rowley. The series was initially planned to be an adaptation of Dragonriders of Pern and was developed as part of Bohbot's earlier take on the Arthurian legends, King Arthur and the Knights of Justice. During the 2000s, Jewel Riders inspired the novel and comic book series Avalon: Web of Magic.
In 2023, a Princess Gwenevere and the Jewel Riders soft reboot comic was announced by Mad Cave Studios. Its first volume was released in May 2024, to be continued in 2025, including a crossover merging it with the world and characters of King Arthur and the Knights of Justice.

Plot

Premise

The series is set on the legendary island of Avalon, where mystical jewels help their users cast spells, and whose inhabitants include several characters from Arthurian legend, such as Merlin and the Lady of the Lake. It is threatened by unstable "wild magic", which comes from another dimension also known as Wild Magic and is kept in check by the Crown Jewels of the Kingdom, which each represent a realm of Avalon. The story takes place a thousand years after Merlin's initial victory over the evil queen Morgana and her dark wizards. The eponymous Jewel Riders are an order of magical guardians of the city of New Camelot who, mentored by Merlin and aided by their magic animals, have defended the realm and its people for centuries, with each generation bequeathing their jewels to the next generation. When a new evil threatens Avalon and Merlin suddenly disappears, the current generation of Jewel Riders is tasked with recovering the scattered Crown Jewels and containing wild magic before it gets out of control.
The latest incarnation of the group consists of its leader, the 16-year-old Princess Gwenevere, a distant descendant of King Arthur's wife, Queen Guinevere, who was named after her, and her friends Fallon and Tamara. In addition to granting them powers, their personal jewels allow them to safely traverse the tunnels of Wild Magic and communicate with their Special Friends, magic animals who wear a jewel identical to that of their rider. They are often aided by the Pack, a trio of wolf-riding knights of Avalon who wield the Forest Stones. Together, they fight against the evil Lady Kale, the former princess of Avalon who wields dark magic and seeks to command all magic and rule the kingdom. An emphasis is placed on the "power of friendship", which allows the Jewel Riders to overcome evil and befriend some of their enemies. In the second season, the threat to Avalon is not yet over, and the Jewel Riders must fight against not only Kale but also even more powerful Morgana. Instead of the Crown Jewels, they search for another set of magical jewels, the Wizard Jewels, along the way battling the forces of darkness and working to contain the continued chaos in the magic.

First season

Princess Gwenevere, the daughter of the rulers of Avalon, Queen Anya and King Jared, is being prepared by Merlin for the ceremony in which she will receive the Sun Stone, one of the Enchanted Jewels, and meet her magic animal, who will bond with it. This will allow her to become the new leader of the Jewel Riders along with Tamara and Fallon, who wield the Heart Stone and Moon Stone, respectively. Meanwhile, the sorceress Lady Kale, Queen Anya's power-hungry sister who was banished after being denied the Sun Stone, plans to steal Merlin's Crown Jewels and use their magic to conquer Avalon. She finds a mysterious jewel of dark magic, which she names the Dark Stone, and uses it to banish Merlin to Wild Magic. However, in an effort to prevent her from using the Jewels' power, he sends them back to where they came from, scattering them throughout the kingdom and beyond. However, without the Jewels, magic becomes unstable and goes out of control, causing dangerous outbreaks until they can be gathered, which the Jewel Riders learn may also be the only way to free Merlin from Wild Magic.
Gwenevere successfully completes her Sun Stone bonding ceremony with Sunstar, a flying unicorn she rescues from Lady Kale's castle. The story then follows the adventures of the Jewel Riders as they search for the Crown Jewels while dealing with outbreaks of wild magic. The seven Crown Jewels are the Jewel of the North Woods, the Rainbow Jewel, the Jewel of the Burning Ice, the Misty Rose Jewel, the Desert Star Jewel, the Jewel of the Dreamfields, and the Jewel of the Jungle. The Jewel Riders must find them before Kale does in order to save Merlin and Avalon.
In the season finale, Lady Kale seizes control of the Jewel Keep at the Crystal Palace and overthrows Anya, unleashing dark magic onto Avalon and stripping the Jewel Riders of their powers. She then seeks out Merlin to finish him off and become queen, but he uses his remaining power to pull her into Wild Magic, allowing the Riders to release the hidden good magic of the Crystal Palace, which is revealed to be a great Enchanted Jewel. Kale attempts to absorb the powers of the Crown Jewels but fails as the magic turns against her and she is destroyed. As the Riders celebrate their victory, they discover that the Crown Jewels have been tuned to their Enchanted Jewels, allowing them to channel the magic of Avalon. Merlin also appears to congratulate them, informing them that he sacrificed his staff jewel so that Kale could be defeated and that without it, he will be lost to Wild Magic.

Second season

While Lady Kale is defeated and Avalon is at peace, Merlin is still trapped in Wild Magic and the kingdom is not yet safe, as outbreaks of wild magic continue. Without Merlin's jewel, the Jewel Riders have lost a chance of solving the magic crisis for good. However, the girls gain new and more powerful magic from the Crown Jewels, allowing them to deal with the outbreaks. Meanwhile, Kale's Dark Stone is summoned to a floating palace, where she re-materializes and meets her rescuer: the legendary enchantress Morgana, the creator and original wielder of the Dark Stone. A millennium ago, she led the ancient wizards against Merlin but failed and, having lost her jewel, has been trapped in Wild Magic since. United by their mutual hatred of Merlin and his followers, the two decide to join forces, and Morgana sends Kale to Avalon in search of the Wizard Jewels in preparation for her return.
As the Jewel Riders search for the Wizard Jewels, they fight against Kale, who has her own agenda and seeks the Jewels for herself while working for Morgana, who wants to use their magic to conquer Avalon. The seven Wizard Jewels, not counting the Dark Stone, are the Unicorn Jewel, the Jewel of Arden, the Garden Jewel, the Jewel of the Sea, the Time Stone, and the Fortune Jewel. Soon, Tamara gains a magic animal for herself: the otherworldly unicorn Shadowsong.
In the final battle between the Riders and Kale and Morgana at the Heart of Avalon and then at the Heart of Wild Magic, Gwenevere is given the magic Staff of Avalon by the Lady of the Lake, the Spirit of Avalon, allowing her to defeat her a second time. The Riders and their allies then unite to fight Morgana, and Gwenevere fuses the Dark Stone with the Sun Stone and obtains the One Jewel, which is forged from the Wizard Jewels. A restored Merlin uses it to seemingly destroy Morgana and the ancient wizards' ghosts, after which the Riders and their friends reunite with Merlin and return home.

Characters

Jewel Riders

The three Jewel Riders are Princess Gwenevere, Fallon, and Tamara. Each them possesses a different Enchanted Jewel, a special magical gemstone that grants them their special powers and allows them to communicate with their respective magic animals.

Princess Gwenevere is the daughter of the rulers of Avalon, Queen Anya and King Jared, and its destined future queen, who is adventurous and romantic. She is the current leader of the Jewel Riders and wields the royal Sun Stone, which gives her powers of light and goodness. Her magic animal is the winged unicorn Sunstar.
Fallon is the only black member of the Jewel Riders and Gwenevere's bodyguard, who is tomboyish and practical. She wields the Moon Stone, which gives her powers of movement and illusion. Her magic animal is the unicorn Moondance.
Tamara is empathetic and spiritual and a longtime close friend of Fallon. She wields the Heart Stone, which gives her the ability to talk to animals as well as healing powers and magical music. In the second season, she pairs with the "zebracorn" Shadowsong.
Allies
Merlin, is a powerful and ancient wizard who has defended Avalon from evil for centuries. He is an advisor to the royal family and a mentor to the Jewel Riders. Once Kale banishes Merlin to Wild Magic, the Jewel Riders begin their search for the Crown Jewels to save him and Avalon, while his talking owl familiar, Archimedes also known as Archie, becomes their companion.
The Wolf Pack is a trio of knights of the Crystal Palace, who wield the Forest Stones and serve as allies to the Riders. They are led by Gwen's aspiring boyfriend Drake who rides the giant wolf Thunderbolt. Its other members are Josh and Max, with their wolves Stormrunner and Windwalker.
Queen Anya and King Jared are the rulers of Avalon and Gwenevere's parents. Anya is good sister of the evil Princess Kale and used to wield the Sun Stone during her time as a Jewel Riders. Jared had been the previous leader of the Wolf Pack and still wields a Forest Stone.
Ian is a man-wolf prince of the Forest of Arden who falls in love with Gwenevere. He becomes Gwen's devoted champion and her second romantic interest after Drake.