The Mysterious Cities of Gold (2012 TV series) explained

Native Name:	Les Mystérieuses Cités d'Or
Genre:	Historical Fantasy Adventure
Creator:	Hadrien Soulez Larivière
Director:	Jean-Luc François
Voices:	Audrey Pic Adeline Chetail Caroline Mozzone Jérémy Prévost Martial Le Minoux
Composer:	Noam Kaniel
Num Seasons:	3
Num Episodes:	78
Runtime:	approx. 22–23 minutes
Company:	Blue Spirit Movie Plus Be-Films Sinématik
Related:	The Mysterious Cities of Gold (1982–83)

The Mysterious Cities of Gold (fr|link=no|'''Les Mystérieuses Cités d'Or''') is an animated series that serves as a sequel and a continuation of the original 1982 television series of the same name.^{[1] [2]} The series premiered on La Trois in Belgium on November 17, 2012.

Characters

See main article: List of The Mysterious Cities of Gold characters. The main cast of the series includes:

• Esteban (voiced by Audrey Pic) – An orphan who was rescued at sea as a baby twelve years ago by the Spanish navigator Mendoza. He wears one of the two sun medallions. He dreams of adventure and is extremely impulsive. Esteban has a fear of heights which is confounded by the people of Barcelona who believe him to be the "Child of the Sun" and hoist him up high at the port to call out the sun to aid the departing ships. He joins the Spaniards in their search for one of The Seven Cities of Gold in the New World, hoping to find his father.
• Zia (voiced by Adeline Chetail) – The daughter of an Inca high priest. She was kidnapped from Peru five years ago, when she was seven, by the Spanish invaders and given as a present to the Queen of Spain for her daughter, Princess Margarita. She met Esteban when she was kidnapped by Mendoza for Governor Pizarro who wanted her to read the golden quipu. Zia wears a sun medallion like Esteban's, with an interlocking sun and moon disc.
• Tao (voiced by Caroline Mozzone) - The last living descendant of the sunken empire of Mu. He lived alone on the Galápagos Islands following the death of his father. Initially he is evasive of the others' company when they wash up on his island, but when the ship Solaris was revealed he joined them on their journey.
• Mendoza (voiced by Bruno Magne) – A Spaniard, navigator for the Spanish fleet. He rescued a young Esteban from a shipwreck during one of his voyages. An experienced sailor, a proficient navigator and a master swordsman, Mendoza places himself in the role of a leader. It is not always clear, however, where his loyalties lie and he is often at odds with the other characters. He is accompanied by two mercenaries: Sancho and Pedro. Mendoza has spent many years searching for information about the Mysterious Cities of Gold, which eventually led him to the sun medallions — one of which he took from Esteban when rescuing him for safe keeping.

Episodes

Season 1

No. in series	No. in season	English title	Original title	UK airdate	Original airdate
1	1	Back To Barcelona: Episode 1	Retour à Barcelone 1re partie	9 November 2013 11 November 2013 (repeat)	17 November 2012 (La Trois)
2	2	Back To Barcelona: Episode 2	Retour à Barcelone 2e partie	9 November 2013 12 November 2013 (repeat)	24 November 2012 (La Trois)
3	3	The Secret of the Drum	Le secret du tambour	13 November 2013	23 March 2013 (La Trois)
4	4	In The Hands of the Pirates	Aux mains des pirates	14 November 2013	30 March 2013 (La Trois & RTS Deux)
5	5	The Alchemist	L'alchimiste	15 November 2013	31 March 2013 (RTS Deux)
6	6	All Aboard!	À l'abordage !	18 November 2013	31 March 2013 (RTS Deux)
7	7	Shaolin	Shaolin	19 November 2013	1 April 2013 (RTS Deux)
8	8	The Treason	La trahison	20 November 2013	27 April 2013 (La Trois)
9	9	The Prophecy	La prophétie	21 November 2013	4 May 2013 (La Trois)
10	10	The Black Pearl	La perle noire	22 November 2013	11 May 2013 (La Trois)
11	11	In Search of the Yellow Dragon	À la recherche du dragon jaune	25 November 2013	18 May 2013 (La Trois)
12	12	In the Forbidden City	Dans la Cité Interdite	26 November 2013	25 May 2013 (La Trois)
13	13	Like a Prince	Comme un prince	27 November 2013	1 June 2013 (La Trois)
14	14	The Escape	L'évasion	28 November 2013	8 June 2013 (La Trois)
15	15	The Stomach of Buddha	Le ventre de Bouddha	29 November 2013	25 August 2013 (La Trois)
16	16	The Labyrinth	Le labyrinthe	2 December 2013	1 September 2013 (La Trois)
17	17	The Sleeping Garden	Le jardin endormi	3 December 2013	8 September 2013 (La Trois)
18	18	The Son of the Sun	Le fils du soleil	4 December 2013	15 September 2013 (La Trois)
19	19	The Oasis	L'oasis	5 December 2013	22 September 2013 (La Trois)
20	20	The Fresco of the Evil Eyes	La fresque des yeux maudits	6 December 2013	29 September 2013 (La Trois)
21	21	The Separation	La séparation	9 December 2013	6 October 2013 (La Trois)
22	22	The Fire of the Dragon	Le feu du dragon	10 December 2013	13 October 2013 (La Trois)
23	23	The Expedition	L'expédition	11 December 2013	20 October 2013 (La Trois)
24	24	The Nest of the Condor	Le nid du Condor	12 December 2013	27 October 2013 (La Trois)
25	25	The Revelation	La révélation	13 December 2013	3 November 2013 (La Trois)
26	26	Face To Face	Face à face	13 December 2013	10 November 2013 (La Trois)

• Episodes 1 and 2 were shown on 9 November 2013 as a premiere double bill edition. They were repeated on 11 and 12 November at 6pm on Kix (UK and Ireland) before continuing on a daily basis every weekday until the end of the series.

Season 3

Broadcast

The English version premiered on Kix on November 9, 2013.^[3] Fabulous Films released it on DVD and Blu-ray on February 17, 2014, in the UK.^[4] In 2016, the third season was made and released in France,^[5] and subsequently released in English in Australia in 2018. Season four was broadcast in French on RTS Un, but has yet to receive an English dub.

Reception

The show was well received by critics such as Starburst and the Huffington Post.^{[6] [7] [8]}

Video game

A video game called for Windows (available on Steam), Wii U, Nintendo 3DS and iOS based on the show was published by Ynnis Interactive.^[9]

External links

• • Unofficial French The Mysterious Cities of Gold website, with details of all four seasons.

Notes and References

1. Web site: TV News: MYSTERIOUS CITIES OF GOLD Season 2 Gets UK Release . Starburstmagazine.com . February 5, 2014.
2. Web site: DVD Review: MYSTERIOUS CITIES OF GOLD - SEASON 2. February 11, 2017.
3. Web site: Premiere date for The Mysterious Cities Of Gold season 2. February 11, 2017.
4. Web site: Mysterious Cities of Gold: Season 2 - Cult TV - The Official Website from the Ministry of Cineology. February 11, 2017.
5. Web site: First Stills of French "Mysterious Cities of Gold" Anime Sequel. February 11, 2017.
6. Web site: TV Review: THE MYSTERIOUS CITIES OF GOLD Season 2. Starburst Magazine. March 13, 2017.
7. Web site: Les Mystérieuses Cités d'Or saison 2: "Gnangnan, infantilisée à l'extrême et complètement aseptisée". March 19, 2013. Lex Press. July 20, 2017.
8. Web site: Les Mystérieuses Cités d'Or II sont trop édulcorées. March 22, 2013. Huffington Post. July 20, 2017.
9. Web site: Warr . Philippa . The Mysterious Cities of Gold game gets English-language Kickstarter (Wired UK) . Wired.co.uk . February 5, 2014.