User reviews

This has to be one of the most thrilling, captivating cartoons I have ever watched.

Set in the 16th century, it focuses on a Spanish ten-year-old boy called Estaban, who is the Child of the Sun and holds the key to opening the fabled Cities of Gold located in the Andes. He meets three men who offer to help him search for his long-lost father in return for him helping them to find the Cities. Accompanying them is a young girl Zia, who also owns a medallion to open the Cities, and a Hiva boy named Tao who they meet on the journey to the still unexplored South America. Pursing them are three men determined to harness the Cities of Gold and its powers of the Sun for themselves and a strange alien race who need the powers to ensure the survival of their race.

Although I couldn't have been more than four or five when I first saw 'The Mysterious Cities of Gold', I still relish memory of the wonderful series and its equally enchanting soundtrack. The characters- both the children and adults- were strongly portrayed and the entire story was solid and involving. I remember spending many days playing the story out, pretending to be Estaban or Zia, and forcing my poor mum to look for the medallion in shops (in vain, unfortunately!).

I wish that either BBC (even one of their rubbish digital channels) or Nickelodeon would repeat this. I'm sure children today would enjoy this as much as myself and my friends did. It's certainly a crime that it's not been put out on DVD yet.

I watched that cartoon when I was a kid.I remember that it was very nice.As it was a long time ago I had forgotten most of the plot and the characters.

Some months ago a local TV channel aired "The Mysterious Cities of Gold" .In spite of not being a 5-year old kid anymore I sat in front of the TV in order to watch it again.And I really enjoyed it!

It is a masterpiece in the animation genre-a cartoon with an exciting plot,memorable characters and terrific music.Moreover,it takes place at an interesting historical period-the conquest of South America. Most characters in cartoons are rather flat.But here all the characters are intriguing-especially the Spanish navigator Mendosa who is both greedy and kind-hearted.The kids Esteban,Zia and Tao are really nice.The villains also have their charm.

Hardly any other cartoon has better music score.Not only the starting song "Children of the sun" but all the other melodies are stunning.

So,if some TV channels in your countries air this cartoon,don't hesitate at all-take your seats in front of the TV and explore the mysterious cities of gold where adventures never end-as well as our enjoyment!

Children of the sun, see your time has just begun, searching for your

way through adventures everyday... I remember when I was 5 years old

watching every episode, enthralled by what I saw. Recently, I discovered

that a friend had taped every episode back in the late 80s and allowed

me to copy all of them - talk about a find! I hear that the series is

now available on VCD thanks to collectors (on eBay). Nickelodeon will

never re-air the show, as Saban, the company who owned the American

rights to it, had a fire which their episodes were lost in. My friend

also had a copy of the French soundtrack (!) which I copied. It's great

to relive memories when you can :-)

This was such a wonderful and inspirational series for children in the 80s. Now they're all grown up and the show still captivates them - In fact I enjoy it even more now (at 24) than I did when I was little! There is so much in it to love and appreciate - rich characters and scenery, and such a deep story rooted in historical accuracy and the culture of the South American people. This is the kind of series a person can become fully engrossed in, because the story is such a grand epic and the characters are so memorable. The juxtaposition of the three adult characters with the three children, each with their own unique gifts and personality, lends to a great humanity in this show.

Esteban and Zia are the children of the sun who set off from Spain to the new world in search of their parentage, but end up on a fantastic quest for the "Seven Cities of Gold," fabled to be hidden among the deserts and jungles of South America. They are accompanied by two bumbling sailors, Pedro and Sancho, and a boy named Tao, a descendant of the Heva, a people of remarkable insight and advanced technology. The unsung hero of the group is Mendoza, the dashing, cape-clad ship's navigator who seems solely bent on finding his fortune in gold, but eventually comes to care for the children and appreciate their special talents. (Even though he is often too proud to admit it!)

The entire cast is spectacular and fully believable. After this show left Nickelodeon, the voices of Mendoza and Esteban rang in my mind for an entire decade, as did the imagery of the magical golden condor and the gold medallions of the sun. It took me ten years to acquire this series on video, and now I get to watch it whenever I want and relive all the splendor.

The stories in this show are ultimately moral, as they are told from the child perspective. These are children in a time when Spanish soldiers are trying to conquer the native cultures of the New World, and Esteban and his friends think nothing of risking their lives to help these native people and fight alongside them. They see the world with an honesty and goodheartedness that withstands whatever trials they must endure. There is such loyalty and friendship, (sometimes unspoken) within the ranks of this unlikely group of adventurers, and they are so likable and sympathetic that you can't help but be drawn into their journeys. After 39 episodes, Esteban, Zia, Tao and Mendoza are not characters in a cartoon, but old friends you love and admire.

Shows like Pokemon and Spongebob are entertaining and well-crafted in their own right, but modern cartoons as a whole have nothing on a show like "The Mysterious Cities of Gold."

Kudos to the creators of this series, and especially to the cast voices who brought it to life for a generation of American children to relish. I hope they realize what good they have done and just how much they are appreciated. We the fans are grown now, adults who are better people for having watched "The Mysterious Cities of Gold." To the actors, artists, and producers, we say THANK YOU !!

Because of you, we all dream in gold.

Score: 10.0

This program is everything that represents my childhood and I dare say more so than my all time favorite The Transformers. The Transformers had the best toys, however The Mysterious Cities of Gold was special; it was animation magic.

This was a multinational effort by France, Japan and Canada where the English dub was recorded. Together they made something wonderful and unforgettable.

This story follows the adventures of three children who are in search of the Cities of Gold along with three Spanish sailors. Each is searching for these mysterious cities for their own reasons. There are many mysteries they have to solve along the way, including the mysterious circumstances of the main character's past.

I give thanks to my mother who encouraged me to sit down and watch this while it was airing on Nickelodeon in the late 1980's.

Few people here in North America are aware of this gem in animation. Kudos to you if you are a fellow MCoG fan; we are kindred spirits.

I probably watched all of about two or three episodes in total of this French-Japanese animation as a child but thanks to the beautiful animation, stunning visuals and the beyond epic theme song it has stayed permanently embedded in my psyche ever since.

Now as I have the chance to watch every episode from the beginning, there are two things that stand out to me; (1) I was shocked to learn that it originally aired in it's entirety before I was even born and (2) I am only about eight episodes in and already I can see why this resonated so deeply with many eighties kids, like myself; not only is the animation beautiful, but the story, which centres around Spanish exploration of the Americas in the 16th century, is very mature and the characters incredibly engaging and complex for a children's show.

While the adult characters are driven by very 'adult' motivations of seeking fortune and notoriety in finding 'The Mysterious Cities of Gold', the children are driven by much 'purer' motivations; Esteban, a young Spanish boy who lived his whole life believing he was an orphan learns from a man named Mendosa that he is a 'Child of the Sun' and that he was rescued at sea by Mendosa himself and his real father may still be alive, somewhere in The New World, close to where he was rescued.

Zia, a young Incan girl, who was taken from her family and captured against her will by Spanish explorers, wants to reunite with her people but is conflicted because in doing so she will lead her captors straight to them.

And lastly, Tao, who joins the story a little later, is the last remaining member of a technologically advanced race who believes he will discover the secrets of his people in the Mysterious Cities of Gold.

If I had to nitpick anything, it would be that while Esteban, Zia and Tao are all implied to be around the same age, in the English dub, Esteban sounds notably younger than Zia and Tao, who both sound like the preteens they're supposed to be. Esteban sounds like he's about eight years old. But that's a really tiny nitpick.

I wish I could could say it's my age making me say 'they don't make them like this anymore', but they really don't.

OK, so it turns out that this is a French cartoon about a Spanish kid in South America and I grew up in Chicago and am apparently the ONLY one of my friends that is NOT French and remembers watching this as a child.

So, naturally I have NO idea where I saw it.

But for the absolute rest of my life that theme song has popped up in my head...of course working in Latin American History doesn't really help the odds there.

In fact it could be an early childhood inspiration. A subliminal message implanted in my head at a young age "you will find the city of Gold, Sam, you will find it." Or, likely, more realistically, it was just an absolutely awesome adventure with a very catchy theme song that every child is going to be obsessed with after watching one episode.

I came to know about the mysterious cities of gold from an internet forum and was most intrigued by the plot summary. So when I finally got the DVD, I couldn't wait to finish watching the series.

And it didn't disappoint me a single bit. Right from the beginning, it keeps the viewers glued to their screens keeping them in anticipation of what is going to happen next.All 3 central characters-Esteban, Zia and Tao have been excellently portrayed and they are superbly supported by Mendoza and other characters.

The music is very absorbing and blends with the scenarios brilliantly. This is one of the few cartoons that has really stood the tests of time.I would highly recommend this to any cartoon lover.

I give it a 10/10.

This is one of those TV series that has "quality" written all over it. I remember immediately being hooked on as a kid from the moment I saw the intro for the first time. This intro on itself is a nice example of how well this series was conceived. It starts out with a spectacular descent from outer space towards the ruin of a Maya temple and further down to the core of Earth, accompanied by a voice which tells of an amazing mystery. Then the catchy theme song starts, while we get a preview of the main characters and some key elements of the story, some of which would only appear after a dozen episodes.

In short, this animated series has excellent animation, excellent voice acting, an excellent musical score, and an excellent story based on a historical setting but with lots of fantasy elements that will stir the interest of any child. I had probably never developed the same interest in history if I hadn't watched this series. Moreover, every episode was originally accompanied by a short documentary which connected some of the (semi-)fictional events or sites in the story to real-world counterparts. Unfortunately these documentaries were not aired in every country.

The series originated from a French-Japanese cooperation, a concept that would produce several other high-quality animated series around the same time period. It appears that the Japanese, French and English versions were produced by the same quality standards, because they all are top-notch. It's a shame that there currently is no official DVD release of the English version. The only way to get it, is to look for unofficial releases, reconstructed from the video stream of the official French release and audio tracks from old VCR recordings. Apparently it's unclear who owns the rights to the English master tapes. Although not widely known, this series is a monument in TV history and deserves a better treatment.

Like most of the rest of you I agree that this was the best cartoon series made in the 1980s. I wanted to be Esteban, to fly the golden condor, to visit Machu Picchu, I also even made a gold mediallon and of course drove my parents insane by singing the theme song all day every day. However, I've noticed that this program provided a lot more than happy memories. It taught me a great deal about South American history, geography, and ancient civilizations.

I saw some of the series again recently and what struck me admist the attacks of nostalgia was the actual historical accuracy of certain images and scenes. Obviously it was an exploration of the lives of conquistadors such as Pizarro and Cortes, but the use of myth (ie - that Esteban was the child of the sun, that there was a 'El Dorado') was common amongst early explorers. Vital characters such as La Malinche - la chingada, the lover and translator for Cortes, who is seen as the black stain in Mexican history by many Mexicans - pop up all over the place and the portayal of ancient tribes such as the Incas and Amazons in their magnificent Peruvian/Brazilian backdrops is remarkably accurate. The greed of the Spaniards is conveyed well, as is their undeniable bravery, and the romance of the heralded 'explorer' such as Mendoza shines through. The children are clearly the most important characters, and they actually reminded me of Mark Twain's Huck Finn, a cool intelligent 12 year old boy with adventurous blood and an active imagination, who seems trapped in the moral dilemma of helping European concepts of civilizations to overcome native tribes and 'savage' peoples. The journey they take explores the whole Latin American continent and no-one can say that they didn't want to go to Machu Picchu and walk in Esteban's footsteps after seeing this cartoon!

Having studied a course in pre-Colonial Latin American history at Uni and having been to Latin America it is remarkable how much this TV series taught me. Perhaps given the average intellectual level of most cartoons nowadays, the present generation of kiddies should be treated to re-runs of this fantastic program, or even a sequel?!

Lost civilizations I've always had a great fascination for ever since I was six, El Dorado, Atlantis, Lemuria, etc. To this day we still know next to nothing about them, despite how many findings it just raises more and more questions. Who where these people, what were their customs, what happened that made their civilization and knowledge lost throughout the years? Some of these questions may be answers or never but to me it didn't always matter because our continual fascinations with them and how much the continue to fuel our imaginations, make these lost civilizations live on within us.

This is one of my favorite shows of all time and for the record a show on my birth year. Though it's also an under the radar gem, despite widely watched for anyone that had cable but as time went on like any lost civilization it's been somewhat forgotten. I was about seven when I saw this show on "Nickelodeon" it really blew me away, there never was a show truly like this at the time. It defiantly predates some tv shows like "Stargate Atlantis", and the anime series "Nadia: Secret of the Blue Water" another forgotten gem.

I really love the plotline, which is pretty much takes up on the pulp adventures it's sort of like with "Indiana Jones" if it was ever made into an animated show and "Johnny Quest" which is an animated show. One of the things that's unique is it's set sometimes in the 1600 which makes sense since historically since that was a time when the world was seeking to expand its horizons and when the search for the fabled El Dorado began and to this day still continues as it's still a lost fabled city. But what I like about this is just like in any pulp adventure tale it plays with the possibility of what if it was real, what if you really could find it. Though I simply love the idea of the existence of ancient technology which really isn't that wild of a concept considering some of our recent findings of certain tech from Egypt, we though we invented in the modern age only to discover it was invented long before we were born.

It's true that this show has an inconsistence here and there, like for example how the heck would Estaban know how to fly the Golden Condor as there were no flight schools, but that to me is part of the charm like in any of the pulp adventures they always shelved logic and focused on what they should be fun. It's also a little educational which isn't a bad thing because it's induced to us suttlely, as the show teaches us some archeological history by presenting some of the real findings from the past expeditions which of course act as clues throughout the show.

The characters are solid there are some good dynamics and well rounded. Estaban is my favorite, he's pretty much the 16-century version of Johnny Quest. Like Johnny he is adventurous but what I like about him is he is focused and determined as his motive it to find out about his unknown origins which is the revolving plot throughout the show. But what I also really like is how he keeps a level head and can really hold his own against danger, in some episode we do see him knife fight, I thought that was cool seeing a kid capable of kicking some ass, defending himself when he needs to.

My second favorite is Captain Mendoza, he's sort of the 16-century version of Race Bannon though also Han Solo. He's a mercenary whose primary focus is treasure. At first is sort of just their bodyguard simply using the kids as their guide to the "Mysterious Cities of Gold" but deep down, he really cares about Estaban and company, there is even a little depth which adds something to the ongoing mystery. Even like seeing him kick some ass, using that sword and all.

There is a lot of other things to love this show has going for it. From that unforgettable theme song which is one of my favorite themes of all time. The vehicles they ride from the Solaris ship that uses solar power to sail but my absolute favorite is the Golden Condor which is just awesome. Just seeing Estaban fly that sucker I wanted one myself. I really love the animated sequences with it which really gave the illusion of flight.

I really love the background animation which is great capturing the exotic quality of the jungles of South America which captures the spirt of the pulp adventures of Edgar Rice Burroughs and many others from yesteryear that always seemed to have a romantic fascination with far away exotic locales and the mysteries they contain. Really love the animation of the artifacts but most of all "The Cities of Gold" which doesn't disappoint.

But another thing that really made this show unique was in its format as they were using the continual developing plot format. This at the time was something never done in animated shows, not even in TV in general. It defiantly predated shows like "Battlestar Galactica" (revival version), "Game of Thrones", "Stranger Things" and others that have now commonly used this format; but this show was one of the first and still the best. I remember as a kid just always at the edge of my seat whenever the end of the episode came and said "To Be Continued" much like the end of any "Batman 66" two-part episode we had to painfully wait next week to resolve the cliffhanger. I always wondered what going to happen next, how the heck are they going to get out of this one, what else were they going to find. I honestly tried to never dare miss an episode of the show as each of the episode contained crucial details in which you could easily get lost if you missed one. And that's part of why I love this show because it just made you come back for more.

Like any archeological find this is a treasure worth uncovering because it's truly a golden adventure that shines bright.

Rating: 4 stars

I watched this when I was 6 or 7 or so, back in the 80s, then soon forgot about it for the next 17 years. I wish I'd remembered more, but then, I wasn't much of a couch potato and didn't catch every episode.

Then, a couple of weeks ago, I somehow stumbled on the Wikipedia entry and the memories started coming back. I was a bit too young to be conscious of all the subtexts in the show, but if nothing else, it was what added words like Spaniard, Inca, Olmec, condor, Andes, and El Dorado to my vocabulary. Oh, and I thought Esteban, Zia and especially Tao had funny names. The things one thinks as a kid. I obtained the episodes and started watching. More memories - the voice-over in the intro, the theme, Esteban's medallion.

As for the actual content of the show, it's brilliant stuff, and any thoughtful adult who isn't hung up about watching a "kids show" should watch it if the opportunity arises. I wish it would get re-run for the benefit of today's kids, and if that happens, parents, get your kids to watch it, and don't let them forget it!

A majestic cartoon series, this series encapsulates the beautiful mystery of many of the 1980's cartoons. Any cartoon that makes you feel emotion for the characters is very special indeed. Those who produced this shoe deserve a belated Oscar, i cant wait get the DVD , my own kids will love this show , they will soon see how brain-dead the majority of todays cartoons really are. I hope this gets the promo it deserves when it comes out , i hope the producers make millions - the success is deserved. I cant wait to bring back all of those wonderful memories , i intend to take a week off work to watch this - God bless all MCOG Fans!

This is not only entertaining but educational as well without the kids knowing!

The cartoon was very entertaining and right at the end contained a 3 minute mini documentary of what you just saw of the real facts about their travels.

Kids today only see random crap, but back in the 70's and 80's animations were fantastic.

I saw this on our ABC on the afternoon after school and was good then and better now!

If you have kids you should get a copy!

Definitely worth watching and great to FINALLY see it on DVD!!

Hi, I'm 24 now and acquired all 39 episodes and my god it brings back memory's. I think any single person who seen this cartoon would remember the music most and unlike other cartoons this one was well taught out, learning a small bit of history, plus unlike other cartoons people got hurt or killed in it i mean when there all in danger the kids sometime got hurt and bits where there's danger they found clues to help them selfs out which is more believable rather then these new cartoons (There in danger lets sit here and maybe some higher power in my ring will help us) Don't make cartoons like they use too. The Animation was also good and the story line was great, I have all the episodes now and me and my friend watch a few every night where on 31, 8 to go and where nearing the cities of gold, lol. Pity they never did a second series not spoiling the end but it was left open so who knows.

Two Thumbs up for this master piece of cartoon.

Also the episodes are online just look you will find them (Thats all i bet i'm allowed to say (theomegademon@yahoo.com)if you need to ask me anything) Good luck all enjoy.

I used to watch this show as a kid in the late 80's on ABC on 'The Afternoon Show'. Decades later I searched 'golden condor' as I couldn't remember much about the show except for this golden condor/bird image in my head... I found the show with its correct title and even watched the opening on you tube (which I found I could still sing along to - almost 25 years later) For me, the theme song is the highlight and the show itself is not really how I remembered it - but I was just a kid at the time. If you have not watched this show as a kid it may be hard to get into with its aged animation and odd characters. I must admit I do still enjoy watching a lot of kids shows and animations and this one will always hold a special place in my childhood memories.

I have been on this earth for 20 years, and I have yet to see any cartoon that even matches this one!!! EVERYTHING about this cartoon is the best. The plot, characters, even the intro music is the best!!! I can still remember the golden days when I was a little kid and watch this cartoon on Nickelodeon. Those were the days!!! If it was still on, I would watch it faithfully everyday!! I can't say enough glorious comments about this cartoon. Hands down, the best cartoon. In my opinion, some honorable runner-ups are Cyber Cops, The Adventures of Tintin, The Real Ghostbusters, and Danger Mouse. As great as those are, they can't hold a stick to "The Mysterious Cities of Gold" My only regret is that when the show was on TV, I was old enough to figure out how the VCR worked.

This anime has the perfect set of elements that any epic adventure calls for:

-PARTY of adventurers all with unique goals and personalities.

-The smug, deceitful yet ultimately good-aligned party leader that everyone loves.

-NUMEROUS other parties and factions with good, neutral and evil alignments.

-DISTINCT goals for each faction (many don't even care about the Cities of Gold, and those who do have hugely opposing agendas).

-A JOURNEY beginning with a sail through the Atlantic ocean and continuing through numerous cities, landmarks and sites across an entire continent.

-EPIC battles between various warring factions throughout the show, culminating in a final showdown.

-Sci fi elements in the form of ancient technology and giant vessels.

-SUSPENSE; the artifacts that the protagonists carry will actually do something along the way!

I used to watch this show when I was a little girl. When I think about it, I only remember it vaguely. If you ask me, it was a good show. The opening sequence and theme song are two things I only remember vaguely, too. In addition to that, everyone was ideally cast. Also, the writing was very strong. The performances were top-grade, too. I hope some network brings it back so I can see every episode. Before I wrap this up, I'd like to say that I'll always remember this show in my memory forever, even though I don't think I've seen every episode. Now, in conclusion, if some network ever brings it back, I hope that you catch it one day before it goes off the air for good.

I like the bit where the water drained out and there was gold everywhere