- "In a time when there is great peril in the world, the barbarian, Conan, is called upon to protect three young warriors whose destiny is to some day rule the land of Hyboria."
Conan and the Young Warriors is a 1994 animated series produced by Sunbow Entertainment that aired on CBS. A loose sequel to the 1992 series Conan the Adventurer, it followed everyone's favorite Cimmerian barbarian as he and his ghostly ally Epimetrius the Sage protected and trained three children—Draegen, Brynne and Navah—who were gifted with special powers provided by three "star stones" that would one day help them unite and rule all of Hyboria. Opposing them are a number of different rogues, most of them in the employ of the evil, half-Serpent Man sorceress Sulinara and her demon slave, Grakk.
The show lasted only thirteen episodes, and was largely derided for being even Lighter and Softer than its predecessor, with some detractors giving it the unflattering nickname "Conan the Babysitter." Over half of the series was released on DVD (but only in Australia) by MRA Entertainment in 2003.
Tropes:
- Action Girl: Brynne is one in-training, while Tisara from "The Hand of Fate" is a full-on one who impresses even Conan.
- Amulet of Concentrated Awesome: The star stones, which give their wielders special powers. Draegen's is in his headband, Brynne's is in her ring, and Navah's is in his necklace.
- Animal Eyes: Sulinara's left eye is reptilian.
- Armor of Invincibility: Draegen's star stone grants him a suit of indestructible Instant Armor.
- Assimilation Plot: The goal of the shapeshifter from "Wolf in the Fold."Shapeshifter: And know, that when I defeat you, all of you shall become as me. We will infiltrate the world, and soon mankind will be no more!
- Attack! Attack! Attack!: Draegen is convinced that jumping in with all-out offensive is all there is to combat. Conan keeps trying to teach him things like strategy and knowing when to retreat to fight another day.
- Bad Boss: Sulinara enslaved Grakk, and treats him like crap.
- Basilisk and Cockatrice: A basilisk pops up in "Carnival of Cardolus." It's a giant orange lizard that breaths Deadly Gas, and its scales can be used as a Panacea to any poison.
- The Beastmaster: Navah's star stone gives him control over animals, though he's so far only been able to make it work on his pet mongoose, Tiki.
- Big Bad: Sulinara, the half-Serpent Man sorceress who wants to use the star stones to Take Over the World.
- Big Red Devil: Demonicus looks like a fairly stereotypical depiction of the Devil, with horns, dark hair, and red skin. All that's missing is cloven hooves.
- Black Cloak: Sulinara's wardrobe includes a black cloak, the hood of which she almost never lets down.
- Black Magic: Sulinara's specialty. She even enslaved a town to get the rare minerals that she needs for her experiments in the dark arts.
- Blob Monster: The shapeshifter's true form looks like a billowing, tentacled cloud with a scowling face in the center.
- Breath Weapon: Grakk breaths fire, while the basilisk from "Carnival of Cardolus" expelled Deadly Gas.
- The Chosen One: Draegen, Brynne and Navah are destined to rule Hyboria.
- City Mouse: Brynne grew up in the slums of Shadizar, and is thus not especially comfortable in the wilderness.
- Continuity Nod:
- Conan brings up his old companion Greywolf in "Dreamweaver."
- Needles is mentioned (though not by name) in "Isle of the Lost." Wherein Conan says he got hungry one time and ate him.
- Dark and Troubled Past: Brynne grew up in the ghetto, and survived through petty thievery.
- Dem Bones: Sulinara's mooks are oddly redheaded skeletons called Skeleton Warriors (not to be confused with those Skeleton Warriors).
- Demon Lords and Archdevils: Demonicus is said to be one of the rulers of the Underworld. As a testament to his power, he can No-Sell star metal, a substance whose very touch severely wounds fellow demon Grakk.
- Demonic Possession: One of Conan's old friends is possessed by the spirit of the Unitaur after coming into contact with its detached horn in "Brothers of the Sword."
- Draconic Humanoid: The demon Grakk is a winged, reptilian humanoid who can breathe fire.
- Dream Weaver: Dementhos, the eponymous wizard from "Dreamweaver." Conan consults with him when Sulinara begins attacking the Young Warriors in their dreams, and he helps out by opening a portal to the Dream Land.
- Eerie Pale-Skinned Brunette: Along with her reptilian features, Sulinara also has dark hair and an unhealthy pallor.
- Evil Is Not a Toy: Sulinara gets hit by this twice in "Covenant." First, the demon that she summoned and bargained with betrayed her, then she lost control of the artifact that she used to banish him.
- Evil Tower of Ominousness: Sulinara's headquarters is collection of large, dark spires.
- Evil Versus Evil: Sulinara summons a high-level demon named Demonicus to help her acquire the star stones and the Eye of Argon. The two predictably end up turning on each other.
- Fantastic Racism: The Cimmerians and the Picts hate each other, which leads to a lot of Teeth-Clenched Teamwork between Conan and the shaman of Navah's Pict tribe in "Brothers of the Sword."
- Fire and Brimstone Hell: Implied. Grakk comes from the Underworld, and is constantly complaining about how much colder Earth is.
- Fish People: "Carnival of Cardolus" featured a water sprite in love with a human giant.
- Flaming Sword: Demonicus is an Evil Sorceror, though he isn't above engaging in a good old fashioned Sword Fight using one of these.
- The Freakshow: It includes a human giant, a water sprite, and a Wolf Man.
- Gladiator Games: Particularly fit slaves are forced to engage in them in "Arena." They're Unwinnable by Design, as the champion gets a sword, while all the "challengers" get is a shield.
- Guys Smash, Girls Shoot: Brynne (the girl of the group) uses a bow and arrows, as well pouches full of magic dust, though Navah, the youngest member of the troupe, also uses a projectile weapon (a sling).
- Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: All three of the Young Warriors are blond.
- Half-Human Hybrid: Sulinara... maybe. It's at one point implied that her Serpent Man traits might not be genetic, but rather the result of her magically altering herself.
- Hand Blast: Sulinara's main method of attack. She can only fire bursts of energy from her left hand, though.
- Heroes Prefer Swords: Conan still has his star metal sword, which is just as effective against demons like Grakk as it is against Serpent Men.
- Huge Guy, Tiny Girl: The giant from "Carnival of Cardolus" made even Conan look small. Meanwhile, his water sprite lover is about the size of Navah (an eight-year old human boy).
- I Lied: Sulinara enslaved a spiritual being from the higher planes, but promises to free it if it tracked down Conan and the children for her. When the spirit does so, Sulinara shoves it back into its clay pot prison.Servitor: You promised you would release me!
Sulinara: I reconsidered. - I Owe You My Life: The only reason why Conan tolerates a scoundrel like Sakura is because Sakura once knocked him out of the way of falling rubble, albeit accidentally.
- Island of Mystery: Torishan from "Isle of the Lost." Turns out that the reason why no one ever comes back from it is because Sulinara turns all those who venture to it into monsters using the Spirit Keeper.
- Kick the Dog: Sulinara gets two instances of this in the first episode; first, when she reneges on her deal with Servitor, and later when she forces Grakk to bring her Brynne's star stone, despite knowing that physical contact with it will cause him agonizing pain.
- The Little Shop That Wasn't There Yesterday: Brynne acquired her star stone from one of these. The shopkeeper turns out to have been a disguised Epimetrius.Brynne: Rogan, who taught me the ways of thievery, sent me to rob an antique shop. The shop was so... full, yet it hadn't even been there the week before.
- Mad Eye: Sulinara's left eye is a big, bulging reptilian one.
- Master of Illusion: Brynne's star stone allows her to cast illusions.
- Mentor Archetype: Epimetrius the Sage is still overseeing Conan, who now has students of his own in the form of the Young Warriors.
- Mirror Match: This of course happens when Conan faces a shapeshifter in "Wolf in the Fold."Shapeshifter: Best you flee, barbarian. No man can hope to defeat himself.
Conan: Wrong, creature. A true man must defeat himself everyday! - Mugging the Monster: The first episode has the Young Warriors be attacked by a group of bandits, so that we can see what each of their star stones do.
- Mundane Solution: Demonicus enchants shackles so that they are resistant to Conan's strength and Sulinara's magic. Brynne discovers that they are still susceptible to a lock pick.
- Our Minotaurs Are Different: The Unitaur, a giant, golden Minotaur-like creature that once terrorized the world until its horn was knocked off, resulting in a case of Taken for Granite. It revives itself by enthralling one of Conan's friends into reattaching the horn in "Brothers of the Sword."
- Power Trio: There are three Young Warriors, two boys and a girl.
- Pragmatic Villainy: When Grakk complains that he might die from an injury, Sulinara doesn't care, but she changes her mind and gives him time to recover after concluding that she may still have use of him.
- Raised by Natives: Navah is a Hyborian raised by a Pict tribe.
- Red Right Hand: Sulinara's left eye and hand are reptilian.
- Reforged into a Minion: Sulinara turns people into monstrous slaves using a gem called the Spirit Keeper in "Isle of the Lost."
- Repulsive Ringmaster: The eponymous character from "Carnival of Cardolus." He subjects his freaks to wage slavery, abducts Draegen and Navah in order to force them to help him capture a basilisk, and when things go south, he tries to run off with all of the gold that he was "saving" for his freaks.
- Sealed Evil in a Can: The ruined temple that Conan and the Young Warriors live in was erected to make sure that the shapeshifter that was magically sealed beneath it never got out.
- Shapeshifter Swan Song: After being critically wounded, the shapeshifter begins uncontrollably assuming different forms, including a few that it had taken on during the events of the episode.
- Slave Liberation: The premise of "Arena" (a town is freed from the tyranny of Sulinara and her two subordinates) and "Carnival of Cardolus" (circus freaks subject to wage slavery are inspired to turn against their cruel ringmaster).
- Spirit Advisor: The ghost of Epimetrius the Sage is still giving cryptic advice and assigning missions, to Conan's irritation.
- Suffer the Slings: Navah's weapon is a sling.
- Team Pet: Navah's pet mongoose, Tiki.
- Territorial Smurfette: Brynne is immediately annoyed by Tisara's presence, even before Tisara mentions that she believes herself to be one of the The Chosen Ones.
- The Unchosen One: Tisara from "The Hand of Fate." She was the heir to the city-state of Luxor, but her guardian was secretly replaced by an impostor, who raised her to believe that she was one of The Chosen Ones. He sent her off on a Snipe Hunt for a star stone, so that he could rule Luxor in her place. When she tries to use Brynne's ring, it angrily backfires, and renders Draegen and Navah's weapons useless.
- A Villain Named "Z__rg": Sulinara's henchman is a demon named Grakk.
- Voluntary Shapeshifting: The villain of "Wolf in the Fold" is a shapeshifter that was sealed beneath the ruins where Conan and the Young Warriors live.
- Walking Shirtless Scene: Conan still never wears a shirt, even in frigid climates.
- Wolf Man: One of the carnival freaks in "Carnival of Cardolus" is an antisocial wolf man.
