The Mysterious Cities of Gold

I recently discovered the work of the artist Alex Grey. I was drawn to an image of his (can't remember where I first saw it), which I later found was called Oversoul.

The image brought back a wonderful memory - a childhood cartoon I used to watch called, The Mysterious Cities of Gold.

Wikipedia:
The Mysterious Cities of Gold is a Japanese-French animated series co-produced by DiC Entertainment and Studio Pierrot. The series premiered in Japan on NHK on June 29, 1982 and ran weekly for 39 episodes until its conclusion on June 7, 1983. Set in 1532, the series follows the adventures of a young Spanish boy named Esteban who joins a voyage to the New World in search of the lost Cities of Gold and his father.

It's been a long time since I've thought about that show. In the UK, it ran during the mid/late eighties (my childhood) and reminded me of how simple life was. I can't remember what happened in specific episodes, but I loved the themes it covered. It had everything: adventure, mystery, friendship, love, family. What kid wouldn't be attracted to those ideals. It's a shame that as we get older we let go of the things that used to give us pleasure, and in the name of growing up or maturity, we pass these things off as childish. When we get older and try to reconnect to the past, we become old fools steeped in nostalgia.

Nayland House, remembers a place full of adventure and mystery. A place that had love, friendship, and family. He's been trying to get back there for a very long time, but needs our help.

You're never too old to rediscover that spark that used to get you out of bed at the crack of dawn. Whether it was to play your favourite video games or watch your favourite cartoons. How trivial work, money, possessions seemed back then. We had it all to begin with and we didn't even know it. You couldn't buy back that time for all the money in the world, but you could recreate the feeling by finding new adventures.

I was pleased to read on the Wikipedia page for MCG that a sequel is in the works for the original 80s cartoon. A film is a also a possibility. It looks like I'll be able to relive my childhood after all.

Lewis Saka
www.naylandhouse.com

UPDATE 31/8/12:
A French-language trailer has popped up online for the MCG sequel (2012 reboot), and if you skip to about 03:55 you can hear the new French version of that theme song. Enjoy.