Zorro the Chronicles episode 12 A bell for Los Angeles

We present Zorro the Chronicles episode 12 A Bell for Los Angeles  — plot summary, our subjective review, the episode itself and the list of creators. Don’t forget about the next episode! You’ll find a link to it at the bottom of the page.

Zorro the Chronicles episode 12 A Bell for Los Angeles – plot summary

Zorro the Chronicles episode 12 “A Bell for Los Angeles” begins not in the titular pueblo, but in the port city of Monterey. A group of soldiers with a cart, led by Captain Monasterio, head there. They are accompanied by the de la Vegas, don Rodrigo and don Luis. Their task is to collect the bell funded by the candidate for alcalde and transport it home. The new bell is supposed to add splendor to the celebrations. It will also warn against dangers as its sound will carry around the entire neighborhood.

Unfortunately, the heat combined with accidentally hitting the cart with vegetables throw the commander off balance. He yells at the owner of the vehicle, an elderly woman, and tells her to clean up the belongings. On the other hand, don Luis shows empathy by helping to load the vegetables. Diego also gets off his horse and buys a few oranges, which he juggles with and sends to Monasterio and Garcia. This behavior is not to the liking of the captain and Malapensa, who think that caballeros are not to associate with the lowborn.

Garcia and Bernardo are the heroes

While loading the bell from the ship onto the cart, don Alejandro praises don Luis’s good intentions. He wants to be alcalde and serve the people. Meanwhile, Garcia struggles to guide the soldiers operating the crane. Thanks to Diego’s hints, after a few nervous moments, they finally manage to put the new purchase in the right place. On the way back, the captain and don Rodrigo conspire against Senor Verdugo. If Monasterio imprisoned him, Don Luis’ estate could be sold for next to nothing and go to Malapensa.

However, this is not the end of work for Garcia. Scaffolding is already waiting in the pueblo. At its top, there is a worker raising a bell on a rope, and a monk. Everything goes smoothly and many inhabitants observe. Only Bernardo notices that the rope connecting the scaffolding with the tower has worn out and is hanging on the last thread. When the thread breaks, the heavy bell prevails and the whole thing begins to lean towards the market. Garcia panics, Gonzales tries to prove himself and waits for orders, and everyone holds their breath. Bernardo demonstrates quick thinking and sets up a board as a support. The structure is stabilized and cheers can be heard. The locals come by to congratulate Bernardo and express their gratitude to don Luis. There are only two dissatisfied people – Malapensa and the captain, which attracts Diego’s attention.

Bell – Blessing or Curse?

Diego’s gut feeling is correct. In the evening at the hacienda, don Rodrigo explains his plan to Dentist and La Rana. They are to ring the bell that will lure everyone out of the house. Unattended belongings will be easy prey for the thieves who will leave the “Z” signs, making the masked renegade appear guilty together with don Luis.

The plan is 100% successful. The caller La Rana awakens not only the residents of Los Angeles itself but also the nearby haciendas. I think the only person sleeping is the sergeant, who is snoring loudly until Monasterio wakes him. Carlos finds no one in the building, and the captain is convinced that Zorro is behind it. That’s why Garcia and Gonzalez are to keep an eye on the church until morning.

Returning home residents notice a mess, stolen items and signatures on the walls. At this point, the Dons come to the pueblo, concerned about the alarm. The situation is getting worse, mutual accusations are made, and Diego tries to rationalize the discussion and calm the hot heads. Don Luis declares to help find the perpetrator. Then, at a sign from Malapensa, the Dentist and La Rana stir up the crowd and throw vegetables. When people are busy with protests, two bandits efficiently deprive them of valuables, including Carlos’s watch.

Teamwork of Zorro, Inez and Bernardo

After returning to the hacienda, Diego goes down to the cave and changes into Zorro’s clothes. But Inez and Bernardo also want to act. Meanwhile, Ramirez and Monasterio are hiding in an ambush. They try to make the waiting less boring with pleasant memories of Spain. Zorro overhears them and pretends to be a nightingale, fueling the conversation. With the help of a whip, he climbs the tower and Bernardo sneaks through the door. Moments later, La Rana and the Dentist also go there by the same route.

Don Luis arrives at the pueblo and is ambushed by the captain and the swordmaster. He opposes an attempt of un unjust arrest and begins a duel with Ramirez. Hidden on the roof, Zorro knows that the fight is doomed to fail, so he jumps between rivals. The renegade duel with the swordmaster, and Verdugo with the commandant. Zorro skillfully changes his hand and fences using the left hand in an equally skillful way as he did with the right a moment before .

The bell rings, but who pulled the rope when all the suspects are in the square? Zorro runs up to the tower without hesitation. He arrives at the top in the middle of the battle between sword-wielding La Rana and the Dentist, and dagger-wielding Inez together with club-holding Bernardo. And it must be said that it is Malapensa’s subordinates who get a heavy beating. Zorro joins the duel and is perfectly visible on the bell tower. Once again the crowd gathers downstairs and the soldiers come rushing with the ladder.

Will don Luis and Zorro be cleared of accusations?

The whole scene is comical. Bored, Zorro reclines on the roof and fences casually, while Inez loudly complains about the lack of action. Eventually, the renegade decides to end the show and knocks his opponents over. Once they are on their feet again, he removes their pants and drops the bandits all the way to the bottom of the tower. His sister wants some drama, too, so she screams to be saved from the terrible bandit Zorro. When Monasterio realizes the girl, who is his soft spot, is in danger, he climbs the ladder at lightning speed and begins fighting Zorro.

Real bandits want to use the commotion. Don Luis notices and tries to stop them. Unfortunately the rushing Dentist and La Rana simply knock him over and run on. However, they drop Carlos’s stolen watch and he recognizes it immediately.

How does this adventurous night end? Gonzales and Garcia climb the ladder, and their rivalry in catching Zorro damages the thing quite badly, so all four of them land artistically on the ground. On top of that, don Luis shows Monasterio a letter with orders from the governor. The residents also draw the correct conclusions and stand by senor Verdugo. The grateful caballero (probably as part of the election campaign also 😉 ) offers to cover the losses and invites everyone for a drink in the tavern.

Zorro the Chronicles episode 12 A Bell for Los Angeles — review

This is one of the most interesting and creative episodes. So much is going on here! There is an interesting intrigue, lots of action, and humour in the right doses. The creators even managed to smuggle a rather sad but important reflection into all this. Good job!

Characters in good shape

At the beginning, we get a typical Garcia with typical priorities: first the food, then everything else. His rivalry with Gonzalez is also clearly visible in this episode! You can see that the problem with positioning the ladder does not result from the soldiers’ pathetic incompetence. It’s caused by the desire to be better than the rival. The captain should definitely do something about his subordinates’ abilities in a group work. 😉

Monasterio is also fantastic. He makes a facepalm, calls the soldiers names and yells at the old woman, clearly expecting everyone to give way to him. The scene with the old woman shows perfectly who is a positive and who is a negative character here. It’s a simple lesson for the younger audience. Monasterio and Malapensa, of course, are with the dark side of the force. They are a fantastic duo – they come up with the idea of ​​a great intrigue to keep don Luis from entering the alcalde office, but naturally, neither of them trusts the other. The collaboration of the villains is wonderful!

Important information

I will start with what is missing. Namely, no one has explained who the alcalde is. What is this office, what does such a person do? How much power does he have, and is it greater than the commandant? Let’s not forget that The Chronicles are targeted primarily at younger viewers, so it was worth providing a brief explanation of the Spanish colonies reality. What is good, though, it is that the creators showed the sad truth of how easy it is to incite a crowd. One screamer – well, two in this case – is enough, and people are already forgetting about don Luis’ charity. Human gratitude and memory are very short-termed. A grim but very important lesson, and a bit of a repetition of what happened to Zorro in episode 10.

First of all, let’s have fun

Reflecting on the human nature, however, does not make this episode serious and sad. It’s been cleverly woven into a lot of humorous action so that we notice it, but it doesn’t spoil the fun. Maybe I got used to this crazy, not exactly realistic convention, because suddenly Ines and Diego’s banter stopped bothering me. Despite the fact that the siblings… practically push each other into fights! But it’s visible that they are both a little bit childlike, at times more playing at being Zorro than treating it as some serious mission. It’s really possible that the one that takes it all the most seriously is Bernardo. He becomes the indisputable hero of the episode, saving the day two times.

This time acrobatics are not irritating, but really entertaining. Garcia is amazing when he climbs the ladder UNDER the corporal. And it’s hard to disagree with Zorro, who thinks soldiers would be great at the circus. Lying on the roof, lazily and casually fencing with the Dentist and La Rana, Zorro is fantastic. Diego seems a bit arrogant in this scene, but in a good and quite cute way. The image is completed by Ines yawning with boredom. Los Angeles clearly lacks opponents worthy of these cocky siblings. 🙂

Delightful touches

I couldn’t help but smile when Garcia mentioned the Mojave Desert. After all, this is the same one where  Captain Monastario threatened him to send in the Disney series! Speaking of the captain, he has an amazing scene at the very beginning, when he reacts to Garcia’s fall from the horses not even with rage, but resignation. As if he really didn’t expect anything else from his subordinate and he didn’t have strength to get angry. Maestro Ramirez is also noteworthy as he reveals his talent for… poetry. His conversation with the commander about the charms of Andalusia is both cute and hilarious. And am I the only one interested in Monasterio’s memories of beautiful senioritas in Granada? 😉

Zorro the Chronicles episode 12 A Bell for Los Angeles — Youtube

World premiere: 20.12.2015

Production: Cyber Group Studios
Directed by Olivier Lelardoux, Pierre Sissman
Animation: Nicolas Davoust, Yann Martinat

Voices:
Don Diego/Zorro: Johnny Yong Bosch, Valéry Schatz
Ines: Dorothy Elias-Fahn, Sandra Lou
Monasterio: Jamieson Price, Paul Borne
Demetrio Garcia: Kirk Thornton
Ignacio Gonzalez: Fabrice Fara
Other voices: R. Martin Klein, Kyle McCarley, Colleen O’Shaughnessey, Joe Ochman, Alan Shearman, Keith Silverstein, Anne Yatco, Michel Bedetti, Martin Billany, Bernard Bollet, Lucien Dodge, Richard Epcar, Pascal Casanova, Melora Harte, Vincent de Bouard, Marie-Christine Darah, Jean-Christophe Dollé, Bubba Kuchow, Patrice Dozier, Joey Latsko, Dave Mallow, Karine Foviau, Stéphanie Hédin, Tony Joudrier, Juan Llorca, Patrick Messe, Michel Voletti,