Animated movie which although released six months before the She-Ra: Princess of Power TV show began airing, was nevertheless a compilation of the first five episodes. Surprisingly, it received a theatrical release - beating Dolph Lundgren's 1987 Masters of the Universe to the big screen by two years - and did pretty well (making around $7 million against a $2 million budget).
The Sorceress of Castle Grayskull wakes one night to the appearance of a mysterious magical sword, which leads her to a portal known as a 'Time Gate'. Recognising the 'Sword of Protection' the Sorceress sends He-Man through the portal to find the one person who is destined to possess the sword...
The story acts as a segue from the then imminent conclusion of the He-Man and the Masters of the Universe show to She-Ra: Princess of Power. The animation understandably looks very dated and the voice acting has that distinctly 'Saturday morning kids TV' sound; yet despite (or maybe because) of that, there's a real charm to it. Yes, there is pretty obvious (even unofficially acknowledged) 'inspiration' taken from Lord of the Rings, Conan, and Star Wars. There's even a feel of Jack Kirby's Fourth World (an influence that the makers of the Dolph Lundgren movie, at least, admitted); but that certainly doesn't stop it being enjoyable. And as time went on they expanded their own world considerably.
Oh, there's also the oft-mentioned gay subtext (in relation to both He-Man and She-Ra) which is at times laugh-out-loud funny! I've seen it said that was a deliberate joke on the part of Filmation (the production company). Who knows. Anyway, all things considered, 7/10.
The Sorceress of Castle Grayskull wakes one night to the appearance of a mysterious magical sword, which leads her to a portal known as a 'Time Gate'. Recognising the 'Sword of Protection' the Sorceress sends He-Man through the portal to find the one person who is destined to possess the sword...
The story acts as a segue from the then imminent conclusion of the He-Man and the Masters of the Universe show to She-Ra: Princess of Power. The animation understandably looks very dated and the voice acting has that distinctly 'Saturday morning kids TV' sound; yet despite (or maybe because) of that, there's a real charm to it. Yes, there is pretty obvious (even unofficially acknowledged) 'inspiration' taken from Lord of the Rings, Conan, and Star Wars. There's even a feel of Jack Kirby's Fourth World (an influence that the makers of the Dolph Lundgren movie, at least, admitted); but that certainly doesn't stop it being enjoyable. And as time went on they expanded their own world considerably.
Oh, there's also the oft-mentioned gay subtext (in relation to both He-Man and She-Ra) which is at times laugh-out-loud funny! I've seen it said that was a deliberate joke on the part of Filmation (the production company). Who knows. Anyway, all things considered, 7/10.