He-Man and the Masters of the Universe: The Beginning

This is one of those rare occassions where a "revamp" exceeds the original in every possible way. Sure, most of us 20-somethings recall the campy, cheaply hidden moralizations of the original 80's show, a prime example of what some call 80's hypocrisy: Here's a show designed to sell toys, but the censors couldn't deal with the inherent violence of a barbarian hero and a demonic villain, so every show was written around some heavy-handed yet simplistic morality-fable, featuring the bumbling Skeletor and his moron henchmen, or some bland generic foe the kids barely even noticed. Sure, there was a few groovy stories, but not nearly enough, and watching a sword-carrying hero never fight with his sword got pretty old. Thank the Stars for this new show, then! Great animation(No stock footage!), interesting music, and finally, bad guys who are not all fools, and a serious threat! Even the dumb brutes like Clawful and Whiplash compensate for their lack of intellect by just being vicious, overwhelming powerhouses! And Evil-Lyn gets to be a mystical butt-kicker, and a wicked schemer to boot! Tri-Klops gets to be an inventor and reconnisance expert, TrapJaw is a seriously mean thug, but tactically sound, and Beastman and Mer-Man get to be seriously useful! The show also excells by having Prince Adam, He-Man's alter-ego, grow as a character, and learn about the use of his powers, his responsibilities, as he goes along. Best of all: Skeletor is a scary, creepy sonofagun, who doesn't mind cruel punishments and more "permenant" ways of dealing with his foes! The guy resorts to attempted murder often. And he's capable of going toe-to-toe with his foes, unlike the goofball of the old series. Orko's still a goof, but he's actually powerful now, Man-at-Arms is a true leader, warrior and brilliant inventor, rather than the borderline senile twit portrayed originally, and the other heroes all rock too! This show kicks! Watch it!

Animated pilot movie comprising the first three episodes of the 2002 He-Man and the Masters of the Universe reboot. First shown on TV on 16th August that year, before being broken down into individual episodes beginning on 30th August. This version runs at just over an hour.

The animation is a big step-up from the 1980s original. Character movements are far more fluid, and there's hardly any reused/stock footage. Artwork is good; many backdrops are quality paintings in their own right (Snake Mountain is beautiful), whilst the character designs are updated - yet wholly recognisable - versions of their 1980s selves (and for the first time there's a noticeable difference between Prince Adam and He-Man!). Colours are strong, whilst not being distractingly over-bright, and the whole look is pretty cinematic. The only downer for me visually is that the fights have a definite Anime feel to them, with a lot of jump-flying that feels shoehorned in. I enjoy Anime - but that style of combat seems out of place here. Some of the fight choreography is also a little confusing at times.

Voice work is fine, and whilst it's strange hearing different actors' voices coming from He-Man, Man-At-Arms, etc, the performances are a good fit (have to say though that Brian Dobson's Skeletor is very close to Alan Oppenheimer's original). Storytelling is good, with a real sense of world-building even at this early stage. And we get full origins for both He-Man and Skeletor - something not done on the original show.

Looking online it seems that fans of the original show on the whole embraced this version (both currently rate at 7.5 on IMDb). For me it doesn't quite have the charm of the original, but it's certainly fun. 7/10.

On the planet Eternia, Captain Randor led his warriors to warn the Great Council of Keldor's attempt to invade and take the power of the universe. However, the council disappears, as Randor would claim victory, and replace the council as King. However, the piece was broken the day of Prince Adam's sixteenth birthday, as Keldor, now known as Skeletor after the final battle caused him to be disfigured (an event I won't spoil as it is covered in a future episode) would finally destroy the Mystic Wall keeping them in the Dark Hemisphere. Man-At-Arms (voiced by Garry Chalk) would take Prince Adam (voiced by Cam Clarke) to Castle Greyskull, where the Sorceress (voiced by Nicole Oliver) tells the youth he is destined to save Eternia. After some doubt, he soon accepts his new role, gaining the power sword, which allows him to become a strong barbarian-like hero called He-Man.

This movie would kick off the 2002 reboot of He-Man And The Masters Of The Universe (and would be separated to become the first three episodes of the first season). As this aired on the old Toonami block (which was on Cartoon Network, a cable channel), and at the time when TV shows have content ratings, this reboot would not be bound to the same restrictions as the Filmation original (allowing characters to engage in swordfights and even throw punches). It also does what Filmation did not: give an origin episode that showed how Prince Adam gained his fabulous secret powers and the power sword that turned him into He-Man.

The characters have been modernized at best, as females like Teela and Evil-Lyn are better dressed than their Filmation counterparts. Also, some characters have their origin story changed (especially Cringer's transformation into Battle Cat, and Man-E-Faces, a character who started out as a villain in one episode where a flashback introduced him, has him with the Masters from the start). Prince Adam and He-Man are more obvious, as while Filmation did them as the same model (as a way to cut production costs), here, it's easy to tell Prince Adam, who wears a brown coat, from He-Man (and Cam does a good job giving the two different voices to complete the illusion that despite being the same person, the fact is supposed to be kept secret). Also, Brian Dobson does a good job voicing Skeletor (even going as far as to put his own take on the voice made popular by Alan Oppenheimer). This is a neat origin story to watch, be it complete or in the three separate parts.

As a BIG fan of the original He-Man I really liked this re-make & aside from the fact that Cringer or Battle cat don't talk, it stays true to the original. The opening sequence is even better!

Of the many blasphemous revivals of old 80s shows, this is probably the best so far. This one actually has an origin of how Adam became He-Man in the first place and how Skeletor came to be the ugly man with no face that we all know and love/loathe (or love to loathe). It's just too bad that Battlecat can't talk anymore.

The animation's pretty good, with some very anime like touches and CGI mixes. The new He-Man kind of looks like Dolph Lundgren, who played He-Man in the live action movie, while Adam finally has the distinction of being smaller and decidedly younger. Skeletor, Mer-Man, Man-At-Arms, and Strators still look the same, though Beastman looks bigger than before. The new Teela is actually quite prettier than the old one, and apparently younger too. The Sorceress has an Egyptian thing going on now, but that's not necessarily bad.

The voice actors are pretty good. Cam Clarke lacks the soft spoken touch of John Erwin (the original He-Man/Adam) and he can't match Erwin yelling "I have the power!", but other than that, Clarke is a worthy successor, overplaying Adam as a spoiled teen (in his distinct, trademark Leonardo from Ninja Turtles voice) and He-Man as his older and decidedly more likeable alter ego. Gary Chalk (who, ironically, voiced He-Man in the 2nd remake of the show from the early 90s, and recently did Optimus Primal for "Beast Wars") is a good Man-At-Arms. Stratos (Scott McNeil, who does a few other voices too) sounds like Sean Connery now. I only wish they hadn't decided to have Skeletor sound almost exactly the same; it makes him too comical. I wish they'd found a guy who could do a sinister voice like Frank Langella from the movie.

All in all, this is good. Enjoy.