He-Man and the Masters of the Universe

Words cannot describe the combination of blissful nostalgia and childlike wonder I experienced while watching this new version of my favorite cartoon for the first time. I've been hoping for years that Cartoon Network would air the old MOTU episodes, but I never expected an all-new series! Finally, they've got an original action cartoon worth watching!

Being a fan of the original series (and yes, the toys as well) I was thrilled to see this new series.

It is brilliant! It reinvents the old characters and manages to stay true to its origins. Finally these "masters of the universe" deliver action living up to their title. Skeletor at last is the powerful menacing character he should be. He-Man is the good-hearted force of nature he always was, slightly updated for these times.

And then I hear about its cancellation. Say what?! The inmates are running the asylum, it would seem. Why cancel it?! This series has so much potential... What is wrong with people?!

Bring it back! It showed so much promise!

If you loved the old He-man then this show will appeal to you. It's got all the same characters, but the character development and plot is crisper. There is more internal conflict. And more inter character relationships. This series is filled with drama between the characters you loved in the 80's. And the animation looks better. Personally, I don't think the way the fights are animated, a sort of cheap dragon ball z type reuse of the same 'flying' shots over and over again. It's not bad, it just gets old if you watch them too often. But over all it's really quite enjoyable. Since this post is referring to the pilot movie in particular. I must say it's a great story that was never told in the original series. It tells how Skeletor came to be. And how he got that cute skeletal face of his. It give backround that you've been dying to know since the early 80's. It's worth watching for that alone. ANd it tells how Prince Adam first became He-man. Which was also left out of the 80's show. Watch it. You will not be disappointed.

Growing up in the 80's, specifically a boy growing up in the 80's, it's not surprising I am very fond on He-Man. However, just this past summer I watched one of the first episodes that I would have grown up with and didn't understand all the fuss. Why did I like this show so much? The writing was terrible - the animation....well, no good animation came out of the 80's in retrospect in my opinion. I guess the only thing the short lived, but heavily remembered, animated series had going for it was the plot.

I grew up with the action figures - possibly the largest array of action figures ever known - but slowly the names and the ongoing plots faded in my mind and soon my own creative imagination took over and created my own adventures, combining various sets of Ghostbusters and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. I was getting further and further away from the concept of the show - and then before I knew it, I grew up forgot all about Orko and and Beast-Man. That is, until I saw that terrible excuse for an episode.

It was bad, there's no denying that, but then why did I have such fond memories of the show? I guess it's the same with any show - limited technology never meant it was bad, but we've acquired higher expectations on television these days.

Not too long ago I heard of a new line of He-Man action figures. "What's the point?" I would ask myself, but really, they were pretty cool looking. And then I discovered the new series of action figures was arriving the same time as the new animated series itself!

Eventually I was able to download the show to see what all the hype was about - and truthfully, I was not disappointed! While not the most brilliantly animated show on television, it far surpassed my expectations, and even made me tolerate the dreadful Japanese Anime, since this new cartoon imitated it to an extent. The colors were stunning and the characters were dead-on. Everything was perfect - the enchanting and rich tale was still fresh and nothing could ruin it.

This show has done the unthinkable for me: it's preserved a child's forgotten yet rose-tinted memories of a show to which every other cartoon has always been compared with....yet it proved me right. He-Man is worth saving and marketed back in the mainstream of the public. He's truly a hero for everyone, 5 yr olds and even 20 yr olds like myself.

And who knows the same thing may happen 15 years from now and I'll be remembering this show was rose-tinted memories. Maybe I'll catch an episode on late-night television - you know, the time slot for insomniacs who don't care what they watch - and maybe then I'll wonder why the hell I was watching it back in the day as well. But for now, I'm reveling in the moment that one of the greatest tales ever told is being told to a new generation, and this time I can get a hell of a lot more out of my favorite animated star.

So, the new He-Man cartoon on CNX. Is it good, telling a good story while at the same time making us all nostalgic for the original, or is it just a big pile of elephant turd? There haven't been many re makes of 80's cartoons yet, except for a couple of attempts at new Transformers series, which I have to say, were pretty appalling. So, I was kinda sceptical about the new He-Man and the Masters of the Universe. But, I have now watched enough episodes to make a judgement. I will do so by listing the good points followed by the bad points. Good points: 1: The new looks for the characters. They have modernised, and dare I say it, improve upon the look the of characters, making everyone look very cool, while still remaining incredibly faithful to the way they looked in the original. For example, Man At Arms helmet always looked kinda stupid in the original, but with the updated look, seems pretty cool. Beastman looks pretty much the same, but is now also really rather large, which works better for the character. So the new look is actually an improvement. 2: Todays animation techniques are obviously better than they were 20 years ago, and this has worked very much in He-Man's favour. Everything about the cartoon looks incredible and moves fluidly. But just look at the locations. Most of the time, they have enough character of their own. 3: The characters really haven't changed. Everyone is pretty much what they were in the original, with only slight updates to keep up with the times. Sure, Adam and Teela are younger, but again, it just seems better. 4: Cringer/Battlecat doesn't talk anymore. This is one of the biggest differences to the original, but I prefer it this way. Having Cringer just mew like a frightened kitten, then roaring and snarling when he becomes Battlecat works better than having him talk. He seems more like what he's supposed to be now: the loyal pet. 5: The voices. Most of them sound pretty similar to the voices from the original. Skeletor particularly. The actor doing Skeletor's voice is one of the best things about this series. 6: The humour. There's some very funny moments in the new series, and I don't remember there being very many of those in the original. For example, have a look at the episode where the Masters try to defeat Skeletor once and for all by attching a device to him which hurts him whenever he say's or does anything bad. Watching Skeletor trying desperately to be nice and polite to his minions is hilarious. 7: Where else on television today are you going to find characters with such great names like Buzz-Off, Mechaneck, Man-E-Faces and Ramman? 8: It wipes away any memories of the awful Dolph Lundgren film Bad points: 1: They changed the theme tune! All right, so maybe the original theme tune just wouldn't work in this day and age, but come on! 2: He-Man doesn't hold his sword in front of him now when he say's "I have the power!". He just keeps it pointed skyward. That just seems wrong somehow. So there you go. The good points far outweigh the bad, and lets face it, how tiny and petty are thos bad points. So I say that the new He-Man is a triumph. It's at least an equal to its predecessor, if not better in some ways. Lets hope this paves the way for some decent re makes of other classics. I for one would love to see the Thundercats come back in a good cartoon, and it's about time the transformers came back in a cartoon that did justice to the fantastic originals. And lets also hope that the new He-Man goes on for long enough that they remake the Secret of the Sword movie which introduced She-Ra and we get a new She-Ra cartoon. That'd be cool.