Power of Grayskull: The Definitive History of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe

Definitive ... well it is! Up to the point it was made that is. Because this year we got not just a recently put out Netflix show, but another one that was announced (even more aimed at kids, with animation that got some ... well was not well received by quite a few on social media) ... and then there is a new movie on the horizon.

So take the definitive history tag with a grain of salt. If you can, you are in for quite some treat(s). The documentary really dives into the history of the He-Man and all his allies and enemies. How they connected with kids back then, how people grew up with them and what they meant. We also get a lot of background information (including quite a lot from the first real life He-Man Dolph Lundgren himself) of the movie they made in the 80s.

So there is a lot packed in here and it is very well edited all things considered. You have to either be a fan or be accessible to become one to enjoy it of course. If you can, this will be fun.

This was a comprehensive documentary going over the creation of the He-Man/Masters of the Universe toy line as well the subsequent spin-offs, the comics, the cartoons, including She-Ra, and the live-action movie.

A well-packaged film. Power of Grayskull does a surprisingly good job of keeping you invested in the history of a children's franchise. The interviews consist of various creators and producers from all aspects of He-Man. They are all infectiously proud of the work they've done. It's especially entertaining to see esteemed actor Frank Langella waxing nostalgic far more than you thought he would about playing Skeletor. You learn about the atmosphere of the eighties toy industry and how the restrictions of times affected the creators of the toys and other media and how some choices were matters of convenience.

The only nitpick I have is that I would've liked them to talk about The New Adventures of He-Man show more. This one gets surprisingly short shrift compared to how much they discuss the original, She-Ra, and the 2000s reboot.

If you have absolutely no interest in He-Man, this won't be for you. Still, if you're even slightly curious, you may find this very informative.

I am always interested in information, but most documentaries nowadays imply a narrator, usually some known actor or actress, who emotes in front of the camera while slowly saying boring things. Then you have whole seconds of some interviewee walking randomly on the street or stopping in front of the camera or other time wasting crap like that before you get to what is interesting. And that is if you are lucky and you don't get an outraged activist setting up scenes that would appear controversial while spouting angry and contradictory messages at you.

Not so Power of Grayskull! It is comprised almost exclusively from interviews with the people involved in the creation of He-Man and materials from the production. There is no narrator, no forced perspective, no one opinion shoved down your throat. It was amazingly refreshing. And yes, it is sad that I get so excited just because a documentary is well done and not blatantly sucking, but that's the market today, especially on Netflix.

I am sure the subject of the film is much more exciting for fans of He-Man, comic books in general or for collectors. For me it was interesting to see the history of the character, how it started and so on. Two things raised the level of the film: one is the quote that is being used in the beginning, something along the lines of "We were in the business of making things out of plastic and were completely taken aback when they sprung to life" - not an exact quote. The other one is Frank Langella's reminiscence of his role as Skeletor in Masters of the Universe. With his slightly angry, slightly bored, slightly annoyed calmness he recounted the whole thing in a few phrases that were just hilarious.

Bottom line: if you know who He-Man is or you are interested in a fascinating story of a character being organically created or you just want to see a documentary that is well done, this is the thing for you!

I just finished watching "Power of Grayskull: The Definitive History of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe" on Netflix, and I must say that I was adequately entertained.

Sure, as a life-long fan of MotU then there weren't all that many surprises to be experiences here. But still, there was information and bits and pieces that I was not familiar with, and it was nice to have this extended information added to the knowledge of the MotU series and toys.

The documentary offers a good insight into what made He-Man, how it was at its pinnacle, how it evolved, what happened to its after its glory days, its early 2K return and the state of affairs today. So there is a little bit of something for everyone here.

There are good insights into Filmation's creation of the animated series, the crew and people behind the figures from Mattel, and also interviews with prominent people from those places, as well as with Frank Langella and Dolph Lundgren whom both starred in the live-action movie.

Regardless if you are a newcomer to the MotU franchise or a life-long fan, then "Power of Grayskull: The Definitive History of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe" definitely was entertaining. Sure, it was not something that you would watch more than once, but still worth the time and effort to do so.

There is a consistent, non-stop combination of buzzing and bass as the background audio for this documentary. It overwhelms the voices and in the few moments where the bass stops, the documentary appears to actually be watchable.

After 15 minutes, I had to turn it off due to the horrendous soundtrack.