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

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!

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!

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.

First for those that think that this will never replace the original. The intentions are not to replace the original. The point is to bring He-Man to a new generation, and to give it fresh ideas. Also WAY better animation. As a fan of the 80's series I find this one much much better. This is do to the fact that as a child in the 80's the animation was great to me, because that was as good as you ever seen it on tv. But now that I'm older and times has changed I'm glad to see one of my shows from my childhood again, and with a facelift.

I don't understand you people that get on the internet to type out these long messages just totally ripping at stuff that other people like. If you dislike it SOOO bad turn the channel. No one wants to hear you whine about not liking it. Sure there are things on TV that I don't like, but I don't get on the web knocking them. Why don't I? Because I know there are people out there that do like it, and I'm not out to rain on other people's parade.

Oh, and about Cringer/Battlecat not talking; I'm glad. I always wondered as a kid why the cat talked. I always felt it was too Hanna Barbera. Though not to knock Scooby, I love him. But Scoob talking just fit the format of that show. Cringer talking on He-Man just didn't seem to fit. The only way it would work is if later, maybe during the second season, something happens to him that makes him start talking. Or maybe he does something that makes the Sorceress reward him with the ability to speak. Another could be that something happens that makes Adam/He-Man hear the cat speak through telepathy, and only he can hear him. Although there is fantasy and magic in the show there still is a base of reality, and showing why and how Cringer/Battlecat talks would be the only way to do it. For some reason I don't think people questioned stuff as much as we do now.In the original series most were just like, "Ok, the cat talks", and we just accepted it. But now we like to have things explained in more detail. Giving a reason why Cringer in particular, as a cat, talks would make alot of sense, because if I'm not mistaken Skeletor's cat didn't talk in the original series. Hmmm.

The only think I hope is that they don't ignore the fact that Price Adam has a long lost twin sister, Princess Adora. I'm dying to see "She-Ra: The Princess of Power" with a face-lift. Just as long as they revamped it like He-Man, and cut out all the stuff about morals. And taking out the morals at the end would also remove the annoying Loo-Kee. I also think they would need to cut out the talking "Broom", and give Madame Raz a total make-over.

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.