BraveStarr: The Legend

I have some good news all fans of Bravestarr! A two disk DVD set has been released in America that has the Movie "Bravestarr The Legend" on Disk one and has five other episodes on Disk 2. This is a great thing to see happen. Since the movie never aired on TV in America and when it was in theatures my parents did not have the money to take me this has been the first time i have ever seen the movie that shows the origins of how Tex Hex got his powers from Stampede, and how The Shaman gave Bravestarr his four Animal powers. Plus it also amazed me at the fight Bravestarr had to do with 30/30 in order for them to become friends. It also amazed me at how Judge J.B. had to teach Fuzz how to speak English and how Bravestarr had to do his first warning to the Mayor involving that he needed to learn to show respect to Fuzz and his people.

I got this tape sometime in the early 90s after the video vendor himself recommended it and it turned out to be fantastic. This was certainly Filmation's best cartoon and the movie itself is better than the Bravestarr series. The whole effort and theme was perhaps the most creative I've ever seen in any single cartoon and they were also pretty bold when it came to dark themes and violence. The opening sequence for the movie where the tribe is destroyed is amazing. With great characters, some fantastic villains and a nail biting story from start to finish, this movie is something that I personally feel that should not be missed by any fan of cartoons in general. Its too bad that it was so easily forgotten even though not many would have seen it in the first place.

My review was written in September 1988 after a Times Square screening.

"Bravestarr" is a disappointing animated feature applying the Western format directly to an Outer Space saga. Pretty backgrounds and explosions do not adequately cover for lackluster characters, given limited animation movements.

Title character (on screen it reads Bravestarr the Legend", but "Bravestarr the Movie" in ads) is an indistinctive-looking American Indian-styled cowboy destined to save the planet of New Texas from variou monster meanies, led by Stampede (a huge dragon-like steer) and Ted Hex (a reanimated, skeletal cowboy). The ancient Shaman gives Bravestarr his orders and magical power, largely calling upon the strength of the Bear constellation (a repetitious device).

Though its occasional attempts at comic relief fall flat, film plays off foolishly with its one-joke premise of a planet with modern technology but styled after all the corny cliches of a Western movie. Critters are robots, except for the Prairie People, cutesy little burrowing humanoids forced to work as slaves in mining operations.

Opposite the bland Bravestarr, heroine J. B., who's the local judge, is nondescript, as is her mustachioed dad McBride, given a Scottish brogue right out of James Doohan in "Star Trek".

Much running time is given to introducing each of Tex Hex' henchmen, but they have nothing to do or say in the film, wasting at least one unusual creation, the exotic Vipra, villainess riding a vast serpent.

Characters mainly pose, with very mechanical movement of the limited sort familiar from tv. Toddlers may overlook this thanks to okay action scenes involving flying vehicles and well-executed battle explosions.

Frank Becker's tinny musical score is a big letdown when it attempts to ape Western motifs on synthesized keyboards.

I found this and had to watch for nostalgia reasons. I've just finished watching the movie, and have to admit I forgot how good it was, now i'm really in the mood to watch the series again, shame it doesn't seem to be showing anywhere.

With the possible resurrection of He-man, someone needs to bring this back. No idea why it bombed in America, in my opinion its just as good as He-man, if not slightly better. I forgot how close both heroes looked, they could be long lost twin brothers. However I think one of the biggest differences is that unlike He-man, Bravestarr got the girl lol.

Whilst some people have commented on the animation, its better than some of todays cartoons (power puff girls, Samurai Jack, Dexter's lab etc) which whilst I don't really watch them , when I've caught them are in my opinion worse animation, and a lot less detailed, and the storyline is just as good today as it was back then, though it had some really bad character names just like He-man, I mean Cactus head?? what an awful name.

Definitely worth watching though, even if you did not watch it growing up.

BraveStarr: The Legend is an underrated movie, released when the series it was based on was concluding, and would be the final movie released before the company that made the series, FIlmation (the company responsible for legendary cartoons like He-Man And The Masters Of The Universe and Fat Albert), would close down (with one movie they completed before the closure, Happily Ever After, not seeing release until the 1990's).

Basically, the plot of the film is basically an origin story for New Texas' super-powered marshal, as we see the origins of Tex Hex and his gang, as well as BraveStarr's arrival and realization of his powers. Like most of Filmation's works, some of the animation is recycled from the show (mostly footage from the show's intro, as well as parts of an episode). The movie has some good action, the voice actors are all taken from the show, and it has many memorable moments. It's a movie I recommend watching.