The Power Of Grayskull: He-Man Documentary on Netflix

[Allie Fox]

Very good history of thus franchise from start to "finish."

...and don't think we missed the Bif Bang Pow! Flash Gordon figure.

[palitoy]

Well done movie, funny Mattel actually officially rejected Star Wars the way people falsely say Mego did.

I noticed that Jason's Flash Gordon was put there to describe Mego and there were some factual errors about the action figure market but considering they were based on the folks at Mattel's memories and perception I think they're fine.

I found it strange that Roger Sweet wasn't involved in this.

Also, the car from Logan's Run makes a cameo!

[Earth 2 Chris]

Ooh, this will make for nice viewing over the long weekend.

Chris

[palitoy]

Ok so the Roger Sweet thing bugged me but i just read in the review posted above:

That missing person is Roger Sweet, one of the original creators of He-Man. Over the years, Sweet has grown increasingly adversarial towards the other former Mattel employees who worked on Masters of the Universe, and has refused to take part in any new documentaries on the subject. He is discussed at length, but does not contribute any of his own words to the project.

I wonder if the manner in which he was depicted in "Toys that Made us" set him off.

[PNGwynne]

^Which was how? I did not see the show.

My knowledge of MOTU history is limited to Wikipedia and the Dark Horse book "The Art of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe." I know MOTU was originally planned as a Conan line, Skeletor is very Thulsa Doom.

[palitoy]

^Which was how? I did not see the show.

While I thought the overall argument over who-made-who allowed for all parties to have an equal say, the editing seemed to highlight Sweet's quirky personality a great deal, things like repeating him saying "BONG!" over and over again.

[Mary Canary]

Personally I didn't find the doc added a whole lot more than the Toys That Made Us episode, other than more attention was paid to the movie. I did enjoy seeing the cast and crew interviews. I believe the director, Gary Goddard, got into some hot water recently? But can't remember what that was all about. Also it's funny how there's always this woman saying She-Ra was to blame for He-Man's demise because boys thought she made him wimpy. I don't know if I subscribe to that - seems more like the toy line had just run its course. I mean, the lifespan for a lot of lines is much shorter and it had a good run, but kids do grow up and get into other things while younger children maybe discover something "new" vs. the toy line their older siblings might have played with.

I just know I adored He-Man and She-Ra as a kid. Those toys were so magical to me. I can still remember how Moss Man smells. It's cool seeing all the retro reimagined stuff from Matty Collector, Funko, etc. But I don't have the room or the budget to invest in any of that. And are kids today interested in high end versions of things their parents played with? It makes me wonder... We have our reimagined toys from the 70s and the 80s, maybe even into the 90s, but as we get older and therefore the folks younger than us get older, will there really be any epic toy lines to reimagine and bring back for the kids of today who are the adults of tomorrow? "Remember your first iPad?" Are we a dying breed?

[Earth 2 Chris]

I wonder if the manner in which he was depicted in "Toys that Made us" set him off.

I really enjoy that series, but the formula seems to be "find one person to portray as a nut".

Chris

[palitoy]

I really enjoy that series, but the formula seems to be "find one person to portray as a nut".

And BONG!

[Werewolf]

I don't know if I subscribe to that - seems more like the toy line had just run its course.

I am beyond tired of the She-Ra blaming as well. It couldn't have been that the popularity of the Sword and Sorcery genre was waning, increased competition, Real Ghostbusters or TMNT craze, the live action movie failed, etc. Nope it had to have been She-Ra, If anything She-Ra extended the property a bit longer after MOTU had ran its course. Not to mention MOTU at its worst would still have been a big enough seller for any other company. That's why we got the sci-fi New Adventures reboot so soon. Because they realized they killed off the property too quickly. Its just the blame game and using She-Ra as the scapegoat.

I just know I adored He-Man and She-Ra as a kid. Those toys were so magical to me.

Same here.

[PNGwynne]

Mary, the way I indulged my love of MOTU is through the ReAction figures. They are affordable to me in a way that the (purposefully scarce) MOTU Classics of ten years ago were not. I'm really enjoying them.

[EmergencyIan]

And BONG!

No kidding! The producers loved sticking it to Marty, subtly or not.

Maybe it’s just me, but most of the episodes seemed like they were well produced YouTube videos. Maybe I expected too much. In saying that, I mostly enjoyed the five or six episodes that I watched.

- Ian

[jacoblb]

I totally agree. In the TTMU doc some of the men alleged She-Ra made the boy toys line effeminate, in an era of strong homophobia with Prince Adam running around in pink and elevating his voice to disguise from sounding like He-man. As a child I never saw what I suspect many adults of that time did. Much in the same way one of the first LJN WWF figures I got was Brutus the Barber Beefcake...another guy wearing pink tights. The looks I got from grown people. It was just a toy for a kid.

I am beyond tired of the She-Ra blaming as well. It couldn't have been that the popularity of the Sword and Sorcery genre was waning, increased competition, Real Ghostbusters or TMNT craze, the live action movie failed, etc. Nope it had to have been She-Ra, If anything She-Ra extended the property a bit longer after MOTU had ran its course. Not to mention MOTU at its worst would still have been a big enough seller for any other company. That's why we got the sci-fi New Adventures reboot so soon. Because they realized they killed off the property too quickly. Its just the blame game and using She-Ra as the scapegoat.



Same here.

[Werewolf]

The 70s and 80s really were a different culture. Pink wasn't as demonized as it is now. Six Million dollar man toys came in pink packages. Mego Batman came on a pink card. No one batted an eye. That would never fly now. The 80s were full of hot pink and neon colors. From neon grid artwork to Miami Vice. Pink was just a cool color.

[PNGwynne]

I totally agree. In the TTMU doc some of the men alleged She-Ra made the boy toys line effeminate, in an era of strong homophobia with Prince Adam running around in pink and elevating his voice to disguise from sounding like He-man.

Are you kidding me? Have they never seen or read a Superman adventure? Or early Batman, for that matter, or Zorro? It's ridiculous, and Prince Adam was around years before She-Ra. The scapegoating, as Werewolf aptly puts it, is not only 20/20 hindsight, but an example of the modern "Mary Sue" mentality of certain segments of fandom.

I will say the the new cartoon handled Prince Adam's SI a little more "realistically" by ripping off another hero, Captain Marvel.