Netflix SDCC She-Ra trailer. Yeah, it's bad.

[Werewolf]

Add in that we will only have half the story (He Man is apparently not part of the deal), and it's all a bit disappointing.

Different license. They can't touch He-Man and I am thankful for it.

[scott metzger]

Different license. They can't touch He-Man and I am thankful for it.

Old time MOTU fan here; you can't have He-Man without eventually introducing She-Ra, and vice-versa. It's like calling something "The Fantastic Four" and only having Reed and Sue. You're missing half the property.

[ODBJBG]

I'd rather they keep She-Ra as far away from MOTU as possible. Calling them the Fantastic Four seems a bit off to me.

If they're the Fantastic Four, She-Ra is H.E.R.B.I.E.

While I won't knock the merits or lack thereof for She-Ra, the sad fact remains that She-Ra was a ham fisted attempt to slap a dress on He-Man and suddenly sell MOTU to girls.

[Werewolf]

the sad fact remains that She-Ra was a ham fisted attempt to slap a dress on He-Man and suddenly sell MOTU to girls.

Wow, just wow.

The real fact is Mattel wasn't suddenly trying to sell MOTU to girls. She-Ra was created because such a large percentage of MOTU collectors were girls. In fact twenty percent of He-Man collectors were girls.

[ODBJBG]

If MOTU collectors were already girls, then there would be no need to "appeal to girls" no? Not saying girls didn't buy MOTU, I'm sure they did. But She-Ra was marketed to girls in an attempt to make MOTU more girl friendly. There were female characters in MOTU. Strong ones even. She-Ra changed all that and gave them hair to comb and outfits to put on. You can't pretend like it wasn't a blatant attempt to take something and mutate it into another market.

Look, it's a pretty well known fact and almost everyone who worked on MOTU has said as much, that Mattel was baffled by the success of MOTU, didn't understand it and certain people who worked in the girls toys, wanted a piece of that pie. So they made a girl He-Man and marketed it to girls, much to the chagrin of everyone who was in charge of MOTU up to that point. This has been documented in dozens of books, documentaries and interviews. And most of the MOTU creators were absolutely furious that She-Ra ever came about. Some thought it was an intentional plot by the Barbie people to destroy MOTU while others just saw it as a pretty dumb idea to take something that was marketed to little boys and slap a dress on it and think that little boys would still want to play with it.

Whether or not She-Ra was the downfall of MOTU or not, could certainly be debated. Mattel did so much stupid stuff with MOTU that you could write a book on it... And many have. But at best it's a misstep that in hindsight weakened the branding.

And they way they did it, was, IMO, pretty ham fisted. She's the long lost, never before mentioned, TWIN SISTER of He-Man, who just happens to get all his powers and abilities and just conveniently recreates ways that she is able to do it that at best mirror at worst contradict the way that He-Man gets his.

For the record, I have no issue with She-Ra. New or old show, it is what it is. And it's certainly not the first time something was successful for one audience and then an alternate version is created to market it to the different audience. But it's best we call it for what it is and not pretend like She-Ra was essential to the MOTU mythos or anything. She's Scrappy-Doo.

[palitoy]

She's Scrappy-Doo.

WHOA, let's not say things we can't take back.

[enyawd72]

Wow, just wow.

The real fact is Mattel wasn't suddenly trying to sell MOTU to girls.

C'mon Werewolf...of course they were. As has been pointed out...this is a documented fact, and even if it weren't, it's glaringly obvious. The pink card backs. Rooted hair. Combs. Unicorns. It's like He-Man and Barbie had a baby. If Mattel wasn't trying to sell MOTU to girls, all of the She-Ra characters would have been released as part of the MOTU line, on Masters cards with exploding red rocks, and they'd have ditched the hair and combs.

[Earth 2 Chris]

Just to add my own kid-experience perspective. I was so into He-Man, I bought the entire first wave of Princess of Power without thinking. My playmates kind of scoffed at this and pointed out how overly "girly" they were. And they were right. They were indeed an amalgamation of the Barbie aesthetic Mattel had pioneered with a MOTU-like backstory and connection. I didn't buy another She-Ra figure.

Had they stuck closer to what Filmation was doing on the cartoon, I don't think I would have dropped the line like a hot potato. They went too far in the Barbie zone. It made me uncomfortable. I had no problem playing with Teela or Evil-Lynn, for instance.

Just my take on it from the time.

Chris

[Werewolf]

And they way they did it, was, IMO, pretty ham fisted. She's the long lost, never before mentioned, TWIN SISTER of He-Man, who just happens to get all his powers and abilities and just conveniently recreates ways that she is able to do it that at best mirror at worst contradict the way that He-Man gets his.

Again wow, just, wow.

In a flash back of the He-Man and the Masters of the Universe episode Origin of the Sorceress, the original sorceress of Grayskull, Koduk Ungor, shows Teela Na, who becomes the Sorceress, two swords. One is He-Man's and the other has a jewel in it which is She-Ra's. In the episode Teela Na seeks the help of the mythical Castle Grayskull because her village is being attacked by an advanced invasion force from the Horde.

[hedrap]

She-Ra was the girls line. There's nothing wrong with that. The fallacy is that She-Ra hurt MOTU.

What hurt MOTU were crap ideas like Thunderpunch, Stinkor, etc...combined with a cartoon softer than the Superfriends, followed by a garbage movie. That's a trifecta of doom.

She-Ra could have continued on independently from MOTU, but the figures were just arse-ugly compared to the cartoon depiction. They needed to be Barbie with the articulation of an action figure...iow, Megos.

[Werewolf]

What I think hurt the line at retail was the lack of availability of the original He-Man and Skeletor figures. Kids starting collecting or needing a replacement would often find pegs of Mekaneck and Mossman.

[Earth 2 Chris]

^I was so happy when Mattel re-released "the original He-Man", because my original He-Man had a loose arm I kept losing. But yeah, they should have made the originals more available, and cut back on the later variations.

I do think the Filmation aesthetic ultimately hurt He-Man. As much as I loved it, it took all the original bite out of it. I think the primary reason the line lost steam was the initial kids moved on (I did), partially due to Filmation's take being a tad more juvenlie and preachy than GI Joe and Transformers, etc. and for whatever reason, it didn't appeal as much to the next crop of kids. It happens.

Chris

[Werewolf]

I do think the Filmation aesthetic ultimately hurt He-Man.

I have to respectfully disagree with that. The original blond caveman He-Man wandering in a post apocalyptic wasteland was dropped pretty fast and didn't last past the first four mini storybooks included in the figures. By the time DC comics came around you can already see the seeds of what became He-Man and the Masters of the Universe. The problem was, in my opinion, the disconnect between Mattel and Filmation and Mattel not realizing just how much the cartoon drove interest in the characters and by that sales of the toys. They should have worked closer with Filmation so the toys would look the same. It was the cartoon that turned the property into a phenomenon and why the characters are pop culture icons to this day. When the majority of people think of Skeletor, they are not thinking of the original mini comic version. They are thinking of the Filmation Skeletor, voiced by Alan Oppenheimer, throwing wisecracking insults.

[Earth 2 Chris]

^Oh, I agree that the cartoon drove the phenomenon. No doubt. I just think Filmation filed the edge off the property a bit much. By the time boys were getting around 11 or 12, suddenly He-Man was too "kiddie", unlike GI Joe or Transformers were. At least that was the feeling in my neck of the woods. If Filmation could have created the world they did and downplayed the 70s parent advocacy stuff just a touch, it would have helped it endure a bit longer with it's original audience, at the time. That's just my opinion. GI Joe had the "Knowing is half the battle" ending, but wasn't as preachy as He-Man was, and boys my age were starting to be more aware of when they were being "preached" at.

Chris

[Werewolf]

If Filmation could have created the world they did and downplayed the 70s parent advocacy stuff just a touch,

The problem is the cartoon was already getting pounded in the media and by other groups for it's supposed violence and demonic overtones. They really pushed it as far as it could go for the culture of the time.

Just look what happened when Mattel later took all the magic and monsters out of He-Man and turned it scifi and aliens to avoid all that. The legendarily awful New Adventures cartoon.