MOTU movie allegedly to start filming this April for a December 2019 release.

[palitoy]

I've often wondered if my aversion to 80s toy line cartoons wasn't a combination of my age and the idea of not liking being told what to do.

Almost every toy line I loved as a kid gave you a very bare bones narrative (ie This is the good guy, this is the bad guy) and you really could do the rest.

[Werewolf]

Now, even as a kid, I sometimes felt the toon took some of the bite out of the wicked-looking box art and Alfredo Alcala comic art, but it was still a lot of fun, and really built a pretty cohesive world of characters.

Chris

I love the early box art but there wasn't really a clear story, at the time, and the artists working on it didn't even know which side all the characters were on. That's why you see stuff like Beastman teaming up with He-Man and Teela attacking Skeletor on the Grayskull box art.

[Hedji]

I never bought a vintage MOTU figure, and yet I won't let a Christmas pass without watching the He-Man and She-Ra Christmas special.

I agree, the cartoon is what propelled it into stratospheric pop culture status.

[Earth 2 Chris]

The cartoon is definitely where to start. Like it or not, that's the lore. Ignoring it means ignoring the heart of the franchise. And I agree with Werewolf that it's a vocal minority that are Filmation haters.

Now, even as a kid, I sometimes felt the toon took some of the bite out of the wicked-looking box art and Alfredo Alcala comic art, but it was still a lot of fun, and really built a pretty cohesive world of characters.

Chris

[Werewolf]

If they despise the cartoon, then why even be a fan of MOTU? Its an integral part of it, and put it on the map.

The cartoon haters are the hipsters of MOTU fandom. Just a small group of people trying to act cool. The "I liked MOTU before the cartoon came along and took it all mainstream." people.

[palitoy]

I feel like some of the problem with these properties is how bad the shows were by adult measures. I've watched some MOTU, Transformers, and MASK (which was *exceptionally* painful) recently, and they just don't work the way they used to when you're in your forties.

I;d have never gone back to many of my childhood saturday morning faves of the 1970s if i didn't have children.

[EmergencyIan]

I have only seen GI Joe RAH recently. I didn’t have expectations. Nothing that I took seriously, but it was still fun for me. It held up well. I had no interest in the recent GI Joe movies. They have no resemblance to the source material. What a shame.

So, I agree, keep MOTU true to the original source material. Keep it colorful and relatively light. Have great battles with slight camp. The similar to 1980’s Flash Gordon sounds perfect!

- Ian

[jimbutsu]

I feel like some of the problem with these properties is how bad the shows were by adult measures. I've watched some MOTU, Transformers, and MASK (which was *exceptionally* painful) recently, and they just don't work the way they used to when you're in your forties. What's weird is that my affection for the characters and the toys is completely undiminished, which gives me hope that they can still find a foothold with this stuff if they focus on telling stories that will resonate with the segment of the audience that holds the purse strings AND still feels connected to the properties.

[Werewolf]

I kind of agree that the worry here would be if the director was somehow embarrassed to be making a He-Man film.

That's how i felt watching the GI Joe movie.

Yes! Exactly. I felt the same way. They had obvious contempt for the source material.

[palitoy]

If they despise the cartoon, then why even be a fan of MOTU? Its an integral part of it, and put it on the map.

well, it was a really nice looking toy line with little booklets and a DC comic before that cartoon. I remember thinking it was pretty neat stuff then when the cartoon rolled around I thought "Oh no this is for little kids" and changed my tune.

[palitoy]

Ah ok, I really didn;t have a bearing on that one.

I kind of agree that the worry here would be if the director was somehow embarrassed to be making a He-Man film.

That's how i felt watching the GI Joe movie.

[thunderbolt]

If they despise the cartoon, then why even be a fan of MOTU? Its an integral part of it, and put it on the map.

[Werewolf]

I agree that the cartoon resonates well with the general public but i have met fans who despise the cartoon, just wondering if that was a big thing or an isolated group,

It's a very vocal minority.

[palitoy]

I agree that the cartoon resonates well with the general public but i have met fans who despise the cartoon, just wondering if that was a big thing or an isolated group,

[Werewolf]

What is the Ideal MOTU movie for fans?

It has to use Filmation as the starting point. It's the most popular, iconic and mainstream recognizable version. When the majority of people think of He-Man and Skeletor, they picture the Filmation He-Man shouting "I have the power!" in John Erwin's booming voice and Alan Oppenheimer's sarcastic cackling Skeletor. They don't use the early mini comic versions in commercials, like the Geico one, to hit people with nostalgia. The Filmation MOTU is part of pop culture.