When it comes to a cartoon that had brut force and action, nothing can go past the 1983 series of He-man and the masters of the universe'. In an era that had so many great cartoons, He-man' stood tall and was a great success. He-man would have to go up as one of the great cartoons of all time. Once Prince Adam held up his magical sword and turned into the most powerful man in the universe', every kid in the 80's was in for the ride of their life.
In the mystical planet of Eternia', lives Prince Adam, a prince who leads the lazy life of royalty. Known by only a few close friends/allies, when Prince Adam holds up his magic sword, and says by the power of Grayskull', he turns into the mighty hero, He-Man'. Together with his friends (such as Teela, her father, Man-at-arms, mysterious Orko and Adam's wimpy cat, Cringer, who turns into Battle Cat), He-Man must battle the masters of the universe', who strive to gain control of Eternia and the secrets of Castle Grayskull. Grayskull is the magical centre of Eternia, from where He-Man derives his powers, and is the one place he must defend from the evil Skeletor.
I believe He-man was successful for many reasons. There was some real inventive character in He-man. Our hero himself was an impressive and imposing character and drawn up to perfection. Other good people include Orko, Man-At-Arms (Duncan), The Sorceress, Ram-Man, Stratos, Teela, King Randor and Queen Marlena. The Bad guys include their leader, Skeletor, who is as evil a character I have seen on a cartoon. Behind Skeletor are Evil-Lyn, Beast Man, Tri-Klops, Merman and TrapJaw. They are all different types of people, with strange powers and abilities.
The voice-overs for He-man come from a limited amount of people, showing how good these people's voiceover talents really are. Talents such as John Erwin, Alan Oppenheimer, Linda Gray, Lou and Erika Schreimer, have a great variety of characters to voice, with some of the voices such as Skeletor's and Orko's, quite remarkable.
I love the world that was designed for this cartoon. Having it be as magical-a -place as Eternia', where it has great magical powers was really interesting. To then add fascinating little facets such as Castle Grayskull (the magical home of Eternia), Skeletor's hideout Snake Mountain, the palace in the centre of Eternia and the crystal sea were good for the story. The talents behind the ideas for the He-man's characters, home planet and storylines include
Can there be any hero that can top He-man'? I believe there is not, because he was good to watch as a kid, giving us all the belief to do what is right and to not follow the path of evil. My favourite characters in the series have to be Orko and Skeletor, who had interesting stories behind them. He-man also had a twin sister named She-Ra' who had all the same magical powers as He-man, (with a great TV cartoon movie, titled The Secret of the Sword'). It was interesting to learn how She-Ra comes to be and how she was taken away from her parents as a baby. I was surprised to learn that there was a new version of He-man', released last year. Although it is a little different, in my opinion the new He-man looks great. While I might be a bit old to get into it, the kid' in me will be on lookout to see a few episodes.
