In 2002, there a second attempt to bring He-Man TV success on an animated series that took the toys and the original ‘80s animated series and re-imagined them in a major way.
Where the original series was more or less a series of standalone episodes, the 2002 version came up with a satisfying origin and backstories for all the main characters. These concepts were realized over the course of the series’ first three episodes, in a series of cliffhangers.
The series begins with the battle between Randor and Keldor to decide who will rule Eternia. Randor wins and, in defending himself from acid thrown at him by Keldor, causes it to splash on Keldor’s face. A Mystic Wall is created to keep Keldor and his allies from ever entering Eternia again.
Years later, Randor’s son, Prince Adam is goofing off during his training, sparking his friend Teela’s displeasure. Adam can’t understand why the training is necessary when the Mystic Wall protects the kingdom. Following training, Adam takes a nap, making himself late for his own 16th birthday party. Meanwhile, Keldor’s wizards have cracked the Wall and are working to break through. Long story short, they succeed and their invasion leads to Adam discovering he is to become a hero – but no one can ever know that he and the hero into whom he transforms are the same person!
With backstory and origin in place, the creative team of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe were able to both gradually integrate familiar characters back into the story, as well as create new ones. The result was a series that featured smart scripts, good acting and very good animation. The series ran for thirty-nine episodes – leaving a planned fortieth ep unproduced.
I never watched either incarnation of He-Man during their original runs and was pleasantly surprised to find that the 2002 series was very, very good.
Unlike most Mill Creek Entertainment releases, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe is packaged in a more conventional manner, with the series’ four discs held in a double-sized Amaray case.
Features: Audio Twelve Commentaries; Interviews with the Toyline Artists from Mattel and The Four Horsemen; Scripts for all 40 Episodes; PDF Comic Book of the 40th episode.
Grade: He-Man and the Masters of the Universe – A-
Grade: Features – A+
Final Grade: A