Sunday, September 1, 2019

On The Air: She-Ra & The Princesses of Power (2018)

In 1985, Filmation & Mattel introduced She-Ra, Princess of Power as a companion series to He-Man & The Masters of The Universe, which had actually ended production, though He-Man himself would be a recurring player in the new series.

When He-Man was revived on two occasions, She-Ra didn't return with him, though there were plans to bring her back had the 2002 Cartoon Network series been renewed for a 3rd season.

What it finally took to take viewers back to the world of Etheria was Lumberjanes creator Noelle Stevenson, who serves as executive producer, writer, and cast member on Netflix's She-Ra & The Princesses of Power. Stevenson has said that she already had 4 13 episode arcs written before the first season dropped last year. Seasons 2 & 3, already available, should actually make up just season 2, but just the same Stevenson is halfway to her goal.

As with the 2002 He-Man. Adora (Aimee Carrero, Elena of Avalor) and the rebels of Bright Moon have been de-aged to teenagers, as has Catra (AJ Michalka, Schooled, The Goldbergs), who was Adora's best friend in the Horde Academy. As was the case in the original series, Adora discovers the truth about Hordak and the Horde, and joins the rebellion.

This trailer for the first season will get you up to speed....



What I don't get is that as She-Ra, Adora grows to 8 feet tall.

SAY WHAT??? It's not quite the same as Billy Batson becoming Shazam and changing from juvenile to adult in the blink of an eye. The height change makes little sense. Stevenson and co-executive producer Chuck Austen, another comics veteran, are looking at making She-Ra larger than life. Literally. In this age of internet shipping, it seems fans are reading more into the friendship of Adora & Catra than there really is. Kind of like Harley Quinn & Poison Ivy, if you get my drift.

The anime-style artwork is influenced by the works of Moebius and Miyazaki. Expect the same when He-Man returns with similar artistic style next year, also on Netflix.

Rating: B.

5 comments:

Steven Dolce said...

I love a good toy commercial in disguise.

hobbyfan said...

Not sure if Mattel is putting out new She-Ra toys, though there is a new He-Man comic coming out from DC in November.

Steven Dolce said...

He-Man isn't even a DC show.

Silverstar said...

The new He-Man series is being produced by Kevin Smith, of Clerks/Chasing Amy/Dogma/Jay & Silent Bob fame. Unfortunately, Smith has stated that his series won't be connected to She-Ra's show, likewise She-Ra's creators have told viewers not to expect He-Man to show up anytime soon, for, among other reasons, they're worried that as soon as Prince Adam were to show up, he'd eclipse Adora. So a meeting between these 2 heroic siblings is unlikely to occur in the foreseeable future.

hobbyfan said...

DC has a licensing deal with Mattel for He-Man, hence churning out miniseries every year.

I've read that the new He-Man will also have an anime style to the artwork, like She-Ra, but I am not digging the idea that He-Man would eclipse his sister. He only appeared in a handful of episodes in the original She-Ra series.