He-Man and She-Ra: The Secret of the Sword is a 1985 theatrically-released film. The film features the first appearance of She-Ra. The film was later split into a five parts, in order to serve as the first five episode of the She-Ra animated series. Like He-Man, She-Ra was made to promote a toyline and like He-Man, She-Ra had a successful animated series done sa pamamagitan ng Filmation who were also responsible for making The Secret of the Sword.
The Plot
Prince Adam (He-Man) gets into contact with the Sorceress of Grayskull. The Sorceress tells Adam that he must go to a place called Etheria, because there's a mysterious blonde-woman who has a secret connection to Grayskull's legacy. Adam travels to Etheria, along with his pet, Cringer. Adam transforms into He-Man and meets the blonde woman turns out to be Adora, one of the most respected members of the Evil Horde. However, Adora isn't actually evil. Hordak, the leader of the Horde and his sorceress, Shadow Weaver, have been manipulating Adora into thinking that the Horde is a heroic organization. After He-Man reveals the truth to Adora, Adora leaves the Horde and takes on a new alter-ego, She-Ra. Adora befriends the Great Rebellion, a team of bravo warriors who want to save Etheria from the Horde's wrath. Both He-Man and She-Ra are determined to stop the Horde. Hordak realizes he needs some help, so he decides to get some help from one of his former employees, Skeletor.
It was typical for cartoons to not give origins to their characters. Even protagonists often didn't get a proper introduction. Thankfully, She-Ra got an entire film to explain her origin story. The Secret of the Sword is both a good He-Man story and a good She-Ra story. The film starts off through Adam's point of view. However, Adora's the one who goes through a character arc. Her storyline serves as the puso of the film, because she goes from being Hordak's manipulated pawn to becoming Hordak's greatest enemy and a symbol of hope for the good people of Etheria. The rivalry between the Rebellion and the Horde keeps the film exciting. In addition to being an action-packed adventure, there's lots of fun and humor. The film's primary purpose is to introduce She-Ra, along with her mga kaibigan and enemies. However, the film also does a good job at revealing secrets about He-Man and Skeletor's past.
The Voice Cast
The film features the same cast from the He-Man cartoons. John Erwin (He-Man) and Alan Oppenheimer (Skeletor) both give excellent, memorable performances. This film features the first time the She-Ra cast got to voice their characters. Thankfully, everybody did a great job. Melendy Britt voices She-Ra. This isn't her first time voicing a Filmation superhero, because she also voiced Batgirl in 1977's The New Adventures of Batman. Her voice projects a lot of charm and strength. George DiCenzo does a masterful job at capturing Hordak's over-the-top villainy. Speaking of audio, the film opens with a really catchy song that gives the film a fun, adventurous atmosphere from the beginning.
The Characters
If you know me, I think it goes without saying that I pag-ibig She-Ra. She's one of the greatest female characters in all of fiction. A lot of that has to do with the reboot, but it's this film that first brought She-Ra to life. Considering how one-dimensional cartoon-characters were at the time, I'm incredibly thankful that She-Ra got an entire film devoted to giving her a compelling backstory. The film quickly makes her a sympathetic character, before presenting her as a heroic, noble and powerful superhero. The film makes me want to see madami of her adventures, so the filmmakers certainly accomplished their goal of making people want to see madami of She-Ra. The film also introduces Hordak. Hordak's pretty evil sa pamamagitan ng the standards of 1980's cartoons, especially considering that he kidnapped a child and enslaved an entire planet. In addition to being a serious threat, Hordak is also hilariously hammy. A lot of She-Ra's mga kaibigan and Hordak's sidekicks also get introduced, but in order to keep the film from getting overstuffed, a lot of these characters have minimal roles. Since She-Ra got an entire ipakita after this film, plenty of time was spent to give these characters madami attention.
He-Man serves as the main hero of the film, before Adora goes through her character arc. He-Man's as heroic and as entertaining as ever. Although Hordak is the film's main villain, that doesn't mean he's the only villain. Skeletor eventually gets involved in the action. As always, Skeletor's one of the coolest and funniest villains ever. Even though he's evil, he's always a joy to watch. Several of He-Man's allies and Skeletor's henchmen also make appearances in the film.
The Animation
A lot of people like to make fun of Filmation's attempts at saving money, including their habit of reusing animation. While I can't deny that Filmation reused the same poses of characters too often, I also can't deny that Filmation had awesome-looking character models. He-Man, Skeletor and the other Masters of the Universe characters look as cool as ever. Since this film serves as She-Ra's introduction, it served as the first time audiences got to see what She-Ra looked like. She-Ra is a beautifully-designed and strong-looking character. Whether she's Adora or her alter-ego, She-Ra is always full of stuff. Hordak's not exactly beautiful, but he has a very cool and intimidating design. It should also be noted that She-Ra has a better costume than her male counterpart, He-Man. He-Man's outfit was a pair of trunks and boots. He-Man looks like he's dressed to go to the beach, rather than being dressed for saving the universe. She-Ra's costume is madami modest and practical. One nitpick is that her palda is a little short, but that was averted in the reboot.
Overall
Thirty-five years ago, Filmation and Mattel introduced She-Ra, their newest hero. Three decades later, She-Ra is still a great character. In fact, she's become a better character than ever before, thanks to the reboot. However, none of that would of been possible without the great work of Mattel and Filmation. If you want to know madami about She-Ra and He-Man, I highly-recommend the film. He-Man and She-Ra: The Secret of the Sword is an excellent, exciting and meaningful introduction to the world of Etheria.
The Plot
Prince Adam (He-Man) gets into contact with the Sorceress of Grayskull. The Sorceress tells Adam that he must go to a place called Etheria, because there's a mysterious blonde-woman who has a secret connection to Grayskull's legacy. Adam travels to Etheria, along with his pet, Cringer. Adam transforms into He-Man and meets the blonde woman turns out to be Adora, one of the most respected members of the Evil Horde. However, Adora isn't actually evil. Hordak, the leader of the Horde and his sorceress, Shadow Weaver, have been manipulating Adora into thinking that the Horde is a heroic organization. After He-Man reveals the truth to Adora, Adora leaves the Horde and takes on a new alter-ego, She-Ra. Adora befriends the Great Rebellion, a team of bravo warriors who want to save Etheria from the Horde's wrath. Both He-Man and She-Ra are determined to stop the Horde. Hordak realizes he needs some help, so he decides to get some help from one of his former employees, Skeletor.
It was typical for cartoons to not give origins to their characters. Even protagonists often didn't get a proper introduction. Thankfully, She-Ra got an entire film to explain her origin story. The Secret of the Sword is both a good He-Man story and a good She-Ra story. The film starts off through Adam's point of view. However, Adora's the one who goes through a character arc. Her storyline serves as the puso of the film, because she goes from being Hordak's manipulated pawn to becoming Hordak's greatest enemy and a symbol of hope for the good people of Etheria. The rivalry between the Rebellion and the Horde keeps the film exciting. In addition to being an action-packed adventure, there's lots of fun and humor. The film's primary purpose is to introduce She-Ra, along with her mga kaibigan and enemies. However, the film also does a good job at revealing secrets about He-Man and Skeletor's past.
The Voice Cast
The film features the same cast from the He-Man cartoons. John Erwin (He-Man) and Alan Oppenheimer (Skeletor) both give excellent, memorable performances. This film features the first time the She-Ra cast got to voice their characters. Thankfully, everybody did a great job. Melendy Britt voices She-Ra. This isn't her first time voicing a Filmation superhero, because she also voiced Batgirl in 1977's The New Adventures of Batman. Her voice projects a lot of charm and strength. George DiCenzo does a masterful job at capturing Hordak's over-the-top villainy. Speaking of audio, the film opens with a really catchy song that gives the film a fun, adventurous atmosphere from the beginning.
The Characters
If you know me, I think it goes without saying that I pag-ibig She-Ra. She's one of the greatest female characters in all of fiction. A lot of that has to do with the reboot, but it's this film that first brought She-Ra to life. Considering how one-dimensional cartoon-characters were at the time, I'm incredibly thankful that She-Ra got an entire film devoted to giving her a compelling backstory. The film quickly makes her a sympathetic character, before presenting her as a heroic, noble and powerful superhero. The film makes me want to see madami of her adventures, so the filmmakers certainly accomplished their goal of making people want to see madami of She-Ra. The film also introduces Hordak. Hordak's pretty evil sa pamamagitan ng the standards of 1980's cartoons, especially considering that he kidnapped a child and enslaved an entire planet. In addition to being a serious threat, Hordak is also hilariously hammy. A lot of She-Ra's mga kaibigan and Hordak's sidekicks also get introduced, but in order to keep the film from getting overstuffed, a lot of these characters have minimal roles. Since She-Ra got an entire ipakita after this film, plenty of time was spent to give these characters madami attention.
He-Man serves as the main hero of the film, before Adora goes through her character arc. He-Man's as heroic and as entertaining as ever. Although Hordak is the film's main villain, that doesn't mean he's the only villain. Skeletor eventually gets involved in the action. As always, Skeletor's one of the coolest and funniest villains ever. Even though he's evil, he's always a joy to watch. Several of He-Man's allies and Skeletor's henchmen also make appearances in the film.
The Animation
A lot of people like to make fun of Filmation's attempts at saving money, including their habit of reusing animation. While I can't deny that Filmation reused the same poses of characters too often, I also can't deny that Filmation had awesome-looking character models. He-Man, Skeletor and the other Masters of the Universe characters look as cool as ever. Since this film serves as She-Ra's introduction, it served as the first time audiences got to see what She-Ra looked like. She-Ra is a beautifully-designed and strong-looking character. Whether she's Adora or her alter-ego, She-Ra is always full of stuff. Hordak's not exactly beautiful, but he has a very cool and intimidating design. It should also be noted that She-Ra has a better costume than her male counterpart, He-Man. He-Man's outfit was a pair of trunks and boots. He-Man looks like he's dressed to go to the beach, rather than being dressed for saving the universe. She-Ra's costume is madami modest and practical. One nitpick is that her palda is a little short, but that was averted in the reboot.
Overall
Thirty-five years ago, Filmation and Mattel introduced She-Ra, their newest hero. Three decades later, She-Ra is still a great character. In fact, she's become a better character than ever before, thanks to the reboot. However, none of that would of been possible without the great work of Mattel and Filmation. If you want to know madami about She-Ra and He-Man, I highly-recommend the film. He-Man and She-Ra: The Secret of the Sword is an excellent, exciting and meaningful introduction to the world of Etheria.
