a5c7b9f00b On the planet Eternia, a young prince gains the ability to become a powerful warrior to defend Castle Greyskull against the dark lord Skeletor.
He-Man and the Masters of the Universe (2002) premiered on Cartoon Network on August 16, 2002. Eternia is a world of myth, sorcery and advanced technology where epic heroes accomplish remarkable deeds, strange creatures roam the world, and malevolent enemies wreak havoc. Deep within Castle Greyskull lies the repository of universal knowledge hidden long ago by the Elders of Eternia. He-Man and the Masters of the Universe defend Castle Greyskull and all of Eternia from the tyrannical Skeletor and his Evil Warriors.
While attempts at reviving old 80s properties have fell flat to a certain extent (TransFormers: Robots in Disguise and Armada anyone?), the new He-Man and the Masters of the Universe is a nice little revisit to after school cartoons.<br/><br/>There are neat little tweaks here and there to the mythos, such as the fact that Cringer/Battlecat does not talk (sort of a shame, considering that he provided some of the funniest dialogue in the original 80s cartoon, but considering that Orco is already the comic relief character, it's not necessary), He-Man looks completely different from his civilian alter-ego, plus updates to the character design. But the best thing about it is that kids and nostalgic adults can appreciate this.<br/><br/>Just as a side note -- animation fans will instantly recognize many of the voice actors in this show. Man-At-Arms sounds suspiciously like Optimus Primal from Beast Wars, Merman sounds supiciously like Waspinator (also from Beast Wars), while Prince Adam sounds suspiciously like Leonardo from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (but I could be thinking about Goku from Dragon Ball Z).
A new theme that seems to have sprung up lately in shows and movies is this "sympathy for the devil." Basicaly, you get more information on the enemy, not just "they are bad guys" or that they are totally evil. The bad guy has an agenda, a reason for being, and some charisma. This makes the story more dynamic and character interaction more interesting and even intense.<br/><br/>This is what the new He-man has, the multiple aspects of characters. It seems the original featured whatever goofy thing was going on till the time for Adam to become He-man. Then it was fighting till he won. Boring. This show features a lot more which really adds to how deep the story gets, how impactful events are, etc.<br/><br/>He-man is all powerful, but he is still a boy (not an altar-ego like the original). The "masters" are drawn together in something of a loose coalition as they can be misled or almost switch sides. The power possessed by everyone can be countered in some way or another, which is good for the fact that it provides a weakness and thus need on the character's part to "think" about what is going on.<br/><br/>The real neat aspect of this show is Skeletor. We see how he is created. We learn of his past. We know why his followers follow him. Skeletor is no coward, as evidenced by an episode in the first season where, faced with He-man and the King, Skeletor can run, but instead, turns and fights! He won't back down, and thus gained my respect. Sometimes the writing did not always follow through on this, but they did a good job of showing Skeletor as the man. (Interesting to see a new version of G.I. Joe written with Cobra Commander like this.)