She-Ra: Princess of Power is an American animated series produced in 1985 by Filmation.[1] A spin-off of Filmation's He-Man and the Masters of the Universe series, She-Ra was aimed primarily at a young female audience to complement He-Man's popularity with young males. Unlike He-Man, which was based on the Masters of the Universe toy line by Mattel, the creation of She-Ra was a collaboration between Filmation and Mattel. The initial group of characters and premise were created by uncredited writers Larry DiTillio and J. Michael Straczynski[2][3] for Filmation, while the characters introduced later were designed by Mattel. Mattel provided financial backing for the series, as well as an accompanying toy line. The series premiered in 1985 and was ended in 1987, after 2 seasons and 93 episodes.
On March 22, 1985, several months before the release of the television series, Filmation released an animated film based on the series titled He-Man and She-Ra: The Secret of the Sword. The film is composed of what would be the first five episodes from the She-Ra television series: "Into Etheria", "Beast Island", "She-Ra Unchained", "Reunions" and "Battle for Bright Moon".[4]
In between the first and second season of the She-Ra series, in which He-Man regularly featured, Filmation also produced an hour long (44 minutes without commercials) Christmas episode, He-Man and She-Ra: A Christmas Special.
"Adora: I am Adora, He-Man's twin sister and defender of the Crystal Castle. This is Spirit, my beloved steed. Fabulous secrets were revealed to me the day I held aloft my sword and said "For the honor of Greyskull! I AM SHE-RA!" Only a few others share this secret. Among them are Light Hope, Madame Razz and Kowl. Together, me and my friends of the Great Rebellion strive to free Etheria from the evil forces of Hordak!
She-Ra's opening narration.
The series follows the adventures of Princess Adora, Prince Adam's (He-Man's) twin sister, who leads a group of freedom fighters known as the Great Rebellion in the fight to free Etheria from the tyrannical rule of Hordak and the Evil Horde. With her Sword of Protection, Adora can transform into She-Ra, just as Prince Adam can transform into He-Man.[5]
Born on the planet Eternia to Queen Marlena and King Randor, Princess Adora is kidnapped at birth by Hordak and taken to Etheria. There she serves as a mind-controlled Horde Force Captain before He-Man rescues her. After reuniting with her parents on Eternia, She-Ra decides to return to Etheria and lead the Great Rebellion.
The title character and Prince Adam's twin sister called the Princess of Power. Formerly Force Captain of the Horde, she is now one of the leaders of the Great Rebellion.
Spirit / Swift Wind
She-Ra's talking steed who transforms into a winged unicorn. He's a brave, honorable being.
Light Hope
The guardian of the Crystal Castle who typically takes the form of a pillar of light. He is the wisest being on Etheria and is the one that She-Ra typically seeks for advice.
Madame Razz
An absent-minded witch who serves as an adviser to the rebels. She provides comic relief in the series. She is one of the few people on Etheria who know that Adora is She-Ra.
Broom
Madame Razz's companion and mode of transportation. It is shown in one episode (where Adora's grandfather visits) that Broom, as well as Madame Razz, also knows that Adora is She-Ra because she transforms right in front of both of them.
Kowl
A flying creature who appears to be a cross between a koala and an owl. Snarky and sharp-witted, he is one of the few inhabitants of Etheria who knows that Adora is She-Ra.
Bow
An archer and friend to She-Ra. He is a cultured gentleman who exhibits insecurities. Bow has a crush on She-Ra but does not know her true identity. He is one of the longest-serving members of the Great Rebellion.
Princess Glimmer
Princess of Bright Moon and former leader of the Great Rebellion before stepping down in favor of Adora. Despite being the former leader of The Rebellion, she is naive and at times gullible. She possesses light-based magical powers.
Queen Angella
The magical winged Queen of Bright Moon, Glimmer's mother, and one of the most powerful magic wielders on Etheria, along with Shadow Weaver and Castaspella. She's renowned for her wisdom and sense of justice.
Castaspella
Queen of Mystacor as well as a powerful sorceress. She loves parties and has a mischievous streak.
Frosta
A member of the Great Rebellion with vast cold-related powers. She is also the Ice Empress of Castle Chill in the Kingdom of Snows. She's blunt, direct and opinionated, not afraid to speak her mind.
Netossa
A member of the Great Rebellion who wears a cape that doubles as a net for capturing her foes.[6]
Perfuma
A powerful ecomancer. Perfuma is cheerful and bubbly, but is also somewhat scatterbrained.
Peekablue
A reluctant member of the Great Rebellion whose peacock-like tail feathers give her the power of "multi-vision".
Flutterina
A member of the Great Rebellion with butterfly wings.
Spinnerella
Netossa's best friend. She has the ability to spin rapidly while dancing, creating a whirlwind.
Sweet Bee
A humanoid scout with insect wings, and member of an alien race seeking a new planet to inhabit.
Princess Mermista
A mermaid princess who joins the Great Rebellion. She is somewhat flirtatious.
Sea Hawk
A pirate who joins the Rebellion. Adora is his girlfriend and significant other while not knowing her Identity as She-Ra, but enjoys fighting alongside She-Ra to aid her in the Great Rebellion. In contrast to Bow, Sea Hawk is rugged, confident and somewhat uncouth.
A Twigget similar to Madame Razz, Spritina and Sprocker.
Sprocker
A Twigget similar to Madame Razz, Spritina and Sprag.
Sprint
A Twigget.
Loo-Kee
A small Etherian creature called a Kon-Seal, who hides in the background somewhere in nearly every episode for viewers to spot, and shows himself in the end of the episode to relate the moral of the story. He gets directly involved in the plot of two episodes. While a somewhat neutral character, he seems to sympathize with the Rebellion.
The tyrannical ruler of Etheria. He is notoriously short-tempered and at times abuses his minions. Despite being evil, Hordak has a sense of humor.
Shadow Weaver
The Horde's powerful sorceress whose face is obscured in the shadow of her hooded cloak. She was once a friend of Castaspella before joining the Horde.
The current Force Captain of the Evil Horde who can transform into a panther. Like Hordak, Catra is short-tempered. She feigns loyalty to Hordak and is generally untrustworthy, typically acting in her own self-interest. She has a longstanding rivalry with her teammate Scorpia, whom she despises.
Mantenna
An insectoid member of the Horde, whose bulging eyes can extend from their sockets and fire energy beams. He functions mainly as comic relief. Sometimes cowardly and inept, he has also shown moments of brilliance.
Leech
A master of power suction, his cups capable of draining life force or firmly adhering to surfaces.
Grizzlor
A beast-like member of the Horde. Unlike Mantenna, he is not particularly smart.
Modulok
A red-skinned insectoid who can reassemble his body parts to take on different shapes. He was originally a scientist from Eternia.
Multi-Bot
A two-headed, four-armed robot created by Modulok.
Horde Troopers
Mechanical soldiers that serve the Horde Empire.
Horde Prime
The tyrannical ruler of the galaxy and Hordak's brother. His face is perpetually concealed by smoke.
A humanoid with the tail and claws of a scorpion. She has a longstanding rivalry with her teammate Catra, whom she despises. Much like Catra, she's untrustworthy, often acting in her own self-interest.
An aloof scientist and master of traps, she has long magical hair she can use to ensnare her enemies.
Imp
A shape-shifting spy who can disguise himself as everyday objects. He is Hordak's favorite member of the Horde, which engenders jealousy from other members of the Horde.
Octavia
An octopus-like humanoid with four tentacles.
Rattlor
Excitable reptilian villain with extending neck and a long tail.
Tung Lashor
Excitable reptilian villain with extending tongue.
Dylamug
Strange robotic leader of horde troopers.
Colonel Blast
Horde trooper commander with numerous built-in laser blasters.
Vultak
Flying master of the Horde Zoo. He's shown to be exceptionally cruel to the animals under his charge.
The first season of the series ran five days a week, like He-Man. The second season aired Saturday mornings. She-Ra ended in 1986, and the character was not mentioned in the two subsequent He-Man animated series.[7][8]
Many of the characters/locations/vehicles in the Princess of Power toyline share similarities to the pre-existing Masters of the Universe characters. Comparing She-Ra (left) with He-Man (right):
Characters
Adora/She-Ra = Prince Adam/He-Man
Spirit/Swift Wind = Cringer/Battle Cat
Clawdeen = Panthor
Grizzlor = Beast Man
Hordak = Skeletor
Bow = Man-At-Arms
Sweet Bee = Buzz-Off
Double Trouble = Man-E-Faces
Glimmer = Teela
Sorrowful = Granamyr
Leech = Whiplash
Spinerella = Sy-Klone
Shadow Weaver = Evil-Lyn
Scorpia = Clawful
Madame Razz = Orko
Light Hope = The Sorceress
Elements
"By the power of Grayskull!","I have the power!" = "For the honour of Grayskull!","I am She-ra!"
Etheria = Eternia
The Crystal Castle = Castle Grayskull
The Fright Zone = Snake Mountain
The Sword of Protection = The Sword of Power
Syndication
Reruns aired on USA Network from September 1988 to September 1989, and on Qubo Night Owl from September 27, 2010, to August 25, 2013. In 2010, Retro TV began airing reruns.[10] Reruns have also aired on Me-TV, as well as Teletoon Retro in Canada.
The female She-Ra characters were released in the 1980s as part of the Princess of Power toy line, while The Evil Horde were incorporated into Masters of the Universe. In the 2000s, an exclusive She-Ra toy was released for the MOTU 200X line. The later Masters of the Universe Classics toy line features characters from the entire franchise, including new action figures from the She-Ra cartoon series.
Other media
In the DC Comics series Masters of the Universe, the title "Masters of the Universe #8" is a one-shot about She-Ra.[11] Adora/Despara/She-ra continues to be a main character through many of the remaining chapters/installments of the series, including in its conclusion. The entire series is collected in a hardcover omnibus.
Home releases
The most sought after set by collectors due to its 4X6 collectible art cards and extensive bonus features is the BCI Eclipse LLC (under its Ink & Paint classic animation entertainment brand) (under license from Entertainment Rights) released all 93 episodes of She-Ra: Princess of Power in 3 volumes on DVD (Region 1) in 2006–2007.[12][13][14] Each episode on BCI Ink & Paint's DVD releases of She-Ra, Princess of Power was uncut, un-edited, digitally remastered and fully restored for optimum audio and video quality and presented in story continuity order. Each volume contains special features including different 4X6 collectible art cards, documentaries, character profiles, commentaries, retrospective interviews, storyboards, DVD-ROM pdf scripts, trivia, and photo galleries. In 2009, the releases were discontinued when BCI Eclipse ceased operations.[15]
On May 31, 2010, Classic Media announced plans to re-release the series on DVD (Region 1). On September 28, 2010, they released Season 1, Volume 1 as a 2-disc set featuring 20 episodes.[16] On January 24, 2011, Classic Media released She-Ra: The Princess of Power - The Complete Series.[17]
On October 19, 2009, Universal Pictures UK (under license from Classic Media) released Season 1, Volume 1 in the UK, exclusively through retailer HMV.[18] In early 2010, other retailers, such as Amazon.co.uk, also began selling the series as a box set.
Madman Entertainment released the entire series on DVD (Region 4) in Australia, both in 3 volumes (similar to BCI Eclipse releases) and as a complete series set.
Universal Pictures Home Entertainment released all 93 episodes of the original 1985 series of She-Ra: Princess of Power on DVD in Region 1 on October 1, 2019. This release includes "He-Man & She-Ra: The Secret of the Sword" and "He-Man & She-Ra: A Christmas Special".[19]
On December 12, 2017, DreamWorks Animation SKG and Netflix announced a new reboot series based on She-Ra was announced within DreamWorks Animation Television. The series is executive produced by award-winning author, ND Stevenson (creator of Nimona and Lumberjanes). On May 18, 2018, new voice actors and the official title were revealed.[20] It was released on November 13, 2018. The reboot series is separate from the continuity of the original Masters of the Universe series, and is noted for its explicit LGBT representation.
Live-action series
On September 13, 2021, Amazon announced that a live action She-Ra series is in development with DreamWorks Animation serving as an executive producer as the series will be a new, standalone story and will not be connected to the animated show.[21] It was announced that Nicole Kassell will direct the series.[22]
^Erickson, Hal (2005). Television Cartoon Shows: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, 1949 Through 2003 (2nd ed.). McFarland & Co. pp. 734–735. ISBN978-1476665993.
