Release Date: 24/06/2009
Languages: ENGLISH
Genre: Animation, Classic
Number of Discs: 18
Runtime: 2325.0 mins

The 80′s classic “She-Ra Princess of Power” is one of my most favourite childhood memories. I remember wanting to be just like her. I also remember once subjecting my then 16-year-old step-cousin into being my Swift Wind while I was riding piggyback as She-Ra, brandishing my stick “sword”. He didn’t appear to mind, but still I feel bad for him now!

For those who need an introduction, She-Ra is a female warrior with super-strength. She has a talking flying unicorn named Swift Wind as her steed and ally. They are fighters in a rebel movement (named “The Great Rebellion”) which is aimed at freeing the planet Etheria from the clutches of the evil Horde.

She-Ra is actually a transformation of a Princess named Adora who was kidnapped at birth from Eternia. Eternia is in another dimension, and it is also where her twin brother Adam is fighting a similar threat. He transforms into He-Man, which is another super-strength incarnation like She-Ra. This transformation can only occur by the use of their specially-powered swords and reciting “For the honour of Gray Skull” (in She-Ra’s case) or “By the power of Gray Skull” (for He-Man).

Adora was actually raised by those in the Horde. The leader of Etheria’s problems is Hordak. He took the opportunity during a large battle in Eternia to kidnap the baby Adora and flee to Etheria to start anew. There Adora was raised under the Horde’s principles and brainwashed by the sorceress Shadow Weaver when she was old enough to serve. She is consequently under the belief that the Horde is of good nature and that those who rebel against them are the problem.

One day in Eternia, the Sorceress of Castle Gray Skull summons Adam to her residence. Adam has already been made aware of his abilities, and has been using them against Skeletor (an old pupil of Hordak’s) and his comrades. Adam must go to Etheria to search for his sister Adora and give her the sword she was meant to own. It is identical to the sword which Adam owns, except for the fact that Adora’s has a jewel in the hilt while Adam’s doesn’t.

Adam travels to Etheria with his big cat (that talks) Cringer, who is scared of just about everything. When Adam changes into He-Man, Cringer sometimes gets changed into Battle Cat – the polar opposite to Cringer in terms of behaviour and personality. They eventually came across some Horde troopers on their search for Adora, which sees them get into a fight alongside one of Adora’s future friends named Bow.

Bow and Kowl (a talking flying creature and Bow’s best friend) take Adam and Cringer back to the Whispering Woods, a safe haven for the members of the Rebellion. Here they meet many of those involved in the Rebellion including the Twiggets (Sprockett, Spritina, Sprint, and Spragg), Madam Razz (an eccentric magician) and her companion Broom, and Princess Glimmer. Glimmer is the leader of the Rebellion and is on a mission to save her mother Queen Angella and their kingdom of Bright Moon as well as rid Etheria of the Horde.

When Adam explains his story he convinces them that to be free of their current situation they need to battle and overcome the Horde. They head towards Bright Moon where they find another group of Hordesmen playing nice with the locals. They appear to be almost beaten by the Horde, but then Adam changes into He-Man and the scales tip in their favour.

Unfortunately Adora is with the group of Hordesmen, leading them as their Force Captain. He-Man (clouded by the prospect of possibly finding his sister) follows her when she seeks shelter during the battle and confronts her. Leaving himself open to an attack from behind, a Horde Trooper shoots him (knocking him unconscious). He is taken to Beast Island to be imprisoned.

Curious about the sword she took from He-Man and also what he mentioned to her back at Bright Moon, Adora tries to gather more information from her captive. He convinces her to go into the domain on her own, and watch the way in which the Horde really treat the citizens of Etheria. As she is making her discovery, Kowl manages to free He-Man. Adora is able to see what He-Man is talking about, and goes back to the Fright Zone to confront Hordak. Shadow Weaver puts a spell on Adora to strengthen the original spell she had placed on her, which puts Adora to sleep and allows Shadow Weaver an opportunity to seize and examine Adora’s sword.

The next day, He-Man manages to make his way to the Fright Zone and tries to disguise himself as a Horde Trooper. He finds Adora who is wide awake and preparing the days captured rebels to drain their energy in order to fuel Hordak’s latest project. He-Man tries to ascertain whether Adora found out the truth about the Horde or not, and gets arrested for his trouble. Hordak decides to use He-Man for his project and puts He-Man in the cell to drain his energy.

Later that night, Adora (who is having trouble sleeping) gets woken by a voice calling her name. Not able to find anyone and not able to get back to sleep, Adora wanders to the cell where He-Man is still being drained of his energy. The 2 swords are both in that room, and the voice again calls to Adora – this time clearly coming from the sword.

The Sorceress of Gray Skull appears in the jewel and fills Adora in on her past, and how the man in the cell is actually her brother. The Sorceress also tells her of the phrase “For the honour of Gray Skull” and fades away. Realising she needs to save her brother, Adora raises the sword and recites the phrase. This begins a pretty magic show that transforms Adora into She-Ra.

Freeing He-Man from the cell and the chains he has restraining him, She-Ra also returns his sword which regenerates his strength. Horde Troopers arrive to add to the commotion which He-Man takes car of while She-Ra goes to free the horse Spirit (owned by Adora) from the stables. The magic that turns Adora into She-Ra also changes Spirit into Swift Wind.

Having disposed of the troopers, He-Man decides that while he’s at it he might as well ruin Hordak’s project – which is a monstrous laser gun contraption which he plans to use against the Rebellion. She-Ra flies by just in time to rescue He-Man as the machine explodes. As they fly off, She-Ra reveals to He-Man that she is his sister.

They find a safe place to talk, and She-Ra tells He-Man about the woman talking from the jewel. When he clicks that the woman is the Sorceress, he summons her by calling out to the jewel in She-Ra’s sword. The Sorceress appears and goes over the complete story of what happened to baby Adora and the Kingdom of Eternia. She-Ra cries and the two siblings share a hug. They return to the camp of the Rebellion, however in the form of Adam and Adora.

Upon their return, the others think that Adam has taken Adora prisoner as they all know her to be one of the Horde. Adam corrects them by informing them Adora has only worked for the Horde due to Shadow Weaver’s spells, which is confirmed by Adora who declares her desire to join the rebels and fight the Horde.

Glimmer informs the siblings of her mothers plight. Angella is being held captive as a slave for the evil (and not so bright) Harpies. Adam and Adora go in search of the Harpies, changing into their alter egos when the coast is clear. After outsmarting the Harpies, She-Ra and He-Man accompany Queen Angella back to the rebel camp.

Feeling that she can now go home to her birth parents, Adora heads back with Adam, Cringer and Spirit to Eternia. Still sour over her defection from the Horde, Hordak follows them through the dimensional portal. He teams up with Skeletor on the other side in order to try to steal Adora back.

After a tearful reunion with her parents King Randor and Queen Marlena, a celebratory dinner is held in her honour so that the family can get to know each other. Disguised as a chef, Skeletor and his cronies (disguised as kitchen hands) bust in on the festivities to give them a cake. The cake has Hordak filling, which surprises them and gases the room – putting the royal family to sleep. They kidnap Adora and take her back to Skeletor’s castle.

Skeletor opens a portal for Hordak who thinks he will be taking Adora with him back to Etheria. Skeletor has other plans however and pushes Hordak through, quickly closing the portal. Adora, having been wide awake during this period, asks what Skeletor plans on doing with her. She fakes a faint spell upon hearing his answer, which sees the cronies putting her in a cell. Adora tricks one of the cronies and retrieves her sword which was taken from her when she was kidnapped. Turning into She-Ra she thwarts Skeletor and his cronies just as Adam and friends show up.

Adora realises that she needs to return to Etheria to rid the planet of the Horde’s presence, much to the sadness of her parents. They understand however, and so Adora and Spirit return to Etheria with help from the Sorceress. Adam sneakily follows her, as does Cringer, but they want to try to help if they can. They change to He-Man and She-Ra, joining in the fight at Bright Moon against the Horde.

Having won this battle, She-Ra makes the heartbreaking decision to stay in Etheria until the Horde are no longer inhabiting the planet. She explains this to He-Man, asking him to explain to their parents. They then say farewell, with He-Man returning to Eternia.

And that is just the beginning!

From here on the episodes of She-Ra each contain a problem that usually involves someone being rescued from the Horde, or stopping the Horde from doing something they shouldn’t. We get introduced to a plethora of characters, locations and situations, as well as moral and behavioural problems.

There is fighting in it but the series redeems itself with the appearance of a little creature named Loo-Kee. Loo-Kee appears at the end of each episode and mostly talks about the issues presented in the episode while offering advice if your child (or yourself) finds themselves in a similar situation. He also tries to keep your little ones mind active by playing a sort of “Hide and Seek”, where he “hides” in a scene during the episode and you see if you can find him. If you don’t find him the first time, he gives you a second chance later anyway.

Special Features include:

• Documentary Feature (The Stories of She-Ra, Parts 1 – 3)
• Storyboard Comparisons
• Character Profiles
• Loo-Kee’s Vault
• Image Gallery
• Series Bible Coloring Book (DVD-ROM)
• Scripts (DVD-ROM)
• Secret of the Sword comic (DVD-ROM)
• Trailers for other Madman releases

I could be over-critical and say that it’s obvious that the voice cast is recycled. Or that the reaction times and facial expressions of the characters are unrealistic at times. Instead I will admit that for the time period in which it was made, this series would most likely be heralded as a pioneer for a children’s animated series. Why over analyse it when kids don’t see it that way anyway. I never did when I was a kid.

The only thing that really upset me was the fact that the series did not have a conclusion. No end to the Hordes harassment over Etheria. No happy ending for The Great Rebellion. No return to Eternia for Adora. The reason being that the series itself was cancelled, however the reason for the cancellation is apparently unknown.

I absolutely adore She-Ra and was over the moon to have the opportunity to revisit one of my favourite childhood memories. Should I ever be lucky enough to have my own little cherubs, I will definitely introduce them to the Princess of Power. And of course, I still want a Swifty of my own!

Review product was provided by Madman Entertainment, and does not affect the outcome of this review.

All images (c)  1985/1987 Entertainment Rights plc; Characters ? 1985/1987 Mattel Inc.; All rights reserved. She-Ra, Princess of Power and other character names are trademarks of Mattel, Inc. Used with Permission.