He-Man and the Masters of the Universe was the originator of the one-two punch that was the simultaneous launch of a cartoon show and toy line that drove both the toy and animation industries up to the early nineties. In addition, He-Man was the first show produced specifically for after-school programming which had previously consisted of re-runs of Saturday morning cartoon shows in syndication. The first 33 episodes - out of the 66 made for season one- are now being released in a deluxe six disc box set.
I take 80s cartoon shows much too seriously - ask anyone in the IGN offices. So when a company decides to make a dollar by re-packaging part of my childhood, I only ask they take it as seriously as the fans do. Whoever put this set together must still have He-Man sheets on their bed, because it's everything a fanatic could hope for. From the packaging to the menus, everything about this release is pitch perfect.
Let's re-cap the basic set-up for the hand-full of folks not familiar with He-Man. Actually, He-Man's origins are so bare-bones that there's no actual origin episode to kick off the series, rather it's summed up during the opening credits of every show. Adam the prince of Eternia, was given "fabulous magical powers" the day he lifted his sword and said "By the power of Grayskull, I have the power!" transforming him into He-Man the strongest man in the universe. This transformation also affected Adam's cowardly pet lion Cringer, who became the mighty Battlecat. Adam's secret identity is known only to three others; Orko, The Sorceress, and Man-At-Arms who together help He-Man in his battle against the evil forces of Skeletor.
If any of that sounds contrived to you, it's best to steer clear of actual episodes of He-Man. The writing is often cookie-cutter quality, and the voice acting is often sub-standard even for its time. He-Man's voice often sounds as though he's perpetually in an echo chamber. I was worried the show's constant stock animation, along with the old static-character/moving-lips trick would detract from the show's overall appeal by modern standards. Then I watched some current Japan-import children's shows - think YuGiOh! or DigiMon- and realized they're far more guilty of this than He-Man. All those who grew up with He-Man should be able to look past all this and still find the show they once loved. Though I did find some of the stories paper thin, I realized that almost every episode could be re-enacted using the toys the show was based on. For someone who remembers having the full toyline, it really does feel like instructions on how to play with your He-Man figures.
So, does He-Man stand up? Yes, but only if you hold fond memories of the show or if you're too young to read this review. Young kids should still be able to get into the show, which still has enough action and silly catch phrases to be mimicked for weeks. So if you should pass this set in a store and feel the sudden instinct to pick it up you probably should. It's well put together enough that you could only watch a few episodes and feel your purchase was justified. Plus, with the recent releases of Transformers, G.I. Joe and other 80s favorites now out of print, you never know when He-Man will be going for $100+ on Ebay.
Score 8 out of 10
The Video
I'm endlessly disappointed with the transfer television shows have been receiving on DVD lately. Seeing how great He-Man and the Masters of the Universe looks makes me ever angrier at all those half-assed straight-from-the-tape transfers other shows are getting. (Thundercats DVD producers, I'm looking in your direction.) For example, look at the above picture of Skeletor. That's an actual screen capture I took with my computer's DVD software, not a production still.
Naturally there are a few animation flaws that can't be fixed, but the image quality overall is top-notch. Even on super-high-end TV sets, the twenty-plus year old image holds up perfectly. To be fair, the simplicity of the show's overall design must have made the restoration simple. He-Man's arm will always be the same orange as his face, chest, or legs. This lack of shading may have rendered the restoration to little more than a paint bucket tool in Photoshop, but I'm not judging on difficulty. The transfer couldn't be better, and I couldn't be happier.
Score 10 out of 10
The Audio Presentation
In a perfect world, we'd be able to restore the sound of <he -Man to how I recall it as a kid. Seeing how no professional sound tool has introduced a nostalgia filter Ill settle for this sets great restoration of clearly flawed audio. All the stilted dialog often horrible voice acting and that wonderfully cheesy theme song have been perfectly persevered for both historical and cautionary purposes. All episodes have both English and Spanish audio tracks in Dolby audio. No doubt there will be some home theater buffs that will moan about no option but the sound design in these early episodes doesnt leave much room for it. Score 9 out of 10 Packaging and Extras When a multi-disc set reserves one disc for only the special features, it's normally just to pad out the set and make you cough up more cash. Thankfully, that's not the case here. The primary features are the two documentaries - totaling 50 minutes - that chronicle the conception of He-Man and the ideas behind some of the more memorable episodes in set. Don't mistake this for the standard crappy DVD documentary with only three people going on about why the show is so great. Tons of people from all aspects of the show were wrangled in for these docs, although the voice actors are missing. These two docs and the segments that will appear on future sets together form a full 16 part documentary. The narrator is a bit stiff, but overall it's very well done with more emphasis on facts than flash. Next is a multi-angle episode/storyboard comparison of an entire show. It's nothing special, but the storyboard scrolling is well timed to the finished show. The biggest plus is the ability to pick your angle from on-screen buttons, instead of searching for the dust-covered angle button on your DVD remote. My personal favorite feature is the character bio section. I know that may sound odd, but let me explain. There's a whopping 50 bios on just about every character, monster, or artifact in the first season. Every character has an essay-sized scrolling bio containing every possible fact that could be draw from season one. Heck, there are over 500 words on Orko alone. A big plus is the video clip for every bio, giving you a visual aid should you forget a particular character. These bios should stand as a bible for the huge wave of fan-fiction hitting He-Man fan sites throughout the net in a few weeks. While we're on the topic, it should be mentioned that every episode in the set has a full story synopsis and there are three or more "fun facts" in each episode's chapter screen. A handful of original scripts are available using your PC, but it's unlikely you'll read them all the way through. The packaging for this set is sure to be the first thing you notice. All the design work on the box and discs feels authentic to the show. Had He-Man been put on DVD in 1983 it might have looked a lot like this. The cover features an embossed He-Man, covered by a gloss coat on an otherwise flat box. The unfolding digi-pack panels inside the box feature episode stills with character quotes also presented in the flat-background/glossy-character style. The packaging unfolds into two murals containing the discs, one side heroes (He-Man, Teela, and Orko) the other villains (BeastMan, Evil Lyn, and Skeletor). The side of the box even has a spine mural that will form Castle Grayskull once you combine all four eventual box sets. If that's not an eighties marketing ploy I don't know what is. The episode booklet and two collectable cards featuring He-Man themed art from modern comic book illustrators are nothing special, but add one more thing to this already stellar set. The whole thing makes me yearn for the time when the box was just as important as what was inside. Score 10 out of 10