She-Ra Princess of Power: Season One Volumes 1 and
2
Picture:
C+ Sound: C+ Extras: B Episodes: B-
Where
there is a Ying there is a Yang. In the
mid 1980s, He-Man was God to a huge
group of young boys; but how could the studio possibly capitalize on the other
gender that was still left out? BUT
OFCOURSE! The answer is by making a
female version of the hugely popular He-Man.
New to DVD is She-Ra Princess of
Power: Season One Volumes 1 and 2 [each Volume a separate box set]. BCI Studios does it again by releasing an
immensely popular, animated, 1980s series for everyone to add to their DVD
collection. She-Ra was never as good as the original He-Man series but it does come from the same vein with its own
individuality and merits. The main premise
of the She-Ra series is that
Princess Adora (sister of Prince Adam, AKA He-Man) has just realized her life’s
purpose as well as the special powers that lie within her with some help from
her brother.
With her
new secret identity Princess Adora, now She-Ra, sets out on a mission to
protect the lands of Etheria (a magical land) from the evil Hordak and his Evil
Horde. The big difference between the He-Man series and the She-Ra series is that unlike the
science fiction edge He-Man embodied
She-Ra used magic and mysticism to
fuel the animated action and drama.
Whereas He-Man was always more of a protector to the King, She-Ra is the
leader of a rebellion on Eheria (a neighboring planet to Ethernia, if you were
wondering) against the evil Hordak.
Though He-Man and She-Ra are very similar She-Ra is also unique, though
a tad more simplistic than He-Man.
Unlike
He-Man, She-Ra could magically transform her sword into a multitude of creative
devices such as a helmet, lasso, shield, etc to help her on her epic
missions. Also unlike He-Man, She-Ra
used a mostly a female cast to fight the evil Hordak and his Evil [male] Horde
in the rebellion. The females included
such classic greats like Princess Glimmer, Queen Angella, Mermista, Madame
Razz, and many more. This was most
likely another great marketing attempt by the animation studio to pull in the
female audience. Along with the
differences She-Ra exhibited it also contained an array of similarities to its
male counterpart, He-Man. Like the
magical tiger He-Man rode, She-Ra rode a horse that she magically transformed
into a flying Unicorn with her Sword of Power.
Overall, the uniqueness of the series set it apart to make it a 1980’s
classic, while the similarities of the series let the series find popularity
among an already He-Man intoxicated
culture.
The
episodes are fun and magical, but can get a bit tedious if the viewer watches
many episodes one after the other. Where
She-Ra is interesting it just does
not demonstrate the same charm He-Man
did; maybe because this reviewer is male?
Between both Volumes 1 and 2
there is not much difference and/or advancement to the series; most likely
because they are both the same Season. The
first five episodes of the series are actually broken up from the She-Ra/He-Man
movie (He-Man and She-Ra: The Secret of
the Sword) that sparked the series creation. The First
Season, which is completed with these two
Volumes, contains a total of 65 episodes of the series total 93 episode
run. She-Ra is a sure buy for all fans of
the series and definitely a good addition to any 1980’s collection.
The set
is very nicely presented with each set being a 6-Disc fold out Digi-Pack with
excellent cover art that captures the heart and soul of the series. The picture for this 1985 series is presented
in a nice 1.33 X 1 Full Screen that is a bit rough, but as said many times on
this site many of the 1980s animated series were just simply not taken care of
for some unknown reason. The colors are
somewhat off and maybe an anamorphic Widescreen treatment could have
highlighted some of the stylish He-Manish artwork, but not bad at all. The sound is presented in a simple but clear
Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo that at times definitely sounds distant, but not to
the point of distracting by any means.
The extras as on most BCI sets are a gem. Between both sets there are over 16 specially
designed extras.
Extras
include The Stories of She-Ra Parts I
and II (one part per Volume) which delves into the creation of the series, the
inspiration for the series, special interviews with writers and directors, in
the end shaping up to a hell of a series inspired montage. The other extras include insightful
commentaries, full storyboards, character profiles (over 50 per set), fun facts
and trivia, and 2 collectable 4” X 6” She-Ra
art cards per volume set. One of this
reviewer’s favorite trivial features included on these sets is the fact that it
continues and almost finishes the side panel art started by the He-Man Series, continued by The New Adventures of He-Man, and now
slowly being finished by the She-Ra series.
BCI does a wonderful job with all these sets making them a must have for
all fans.
In the
end, She-Ra may have just been a shameless jab at a target female audience, but
this reviewer finds the series to hold great class and nostalgia. Not only did the series give girls a chance
to fight with their brother’s action figures, but gave a valuable contribution
to 1980’s pop culture. FOR THE HONOR OF
GRAY SKULL… I AM SHE-RA! Actually I am Mike Dougherty… but this has all been fun none the less.
- Michael P Dougherty II
