Princess Adora is the twin sister of Prince Adam, a.k.a. He-Man. She was kidnapped as a baby by Hordak of the Evil Horde and taken to the planet Etheria. On Etheria, Adora was mind-controlled into serving as a Force Captain of the Horde. He-Man eventually helped her escape and gave her the Sword of Protection, which allows her to transform into She-Ra: Princess of Power. She-Ra now 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...

In 1985, two years after the debut of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, She-Ra: Princess of Power was launched into the world. She was originally conceived after Mattel and Filmation's market research revealed that 30 percent of the He-Man and the Masters of the Universe audience consisted of girls.

He-Man’s twin sister She-Ra was created to satisfy this demand for a female fantasy character and was intended as competition to Mattel’s main toy line - Barbie. As a competitor in the same company, She-Ra could be used to boost Barbie’s sales.

She-Ra’s preference was for peace over violence. Broadcast standards at the time greatly limited the amount of force both She-Ra and He-Man were allowed to use. They could react defensively but not offensively, and it was better for them to fight robotic enemies rather than human ones and to outsmart these foes with intelligence.

The animated series ran for two seasons (from 1985-87) can consists of 93 x 24 min episodes. It's as formulaic as He-Man was, but it was an instant hit with kids of the time. Looking back on it now it's aged surprisingly well. The animation is still fresh and the storylines engaging.

Extras include:

Power of Greyskull: The Definitive History of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe (1 hr, 35 min, 35 sec which starts by looking at the origins of the toy line and then explores almost every aspect you can imagine including the minicomics which were included with the figures, the DC mini series, the animated show, the original use of rotoscoping the black and white film they shot of the movement of body actors in some of the earlier episodes. We also look at the introduction of She-Ra, how the series was accused of dumbing down and the addition of lots of new action figures - including the "battle damage" and dinosaur ranges. There's a look at the live action movie, He-Man in Space figures, the New Adventures of He-Man cartoon and figures, the 2001 new figures, the new animated show, the new comic books series and the launch of He-Man classic figures).

Saturday Morning Legacy of Filmation (22 min, 21 sec which explores thee Filmation history and role in the He-Man franchise); Hope, Honor, Heart: The Origins of She-Ra (20 min, 27 sec which explores the origins of She-Ra); Early  Concepts and Illustrations (28 min, 11 sec which sees artist Charles Zembillas going through his personal archive, which he saved as the studio was throwing everything away); He-Man & She-Ra: The Power of the Sword (1 hr, 27 min, 24 sec a He-Man/She-Ra crossover movie.); and He-Man & She-Ra: A Christmas Special (44 min, 27 sec).

Those that grew up in the '80s and loved the show will be pleased to discover that it's just as accessible today, to a younger audience, as it was when they were growing up.

8

Darren Rea