Masters of the Universe: Revelation (new cartoon)

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People die, but it's still bloodless. Think 1950's action films.

As for the intended audience? No idea, that's the most baffling thing to me. It's not for kids, and it's not really for adults either. It's definitely not for a new audience - it doesn't introduce any of the characters or the setting, the obvious assumption is that the viewer is familiar with the original series. Yet it seems specifically designed to alienate longterm fans. So you think, maybe it's for Kevin Smith fans? But no, none of Smith's characteristic "witty" reparte is present - in fact, if his involvement hadn't been highly publicized I never would have guessed it was anything to do with him.

All I can figure is...

"Are you a 40-something longtime fan of Masters of the Universe who always wished the show was all about Teela, if Teela didn't look or act anything like the Teela from the original show? Well, this is your lucky day!"
You’d almost think it was a purposeful deconstruction according to some purpose...at least if it was, this would all make sense.
 
People dying actually seems more out of keeping then anything else I've heard so far. If there's one thing I remember about 80s cartoons, it was that swords got waved around but never actually drew blood.

I don't know. This whole thing seems weird. There's probably an essay in it somewhere about modern popular culture.

One, I would have naturally assumed it to be an attempt to relauch He-man for a new generation of kids, perhaps relying on some parents nostalgia to try and direct their kids to it.

But apparently not. To be honest I find the idea that there are adult fans who would be interested in this as something other than something to watch with their own children a bit odd in the first place.

But assuming there are such fans one would think you would want to appeal to them I guess.

Apparently there was a 2002 relaunch that I was completely unaware of as well.

Honestly, it is the supremely goofy and campy 80s film that I enjoyed the best (and only really saw a few years ago) and that kinda wacky lightning in a bottle is not something that needs a remake.
 
I liked the 2002 version OK, but they also got Teela wrong

I just think trying to make "He-Man" serious is like trying to make Superman dark and edgy....
 
I liked the 2002 version OK, but they also got Teela wrong

I just think trying to make "He-Man" serious is like trying to make Superman dark and edgy....

For sure, an odd flex these days as MCU and Guardians show how well received more light hearted and family friendly material can be. People keep insisting that Deadpool is the way forward for some reason.
 
Funny thing about nostalgia for me. I still get that "excited twinge" that makes me remember how I felt when I was a kid in the 80s and early 90s... but only from seeing paraphernalia from those days. Like, seeing a guy on Facebook Marketplace selling TMNT 1990 movie collector cards, or re-watching the original He-Man or She-Ra openings on YouTube.

I was a He-Man kid for sure. But even in 2002 I didn't feel any desire to watch the new cartoon. Same with TMNT. The original live action movie is the only Ninja-Turtle product (besides the original comics) that do anything for me. Hell, I get more excited about watching the Dolph Lundgren MotU film than anything from the past 20 years.

I'm glad that new generations of kids have been enjoying updated interpretations of these franchises, but I just can't get too worked up about what they changed, honestly, because I'm not that kid any longer. Kind of sad, but I'm also very glad because I don't have any more room in my soul for emotional turmoil.

It's too bad that folks were let down by Kevin Smith. I barely recognize any of the characters in the new shows (even the 2002 one). Shrug.

Edit: yikes the list is long: Star Trek, Star Wars, Transformers, Ghostbusters... new iterations just don't catch me with the same awe that I felt as a child. I guess that I've moved on!
 
I was looking at the minis thread the other day and I had this “how ridiculous” feeling when I know every Masters of the Universe character looks like a world champion weightlifter. It’s something you just accept with the line but it would be kind of cool if one male Masters character was skinny. Like even Skeletor: has a skull for a head but looks like Lou Ferigno from the neck down.
 
They could ameliorate the “bait and switch” feel by:
- giving Teela her place on the marquee. “Teela and the Masters of the Universe” or “Masters of the Universe: Tesla’s [whatever]”
- showing Teela a bit more on the teaser trailers

Me, I don’t mind the premise, but I’ll pass judgement until I see the show. Too many great premises die in development.
Late to the party but I saw three episodes and you know what? It’s crap.

Pacing’s bad. Animation’s bad. Plot has holes you could drive a truck through. Don’t mind Teela as a main character but find her attitude mystifying. Could have used some development before the events of the first episode, I guess.

I know the original MotU wasn’t exactly Nobel Prize in Literature material either but let’s be real here — target audience for this is not little kids. (The Motherboard transformation in episode 2 was creepy as hell.)
 
I finally watched it, and I found it very baseline adequate. I watched the whole thing and felt like the planet of neutral people from Futurama.

The parts that I think were supposed to make me go, "WHOA!" made me go, "Okay." The parts that people seem to get riled up over made me go, "Okay." There were a lot of interesting premises and concepts that were dealt with a bit hamfistedly in a way that made me go, "Okay."

I also noticed some weird pacing issues with the action scenes. Like, there would be a cool action move in a scene that seemed to be going for fast-paced anime/wuxia action, but then it would just pause for a second, like the show itself was giving the audience time to finish cheering. There were a lot of times where I half expected He-Man or Teela to turn to the fourth wall and go, "How about that, pretty cool, huh?"

My favorite parts were the ones dealing with Orko, and then they all led up to his epic moment that was so telegraphed then drawn-out to the point where when it hit the big crescendo, I went, "Okay."

I guess I'd sum up my impression thusly: It looks like a bunch of He-Man fans my age, one with a bit of cache still attached to his name from a past run of good films, sat down and came up with some high-minded premises for the franchise, then just kind of slouched to the finish line without really exploring them, just starting them and finding a cliffhanger to conclude on.
 
Oh. Huh. Thats very....um...CGI...


Well, remember when I said the most baffling thing about Revelations for me was that I couldn't figure out the intended audience?
At least with that one I know EXACTLY who the intended audience is.
 
Looks like a kid's show. I can live with that.
But MOTU can't be for kids... It's for 40-year olds who are all "real fans".

I kid.

Honestly, I hate the visual style, but it's in-line with a lot of kids shows these days. It's absolutely not for me, but that's not a bad thing. Let the young 'uns enjoy He-Man, someone should still be able to.
 
Yeah, I saw the trailer and was like "nope." It's definitely a kid's show. Don't get me wrong, there are kid's shows I like. But that? No. Just. No.
 
I will say it was a weird 180 for me to go from "why is there so much Teela?" in one cartoon to "where the hell is Teela?" in another
 
I guess I see it through two lenses. There's the fantasy fan who'd love to see a deeper, more mature story with real stakes and moral uncertainty. I joke about the Heavy Metal version but it's on my to do list now.

The other lens is that I see nothing wrong with the owners of a toy line trying to create a show that will sell their toys to the current generation. I always think forgetting to cultivate the next generation of customers has been a failing of newspapers, comic books, religions, political parties, and yes, even toy companies.

While it's not where I'd have liked it to go, I think Masters of the Universe is, at it's heart, a bit whimsical and naive, there's nothing wrong with that. It doesn't hurt me that some things aren't aimed at me.battwar.jpg
 
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so toys for the show have been revealed...

motu1.jpeg
motu2.jpegmotu3.jpeg

(that last one is the new Man at Arms)

I'll be honest, I don't hate the designs. They're infinitely better than the He-Man reboot they did in the '90's

New_Adventures_of_He-Man.jpg

But OTOH THIS is the new Snake Mountain...

motu5.jpeg

/i guess that's what passes for a playset these days? I feel bad for kids
 
so toys for the show have been revealed...

View attachment 34717
View attachment 34718View attachment 34719

(that last one is the new Man at Arms)

I'll be honest, I don't hate the designs. They're infinitely better than the He-Man reboot they did in the '90's

View attachment 34720

But OTOH THIS is the new Snake Mountain...

View attachment 34721

/i guess that's what passes for a playset these days? I feel bad for kids
Geez, the only thing thicker than He-Mans arms is his chest.
 
I actually like those character designs, they're pretty wild and I can imagine a kid digging them. But yeah that playset sucks.

I don't care for the animation style of that trailer but it doesn't look cheap or poorly done, just a style that doesn't appeal to me. But it does look like a decent cartoon for kids, which makes sense.
 
I actually like those character designs, they're pretty wild and I can imagine a kid digging them. But yeah that playset sucks.

I don't care for the animation style of that trailer but it doesn't look cheap or poorly done, just a style that doesn't appeal to me. But it does look like a decent cartoon for kids, which makes sense.

Yup, like She-Ra, I'm perfectly fine with a cartoon aimed at the new generation where I'm not (and shouldn't be) the target audience
 
Yup, like She-Ra, I'm perfectly fine with a cartoon aimed at the new generation where I'm not (and shouldn't be) the target audience

Agreed. I like it when I can be included as a nostalgia thing on the side (I thought the late 2000's Transformers Animated series did a good job of that), but if the franchise needs to update for a new generation...well, I'm just happy if today's kids get to enjoy He-Man, too. I wouldn't expect a 6-year-old today to enjoy the stilted Filmation animation as I did at the age, just because I have nostalgia for it, so I shouldn't expect to love everything that comes out for them.
 
I always liked cartoons where the characters in a scene are running and you see the same tree or painting on a wall pass by several times.
 
I always liked cartoons where the characters in a scene are running and you see the same tree or painting on a wall pass by several times.

I still have a perverse love of the old 60s Hercules cartoon which had to have some of the cheapest animation and goofball voicework of the era.



 
I still have a perverse love of the old 60s Hercules cartoon which had to have some of the cheapest animation and goofball voicework of the era.





 
I still have a perverse love of the old 60s Hercules cartoon which had to have some of the cheapest animation and goofball voicework of the era.




Oh man this was a big part of my childhood. I remember thinking (as a child) that the guy in the metal mask was the inspiration for Doctor Doom. Heh
 
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