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Due to the overwhelming success and moral value of He-Man and the
Masters of the Universe's initial years, Mattel in conjunction with
Filmation decided to release this copy-cat series geared towards
girls. It presented He-Man's twin sister Adora [Melendy Britt],
who also kept her other identity a secret - she would become the
mightier She-Ra after holding up her sword and invoking the power
of its hilt crystal with the phrase "For the honor of Grayskull...I
am She-Ra!" In a flash of lightning, her clothing would change in
an animation sequence identical to that of He-Man. Each episode
dealt with She-Ra's defense of the innocent people of planet Etheria
from enemy Hordak [George DiCenzo] and his crew of minions: Shadow
Weaver [Linda Gary] - a red hooded female witch whose face was never
shown under her cloak, Grizzlor [Lou Scheimer] - an extremely powerful
half-bear creature, and Catra [Melendy Britt] - who possessed a
magical mask enabling herself to turn into a panther, and a long
host of other creatures.
Notably,
there were several crossovers between the He-Man and She-ra series,
including He-Man [John Erwin] and Skeletor [Alan Oppenheimer] themselves
(Skeletor and Hordak were apparently conspirators in an attempted
kidnapping of Adora, when she was a child), also expanding to Beast
Man [John Erwin], Battlecat [Alan Oppenheimer], Man-At-Arms [Alan
Oppenheimer] and Orko [Lou Scheimer]. Members of the "Evil
Horde" as seen on the He-Man series, including Leech [Lou Scheimer]
with his suction-like hands and mouth, Mantenna [Lou Scheimer] -
a bizzare creature that resembled a cross between a man, bat and
sea creature with paralyzing eye beams, half-scorpion Scorpia [Linda
Gary], red-skinned and lizard-eyed Modulok [Lou Scheimer] and many
others, also crossed over into the She-Ra series.
Being
somewhat of a horse-whisperer, She-Ra was able to communicate telepathically
with animals, and even owned the steed named Spirit - who would
be come the winged unicorn Swift Wind. Only a few other characters,
known as Members of the Great Rebellion, knew of her identity: Madame
Razz [Linda Gary] - a centuries-old spellcaster whose eyes mysteriously
appear from within her hat, pink-haired Glimmer [Linda Gary] - a
princess of Brightmoon and wielder of a staff that can repair broken
things, mousdached archer Bow [George DiCenzo] - a sharpshooter
with the arrow, and a skilled harp player. The show's token tag-along
character, Kowl [Lou Scheimer] appears as a fuzzy owl that floats
in the air with the help of its wide, multi-colored ears. Other
friends included Castaspella [Melendy Britt] - powerful sorceress
and Queen of Mystacor, Mermista [Melendy Britt] - a blue-haired
mermaid who can magically turn her tail into legs, Frosta [Erika
Scheimer] - Queen of Castle Chill in the Kingdom of Snows and wielder
of a magical snow staff, and Sweet Bee [Diane Pershing] - an attractive
half human, half bee person.
Each
episode concluded with a short narrated moral or lesson, as told
by one of the main characters. These lessons pertained to the overall
episode, tying it together to make a point. All episodes taught
compassion for one's enemies, and morality in decision making.
BCI
began releasing the "She-Ra" television series on DVD,
in 2006.
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