"My name is Adam of Grayskull. When good is threatened, by the power of Eternia, I HAVE THE POOOOOWEEEER! I, He-Man, was summoned to the future by the last of mankind to defend them in their hour of need. But my old enemy, Skeletor, followed me. Now, here in the future, he has found new allies to help him in his never-ending fight against all that is good. Yet I too have found new brave friends and a new family. Thus with the Power of the Good and the Way of the Magic, we struggle against the forces of darkness. Good against evil. The battle continues..." - Adam of Grayskull/He-Man in the opening credits
The New Adventures of He-Man: Volume One DVD Review
By Jude Clement
The residents of the planet Primus are in danger. A peace-loving civilization, their planet is protected from their enemies by a giant force field powered by the psychic energy of Primus' greatest minds. This shield is weakening, however, leaving the planet open to attacks by mutants from the planet Denebria. Primus' citizens have long outlawed violence, making them no match for the brutish mutants, led by Flogg. But Master Sebrian, the wise spiritual leader of Primus, has a plan - using newly-developed time travel technology, he will send two envoys into the past to bring back the legendary hero with "the Power of the Good and the Way of the Magic."
There's only one tiny problem - Master Sebrian doesn't exactly know who that legendary hero is. The time traveling machine works, sending Hydron and Flipshot deep into the past of the planet Eternia, but who should they bring back - He-Man or Skeletor? Of course we know the answer, but Skeletor tries to convince the time travelers that he possesses the Power of the Good. He can't resist the opportunity to rule a world that is technologically advanced but unable to defend itself. Unwilling to take a chance, Hydron and Flipshot take both He-Man and Skeletor back to Primus. When they arrive, it quickly becomes apparent that Skeletor is evil. He soon allies himself with the mutants, stroking Flogg's ego while planning to exploit the mutants to take over Primus, Denebria, and the world. Meanwhile, He-Man takes on the residents of Primus as his new family, vowing to defend them from the forces of evil.
I have to admit that I'm no expert on the He-Man universe. I was a bit too old for He-Man and the Masters of the Universe when it premiered in the early 1980s. It is safe to say that I've never seen an episode. Still, the series was such a large part of our culture during that time it was nearly impossible not to be aware of it in some way. While I can't compare the storylines of the two series, the animation style is obviously different even to a novice. Gone are He-Man's pageboy haircut and the original series' entire visual style. By the 1990s, the Japanese anime style was becoming extremely popular, and this is definitely reflected in The New Adventures of He-Man. Several secondary characters have large eyes and unusual body shapes. There is also a large number of Pokemon-esque critters running around on Primus.
One of the series' problems is its uneasy mix of dumb humor and action. Skeletor yucks it up like a Borscht Belt comedian. This could be effective, but it undermines his villainy. It is hard to take an evil intergalactic Henny Youngman seriously. He's too likable.
Even worse are many of the Mutants and Primus' buffoonish scientists and fighters. How did these supposedly advanced civilizations survive with such idiotic leaders and "intellectuals"? Primus' scientists can create time machines, defense shields, and other wonders, yet none of them can walk from one end of a room to the other without falling down.
Each episode ends with a short tag that provides young viewers with life lessons. These lessons are extremely simplistic. Reading is fun. Recycling is good. Never pet strange animals. Check the depth of the stinky swamp before you dive in. The writers don't even bother trying to relate the lesson to what went on in the actual episode, giving these tags a tacked-on feel.
The thirty-three episodes that make up The New Adventures of He-Man: Volume One are divided onto five discs. A sixth disc holds bonus features. Each disc features an image of a character from the series. The discs are housed in a foldout case. When the discs are removed, it is revealed that they are actually part of a mural. The foldout case is covered with colorful images from the series. The case is housed in a cardboard outer sleeve. One of the sleeve's spines combines with other releases in the He-Man and She-Ra series to form a "Spine Art Mural."
The menus are easy to navigate. Viewers can play all episodes or choose them individually. The episodes are divided into chapter stops.
