POWER
OF GRAYSKULL: THE DEFINITIVE HISTORY OF HE-MAN AND THE MASTERS OF THE
UNIVERSE (2017)
Featuring
John Atkin, Gwen Wetzler, Mark Taylor, J. Michael Straczynski, Dolph
Lundgren, Frank Langella. Directed by Randall Lobb & Robert
McCallum. (95 min)
ON DVD FROM HIGH OCTANE
Review
by Fluffy the Fearless😺
He-Man
and the Masters of the Universe was a garbage cartoon,
cynically thrown together to push a line of action figures on
undiscriminating kids. It certainly didn’t match-up to the classic
Saturday morning shows I grew up with, like Hot Wheels,
Gilligan’s Planet, Scooby’s All-Star Laff-A-Lympics and
-
...never
mind.
Oh
well, one man’s garbage is another man’s nostalgia, which this
revealing documentary affectionately demonstrates. Power of
Grayskull covers the character’s entire history, from the
initial line of toys through its syndicated cartoon and subsequent
reboots, as well as Cannon Films’ infamous slab of ‘80s
megacheese starring Dolph Lundgren & Frank Langella (both of whom
are interviewed here). As someone with more of a movie background, I
found the latter section particularly interesting.
"Andy's home! Everybody freeze! Even you, Skeletor!" |
Not
that there aren’t surprises throughout the rest of the film. With
hindsight, I guess it’s obvious those who created the He-Man
universe drew considerable inspiration from the paintings of Frank Frazetta, but I’d be willing to wager nobody who
grew up playing with these toys were even aware of his adult oriented
artwork. I was also unaware that the original toys came with
meticulously crafted comic books which dropped these characters into
actual stories. Even the packaging contained a surprising amount of
creativity.
We
meet the toy designers, various writers & directors of the show,
storyboard artists and, of course, historians & collectors who
discuss He-Man’s popularity. I still think the cartoon is
garbage, but even as someone who was arguably too old to ever
buy-into the He-Man universe, looking back at its cultural impact was
pretty interesting. And it goes without saying that those still
holding a nostalgic fondness for the big lug will love this.
KITTY CONSENSUS:
PURR-R-R...LIKE A GOOD SCRATCH BEHIND THE EARS.