He-Man and the Masters of the Universe (1983–1985) User Reviews (60)

"By the power of Grayskull! I HAVE THE POWER!"

[DarthBill · 8/10 · 27 April 2004]

Ah, He-Man... larger than life hero of my infant years.

Yeah it all feels real campy now, but it's hard to dislike this old show, one of the most fondly remembered of the 80s era.

Prince Adam and He-Man looked exactly the same, just like Clark Kent/Superman, and no one ever caught on. Prince Adam's wardrobe could have used some work, but hey, it was aimed at little kids. In today's increasingly cynical era in which finding kid friendly shows is getting ever harder to do, parents should rest assured that this one is user friendly and shouldn't leave their children too badly scarred. Too bad they don't try to work in more morality into shows anymore.

Remade twice so far and one live action feature film. The new He-Man actually looks kind of like Dolph Lundgren of the live action film, but with a much more wildly drawn physique. Also had a spin off known as "She-Ra: Princess of Power". Whether or not that will be remade I don't know.

I always thought "Thundercats" borrowed a lot from He-Man: big burly hero, magical sword, demonic villain, lots of hideous henchmen, and lots of science fictional elements blended with fantasy elements. The biggest difference, of course, was that He-Man was smarter than Lion-O, the lead character of "Thundercats" (not that that was completely his fault).

A Charming and Classic TV show!

[julianespi · 9/10 · 23 October 2021]

Although somewhat cheesy and cheap looking by today's standards, Filmation made an iconic Toy line more iconic TV show for those lucky kids in the 80s! Filled with valueable lessons and colorful characters, it's hard to hate in Masters of the Universe, even if it's a overglorifed toy commercial. It's a charming show with its bright memorable characters and good morals, its a highly recommended show for kids and adults alike, I'm sure anybody will fall in love with the characters of Eternia!

By the Power Of Greyskull

[Terryfan · 8/10 · 24 December 2022]

"He-man and the Masters of The Universe

I am Adam, Prince of Eternia, Defender of the secrets of Castle Grayskull.

This is Cringer, my fearless friend.

Fabulous secret powers were revealed to me the day I held aloft my magic sword and said "By the power of Grayskull, I have the power!"

Cringer became the mighty BattleCat and I became He-man, the most powerful man in the universe.

Only three others share this secret: our friends the Sorceress, Man-At-Arms and Orko. Together we defend Castle Grayskull from the evil forces of Skeletor."

The 1980s deliver some of the most powerful and classic cartoons ever and He-Man And the Masters of The Universe is No exception.

The series follows Prince Adam who with the help of his magic sword transformed into He-Man the strongest man in the Universe along with his friend Cringer who is scared of everything but when transformed into Battlecat he is a force of good.

As with the help of their friends Man At Arms, The Sorceress, Orko and Teela join together to battle Skeletor the most evil being in the universe.

The show also had a lot of valuable lessons after each episode along with showing how the Battle of Good vs Evil stories should be written.

The cast you can tell gave it their best with their respective characters. The writers also help wrote a good series of stories that helps characters grow with the audience.

He-Man and the Masters of the Universe really knew how to create a series that stood out with among some of the best shows of the 80s.

The series is a must watched for anyone who appreciates good stories and characters.

Must See TV Series

[Big Movie Fan · 4 June 2002]

If you haven't seen He-Man and the Masters of the Universe either because you weren't born or because you haven't got round to it then may I suggest you get your hands on a copy.

I've always liked fantasy shows and you don't get more fantasy than He-Man. He-Man was the allegedly mightiest man in the universe and he led the forces of good against the truly wicked Skeletor who was evil personified.

The characters, the vehicles, the weapons and the stories were fantastic. Joining He-Man were the likes of Buzz-Off (a bumblebee man), Battle Cat (a ferocious tiger like cat) and Stratos (a birdman). They battled the likes of Skeletor and his crew which included Spikor (covered in Spikes), Stinkor (smelt worse than anything) and Beast Man (a big hairy creature). They battled all across Planet Eternia and He-Man always won. Also, it may be lost on young viewers but the show always tried to persuade it's audience to do the right thing in life which is a good thing. After all, wouldn't you rather have someone like He-Man giving moral guidance as opposed to some real life guy in a suit?

My favourite scenes was where wimpy Prince Adam held aloft his sword and became He-Man in a flash of light. He would then point his sword at his cowardly pet Cringer and turn him into the brave Battle Cat.

A great show-they don't make them like this anymore.

Sheer excitement and grand adventure

[paul_haakonsen · 10/10 · 8 August 2010]

"He-Man and the Masters of the Universe" were and still are, to me, one of the best cartoons ever made.

This is a classic tale of good vs. evil, where each single episode was a story in itself and it always had some morale to tell.

The characters in the cartoon were colorful and very well fleshed out, both the good guys and the bad guys. You had strong heroes, wise heroes, those who ended up in bad situations because of bad luck, you had devious villains, plotting henchmen, and so on and so on. Every character brought something unique to the series, and it worked out very well.

Even the re-make of the cartoon series around 2002 proved quite impressive to me as well.

I grew up watching He-Man on TV, and I loved the show, I loved the toys, and I am still quite fond of "He-Man and the Masters of the Universe". This is a series that I return to ever so often for good old times and for the good entertainment. And it is something that I will pass on to my son.

If you were born before the 80's, chances are that you know the He-Man cartoon, unless you were living under some isolated rock in a galaxy far, far away. If you were born after this glorious decade, you might not be familiar with "He-Man and the Masters of the Universe", and that is a tragedy. So you should do yourself the favor of actually purchasing the original 80's series on DVD or BluRay, and also get the 2002 series as well while you are at it. "He-Man and the Masters of the Universe" is a timeless classic cartoon that is fun and exciting.

Definitely one of my top favorites ever!

One of the Greats of the 80s!.

[dayton-w-price · 10/10 · 30 April 2020]

This is one of the absolute greatest cartoons from the 80's, along with Transformers, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Thundercats. That statement of course is based on the success of the toys and shows. I love everything about this show, the characters and the cheesy dialogue, to more serious parts and my favorite bit, is at the end of every episode there is a moral lesson that is taught to the viewer, I just love that. I recently heard about the remake series in the early 2000, and read some of the reviews about people bad mouthing the original and it low budget and so called production values, just rubbish. It's because of how unbelievably successful the toys and this show was In the 80's, that a remake show was even considered and made, that this beloved franchise continues to live in minds and hearts of fans forever, instead of fading into obscurity like so many other shows from that era. So do me a favor, show some respect and appreciation for what was possible and achieved back then, weather your a fan or not, you can't deny the lasting impact it's had on the world, I love it so bad. 10/10.

'He-Man and the Masters of the Universe: The Greatest Adventures of All (1983)'

[Milk_Tray_Guy · 7/10 · 28 April 2023]

This combined version doesn't have its own IMDb page so I'm reviewing it here.

Animated 'movie' which although released direct-to-video (the copy I watched was actually a scan of the original VHS), had a special premiere at Mann's Chinese Theatre, Los Angeles. It's a compilation of three episodes from season one of the original He-Man and the Masters of the Universe TV show; Diamond Ray of Disappearance, Teela's Quest, and Colossor Awakes, and runs at just over an hour. The three storylines aren't connected (they weren't even adjacent when originally broadcast), but there are some effective framing and connecting sequences, as the Sorceress addresses the audience to give background on some of the characters - via Castle Grayskull's secret 'Gallery of Living Pictures'!

The animation looks a little cruder than that of He-Man and She-Ra: The Secret of the Sword (1985), and (like that movie) the voice acting is very obviously 'Saturday morning cartoon'. But the stories themselves are pretty good and imaginative (my favourite is probably Teela's Quest - written by Paul Dini of BTAS fame - which hits the heartstrings a little more than the others). Interesting that the child friendly PSAs the TV broadcaster was required to append at the end of each episode are all absent from this version. Enjoyable (and a good, convenient primer for anyone who has never seen the show). 7/10.

The cartoon that changed 80's cartoons forever...

[justin-fencsak · 10/10 · 18 July 2010]

When I first saw He-Man on TV as part of USA's Cartoon Express in the late 80's, I got hooked, which led me to buy all the merchandise from that show and the "new" He-Man that came out in the early 90's, which didn't do well as this one. This was probably the best cartoon that Filmation did (alongside Fat Albert and Bravestarr), with animated violence that wasn't unheard of in an American cartoon plus a moral at the end to teach young kids about good stuff. The dialogue can be corny at times, but the music is memorable and the characters easy to follow. In recent years, younger people have associated He-Man with gayness since he's a muscular man. He-Man still has the power.

I have the POWER and SO MUCH MORE

[MovieCriticMarvelfan · 10/10 · 14 November 2002]

On my Birthday (Nov 13, next to Veteran's day) I thought I review something special, and one thing came to mind "He-Man", probably the greatest cartoon (done by Funimation) done ever.

Even 20 yrs later "He-Man" surpasses many cartoons for it's quality, action, and beautiful hand drawn animation (now literally forgotten as most cartoons use computers).

Cartoon Network has now tried to cash in on the classic, but looking at both versions "Toonami"'s version of He-Man pales in comparison to the 1983-1985 185 Episodes classic.

The classic hasn't been shown in the air for ages, but through my power I have been able to download of the episodes.

Check out this cartoon it's a classic.

This is the He Man cult classic we all need

[ruimichael-53784 · 10/10 · 24 July 2021]

This is the serues i grew up watching, full of wisdom, heart and friendship.

He Man has superb intro, great soundtrack, awesome animations.

And we can feel the power of He Man as he makes is transformation.

A glorious series that stood the test of time.

" BY THE POWER OF GRAYSKULL "

More relevant in terms of nostalgia than in terms of quality

[IkuharaKunihiko · 5/10 · 7 January 2006]

The animated 80s hit show "He-man" about the strongest man in the universe, the title hero, protecting his country against the evil forces of Skeletor was one of my very personal and favorite series when I was a child. But today, as a movie buff familiar with Fellini, Pasolini, Kubrick, Capra, Wilder and others, I just have to face the music: "He-man" wasn't such a good product. One of it's main flaws is the one dimensional view of the makers. For them, every man in that world was strong and had muscles like a wrestler, while every woman was thin, attractive and always wearing make up. Not only that, but He-man/Adam is a pretty stiff character. That's why the cynical Skeletor is often much more realistic and amusing ( his priceless line "Bring them to the dungeon and make sure they are made...uncomfortable!" to his henchmen when they capture a few men ). Plus the story doesn't have a straight beginning or an end.

-----------

Season 1 is simply very weak. Even the best episodes, the ones on DVD, like "Teela's quest" and "Prince Adam no more", seem like campy travesties. Luckily, the second season is a lot better, featuring some great stuff, like "Into the Abyss" where Teela gets stuck in Greyskull's pit : when Adam transforms into He-man, thousand light beams fall down into the abyss, and then back up again, creating a magic scene. So there is something about "He-man". The animation, although over recycled, is fantastic and realistic, reminiscent of Japanese anime. The idealism, emotions, honesty and the sheer innocence of it's good characters is somehow beautiful, almost as if the makers still believe in human kind. It makes you want to be a better person.

And, in some traces, there are brilliant situations operand. Just take 2 of my favorite episodes, both written by J. Micheal Straczynski, "Double trouble" and "Mistaken identity". In "Trouble" Skeletor accidentally discovers a mirror which creates opposite clones of one person. Evidently, it creates his clone, a good Skeletor, who tries to help He-man. In "Identity" Tharan, a teenage boy, goes on a date with his girlfriend Kareel, but she always keeps going on and on how great and perfect He-man is. The jealous Tharan then lures He-man into a cave with a help of false dragon sounds, and exits afterwords, making Kareel think that he is actually He-man. Of course, she gets all excited, but then he is kidnapped by Modulok. Kareel calls for Adams help, boldly stating how "Tharan, her boyfriend, is He-man and in trouble". I wish there were more such sweet episodes, and less those formulaic about how He-man just simply defeats Skeletor. But compared to some todays "kids" shows, you really can't complain about "He-man".

Grade: 5/10

Pure Nostalgia

[Unbreakable27 · 15 October 2005]

I happen to have loved the 1980's.

The cartoons, movies, the music.

Prince and Michael Jackson with the music, the Nightmare on Elm Street movies, and then there was of course, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe.

Those of us lucky enough to spend our childhood in the administration of Reagan, were blessed with this cartoon.

I picked this gem up on DVD a month ago and I love it. I watch it with the intensity that I did as a kid.

I wanted to show my children what real cartoons were all about. Now my children love He-Man, to the point where I had to make my 3 year old a power sword out of wood and I spray-painted it silver. Now he runs around the house, with it in the back of his shirt screaming, 'by the power of gray skull!' In fact, I'm going to also pick up the whole season 1 when it comes out later this week.

Just watching these things takes me back to 1983. The only thing that ever bothered me was that the Eternians were idiots. How could you not know that Prince Adam and He-Man were one and the same.

1. They look exactly alike

2. One is never around when the other one is

3. As soon as one disappears the other shows back up.

Pick it up and you'll learn what real cartoons were all about!!

This is an iconic 80s cartoon series that is an absolutely must see

[kevin_robbins · 10/10 · 4 January 2023]

He-Man and the Masters of the Universe (1983-1985) was my absolute favorite show as a kid, the box sets are in my DVD collection and I recently rewatched the entire series on Amazon Prime/YouTube. The storyline follows a world known as Eternia that has unique people, creatures, magic and powers like nothing we've seen on Earth. A king, who married an Earth woman who crashed on Eternia, has a son, Adam, who has secret powers that allow him to transform into the strongest man in the universe. He uses these powers to protect the people and creatures of Eternia from evil.

This series was produced by and contained the voice of Lou Scheimer (Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids) and also contained the voices of John Erwin (Babe), Alan Oppenheimer (Westworld) and Linda Gary (Happily Ever After).

The characters and universe He-Man takes place in really captures the imagination and makes you wish you were there. The animation style is dated but still fun to watch and draws you in. The series does a great job of both entertaining and teaching important values with every episode having a lesson learned at the end. It was impossible to not love all of the characters, especially Orko who provided comedy, unique family/friends and was always in trouble. Teela was a smoke show in this and the flashback scenes when the various character were young were really good. The blind episode in season 2 always gave me anxiety and made my heart race as it unfolded. I will say the heroes and villains were equally interesting, especially with how aggressive Skeletor communicated and insulted everyone. The toys that were out with this series were amazing too. I had to have them as a kid. The soundtrack was excellent and fit the science fiction elements of the series perfectly.

Overall, this is an iconic 80s cartoon series that is an absolutely must see and was smarter than it gets credit for. I would consider this an absolute must see and score it a 10/10.

My childhood

[ryanj-85593 · 10/10 · 5 December 2020]

I grew up with this show thankfully by use to staying up past 2 in the morning just to watch this at Qubo nighttime, luckily watching Classic Era shows and learning so much instead of the boring ones today. Teela and Adam is one of my favorite ships in all time. I have learned many life lessons that still strikes to me this very day, and since I don't remember much as it was 6 years ago, I still do remember the words of wisdom Adam would give at the end of every episode. This show has everything; adventure, fighting, love, odd companionship, and teaches you lesson like when Teela practically took weed and had to learn at the end of the day or when He-Man had lost his memory but still do enough to stop the forces of evil. In short, this show is a complete masterpiece and it's saddening that people no longer create shows like this and Sonic Satam anymore.

The best Cartoon of ALL times!

[ivankrajc · 10/10 · 20 January 2015]

It is hard to describe the sheer MAGIC of this cartoon :) Its beauty and excitement :) A cartoon for all generations and every audience :) Ever since i was little He Man has been my greatest role model :) The first role model i ever had :) I learned a lot about life just by watching him fight evil :) You have to see it to experience it because it just cant be described in words that easy :) Its pure MAGIC :) If they played it today i am sure it would captivate many a young :) This cartoon deserves to be preserved as one of the most influential pieces of art humanity has ever made :)

BY THE POWER OF GRAYSKULL!

I HAVE THE POWER!!

I still get giddy!

[ilovewrestling18 · 10/10 · 2 July 2007]

When He-Man raises his sword by the power of Greyskull and turns from Adam into He-Man, I get so giddy. I can't believe how this still sends goosebumps and excitement through me, but then again so does seeing Superman, Batman, or Spider-Man rescuing someone. I know that it is for kids but why would that effect my rating for this series? We don't say that it is for adults as an insult and therefore something being for kids is not a problem for me. I love the characters. I especially love He-Man and Orko. Definitely something I am truly fond of to no end. In heaven there will still be He-Man reruns! The bad guys are so bad and the good guys are awesome. I am biased because Igrew up on this but so what. This series is awesome!

This started my childhood

[smwrightdox · 10/10 · 17 May 2020]

He-Man and the Masters or the Universe was my first real obsession as a kid, I needed all the toys (which I couldn't have all of them) and made sure I never missed an episode! I have the entire series on DVD and watch episodes when I can and still enjoy them as an adult, yes the animation isn't up to today's standards but I think it still holds up well.

This show is better than new cartoons

[minerals · 23 October 2004]

One thing many people do not realize especially the person who posted a comment before i did is that the advice scenes at the end of each episode of this show and 8 or 9 other shows taught good things to children and compared to today's shows this is one show that all children need to watch because when this show and the other shows of that group of 8 or 9 shows were all on you rarely got news reports of kids being caught with Guns, Knives, Drugs, or Exsplosives on school grounds because this show and the others taught kids right from wrong. This show focused on teaching kids to obey their parents and other elders where the new TV shows promote violence and destruction. I feel that this show should be seen by all of the young children that are under 10 years old.

I didn't have high hopes i'd seen a little .. but!:

[moonfish-51699 · 10/10 · 22 January 2020]

One day i watched it ... and its actually really good!!. Great characters, assuring safety protection, ( not usually distressing... i thought the unicorn hunter episode had a broken lesson). clever ways of stopping bad guys . And you learn something in every episode!!. Some might call that cheesy and preachy but i love it!!. Im not being ironic! . it gives me a power watching it!!. I feel if the characters were real i could trust them.

My favourite tv show growing up

[gavinjary · 10/10 · 13 March 2022]

What a fantastic cartoon, he-man was. It had everything for children to get lost in a FANTASY adventure. If only we could make quality tv like this in 2022.

the original!!! HE-MAN AND THE MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE!!!

[tazm-31524 · 9/10 · 28 July 2021]

THE MUSIC THE VOICES THE CHARACTERS GREAT SERIES IT LEFT AN IMPRESSION IN MANY 80S KIDS.

A very great 80s show

[bradleyregister-75597 · 10/10 · 26 June 2023]

This is the show to watch to get you lifted up. When he lifts that sword and says "BY THE POWER OF GRAYSKULL",then you know that it is getting real good. Me and my friend was watching this one day and when He-man said "I HAVE THE POWER",I said to my friend that if this does not get you hyped up then I don't know what will. I know a lot of people that love this show and watched it when they were younger. My dad used to watch this all and I mean ALL the time when he was younger and he is the one that got me loving this show. I have a sword at my house and when I was 5 I used to pretend to transform when Prince Adam would transform. This is a great 80s show and I would definitely recommend watching it if you have never seen this show before.

Masters of Cartoons!

[OllieSuave-007 · 8/10 · 29 April 2017]

Another cartoon show I've watched when I was a little kid. I don't remember too much from it, but did remember it to be very entertaining and adventurous.

There are plenty of good guy vs. bad guy action the most powerful man in the universe, He-Man, goes against the evil forces of Skeletor to save Planet Eternia and to protect the secrets of Castle Grayskull.

Endless battles of sword-fights, magic and creatures - pretty good excitement for any kid and definitely a memorable 1980s. And, who could forget the catchphrase: "Power of the Universe!"

Grade B

‘He-man and the masters of the universe', one of the great cartoons the world has ever seen!

[Old Joe · 6 February 2003]

When it comes to a cartoon that had brut force and action, nothing can go past the 1983 series of ‘He-man and the masters of the universe'. In an era that had so many great cartoons, ‘He-man' stood tall and was a great success. He-man would have to go up as one of the great cartoons of all time. Once Prince Adam held up his magical sword and turned into ‘the most powerful man in the universe', every kid in the 80's was in for the ride of their life.

In the mystical planet of ‘Eternia', lives Prince Adam, a prince who leads the lazy life of royalty. Known by only a few close friends/allies, when Prince Adam holds up his magic sword, and says ‘by the power of Grayskull', he turns into the mighty hero, ‘He-Man'. Together with his friends (such as Teela, her father, Man-at-arms, mysterious Orko and Adam's wimpy cat, Cringer, who turns into Battle Cat), He-Man must battle ‘the masters of the universe', who strive to gain control of Eternia and the secrets of Castle Grayskull. Grayskull is the magical centre of Eternia, from where He-Man derives his powers, and is the one place he must defend from the evil Skeletor.

I believe He-man was successful for many reasons. There was some real inventive character in He-man. Our hero himself was an impressive and imposing character and drawn up to perfection. Other good people include Orko, Man-At-Arms (Duncan), The Sorceress, Ram-Man, Stratos, Teela, King Randor and Queen Marlena. The Bad guys include their leader, Skeletor, who is as evil a character I have seen on a cartoon. Behind Skeletor are Evil-Lyn, Beast Man, Tri-Klops, Merman and TrapJaw. They are all different types of people, with strange powers and abilities.

The voice-overs for He-man come from a limited amount of people, showing how good these people's voiceover talents really are. Talents such as John Erwin, Alan Oppenheimer, Linda Gray, Lou and Erika Schreimer, have a great variety of characters to voice, with some of the voices such as Skeletor's and Orko's, quite remarkable.

I love the world that was designed for this cartoon. Having it be as magical-a -place as ‘Eternia', where it has great magical powers was really interesting. To then add fascinating little facets such as Castle Grayskull (the magical home of Eternia), Skeletor's hideout Snake Mountain, the palace in the centre of Eternia and the crystal sea were good for the story. The talents behind the ideas for the He-man's characters, home planet and storylines include

Can there be any hero that can top ‘He-man'? I believe there is not, because he was good to watch as a kid, giving us all the belief to do what is right and to not follow the path of evil. My favourite characters in the series have to be Orko and Skeletor, who had interesting stories behind them. He-man also had a twin sister named ‘She-Ra' who had all the same magical powers as He-man, (with a great TV cartoon movie, titled ‘The Secret of the Sword'). It was interesting to learn how She-Ra comes to be and how she was taken away from her parents as a baby. I was surprised to learn that there was a new version of ‘He-man', released last year. Although it is a little different, in my opinion the new He-man looks great. While I might be a bit old to get into it, the ‘kid' in me will be on lookout to see a few episodes.