A hundred million years ago, I thought He-Man was cool, but She-Ra was even cooler. I don't even know why I thought so.. maybe because I also dug Wonder Woman, The Bionic Woman, and Batgirl.. but I digress. When the movie came out, pre-multiplex, kids of all ages rejoiced when Adora 'held aloft her magic sword and said, "For The Honor of Greyskull!" Yeah, that was cool. She-Ra had a more upbeat theme than her brother, He-Man, and quite honestly, her special effects were better too. I coulda done with Cowl, the owl, and "Swift Wind", the lame-ass talking horse, but the rest of it was decent. Bo had a rockin' bod, Castaspella (don't you just love the name?!) could kick Shadow Weaver's butt, and Queen Angella, with her wannabe English accent, defended Castle Bright Moon till the cows came home. Mixing the original He-Man series with She-Ra was done effectively, meaning it was a buyable story-line... and when all was said and done, and Adora, nay She-Ra, realized her true identity, she decided to stay and "defend Etheria against the evil forces of Hordak." Pure cheese, but when you're a kid, who cares?!

Jarred from her sleep by dark memories of the past, the Sorceress of Castle Grayskull is guided by a magical sword, a sword fashioned much like He-Man's, to a room whose doors have been closed for as long as she can remember. It is at that moment the sword reveals its purpose and the Sorceress realizes it is time for the true heir to the sword to emerge. But she cannot accomplish her goal alone, for she cannot leave the vicinity of Grayskull and retain her powers. So she calls on Prince Adam/He-Man to assist her. And there is where the adventure begins. . . .It's easy to tell this movie was made in the 80's because of it's animation. But that aside, this is a cool movie about faith, hope, and love. It's a somewhat difficult movie to find, both in the stores and online, but if you can find it, it's worth watching.

In a world far away lives a prince called Adam who can transform into He-man, a fighter for good and justice. One day his friend, the sorceress, sends him and his talking tiger Cringer on a mission to find the owner of a magic sword in a different world, Etheria. But once there, Adam finds the evil army of Hordak is controlling everyone. And he soon meets Adora, who just might be the owner of the magic sword...Back then, when I was a kid, I was very fond of the "He-man and the masters of the universe" show and it's "sequel" "She-ra". When I grew up I decided to do a little research. You know, to go on a hunt for your childhood memories. Soon I discovered my old "He-man" tapes and watched them again. And this time I was very disappointed. They simply seemed like a cliché with every episode looking the same. After that I saw "She-ra" again too, and although this show was a little better, I still found that it lost a lot of it's magic during my growing up. The only great episode was "Sweet Bee's home".------------- I then went to watch "The secret of the sword". Before I did that I was in massive fear that this film will too break my heart and that I should maybe avoid it just to keep it a part of my nostalgia. But was I pleasantly surprised! The minute that song "For the honor of love" started to play in the intro all my respect, joy and enthusiasm got back in a flash again. The movie is just simply excellent, the best thing the "He-man" crew ever made. It's much more darker and has a sharp edge, making it superior to the naive TV show's. The best sequence for me was the one where He-man is captured by the evil Horde while Adora can't sleep and wakes up in the middle of the night. She then goes to the chamber where He-man is being held in a special booth. She wants to help him, but also wants to stay loyal to the Horde. Her struggle with herself is a real drama with great emotions. And then, finally, she takes her sword, transforms herself into She-ra and free's He-man. Simply amazing piece of writing that combined her transformation with her change of character.Truth be told, the story does have flaws. Mostly when it plays back in He-man's world( why in the world would He-man and She-ra just leave Skeletor in Snake mountain after they defeated him?! They could have brought him to jail! )but the film is still a mighty good piece of nostalgia and melancholy. And I'm glad it's quality stayed.Grade: 8/10

While surfing through the IMDB, I stumbled upon the page for The Secret of the Sword. I hadn't seen it in years, and, based on the glowing comments posted on the page, I had to see it for myself. And, in all honesty, this movie is awful. The plot was paper-thin, the characterization non-existent, and the direction was muddled. The animation was truly horrible, even by TV standards (and to think this was released theatrically!). Sure the characters look good, but they move badly. Plus the same stock footage gets used over and over and over. The voice characterization was terrible, and the evil was pretty cartoony. This movie is a sad reminder of just how far animation had fallen in the 80's.