The weekend is almost here, the sun is shining (finally) and new action-fantasy movie, Masters of the Universe is shortly set to open in cinemas. Could life get any better?
Maybe. Maybe not. Either way, good times are ahead! And so is some time spent with He-Man and Skeletor.
So, with this in mind, this latest edition of the It’s A Stampede! Newsletter is all about Masters of the Universe.
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To watch or not to watch… or what to watch?
With Masters of the Universe on the horizon, I’ve noticed a common theme popping up online. I’ve seen it on Reddit and I’ve seen it on social media.
What is it? Parents asking advice regarding the best way to introduce their children to the world of He-Man.
The general topic of discussion seems to go like this: “I’m a parent of a couple of kids and I plan to take them to see Masters of the Universe on opening night etc. They know nothing about He-Man, so I want to introduce them to the characters/story ahead of the movie. Which cartoon shall I show them?”
This question is then followed by lots of responses from fans offering different answers. Some suggest pointing the kids in the direction of the recent Netflix cartoons, others suggest the ‘00s reboot, while one or two suggest a full deep dive into every cartoon from the ‘80s onward.
To be honest, I don’t believe there is necessarily a right or wrong answer to this, but as everyone else has had their say I want to throw my two pennies at the conversation.
So, what do I suggest? Personally, I’d not show them any of the cartoons ahead of the film, I’d simply take them to the movie, then go from there.
If they like the new movie they will be eager to seek out more He-Man (or possibly She-Ra) stories without the need for encouragement – which is great, as it demonstrates a desire to connect with the material off their own back. And if they don’t like the movie, then they may not be all that bothered about diving into the world of Masters of the Universe right now, so they can come back to it when they are ready.
But let’s say they do like the film, then they can explain what they liked best about the movie and this may help in which cartoon to watch next. There are plenty to choose from, so let them TELL YOU what they want to watch.
To help out the situation, I’ve compiled a list of all the Masters of the Universe cartoons (including the She-Ra ‘toons) to point newcomers and lapsed MOTU fans in the right direction. So, if you’re not sure how many Masters cartoons there are, or what to suggest, take a look at the list.
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Mastering the merch!
Will I be watching Masters of the Universe at the cinema? Of course – try and stop me.
Will I be buying some of the endless tie-in merchandise? Of course – try and stop me.
As with many of the big summer blockbusters, the release of Masters of the Universe is set to be accompanied by an influx of goodies, including various weird and wonderful popcorn buckets and cups. Personally I’m quite partial to a popcorn bucket, so I shall be keeping my eye out for one of those (if they don’t all sell out).
In the meantime, there are a lot of other MOTU products on the market right now, to extend or expand the experience. Chief amongst them, Mattel has three different ranges of Masters figures in rotation at the moment, which could appeal.
Only problem is, the figure assortment might seem a little confusing to newcomers, especially as they all have different price points. But don’t worry, it is fairly easy to navigate through – and I can help!
First up, there is the general movie range, which is the most wallet-friendly of the lot (around £13 in the UK), and includes various heroes, villains, and playsets from the new film. Although these are the cheapest action figures on the shelves, Mattel isn’t serving up rubbish – I have one of the He-Man figures and he’s great. So, if your children just want the figures from the new movie, and you don’t want to spend a small fortune, this is a great option to get He-Man, Skeletor, Teela etc.
The next range is the Origins range, which is an ongoing collection of figures that has been in circulation for the past 6 or so years. This range – which is the mid-level price point of between £20 – £23 – includes some of the new movie characters, but also incorporates various other heroes and villains from the wider universe, including crossover figures with other franchises (ThunderCats, Ninja Turtles, WWE). If you have children who want to collect or play with MOTU figures outside of just the characters in the new movie, this is a great collection to dive into. I have lots, and you can track many of the older Origins figures down through eBay, Amazon, etc.
The final range is the Chronicles figure line, which are the most expensive of the bunch (around £35). This range also includes characters from the new movie, but is aimed at the older collectors. These figures are also fab, but are arguably not best priced for youngsters.
I hope this helps. Next time you find yourself in a toy shop, and you see three versions of the same movie characters on the shelves, but all in different packaging and priced up at £13, £23, or £35, etc, you’ll know why.
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Book of knowledge
If you want to delve even deeper into Masters of the Universe, or you want to reminisce about all those figures you used to have when you were a kid, you can, via a collection of fab coffee table books from Dark Horse Comics. Since 2015, Dark Horse has been publishing various informative books about the art, the characters, the minicomics, and the toys of Masters of the Universe, and they really are a great source of information (and nostalgia).
I recently put together a list of the books, should you want to take a look. The books were published in hardback, but I believe are also available for Kindle, if that’s more cost effective and/or more convenient to get your MOTU fix.
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Hope for the future
And finally, if the Masters of the Universe movie proves popular with audiences, and is a financial success, then it’s worth noting this could be the beginning of some interesting things to come.
Sequels? Yeah, most likely. Just look at how successful the Transformers movie series has been off the back of that first live-action film in 2007.
But if Masters does really, really well then it may encourage studios to revive more ‘80s cartoon properties. Perhaps ThunderCats, or maybe Centurions? What about Bionic Six, BraveStarr, Jayce and the Wheeled Warriors, or maybe Dino-Riders?
Surely a Visionaries movie could be on the cards if He-Man impresses?! Now that’s a property I would love to see on the big screen.
Anyway, something to mull over. These things tend to have a knock-on effect.
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While you give the above some careful thought and consideration, I’ll take my leave. Until next time, let the Power of Grayskull compel you. Or something like that.
Alex
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Thank you for stopping by It’s A Stampede! to read this newsletter post about Masters of the Universe. For more posts be sure to check out the recommended reads below.
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