She-Ra!
Holy shit, you guys. She-Ra: Princess of Power is on Hulu! Meeeeemorieeeees~ I loved it when I was a kid. I had a little She-Ra action figure who handily beat up my Hulk Hogan action figure during bathtime (despite the fact that he was, like, seven times her size). I believe that somewhere in my home, there are pictures of me in a She-Ra Halloween costume, complete with bizarre shiny plastic mask of her face. I went around proclaiming to be a princess (not because of Disney) and when one of my dad's friends was like, "Why don't you be a queen instead? You'll have more power!" I was like, um, foolish man, She-Ra is not a queen, she is a PRINCESS of Power, thank you very much.
Then during undergrad, I found a VHS of the She-Ra/He-Man movie at a yard sale. It was not unlike watching the Neverending Story as an adult (e.g., Hang on. THAT'S the Gmork that gave me nightmares? That big, raggedy piece of carpet?). Turns out the animation is kind of pathetic and stilted. Each time a character blinks, it takes a full second, which makes them all look so. Very. Stoned. Furthermore, the voice (over-) acting is desperately silly, but that seems to be a staple of '80s and '90s cartoons. (See also Sailormoon - "Ohhhh, Daaaarieennnnn~!") The voices place so much emphasis on the division between the genders and their power roles that the whole thing kind of turns into a drag show. "Okay, I'm voicing Prince Adam right now. I'd better keep him really soft and high-pitched so that I have room in my range to deepen for He-Man. Because, you know, calling upon the power of Grayskull makes his balls drop!" Same thing with Adora. "She's not She-Ra right now, which means she's weak. Weak girls... their voices sound like tiny butterflies and wind chimes! La la la! Ridiculously high!"
No matter how lousy the productions values, though, I still can't keep myself from loving She-Ra. Her superhero persona somehow wears MORE CLOTHING than her normal persona/secret identity self! That is fucking unprecedented.
Then during undergrad, I found a VHS of the She-Ra/He-Man movie at a yard sale. It was not unlike watching the Neverending Story as an adult (e.g., Hang on. THAT'S the Gmork that gave me nightmares? That big, raggedy piece of carpet?). Turns out the animation is kind of pathetic and stilted. Each time a character blinks, it takes a full second, which makes them all look so. Very. Stoned. Furthermore, the voice (over-) acting is desperately silly, but that seems to be a staple of '80s and '90s cartoons. (See also Sailormoon - "Ohhhh, Daaaarieennnnn~!") The voices place so much emphasis on the division between the genders and their power roles that the whole thing kind of turns into a drag show. "Okay, I'm voicing Prince Adam right now. I'd better keep him really soft and high-pitched so that I have room in my range to deepen for He-Man. Because, you know, calling upon the power of Grayskull makes his balls drop!" Same thing with Adora. "She's not She-Ra right now, which means she's weak. Weak girls... their voices sound like tiny butterflies and wind chimes! La la la! Ridiculously high!"
No matter how lousy the productions values, though, I still can't keep myself from loving She-Ra. Her superhero persona somehow wears MORE CLOTHING than her normal persona/secret identity self! That is fucking unprecedented.