REPORT PROPOSAL - SHE-RA

In researching my chosen topic area, animated TV reboots, I have decided to make posts cataloguing specific shows; their production & broadcast history, critical reception, and anything else I either deem necessary or interesting. For my first post, I'm going to look at She-Ra: Princess of Power (1985) and She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018).

SHE-RA: PRINCESS OF POWER (1985)

The original She-Ra: Princess of Power was produced by Filmation and ran from 1985 until 1986. It ran for 2 seasons, spanning 93 episodes before cancellation. The series was created by Larry DiTillio & J. Michael Straczynsky, with episodes being directed by Gwen Wetzler.

The series, created as a female-centred and oriented counterpart for the successful He-Man and the Masters of the Universe series, follows the character Princess Adora as she leads a band of freedom fighters called the Great Rebellion to free the world of Etheria from the villains, the Evil Horde. Using her Sword of Protection, Adora can transform into She-Ra.

The series takes place in the same canon as He-Man, setting up Adora / She-Ra as the twin sister of Prince Adam / He-Man. Adora was kidnapped as a child from Eternia (the setting of Masters of the Universe), and shares many traits with her brother. Their names are very similar to each other (Adora / Adam both sharing a starting syllable), they both possess the ability to transform using a magical sword, and both do this by chanting similar catchphrases ("For the honour of Grayskull" for She-Ra, "By the power of Grayskull" for He-Man). The two would appear together in a crossover movie, entitled "The Secret of the Sword" (1985). The film was actually a compilation of the first five episodes of She-Ra '85, with only very minor edits made.

Critical reception online currently holds She-Ra '85 at a 6.8/10 on iMDB and an 8.3/10 from TV.com (Rotten Tomatoes currently has no critic or audience consensus). Common Sense Media, a website used to catalogue any potentially risque subjects for some families, gives the series 3/5, citing it as a "positive message packed show". The title character has been associated with female empowerment, especially in the male-dominated animated series of the 1980s.

SHE-RA AND THE PRINCESSES OF POWER (2018)

She-Ra and the Princesses of Power is a modern reboot of the 1985 original series, premiereing on Netflix on the 13th of November 2018. The series was developed by Noelle Stevenson, and was created by DreamWorks Animation Television. At the time of writing, the series is still running with it's final season on the way. Unlike the original series, She-Ra 2018 is ending by choice and not out of cancellation.

The premise for the reboot is essentially the same as the original series'; Adora is an orphan raised by the Horde in Etheria. One day, she finds a sword that allows her to transform into She-Ra. Aside from the premise and initial setup, the stories are original to this series

However, there were some deliberate changes made. For example, the case is almost entirely female this time around; this was in an effort to create a diverse cast lineup, both in terms of identity representation and personality types. This series has no relation to any version of He-Man or the Masters of the Universe side of the canon; the only mention of anything shared between the two are mentions of Grayskull (Adora and Adam's shared ancestor).

An important component of the series is it's representation of LGBTQ+ themes. In their review, Tor.com's Emmet Asher Perrin notes how the argument could be made that Etheria has no such thing as heterosexuality, and characters represent the broad spectrum of gender identities and sexualities. Stevenson has even said that a rainbow in the first season's finale represented "the gay agenda". 

Currently, critical consensus on She-Ra 2018 is overwhelmingly positive; Rotten Tomatoes holds the show at an average of 96% for critics, and an audience score of 87%. iMDB rates it 7.3/10, while TV.com matches the original's 8.3/10 rating. Common Sense Media gives the reboot a 4/5, calling it a "Likable '80s reboot [with a] strong female heroine".

This reboot came with controversy though. In June 2018, Stevenson revealed the first four stills of the series on her Twitter account; however, this was met with negative feedback. Though certain replies to the tweet did have positive things to say (1, 2, 3), there was negativity too. Many complained that She-Ra didn't look female, that it looked like Stevenson had never even seen the original, and some even used the stills as an example of the "state of modern animation". This was mostly down to the desexualised design, which covers up her chest from her bust to her neck and gives her shorts.