Power of Grayskull: The Definitive History of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe

This was a comprehensive documentary going over the creation of the He-Man/Masters of the Universe toy line as well the subsequent spin-offs, the comics, the cartoons, including She-Ra, and the live-action movie.

A well-packaged film. Power of Grayskull does a surprisingly good job of keeping you invested in the history of a children's franchise. The interviews consist of various creators and producers from all aspects of He-Man. They are all infectiously proud of the work they've done. It's especially entertaining to see esteemed actor Frank Langella waxing nostalgic far more than you thought he would about playing Skeletor. You learn about the atmosphere of the eighties toy industry and how the restrictions of times affected the creators of the toys and other media and how some choices were matters of convenience.

The only nitpick I have is that I would've liked them to talk about The New Adventures of He-Man show more. This one gets surprisingly short shrift compared to how much they discuss the original, She-Ra, and the 2000s reboot.

If you have absolutely no interest in He-Man, this won't be for you. Still, if you're even slightly curious, you may find this very informative.

There is a consistent, non-stop combination of buzzing and bass as the background audio for this documentary. It overwhelms the voices and in the few moments where the bass stops, the documentary appears to actually be watchable.

After 15 minutes, I had to turn it off due to the horrendous soundtrack.

Definitive ... well it is! Up to the point it was made that is. Because this year we got not just a recently put out Netflix show, but another one that was announced (even more aimed at kids, with animation that got some ... well was not well received by quite a few on social media) ... and then there is a new movie on the horizon.

So take the definitive history tag with a grain of salt. If you can, you are in for quite some treat(s). The documentary really dives into the history of the He-Man and all his allies and enemies. How they connected with kids back then, how people grew up with them and what they meant. We also get a lot of background information (including quite a lot from the first real life He-Man Dolph Lundgren himself) of the movie they made in the 80s.

So there is a lot packed in here and it is very well edited all things considered. You have to either be a fan or be accessible to become one to enjoy it of course. If you can, this will be fun.

For some reason I was expecting something more like "The Toys That Made Us", and was pleasantly surprised to find a well-produced, polished documentary with solid editing and noble intent.

"Power of Grayskull" goes way back to the very beginning, to the original guys that greenlit the toyline and those that dreamt up the details. How MOTU was born from the ashes of a failed Conan license and, through writers of both comic and cartoon, an entire lore was fleshed out.

For anyone who knows this backstory, there's probably nothing new here. But it's the presentation that matters. Original artwork, a wealth of interviews and a casual mien offer an easygoing trip down memory lane. And I loved it.

Being a kid of the 80's I was a huge fan of He-Man. This documentary brought a lot of rose tinted 80's clad memories flooding back.

From the inception of the Toy line through to the sad demise and disappearance of the character his documentary really does take you back

Fascinating looks at the toys the series , the movie and that god awful reimagining the new adventures of he man

Also Interesting insight into the making of the movie with interviews with dolph lundgren and frank langella and the problems that plagued the production and led to the flop of what should have been a home run

Nostalgia trip

Enjoy.