The third article in a series revering the most memorable cartoons from 80s.
If you didn't read the previous articles, please visit “The Top Cartoons from the Eighties (1).” and “The Top Cartoons from the Eighties (2) .
Whenever I talk to friends the same age as I am, almost 30 years old, I realize the deep imprinting the 80s cartoons left in ourselves. Some of them because were awesome, other ones, because were incredibly bad. Which cartoons were those that left such a profound mark in my generation?
HE-MAN AND THE MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE
He-Man, aka “The Most Powerful Man of the Universe”, aired for the first time in 1983, and kept going until 1985. It had only two seasons, 65 episodes each. The cartoon character came after a very successful toy line, and if you remember well, as the toy, He-Man barely moved the neck and the legs. One of the most emblematic scenes from the cartoon was He-Man running, stopping for a second, looking to both sides moving the whole thorax to do so, and resuming the running. The same scene was repeated in every single episode.
He-Man was my favorite cartoon when I was a kid, and no other cartoon made a deeper mark than this one. However, growing up, I realized that there were some really awkward things about this cartoon. The first thing I would like to point was the clothing.
What was the thing about the furred underwear? Today I think it looks like some sex toy. And the Malta Cross over his chest? I didn't see an explanation about that in any cartoon episode. And He-man wasn't the only one who dressed awkwardly.
His alter ego, prince Adam, was always with tight pants and pink shirt. Isn't it kind of embarrassing for the son of the kings?
What about Duncan? Whenever it was, there was Duncan with that orange metal armor and helmet. Even when he was eating, he couldn't leave those things aside for a second. I doubt it was comfortable in any possible way.
Orko was something special. Leaving aside the fact that he seems like a black hole with eyes and clothes, he was the most useless magician ever. It was not funny; in fact, was kind of sad. The guy is apart from his entire race, his girlfriend lives in another dimension, and no one respects him. Poor Orko.
Well… and to finish my comments about He-Man, I want to point something that always made me sad. Why Adam or He-Man never asked Teela out on a date? There was an obvious chemistry between them. Teela was quite a catch; she was the daughter of the Sorcerer and would inherit the Greyskull castle someday.
SHE-RA
I didn't really like She-Ra, but I can't say it didn't leave an impression in me. It did… a bad one. It was extremely pink and there were lights shining everywhere. Someone might have had an epileptic attack watching She-Ra, like happened with the Picachu cartoon some years later.
I said that prince Adam's clothes were embarrassing but were top fashion if compared to Bow's clothes. He had a red heart in a golden frame over his chest. Adding that to the Fred Mercury look, I finally understand why She-Ra and him never dated.
Another bizarre thing about She-Ra's cartoon was her sword. It had a very interesting power. She-Ra would say “From sword to …”, and it would turn in whatever thing she wanted it to. When she did that to turn the sword into a shield or a rope I didn't have a problem with that, but once, she turned it into a Freezing Gun. Really… I kept wondering: If this sword can turn into anything, why doesn't she transform it into a “teleporting machine”, and teleport directly to Hordaks' throne to kick his ass?
There was a really funny thing about this cartoon. Some kind of game which I will call “Where is Loo-Kee?”
Loo-Kee was a blue raccoon like creature that kept following princess Adora - She-Ra's alter ego - and hiding. Watching the cartoon, we were supposed to find him during the episode. However, something always bothered me. If Loo-Kee was there, right next to She-Ra, why wasn't he helping her? Certainly, Loo-Kee was even more useless than Orko.
She-Ra was an awful cartoon and I'm glad they canceled it. I don't have the same opinion from He-Man, though. He-Man had some strange things, but I think I could tolerate the furred underwear if Cartoon Network ever wants to broadcast He-Man again.
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