Untitled Document

Dr. Donna's Review

When the story opens, Adam, the son of King Randor and Queen Marlena on the planet of Eternia, receives a telepathic message from the Sorceress, his friend and guardian, telling him that he must embark on a special mission that involves a special sword. Adam is puzzled about the sword as he sets off with his sidekick Cringe, the cat, through the one-dimensional gate to the planet of Etheria. He and Cringe make a stop at the Happy Swan Inn which is invaded by the evil Hordesmen and Adam and Cringe are recruited to join the rebels who have formed the Great Rebellion to fight against the Hordesmen and their leaders, Hordak and the Shadow Weaver.

As members of the rebellion, Adam transforms into He-Man when necessary to fight against the Hordesmen and his trusty cat Cringe transforms from a comedic, ever hungry, very ordinary cat into “Battle Cat.” When the rebels reach the Whispering Woods, they encounter Horde commander Hordak and his Force Captain, the beautiful, young, Adora. Adora overcomes Adam in battle. Adam and Adora recognize something in each other but do not know what it is. Later, when Adam has been captured and taken to Beast Island, Adora helps him escape and he challenges her to go and see for herself how the Horde treats the people of the village. Adora does go and she sees the villagers being abused. However, because Shadow Weaver has placed her under a spell, she is unable to believe what she has seen with her own eyes. The spell has deceived her into thinking that the Hordes of Whispering Woods are good. Meanwhile, Adam as He-Man engages in the battles with the Hordesmen, and frees some of the rebels who have been put in prison. He finds Adora, gets her to report on the abuse that she saw and presents the sword to her. However, Shadow Weaver who recognizes that the sword has a special meaning that she cannot decipher takes the sword.

Hordak outlines his plan to use the Magna Beam transformer to send rebels to the Valley of the Lost. When Hordak captures He-Man and puts him into the Magna Beam chamber, he again seeks help from Adora. Now, Adora gets a telepathic message from the Sorceress. The Sorceress tells her the story of her birth as the twin sister to Adam and the child of Kind Randor and Queen Marena. The Sorceress tells her that Hordak kidnapped her when she was an infant and that she has been under the spell for all these years, but now it is time for her to seek her destiny through the power of the sword. Through the sword, Adora is transformed into She-Ra. Now, He-Man and She-Ra join forces to defeat the Horde. Together they rescue Queen Angela, mother of Glimmer, and bring her back to claim her thrown and her kingdom.

Adam and Adora return to castle Grey Skull in the land of Eternia where they are reunited with their parents. But the happy reunion is short-lived as Hordak comes to Eternia, links up with Skeletor and together the two evil leaders break into the castle and kidnap Adora again. This time she uses the power of the sword to transform into She-Ra and she escapes to lead another onslaught against the Horde. The Horde is defeated but Hordak and Shadow Weaver manage to transform themselves and escape. With Hordak and Shadow Weaver on the loose, Adora knows that she cannot stay and accept the life of daughter and princess. She announces that she must return to Etheria to continue the fight to free the people from Hordak and the Hordesmen – she must fulfill her mission.

About the Kids
“The Secret of the Sword” will appeal to both boys and girls. Boys will like the high energy, high action elements. Girls will like the fact that there is a female character with super-hero powers that are the equal to the male character. In fact, there are several strong female characters in the story and they cover the range from good to evil characters just as the male characters do. With regard to age, the film will be most accessible to children 6 years of age and older. The storyline is layered and complex and there are many scene shifts. These features may be frustrating to children under 6 years of age. Parents who take younger children should try to prepare them by telling them the basic storyline and by sitting near them to answer questions.

Film content and features
The story content is the classic comic book battle between good and evil in which good always triumphs in the end. Both She-Ra and He-Man also portray such positive characteristics as loyalty, concern for the less fortunate, kindness and generosity. There are many battles between the Hordes and the rebels and there are many examples of magic spells, character transformations, and the use of strange machines and equipment. However, none of the battles scenes are portrayed in the dark, sinister format of some popular animated films and programs. Nevertheless, parents should be aware that there are battle scenes and there are characters in jeopardy. Parents should make decisions about taking children based on the personality of the individual child.

An aspect of the film that deserves mention again is the presence of the strong female lead and several other important female characters. A recent research study (1), looked at 101 popular G-rated films released from 1990 through 2004 to examine the gender balance of speaking characters. The research found that male characters outnumber female characters three to one. These findings indicate that girls are seeing fewer strong female role models than boys. She-Ra provides an example of a strong female role model for young girls today just as she did for young girls in the mid-80's.

Ask children, both girls and boys, to talk about She-Ra's character. How is she different from characters they know from other movies or television shows.

Ask children questions to draw out the relationship between She-Ra and He-Man, e.g. they worked as partners with each one drawing on his or her individual skills.

Encourage children to talk about the physical appearance of the major characters. Do the bodies of the main characters look like the people they know? Draw out the fact that most of the characters are overdeveloped and too perfect. Do real people look like these characters? Have children try to figure out why the artists who drew the characters felt they had to make them so perfect.

Encourage children to draw characters with super powers who look more like ordinary people.

Encourage children to make up the next story about She-Ra. What happens when she leaves her family and goes back to Etheria? Will she ever capture Hordak and Shadow Weaver?