Mattel's action figure line Masters of the Universe was selling extremely well, and Filmation had animated a few early adverts to promote the figures. Looking for a way to further increase the success of Masters of the Universe they asked Filmation to go beyond animating mere toy adverts, and create sixty-five episodes of what was to become known as He-Man and the Masters of the Universe.

The success of the Masters of the Universe toyline and show led to the spin-off series, She-Ra Princess of Power. She-Ra, He-Man's twin sister, fights to free Etheria from the Evil Horde which has enslaved most of this, and other, worlds. She helps the Great Rebellion, who also struggle each day for the freedom or their people and planet.

He-Man and She-Ra had been out of the public eye for a time, but Mattel wanted to capitalize on their previous success. Filmation had closed, so the new series was created by Jetlag Productions.
This series sends He-Man into space - and the future! Skeletor ends up tagging along and causing havoc as usual, but for a new planet called Primus. Both He-Man and Skeletor meet new friends, enemies and possible love interests - as one old friend from the past makes a reappearance.

He-Man re-appears for his third time in toon-form, now in the new millenium. Mattel decided to take him back to his original roots on Eternia with all the original, more familiar characters. Mike Young Productions (MYP), took the wheel this time around and Mattel even hired Michael Halperin to write the new series' bible (who wrote the original Series Bible for the Filmation series). This is the first cartoon to show how Prince Adam came to learn of the Sword of Power!

Released in 1987, at the tail end of the He-Man craze, "Masters of the Universe" was nevertheless expected to be a success. With a budget of $17 million, and grossing the same amount, "Masters" can hardly be called that. Nearly every critic names it a flop, but this movie bore the stars of tomorrow! These actors would go on to star in two hit TV shows (Courteney Cox and Christina Pickles in Friends and Robert Duncan McNeill in Star Trek: Voyager). Finally, Frank Langella (Skeletor) was nominated for an Oscar in 2009 for the 2008 film Frost/Nixen!

But was it genuinely a bad movie, as virtually every critic has charged, or was there some other reason why "Masters of the Universe" failed to deliver?

After the Sorceress suffers from a nightmare of events long past, the Sword of Protection reveals itself along with a dimensional gate to an unknown world. He-Man is sent on a secret mission to find the rightful owner of the sword and winds up on Etheria. This was the first theatrical release for Masters of the Universe which introduced He-Man's twin sister She-Ra to the world!

When Orko accidently winds up on Earth during winter, he befriends two children who tell him all about Christmas. The Christmas holiday catches on Eternia and all our heroes and heroines from Etheria join in a grand celebration. All the merriment attracts unanted attention from Skeletor and the Evil Horde. Can He-Man and She-Ra beat them with the power of the Christmas spirit on their side? This also marks the first and only appearance of a race known as the Manchines!