How/where/when should the movie start?

[uaxuctum]

I was thinking about how a MOTU movie would begin. Films like this tend to kick things off with a cool prologue sequence depicting some past event.

If they go with that approach, off the top of my head there are 3 that could be used:

#1
King Grayskull's (final?) battle(s) against evil forces (which is how Marks' script opened)

#2
Randor defeats Keldor (same as the 200X toon)

#3
Marlena crash lands on Eternia, meets Randor

No version has ever opened with #3, and for good reason; Marlena coming from Earth is agonizingly irrelevant to the overall mythology. But it could be an interesting way of initiating us puny Earthlings into the world of Eternia. Maybe

I'd use opening #1 for a movie, because movies have on average very limited running times (in the order of around 100 minutes), so it cannot depict all important events of the MotU mythos in detail, and I think it should focus on Adam/He-Man and "present-day" Eternia. A prologue sequence would thus be an appropriate way to let the audience know there is a relevant history preceding the current Eternian events, without it taking up too much "screen-time real estate".

I'd use opening #3 for a new animated series, which allows for much longer running times (in the order of dozens of hours), so the events of Preternia could be initially kept in store to be eventually shown in detail in their own dedicated episodes further down the series (when He-Man and the Sorceress travel back in time). The first episode would kickstart the series by crashlanding the audience onto the "alien" present world of Eternia, surrounding it with an initial halo of mystery and "eeriness". The focus of such an opening would not lie in the fact that Marlena comes from Earth, but rather in that she comes from a familiar place for us, the audience, and suddenly sees herself arriving on an unfamiliar planet, that afterwards will become familiar and her second home. Therefore, this opening would have the audience follow Marlena's own "initiation path" of acquaintance with Eternia's strange world of wonders from the perspective of someone coming from another more familiar world. Plus her arrival on Eternia and her marriage to Randor is also the beginning of Adam and Adora's own personal histories.

[Eternian-King Paul]

uhh
My second movie starts with the RainBow Rocket and Lt Marlena.

..it's not the begining, its a conector to bigger things,, or sub-mythology.

[Lulu]

I would actually prefer that the movie starts mid-battle. Perhaps something along the lines of He-Man and some other Masters going toe-to-toe with Skelly and crew. If anything, origins can be addressed in sequels.

[Eternian-King Paul]

What if its not an origin explanitory bit, its a character growth, and story progression.

[lorde trooper]

Id use #1 for an opening, a mighty battle scene to really get peoples attention especially having Hordak in an opening scene being sent to Despondos, movie goers wanting and being teased of Hordak waiting for him to reappear wanting more and more, peolpe love epic battles more so then a slow intro, have a massive battle scene at the start.

[Eternian-King Paul]

It opens with a narative and then a musical sequence.

..if I make it that is.

[Firefly]

I'd start with a segment showing a big battle scene where Randor (who doesn't die) & a younger Man-At-Arms are facing off with Keldor & Kronis. After we see how Skeletor comes to be, we cut to present time and see Prince Adam and the origin story of He-Man begins.

[Eternian-King Paul]

..no musical sequence then?

[He-Dad]

I think it would be cool to start the movie with He-man being sent to Pre-eternia. Lots of snake men and of course Dolph could cameo as He-Ro

[Firefly]

..no musical sequence then?

We'll save the singing and dancing for the big finale.

[Eternian-King Paul]

He-Man has the right shoes for it.

[Jordacar]

Okay, I caved. I'm starting with a King Grayskull prolog. But here's the twist: no narrator, no big battle.