Let’s be honest, there probably aren’t too many quotable lines you remember from He-Man and the Masters of the Universe beyond “By the power of Grayskull…I have the power!” But it’s that phrase which helped to captivate young audiences in the early ’80s to propel a television series and action figure line into pop culture history. Now, more than thirty years after the protector of Eternia debuted on the small screen, a documentary feature titled Power of Grayskull: The Definitive History of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe seeks to share the creation and overwhelming cultural appeal with a little help from fans.
For the Kickstarter campaign, the directors of two previous fandom films Nintendo Quest and Turtle Power have joined forces to bring what they claim will be the most definitive Masters of the Universe (MOTU) project to date. The documentary hopes to not only cover the perennial 1983 cartoon series, but also the critically-panned 1987 movie starring Dolph Lundgren, She-Ra, and the later reboot attempts. The list of industry experts the filmmakers intend to interview just as exhaustive as the plethora of MOTU licensed products that lined store shelves in the ’80s and includes everyone from toy designers, comic writers, animators, game designers, and even former head of Mattel, Tom Kalinske.
The proposed 90-100 minute film is scheduled for a 2017 release, but there are plenty of rewards to get fans excited to pledge for something in the seemingly distant future. The Kickstarter rewards range from a special edition DVD of the film to backers’ names in the credits even vintage MOTU Filmation animation cels! But wait! There’s more! Stretch goals have already been defined to expand the scope of the project and include extended cuts, mini featurettes, and more!
Updates on the film’s progress will be captured on www.HeManDoc.com and in the filmmakers’ web series, Chasing Grayskull.
