He-Man and She-Ra: A Christmas Special (1985)

Two Children become lost when they go to find their family's Christmas tree, befriended by Orko they set about to bring the goodwill of Christmas to Eternia.In 1985, in the hight of this popularity came this hour shy Christmas special. Filmmation's offering works just like the He-Man and the Masters of the Universe and its spin-off She-Ra episodes. Even though a commercial for the twist waist & power punch action toys it also had some great stories and morals to share, this is more of the same. Naturally there's the recycling of the same cells but there's plenty of new footage including cute children, a puppy and Adam dressed as Santa Claus. When Alisha and Manuel visit Eternia their goodwill attracts the unwelcome attention of Horde Prime and Skeletor. The tale switches between planets and this special has a mix of fantasy elements synonymous with both shows - fairies, soldiers, monsters and (also thrown in are Transformer-like) robots. Amongst the action set-ups there's some nice writing from Don Heckman and Bob Forward with plenty of sugary cuteness and animated visual treats. Look for Orko's nod to Ghostbusters. For fan's it bridges Earth to Queen Marlina, there's the on screen mix of Eterniain and Etheria characters and Skeletor's transition from super villain to reluctant nice guy. After Hordak orders Skeletor to kidnap the kids there's a great scene where they explain Christmas to Skeletor:Skeletor: Tell me more about this "Christmas."Miguel: Well, it's a wonderful time of the year. Everyone has lots of fun.Skeletor: You mean they get in fights?Miguel: No, no - they have fun!Skeletor: Fights are fun. I like fights!Miguel: And you give each other presents.Skeletor: And when you open them, they explode, right?Miguel: No! They're nice gifts.Skeletor: Nice? Doesn't sound like much fun to me!Priceless. Today, 30 years later directors Bill Reed and Ernie Schmidt offering may have trouble keeping up with the pace and style of contemporary cartoons but it's a heart warming story, fitting for the seasonal period, complete with some catchy songs and all the regular character favourites (voices from legend Alan Oppenheimer, John Erwin and Linda Gary to name a few).While possibly not the best Christmas cartoon, that prize is up for debate, it's still has great nostalgic value and is great viewing for children.

He-Man and She-Ra join forces to stop their respective galleries of rogues, as well as Transformer rip-off villain Horde Prime. After a convoluted way of joining our world with Eternia (not as bad as the live- action movie) a pair of Earth Children are lost over the Christmas season. If they spread the message and joy of Christmas it could ruin Horde Prime's plans. The twins bounce between heroes and villains, before ending up with Skeletor, but surely such an evil villain as he will be immune to the warmth and happiness of Christmas. It's a lot of daft fun that brings in weirdos such as the Manchines. With the mixture of fantasy fairies, sci-fi soldiers, monsters, medieval knights, and giant robots, it's certainly trying to cover all of its toy potential bases. The message really is in the right place, acknowledging that presents can be fun but are not everything, and that not everybody celebrates Christmas. It's the importance of its message that we should focus on. If you're an 80's child, you'll really want to see this.

A friend, recently, gave me a tape with this flick, and while he gave it to me he also gave me a look that said "Be afraid! Be very, very afraid!" And he has a point! Stupidity is in fact a word that can describe the first 30 minutes of this film. But then again, this is He-Man we're talking about, and THIS IS a Christmas special. Two sh*ts not a gold make, but another sh*t. But - the main thing about this cartoon that you shouldn't miss at all is somewhere at the end, when Skeletor fights the Christmass spirit and tries to remain good, and eventually he saves the day, which makes him say the immortal line " I'm glad that Christmass comes only once in a year." (or did She-Ra said that?). Trust me, if you're a true He-Man fan, and especially Skeletor fan, you should watch this cartoon just for that one scene. Overall, it's got a basic dose of stupidity for a Christmass cartoon but it still have that old He-Man charm that will make your Christmass great.(well, if you're in that kind of stuff)

It is an annual tradition for me to watch this every Christmas. Granted, I was only a year old when it came out, but since I have it on tape, I can watch it again and again. Yes, it is a little cheesy and would probably best appeal to a 10-year-old, but it still tickles my fancy to see this.***SPOILERS*** Although it is HE-MAN'S and SHE-RA'S Christmas special (and even combines the two shows and its respective characters), it basically surrounds Orko, He-Man's annoying creature sidekick, and as per usual, Orko somehow manages to screw things up, in this case, by hopping aboard a rocket ship that was built to keep an eye on Skeletor. After the ship is accidentally launched and crash lands on Earth, he meets two young siblings who've lost their way home, Miguel and Alicia, who in turn, give him a crash course in Christmas, something people on his planet knew nothing about. After returning back to kingdom Greyskull with them, Lord Prime tells Skeletor and Hordack (She-Ra's enemy) to kidnap the children and bring them back to him so one of them will be handsomely rewarded. The children get acquainted to the friends and family of the superheros, but are soon under attack again. Both villains try to rise to task (amid some bickering and sabotages), but Skeletor, in a real out-of-character role here, actually grows fond of the children while in possession of them and saves them both from his rival and his boss. The children gets home safely and the holiday (as well as the superhero twins' birthday days prior) is celebrated without incident.While I probably can never rank this holiday special up there with the likes of the Charlie Brown Christmas or Frosty the Snowman (which can be enjoyed at practically any age), I certainly would never count this one out, and while it is a bit maudlin and perhaps even overdone, it is still a favorite of mine and will always remain dear to my heart and a bright spot and cherished memory of my childhood.