LOL not even close. it's a long, drawn out mess, where he-man spends the majority of the movie tied up, or being in some way saved by She-Ra. only to be rescued, and then really easily defeating skeletor, and hordak, who can only defeat he-man by cheating. it's not even close to transformers the movie. now, if you were talking about bravestarr the movie, you might have a debate. but not he-man and she-ra. that movie is the second weakest of all those animated movies based on tv shows. the only one weaker is my little pony the movie. lol
Yes Mr EMPHASIZE your thoughts with capitals, that is what I think. Most cartoons show their age when you rewatch them as an adult. Animation errors, continuity issues, plot holes, those throw away episodes (featuring utterly laughable 1 episode wonders) that make you wonder why the writers couldn't have just focused on developing series mainstays, etc. and while it does not mean you cannot enjoy them, the MAGIC does dissipate just a tad. I'm trying to SQUEEZE out another sentence to EMPHASIZE the SLIGHT comedic value of your post. THANKS though!
Text is a pretty dry medium without some EMPHASIS now and then. That's why message boards have boldface, italics, and underline options. Not to mention emoticons and smilies, ffs! Occasional CAPS is just another tool in the toolbox, get over it.
Thats where I found the magic, the whole thing was an event. Bringing a Transformer to life back then, creating your own headcanon with them, there was more of a bond going on than, many other toys. The handful of episodes that featured the guys you had were most precious, and provided the foundations for many adventures. The occasional schoolyard showing of who had who, the 'ooh you got that guy' and 'this guy doesthis!' There was something about your friends, or even other kids you only barely knew showing such pride in demonstrating whoever they had. Part of the magic was there was so much out there. You could browse the entire TF section and there would only be a few of the same character. Can you imagine how thin today's shelves would be if only the difinitive(?) variant of whoever was released? I kinda drifted from the show, but hey, this was part of the G1 era. It was good.
People talk about "only liking something because of nostalgia" as if that's somehow an invalid reason. Nostalgia is fun. Nostalgia feels good. I like my nostalgia, thank-you very much. That's all the reason I need, personally. That doesn't mean I overlook the issues the show had as an adult. But there's still a reason these characters continue to resonate so many years later beyond simple nostalgia too, in my opinion. For a show with so many continuity errors, plot holes, animation errors, out of proportion character designs, and a toy line that often looked nothing like what we saw on the screen... what did the show have that was distinctive and still arguably holds up today? In my entirely subjective opinion: Compelling characters and personality. You can tell for the most part what the characters transform into at a glance. Most have highly distinctive, recognizable (even iconic) voices. There were a variety of personalities and even philosophies in play. For a show intended to sell toys to kids, there were some pretty heavy concepts thrown around. Pacifism in a race of warriors. Extraterrestrial life that wasn't biological, but instead machine-based. One episode had primitive people worshipping Transformers as deities. A dramatic death scene for the most iconic and popular character in the animated film. Etc. etc. Sure as an adult the implementation of all of the above seems ham-fisted, corny, and even poorly done compared to some other animation from the era. And yes, it all existed solely to sell toys. But there was definitely some spark of imagination and inspiration behind the characterization, themes, and aesthetic design - however poorly drawn and animated by today's standards - and I think that's where the real "magic" derives from. That and the sense of camaraderie. You felt that the autobots were a war-weary family in addition to being soldiers. That feeling really comes across even today (playing together, just hanging out, etc.) That's probably the biggest thing missing from the live action films for me. That sense of autobots just living their lives and the sense of playful friendships and family, in addition to the conflict and adventure. (Well... that and the aesthetics or something like them. But that's a whole different discussion I don't want to get into.) To each their own... but G1 will always occupy a space somewhere in my soul. Yes, part of it is definitely nostalgia. A large part of it. And that's not a bad thing in my eyes. But there's some meat there, too. However gristley it might be today.
AnonymousDwell, I agree, man. Nothing wrong with nostalgia. It's not a dirty word. I'm also a firm believer of putting things in context. Comparing G1 TFs to GoBots helps put things in perspective a bit. G1 animation is often unfairly derided. The AKOM and unknown Filipino work was mostly garbage, but Toei's work was above average for its time and could often be really beautiful. Just watch something like Heavy Metal War, Day of the Machines, Atlantis Arise, The Killing Jar, or The Dweller in the Depths, to name just a few. So many of us are spoiled by the consistency of modern cgi, but I find it's often stiff and bland compared to hand drawn animation. Like I mentioned earlier, though, it's not just nostalgia that makes G1 magic. There have been "better" written and animated iterations of TFs since, but I've found none of them match the charm, chemistry, accessibility, fun, and yes, magic, of the original.
"The Secret of The Sword" was really a movie. It was a five part mini-series that was chopped apart and patched together so that it could be played in the movie theater. But as far as five part mini-series from the 80's go, I enjoyed it as much as any others. I think it's superior to the only five part mini-series from The Transformers cartoon: The Five Faces of Darkness. However, I wouldn't say that I enjoyed SOTS more than Transformers: The Movie. Not even close.
magical, to some degree because "it" started what we enjoy watching either on tv, movies, or collecting
