So, I will admit, I don't have too much of an attachment to the idea of seeing another live-action Masters of the Universe reboot in theaters because I wasn't around for the original 87 film. So, pehaps I'm just talking up nothing here. HOWEVER, I still love movies, I love animation in general A LOT, and I love MotU/PoP. So, I think I want to say something here.

I think a live-action adaptation of Masters of the Universe is more fundamentally flawed than many people think. See, I don't know how many people here have heard this, but I want to say something to make sure those everybody here DOES hear it: There's a reason these franchises were animated to begin with. Yes, hand-drawn animation is HARD. It's a long, stressful, and extremely grueling process when one wants to make something that looks great. But the results are more than worth it. With animation you can do just about anything you want as long as you get your style down. It provides the ability to create enviornments, character designs, and forms of expression in a convincing way. Often the attempts to recreate all that in live-action looks far more odd and uninspired. I think the worlds of Eternia and Etheria are prime examples of this.

Just think about he huge list of overall failures or "mid" results we have seen with live-action adaptations in comparison to when animated properties are still animated when going to the big screen. From your Last Airbenders to your Netflix Cowboy Bebops to the subpar live-action Disney remakes that started declining in quality since 2017. Sure, you have your exceptions, but usually if one was asked now, they could count them all on one hand. Bumblebee, Netflix One Piece, 2016 Jungle Book, 1990 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, but again, these are the exceptions. And there are just as much if not MORE examples of theatrical movies that were animated just like their original material and even cases where the reverse was an improvement. Just last summer, Mutant Mayhem became the most critically acclaimed TMNT movie, and remember how a lot of people will agree that the 1999-2000 animated sequel series to the Tri-Star Godzilla remake was a better product than the original film itself.

I was reminded of how we're SUPPOSEDLY getting a live-action Amazon She-Ra series when I was watching the live-action Netflix Avatar remake. Spoiler alert, I was not too fond of how they adapted the world of ATLA in live-action in this most recent attempt. I found it a bit stale, watered down, having way less engaging characters a huge exposition problem, and even completely missing the anti-colonization and rejection of power fantasy messages that the original was all about. But beyond that, it just reinforces my idea that the world of animation allows these things to be...well, what they are originally!

I don't know how many people here watch a lot of video essays, but there's a lot of interesting stuff regarding this topic you can get from them. I'm big on more political media-based analysis, but I also love essays regarding simple ways art is made and how it is expressed, and when I heard the live-action MotU movie will apparently STILL be a thing, I was reminded of Sideways's video on why the music in live-action Disney remakes feels off. In it he brings up what Howard Ashman said about why animation is such a good route for musicals. Ashman was a playwright and lyricist who was hugely responsible for the songs we loved hearing in Little Shop of Horrors, The Little Mermaid, and Beauty & the Beast. He said that the abstract expression of animation allows you to suspend your disbelief far easier. It's a medium where everything can feel like the same, unified world as opposed to trying to use live-action to mishmash together multiple rushed effects to imitate something you can already see. Why would you want to see the same thing but lesser?

I don't know if this movie (should it come out) will be good. I do hope I'm wrong with my expectations. But what I still firmly believe is that the medium of animation is just as valid to portray fantasy worlds, themes, characters, ideas, etc. just as much as live-action. In fact it kind of has a lot of advantages over live-action. I can see why a lot of people think remaking or adapting tons of animated properties can be seen as disrespectful to animation when it seems like studios are telling us these new versions are the "real" versions of the story.

One thing that really popped into my head was perhaps there's a reason the desire for an animated Dreamworks She-Ra movie is growing in comparison to the expectations for a live-action adaptation of Adam and Adora's world. Obviously, great characters, stories, themes, etc. we got from 2018-2020 on Netflix, but I think there's another simple reason why a Dreamworks She-Ra movie can seem more appealing to tons of fans. We want to see the lovely medium of animation more in that movie we want.