He-Man and She-Ra: A Christmas Special

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: A Christmas Special

Hanging with 1980s cartoon characters is really awkward since they're always trying to sell you their old action figures or one-hour holiday specials.

Therefore, it's no wonder that the children in this animated movie are ill at ease spending their first Christmas with He-Man.

When the wizard Orko magically transports a spy-ship from Eternia to Earth, he meets two small humans who got lost while looking for a Christmas tree.

When Orko later returns to Eternia, he brings them and their Christmas spirit along, which intrigues Orko's friends: He-Man and She-Ra.

However, Horde Prime fears good cheer, so he orders his underlings Hordak and Skeletor to kidnap the earthlings.

With both He-Man and She-Ra's supporting cast present, as well as a lighthearted Skeletor, A Very Special Christmas is a holiday feast for fans of all ages.

Unfortunately, on Eternia, the only meat served during Christmas dinner is My Little Pony. (Green Light)

How do you bring Christmas to Eternia? Orko, naturally. Plus some kids that need to get back home; the plot's as trivial as you'd expect from a MOTU holiday special, but it has its moments. I've always been an Orko fan myself, and he fares the best of the impish '80s cartoon sidekicks. Then again, this is also just another excuse to hear Skeletor complain a lot, especially with his beef with Hordak.

I have no memory of this as a kid, but it's cheesy fun as an adult. It received a whining appraisal by my 9 year-old too, so that's another plus.

He-Man and She-Ra: A Christmas Special (1985) is a movie I recently rewatched for the first time in a long time on Tubi. The storyline follows some children that are accidentally sent to Eternia at the worst time ever, just before Christmas. Initially, they run into Skeletor and his horde which sounds like doom and gloom; but when Christmas is at risk, could Skeletor change his ways and save the day?

This movie is codirected by Bill Reed (Earthworm Jim) and Ernie Schmidt (Duck Tales & Mighty Mouse) and contains the voices of John Erwin (Babe), Alan Oppenheimer (Westworld), Linda Gary (Switch), Melendy Britt (Cheers) and Lou Scheimer (Chappie).

I absolutely love this movie and it brings so much nostalgia back from my childhood. The He-man music is classic and it's always fun seeing Eternia. She'Ra's grand appearance is epic as is Skeletor and his zings at any and everybody. The ending is surprising and very entertaining; and I must say, Skeletor truly steals the show.

Overall this is a very fun movie that is a must see for anyone who grew up in the 80s. I would score this a 7.5/10 and strongly recommend seeing it once.

As a fan of He-Man and She-Ra, I enjoyed this special. In it, Eternia is celebrating Prince Adam and Adora's birthday. and the heroes of Eternia are getting help from Etheria's Great Rebellion to get things set up, which is reminding Queen Marlena of Christmas (this is based on the original shows, where Queen Marlena is from Earth). Meanwhile, Prince Adam and Adora is called into action, transforming into He-Man and She-Ra when Orko gets caught launching Man-At-Arms' new Spy Eye, especially when Skeletor goes after it in his Collector. However, a magical mishap warps Orko and the Sky Spy to Earth, where the silly Trolla saves two kids from an avalanche. He brings them back to Eternia, and they bring Christmas to Eternia, which causes Horde Prime to order their kidnapping.

Yeah, this may be a cheesy Christmas special, but it's a good one. Just like every episode of the two series (He-Man And The Masters Of The Universe and She-Ra: Princess of Power), there is plenty of action. Yep, even in a Christmas Special, Skeletor and Hordak are going to cause trouble for everyone. It still has the cheesy humor the shows are known for, and it has a good moral about the meaning of Christmas.