9 curiosities about She-Ra that you spent your life unknowingly

Thanks to the internet, even those who are too young to have watched the old cartoons on TV know who He-Man and She-Ra are. At the height of the popularity of Grayskull's muscular advocate in the 1980s, The toy company Mattel and animation studio Filmation realized that 30% of the swordsman's audience with the worst secret identity in the world was surprisingly girls.

To help satisfy the unexpected desire for a female fantasy character, the companies came up with the idea of ​​creating She-Ra, Prince Adam's twin sister and the newest warrior princess of Etheria. Whether you're a longtime fan of heroin adventures or not, here are some interesting and little-known facts about the creation and acceptance of this icon that marked the childhood of many of us.

1 - Ambiguous toy

Although it was a product of He-Man's extremely masculine line of toys, Mattel decided to describe She-Ra as a “fashion action doll, ” leading to a strange kind of mix between adventure and home play. The ambivalent rating drove stores crazy, as they didn't know whether to position the news with the Barbies or among the action figures.

Apparently, there was not much consensus to resolve the situation, with some establishments placing She-Ra beside He-Man and others placing it next to the dolls. Some stores, however, decided to embrace the ambiguity and split their stocks, positioning the toy simultaneously in both departments.

2 - Saving Barbie

In an interview with He-Man.org, Mattel representative Janice Varney-Hamlin stated that Barbie's sales had stagnated at the time. According to her, introducing a competitive line of company-owned fashion dolls would help expand the size of the category as a whole and allow other families of girl toys to grow back.

The practice is common in the world of children's products, with helplines being created to support a core product by increasing interest in the category. After experiencing a stifle thanks to the emergence of rival dolls, She-Ra increased market interest and in 1986 Barbie was able to reach $ 350 million in sales.

3 - Warrior Princesses Don't Cry

A survey by the University of Southern California Institute of Women and Men Studies in the late 1980s ranked different doll lines based on how a group of girls thought the characters would behave. While most girls thought Barbie probably enjoyed dating more, the characteristic that marked She-Ra was that she probably used to "hold back tears."

In addition, Etheria's advocate was chosen as a bigger potential mentor rather than the popular Barbie. While one of the participating girls said she liked She-Ra because the character “knows what she wants and how to achieve her goals, ” a boy who had his opinion solicited stressed that the warrior princess was strong and intelligent. "The only thing Barbie cares about is putting on her clothes and living in her dream house, " said the boy.

4 - Masked Fighter

The She-Ra action doll originally released in 1985 came with a winged headdress that could be turned upside down and worn as a mask, but the girls in the test groups didn't like it. Mattel then decided to put the idea aside, so that buyers hardly noticed the possibility, and Filmation decided to make the heroine wear a conventional tiara in the cartoon.

5 - Preventive Attack

Just before launching He-Man's sister's new line of dolls, Mattel learned of the existence of the fantasy book that featured a character named Sheera - the work in question was “Ladies of Mandrigyn” by Barbara Hambly. Although she didn't have much in common with She-Ra beyond the name, the company decided to buy book rights for $ 25, 000 so rival companies couldn't compete with its new product.

6 - Lust Specialist

At times in the drawing where She-Ra needed to be more expressive, the producers had a particular animation specialist. According to screenwriter Bob Forward, the professional in question was responsible for “filling everything with lust” and the director “always used it for all the moments he wanted to convey passion”.

Head of marketing for girl products at Mattel, Hamlin also used to hire actresses to appear in toy stores playing She-Ra. According to her, the corridors of the company suddenly filled with male employees whenever there were auditions with women to play the warrior princess.

7 - Bolinha Club

Not even the strong marketing campaign allowed She-Ra to duplicate her brother's commercial success, and, according to a former Mattel employee, only about $ 60 million was made with the character's products in 1985 - a laughable number. close to the $ 400 million He-Man reached the following year.

Sales of the muscular hero, however, sank some time later. Hamlin says officials at Mattel's boy toy department insisted that She-Ra was guilty of this. Little things aside, it is more likely that the saturation of the action figure market has driven the character to failure.

8 - Discarded in the movies and rock

If you're a fan of low-budget 1980s movies or used to watch free-to-air television as a youngster, you might remember the feature film He-Man and the Masters of the Universe. What few people know is that the original idea was to include She-Ra in the plot and that the character came to appear in concept art. However, director Gary Goddard felt that it would be better to focus on the hero in the first movie - which turned out to be the only one.

As early as 2006, one of Entertainment Rights chiefs aroused fans' displeasure by stating that the warrior princess should receive a radical reinvention. "We're probably going to relaunch She-Ra as part of a rock band and being a girl with long blond hair and a guitar instead of a sword, " said CEO Michael Heap. The idea was eventually forgotten and, unlike her He-Man, the princess has not yet won a remake.

9 - Gay Icon

According to Erika Scheimer, daughter of late Filmation President Lou Scheimer, She-Ra has turned out to be a gay icon due to some subversive references made by the cartoon writers - as an episode in which the heroine's male helper Archer appears. wearing a dress. According to the producer, the animated theme song in the US, "I Have the Power, " has also been played in several gay marriages.

Bonus: She-Ra the thief

In 2014, a British supermarket cashier named She-Ra Batey was arrested for stealing more than $ 15, 793 from her employers to travel to Mexico on her vacation. The employee pleaded guilty and was forced to return the company.

* Posted on 12/06/2015