Classic media reboots are a popular genre of fiction these days. Nostalgia is a strong motivator for many who want to experience their childhood shows again, and it’s really interesting to see how these shows can be adapted to a present-day audience. If you’re interested in these types of shows, or if you just like awesome cartoons, then you should totally watch Netflix’s She-Ra and the Princesses of Power.
Even though I don’t have a lot of time or energy these days to pick up shows, I still think there’s a lot to admire about this reboot of the 1980s cartoon She-Ra: Princess of Power. The story follows orphan Adora as she comes to turn with the fact that she’s an incarnation of the legendary hero She-Ra. It tackles themes of responsibility and redemption as the show paints a complex relationship between Adora and her ex-best friend Catra, who stays on the dark side as Adora tries to do what is right.
In visual terms, the show is amazing. The character designs have been updated from just being a bunch of conventionally attractive, skinny, mostly white people into a cast with a lot of diversity and visual interest. The characters, especially the female ones, now look like real people who might actually exist instead of just being what the male writers of the 1980s cartoon might have found attractive. I love the simple but expressive shapes used in the animation combined with the absolutely gorgeous, complex background designs in the show— I mean, just look at this!
One last note about the She-Ra reboot is the LGBT representation in the show— it even gives representation to parts of the community that rarely get it, such as the non-binary community. This is especially important in a kid’s show, so that LGBT identities can be normalized to them at an earlier age.
Someday, I want to create something as interesting and inspiring as this beautiful show!