Perhaps the only downside of attending Fantastic Fest this weekend in Austin is that I won’t be able to attend Power-Con/ThunderCon in Torrance, CA this weekend. In a year that marks the 25th anniversary of the 1987 Dolph Lundgren Masters of the Universe movie, and that very nearly saw the Classics line of action figures get discontinued (odds are significantly in favor of this being the last full year for those toys), there’s nothing quite like partying with “He-Fans” and “She-Ravers” (we don’t have a cute name for ThunderCats fans, as far as I know, but to be brutally honest they were more of an afterthought at last year’s con, probably due to Bandai ignoring the whole thing).
Mattel and Hollywood still seem to be unable to get it together to do a new He-Man movie – reading between the lines, it has always sounded like the toy company wants more creative control over the movie than any filmmaker would reasonably want to give up. But we can still celebrate the old, with the likes of director Gary Goddard, Meg Foster (Evil-Lyn), and Anthony DeLongis (Blade) showing up in person; DeLongis will also be doing a sword combat demonstration, though presumably even he doesn’t know how to insta-tan and lose half your clothes merely by holding one aloft and uttering a catchphrase.
Also, there’s a new 22-disc DVD set of the cartoons. That’s right – 22. For just under $100. It includes the original ’80s Filmation cartoons (though just the He-Man ones, not She-Ra), the 1990 Jetlag spin-off that sent He-Man into outer space, and the 2002 MYP revamp in more contemporary style. Mattel says it looks at the brand as an evergreen property now – but we’re gonna need some new media soon to keep things going dormant.
Meanwhile, fans, party hearty this weekend. You earned it.