By Alexis Renfrow

Reporter

“She-Ra and the Princesses of Power,” a show I watched recently, has really caught my attention. With its interesting story and deep characters, it really drew me – and many others – into its story.

“She-Ra and the Princesses of Power,” premiered on Netflix on November 13, 2018. It was developed by Noelle Stevenson and produced by DreamWorks Animation TV. So far, there’s only one season with 13 episodes, which run for about 24 minutes. The title may sound familiar, and that’s because it’s a reboot of “She-Ra: Princess of Power,” a show that was developed by Filmation from 1985 to 1986. However, the new show sets apart from the original in several ways. In the 2018 reboot, He-Man hasn’t appeared, which lets She-Ra be her own hero and become independent. “SPOP” is well-received by critics for several reasons. They have a diverse, mostly female cast and the characters they voice have a range of body types and ethnicity. This is very different from the original because in the 1980s She-Ra, the heroines were all optimized for toy production. They were the same size, same shape, and they were all white. The art style is cute, and no two characters look alike. Sometimes when watching TV, some might find themselves confused because some of the characters look alike, or blend together. This show doesn’t have that problem. The characters are each unique in their own way and look very different from each other. While the story is a reboot of an older, written story, the writers do a great job of taking that story and making it their own. The show may be about magical princesses teaming up to defeat bad guys, but it is so much more than that. It shows the very real struggles that each character faces. For example, one character faces feeling like she will never be able to make her mom happy, while another feels like she’s letting everyone down because she can’t meet their expectations. We see characters overcome these feelings and grow stronger because of it.

The cast does a great job at portraying the real friendship between the characters. When characters meet for the first time, they aren’t suddenly best buds. It takes time for friendships to develop; it takes time for them to trust each other.  The core of the show is the relationship that these teenage characters make while they rebel against the evil. They also show a great diversity between them, not letting any of the characters become “cookie cutter characters.” Every character is unique and special, having their ups and downs. They each have their own goals and their own reasons for acting the way they do.

Unfortunately, there was a bit of controversy surrounding the new design of She-Ra. When the first images of the redesign were released in July 2018, many fans of the old show were not happy. They said that she wasn’t as sexy or glamorous as the original. Some people even claimed that she looked like a boy. On the other hand, many don’t see a problem with that. There are those who argue that a children’s show shouldn’t be sexualized, especially if the characters are teenagers. They also add that the new reboot promotes body positivity and that we shouldn’t be telling young girls that they need to look like anybody’s “ideal woman” to be happy.

Season 2 is scheduled for release on April 26.