She-Ra and the Princesses of Power

She-Ra and the Princesses of Power is an American animated web television series developed by Noelle Stevenson and produced by DreamWorks Animation Television. It premiered on November 13, 2018, on Netflix. The third season is to be released on August 2, 2019.

Like the 1985 Filmation series She-Ra: Princess of Power, of which this series is a reboot, She-Ra and the Princesses of Power tells the tale of the teenager Adora's rebellion against the evil Hordak and his Horde. As the heroine She-Ra, Adora leads a group of other magical princesses in an alliance to defeat Hordak. The series has been well-received by critics, who praised it for its diverse cast and the portrayal of She-Ra's relationship with her friend and rival Catra. It was nominated for a GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Kids & Family Programming.

Premise
She-Ra and the Princesses of Power follows Adora, an orphan raised by the Horde. This evil army is led by Hordak, who rules the planet Etheria with an iron fist. One day, after getting lost in the woods, Adora finds a magic sword that transforms her into the titular Princess of Power, She-Ra. After realizing the suffering that the Horde has inflicted on Etheria and its inhabitants, Adora joins the Resistance in the fight against the Horde through rebuilding the Princess Alliance, a group of other magical girls that once all opposed Hordak. Adora's newfound allegiance to the Resistance pits her against her former best friend Catra, whose sense of abandonment, malicious ambitions, and the disappearance of her former friend enables her to rise in the ranks of the Horde to become the new heroine's mortal enemy.

Development
Development and production of the series began concurrently in April 2016. Showrunner Noelle Stevenson initially pitched it to Netflix on the assumption of creating only one season, but in November 2018 she said that "we now have four arcs of 13 episodes done". The first such arc was released as the first season, but only seven episodes of the second arc were released as the second season. She-Ra is created using traditional animation, with the exception of some computer animation for "complicated machinery".

Themes
The first season of the serialized She-Ra reboot focuses on establishing the characters and their relationships in order to set up future seasons, initially by way of introducing "princesses of the week" to the core cast of Adora and her close friends Glimmer and Bow. While the core premise and characters of the original series were carried over, as well as many of its affectations (such as Adora's transformation catchphrase "For the honor of Grayskull!") the reboot sets itself apart from the 1980s series by its almost entirely female cast of deliberate diversity, both as regards appearance as well as character traits, which range from good to "evil but understandable", "utterly amoral" or "full-blown hippie". He-Man, in the original version She-Ra's brother who "awakens her destiny", does not appear in the reboot's first and second season, so as to set up She-Ra as a heroine in her own right.

According to Stevenson, the series's thematic core are the relationships among its teenaged characters, which range from "wide-eyed love" to "heart-rending jealousy, crushes and infatuations". Reviewers particularly highlighted the convincing portrayal of the anti-hero Catra and her complicated "frenemy" relationship with Adora, which The Verge described as "the best animated antihero story since Avatar: The Last Airbender's Zuko". In addition, the series addresses such themes as abusive relationships, prejudice, isolationism (as exemplified, initially, by the princesses), colonization and genocide (a result of Hordak's planetary-scale warfare). The series also emphasizes the necessity of taking action no matter one's own power or circumstances; it portrays magic as fallible and dependent on its wielder's skill and determination.

LGBT representation
The creators indicated prior to release that the series would provide LGBT representation. Tor.com commented that the series "reads as utterly queer in just about every aspect", with many characters coded as fluid in terms of gender or sexuality, and none as clearly heterosexual. Stevenson said in an interview that, when asked by a network executive what the rainbow in the climax of the first season's last episode meant, she simply replied: "The gay agenda".

The first season shows a romantic relationship between two female side characters, Spinnerella and Netossa,  and Adora and Catra's relationship has undercurrents of romantic tension. In the second season, Bow's fathers Lance and George make an appearance.

Staff and cast
The series' showrunner and creator is Noelle Stevenson, a cartoonist who became known for her Eisner Award-winning comics Nimona and Lumberjanes. The principal voice cast includes Aimee Carrero as She-Ra, Karen Fukuhara as Glimmer, AJ Michalka as Catra, and Marcus Scribner as Bow. Mary Elizabeth McGlynn is the voice director. The series has an all-female writers' room, and only one man in the regular voice cast. Around 45 people work on She-Ra in the DreamWorks offices in Glendale.

Design
Visually, the rebooted She-Ra series takes inspiration from anime and the works of Hayao Miyazaki and Moebius. Whereas the original series' heroines were all of exactly the same size and shape to facilitate animation and toy production, and were all white (with the late exception of Netossa), the new series' characters are intentionally diverse in shape and ethnicity.

Character design
After first images of She-Ra's design were released in July 2018, controversy ensued on social media. Some Internet users (men, according to some sources, but also women according to others ) contended that she wasn't as sexy, voluptuous or glamorous as in the original series, or that she looked like a boy. Other users responded that the new series tried to avoid sexualizing a children's show, and conveyed body positivity.

J. Michael Straczynski, the co-creator of the original series, commented that his She-Ra was written as "a warrior, first and foremost", and that "anyone who is looking back at [her] as the 'ideal woman' is doing so through the lens of prepubescent (...) interest and kind of, understandably, imprinted on her like baby ducks. I get it. But that wasn’t the creative *intent*." Fan artists responded to She-Ra's redesign and the controversy over it with a wave of artworks celebrating the heroine's new look. The Verge reported that most of these artists were young women who were inspired by the new design's detractors to improve the new character's profile and her reputation.

Music
The series' title song is "Warriors" by Aaliyah Rose. The Washington Post highlighted it as one of the "theme song/opening credits so good it must not be skipped, right up there with Daredevil, The Crown and Narcos".

The soundtrack was composed by Sunna Wehrmeijer. She aimed at creating a "contemporary ’80s synth-sound combined with orchestral adventure", based on the creators' desire to feature "big and epic" but also "sparkly" music.

Promotion
A first teaser trailer released in September 2018 showcased Adora's transformation into She-Ra. Longer trailers were released in October and November 2018. On January 24, 2019, the network announced the series' renewal for a second season, which debuted on April 26 of that year.

As a novelty for a television series, the series' website is available in a virtual reality format, and is set up to present the user with a virtual crystal palace.

Voice cast

 * Aimee Carrero as Adora / She-Ra
 * Karen Fukuhara as Glimmer, Princess of Bright Moon
 * AJ Michalka as Catra
 * Marcus Scribner as Bow
 * Reshma Shetty as Angella, Queen of Bright Moon
 * Lorraine Toussaint as Shadow Weaver
 * Keston John as Hordak and Grizzlor
 * Lauren Ash as Scorpia
 * Christine Woods as Entrapta, Princess of Dryl
 * Genesis Rodriguez as Perfuma, Princess of Plumeria
 * Jordan Fisher as Sea Hawk
 * Vella Lovell as Mermista, Princess of Salineas
 * Merit Leighton as Frosta, Princess of the Kingdom of Snows
 * Sandra Oh as Castaspella
 * Krystal Joy Brown as Netossa, rebel princess
 * Noelle Stevenson as Spinnerella, rebel princess
 * Morla Gorrondona as Light Hope
 * Grey Griffin as Razz, Additional Voices
 * Adam Ray as Swift Wind
 * Geena Davis as Huntara (Season 3)
 * Chris Jai Alex as George, one of Bow's fathers
 * Regi Davis as Lance, one of Bow's fathers

Season 3
Season 3 will premiere on August 2, 2019. The number of episodes is unknown.

Reception
The first season of She-Ra and the Princesses of Power was well received by critics. The review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes counted 100% positive reviews out of 24, concluding that the series "packs a powerful visual punch that hits even harder thanks to layered writing and multidimensional characters – the perfect show for seasoned fans and little ones alike."

Entertainment Weekly's review described the series as "a funny-wonderful pop fantasy animated like disco fireworks, fun for kids of all genders and any parents looking for something happy to cry about". It appreciated its self-aware humor and "hiply transgressive newness". EW also noted, however, some repetition, occasionally flat animation and the final showdown's predictable outcome. The reviewer found some of the tension in contemporary American politics reflected in the series' portrayal of the rebuilding of a "coalition of powerful liberal-minded thinkers left in disarray after a brutal defeat years ago by a monstrously all-consuming bad dude". Collider called the series "visually exciting, emotionally charged, and unexpectedly hilarious", and "one of the best new shows of the year". IGN praises the series for successfully rebooting the franchise but concludes that "Adora could have used more time with the Horde to help develop her character".

Hypable praised the series' diversity and the multifaceted relationships among some of its core characters, but found much of the first season's plot "simplistic", and the rotating cast of princesses given short shrift. The Washington Post highlighted the "top-notch" voice cast and particularly the work of Lorraine Toussaint as the sorceress Shadow Weaver. The Verge commented that the series' biggest problem was that it was "retreading territory that Steven Universe and the two Avatar animated series did better", with several characters and plot points heavily reminiscent of elements from these earlier animated series, and also criticized the early episodes' shallow plot.

The second season has a 91% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 11 reviews, with an average rating of 7.81/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "She-Ra and the Princesses of Power continues to go from strength to strength with ebullient flair in a second season that will enrapture younger fans while reminding adult viewers about the virtues of friendship and kindness."