The Best of She-Ra - Princess of Power

Ten best DVD collections are a smart idea; not only are they much more affordable than a complete season (or series) box set, they usually contain the episodes most loved by established fans of the series. I have often found them an ideal way to sample a program without having to shell out a large initial investment. Keeping this in mind, it is no surprise that BCI has had incredible sales success with their Best of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe DVD. It's only natural that fans of She-Ra: Princess of Power get the same treatment.

The Best of She-Ra Princess of Power contains a full ten episodes despite the fact that it appears to have only 6. The reason for this is that the first five episodes of the program were combined to form a single 100-minute feature film known as The Secret of the Sword. Yes these five episodes do indeed make up the first portion of the She-Ra Season 1 Volume One box set (also from BCI). However, here in this special edition 2 disc set, The Secret of the Sword is retained in its original theatrical format, which means no episode breaks.

For those who have yet to enjoy it, The Secret of the Sword is actually the pilot to the She-Ra series and contains not only her specific background but also her ties with Adam, Prince of Eternia (and He-Man). It is exceptionally well done despite some clearly Lord of the Rings meets Star Wars inspired moments (rather than the Prancing Pony, our heroes meet up at an inn called the Laughing Swan and Bow's introduction can only be described as very Strider-like, minus the pipe of course). On the Star Wars side of things, not only do we discover that our hero and heroine are twins, we also hear about a totalitarian empire, I mean Horde and a rebel alliance formed to restore freedom to the land. The Secret of the Sword even had its own version of Horde Storm Troopers who later become mindless robots clearly due to the ethics of children's programming associated with harming real people (yes, even the bad guys).

The first disc contains the 100-minute feature film (and some extras) while the second contains the remaining five episodes (with more features):

Of Shadows and Skulls
Sweet Bee's Home
Horde Prime Takes a Holiday
The Stone in the Sword
The Price of Freedom

Pattern seekers would be hard pressed to find any sort of common theme between the 5 episodes as they vary greatly in terms of content, writers, and even place in the series order. About the only common ground shared is that they are all solid stories clearly enjoyed by fans.

I don't mean to sound like a broken record in this department (after all, I do say it in every single one of my reviews) but BCI Eclipse (Ink & Paint) has once again created a masterpiece collection in terms of presentation and extra features. Embossed cover art is spot on as is the interior slip-out quad-fold sleeve. Somehow BCI managed to gather up Lou Scheimer, Larry DiTillio, Gwen Wetzler, Alan Oppenheimer, and host Andy Mangles to do a full-length commentary over the Secret of the Sword (that's right folks, a full 100 minute audio commentary- sweet!)

In addition, disc 1 also contains some trivia/ fun facts, and a storyboard comparison (with sheet music) to the "I Have the Power" music video. Disc 2 packs in the extras as well with a brand new documentary feature with many of the show's creative forces, some more trivia/ fun facts, and the DVD ROM exclusive scripts for the 5 episodes that make up the best of She-Ra. As always, BCI includes 2 collectable 4 x 6" She-Ra art cards this time from artists Brandon Peterson and Joe Chiodo.

Once again BCI proves beyond a shadow of a doubt it's undying attention to detail and commitment to fans of the series with this 2-disc collection. Even if you own the full season sets, the extra features (particularly the documentaries) make adding this special edition to your collection a must.