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TAKE the CHALLENGE! Some amazing He-Man fans have accepted the challenge to watch all 130 Episodes of the 1983 Filmation Cartoon Series “He-Man and the Masters of the Universe“ for 130 days straight, one episode per day. They are the RE-WATCH-A-THON-ERS! Be sure to check out the RE-WATCH-A-THON celebratory memento shirts and mugs (long sleeve shirts options are available too). Today’s Episode is: The Dragon's Gift PRODUCTION NUMBEREPISODE TITLEDIRECTORWRITERSPREMIERE DATERE-WATCH-A-THON DATE MU34The Dragon’s GiftLou ZukorLarry DiTillioSeptember 28, 1983Dec 30Synopsis: Skeletor tries to cast a spell on King Randor, but Man-At-Arms takes the spell instead, turning him to crystal. To help, the Sorceress sends He-Man and Teela…
We have the Power!
Had to drop a line in here for this particular episode.
Anyone who knows me also knows that The Dragon's Gift is my favorite Filmation MOTU episode in the entire series.
It is perfect. From start to finish, the whole episode keeps the audience captivated. The voice work is some of the absolute best in the series, and the unique characters like Tullamore and Sky Tree immediately become endeared to viewers. And, at the end of the episode - with such high stakes (MAA's life for goodness sakes!) - He-Man makes a difficult decision, but ultimately, the right decision.
Pure magic.
Dragons, dwarfs, magical spells, sneaky disguises, life-and-death stakes, and a strong moral... this episode has it all.
While I have many favorite episodes, The Dragon's Gift will forever top the list.
Bravo!
>>>The Power of the Good and the Way of the Magic!<<<
Love this episode, it’s a classic that I think most 80’s kids remember. Granamyr is such a wonderful “grand” character to bring into the mythos, so I was so glad they used him again after so many years in Revolution. I distinctly remember having nightmares of him and Dragoon, although it didn’t stop me from loving the characters.
One particular thing I love about this episode is how serious it is - there’s no Orko, Skeletor is threatening (and succeeds), and He-Man and friends have to question the sanctity of life. I remain as impressed and inspired by He-Man as Granamyr was in this episode with his wisdom and compassion (and honoring of a bargain of course). Great episode start to finish.
Granamyr appeared also in the Filmation She-Ra series. I believe this was in Eternia’s past…? So he did not know He-Man yet… Some repeat animation from the He-Man episode, but great to see him at least one more time in the Filmation era.
We should also mention there is a Mini-Comics version of this story, drawn by the incomparable Alfredo Alcala. Things look a bit more creepy there and Granamyr is green, but I believe the story outline is almost the same, which didn’t happen too often.
This episode legit started really good for me but NGL the Treeprechan and talking Skytree is where I kinda lost it. Also felt it was a bit too fast paced in a "Wait, it's over already?". Sense. Once He-Man and Teela get the spellbook, it just abruptly cuts to Man-At-Arms already unfrozen and everyone okay.
The story has a lot going on (which I like), then it doesn't, then it's over, best way to describe it.
Skeletor's disguise:
5 stars. One of the best episodes. Fantastic dialogue, real stakes, powerful ending. Not sure why the end lesson was some dumb tree thing rather than explaining he-mans decision at the end, and the very end is a little rushed, but otherwise its near perfect.