Recommended music: Fridrik Karlsson – Crystal Healing
Happy Monday, He-Fans and She-Ravers! I hope your week is starting off light as we head into #MastersMonday; we’re still talking about the vintage Mattel Princess of Power toyline. Tonight, we’re taking a look at the Crystal Castle!
Similar to how Castle Grayskull was the only playset available for the first year of the vintage Masters of the Universe toy line, the “Shimmering Castle of Fantasy and Fun doe She-Ra and Her Friends” was the big playset for the Princess of Power line, and the only backdrop for your POP figures until the much smaller Crystal Falls playset was released with wave two in 1986.
The Crystal Castle was featured in books, comics, German audio plays, magazines, minicomics, and 10 episodes of the Filmation She-Ra: Princess of Power animated series. Although Castle Bright Moon was featured in more episodes, including the 1985 feature film He-Man and She-Ra: The Secret of the Sword, which launched the series, the Crystal Castle was also an important location for She-Ra. It served as a refuge for She-Ra and the home base for the character Light Hope, who was basically the POP version of the Sorceress from MOTU. Though the character was never completely defined until he received an action figure in the Masters of the Universe Classics line, he served as a source of wisdom to She-Ra while being represented by bright, talking colors on the screen.
The castle was loaded with unique accessories, most of which I have been able to accumulate over the years, including: a bedspread, a canopy bed, a clothes stand, a fireplace, a flag, a pillow, a plush rug, a table and two chairs, a treasure chest and jewels, and a vanity mirror. While the playset serves as much more of a dollhouse than Castle Grayskull and looks nothing like the Crystal Castle in the Filmation animated series, it was an entertaining and essential part of the toy line.
I think that’s enough She-Ra talk for now. I’ll have more next month for the series’ 40th anniversary, but otherwise I will be covering a very different line from the franchise starting next Monday.
Once again, if you’ve made it this far, I’ve included one last (not so) hidden Loo-Kee in today’s picture.
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Dale's Toys 