For
those that do not know, the motion picture "The Secret
of The Sword" was not really supposed to be a feature
length film. Trying to drum up huge publicity for the new
She-Ra Princess of Power series, Filmation took
the first five episodes which were due to air in September,
stuck them together and managed to sell it as a feature
film released a few months before the actual series!
While
the intentions of Filmation were good, it is a shame they
did not commission Larry DiTillio and Filmation's top talent
to create a new story fit for the cinema screen. As Larry
DiTillio, writer of four of the five parts stated, "The
five-part story worked. The movie doesn't because it isn't
really a movie! A film has to be written with a whole different
pace than a multi-part TV show and in fact some important
story points were left out when it became a film."
It
is understandable why Larry DiTillio feels like this about
the cinema release. Having your name attached to a story
that you did not think was going to be released as a feature
film slightly undermines your screen credentials.
Alterations?
Because
the feature length film was not episodic, two scenes in
"She-Ra Unchained" had to be swapped.
In
the original five-part story Adora confronts Hordak and
Shadow Weaver and is promptly placed under a spell whereby
she collapses. This is where the second episode "Beast
Island" ended. The story resumes in the third episode
with Hordak demonstrating the Magnabeam. So in laments terms;
a scene at the Fright Zone follows a scene at the Fright
Zone. After these two scenes we see Adam in the Whispering
Woods about the leave for the Fright Zone.
Original
scene order "Beast Island" and "She-Ra Unchained."
In
"The Secret of The Sword" to create a time lapse
between those two Fright Zone scenes they bring forward
the scene where we see Adam in the Whispering Woods about
the leave for the Fright Zone. Thus just after Adora is
placed under the spell, instead of the Magnabeam test we
cut to the Whispering Woods where Adam leaves, after which
we then see the Magnabeam test.
Altered
scene order "The Secret of The Sword."
Corrections?
Another
odd factor was that they were able to correct a mistake
that was made in the final part "Battle For Bright
Moon." In the original we see Queen Angella and a massive
army of The Great Rebellion ready to attack Bright Moon.
The problem with the original shot, was that it was at nighttime,
whereas the rest of the battle was in daylight. In "The
Secret of The Sword" they correct this, and we see
the panning shot take place in daylight.
Original
panning shot "Battle For Bright Moon."
Corrected
panning shot "The Secret of The Sword."
Music?
All
of the music was changed in "The Secret of The Sword"
to accompany the cut sequences, and on most instances, it
was far better. A prime example is in "Battle For Bright
Moon" when Adora is captured. In the original five-part
episode we get a scene of Marlena crying at the loss of
her daughter, while an amusing musical score plays and takes
away the sadness of the scene. In "The Secret of The
Sword" they completely re-scored the scene with a wonderfully
slow piece of music that works well to bring across the
drama of the scene.
Trailers?
After
the introduction to parts two to five we were treated to
flashbacks, which lasted about half a minute and showed
what had taken place in the previous episode. They were
oddly enough all accompanied by the same musical score,
which led into the music for the title card. And of course
with episodes one to six we had a teaser to the following
episode. Yes, no Loo-Kee!
Introductions?
Also,
the first three episodes had a different introduction to
that of the regular She-Ra series, which involved
She-Ra appearing, but no clues as to where she came from.
Adora is not even in this original rare introduction!
Cut
Scenes?
We
have grabbed a still of every shot that is not featured
in "The Secret of The Sword." Some of these sequences
are linked shot after shot, and some are just one off shots
that appeared with a short bit of sound.
Alternate
Footage
The Alternate Footage pictures were used in the "The
Secret of The Sword," but in a slightly different manner;
generally fade-ins and fade-outs whereas "The Secret
of The Sword" used transitional stock clips.
Cut
Footage
The Cut Footage pictures are shots and scenes that were
not featured in "The Secret of The Sword."
Extended
Footage
The Extended Footage pictures are individual shots that
were cropped ever-so-slightly for "The Secret of The
Sword."
