Bravestarr | Space Cowboy & Supernatural

03.01.2019 – Animated movies currently has evolved the way live-action films have been produced. Spider-Man into the Spider-Verse has recently won an Academy Award for Best Animated Picture would consider a gold standard in what it is today. The quality of animation in films in terms of narrative, aesthetics, and character design as well as execution of these elements will result on how viewers will react to the final product is depends on their perspective. Back in the 1980s it is rarely an animated films would have a big impact on its viewers as animation is more geared to younger audience not‘kids at heart.’ Some of them are obviously produced just to sell toys. But even though they appear to be made solely to market the product based on the animation the quality is still at par and one example is the Filmation and Mattel’s Braverstarr. Filmation is a defunct animation studio well-known to produce memorable cartoon series like He-Man, She-Ra, and other shows based from the toys produced by Mattel. Prior to that, Filmation also had previous collaboration with DC Comics in producing Captain Marvel (Now known as Shazam) and a Batman series that was voiced by the great Adam West and Burt Ward, a sort of continuation of the 1960 live action series. But delving further to Filmation’s collaboration of Mattel was something non-existent back in the day.

He-Man and the Masters of the Universe was a definite hit with Filmation and Mattel putting them at the forefront that others would follow suit that would become the golden era for branded toys coming up with animation and tie-up with a toy manufacturer. With He-Man being a hit there was also She-ra, a spinoff and these were television series not movies, but it was definitely ahead of its time that lasted towards the mid-1980s.

After telling the stories and adventures in the world of Eternia and Etheria Mattel won’t stop on producing toys that has tie-up with an animated series. Of course, they will have another collaborated effort with Filmation to produce not just a brand new animated series, but it will introduce them through a feature length animate movie and this was Bravestarr.



Bravestarr is far from the world of He-Man and She-Ra this was a story of an interplanetary marshal, a Space Cowboy. In the titular role introduces us to Marshal Bravestarr, a Native American decent that probably the first ever for Filmation and Mattel to cast a diverse character as some sort of Space Sheriff, since the story is set in the far future where humans can now travel the stars and live in other planets. Though the stories are not entirely set in space but in a planet called New Texas that has a small colony that has more of a futuristic western theme.

If the Masters of the Universe was about medieval, magic, and technology then Bravestarr is about a western science fiction elements with a space cowboy sent in a dusty red planet of New Texas that has mystical elements related to Native American mythology.

The concept was interesting personally now as an adult, but back then when you’re young buck nobody cares about these little things all you wanted was the action figures that you saw on Uncle Bob’s Lucky Seven Club, a Saturday morning show hosted by an American founded one of the biggest TV networks in the Philippines. But the show won’t make it to Philippine television until a couple years later and support for the merchandise was not a hit without the animated series.

Stampede might be Horde Prime's long lost relative in how the character represented on-screen.

The series that introduces the inhabitants of New Texas was aired in the Philippines on PTV 4, a Government channel but could not recall what day or time it was being shown all I recall was that I caught seeing an episode by chance. Back then there wasn’t a clear signal from where I used to live to merit sitting on a couch to watch Bravestarr on a bad reception. I never knew about the feature length movie being shown in local cinemas, which would be shown after the series ended in the US. I’ve caught up seeing the movie recently when some was streaming it on Youtube.

Unlike “The Secrets of the Sword” that introduces She-Ra, which is comprised of five episodes and edited to become a feature length movie Bravestarr was entirely different from the TV series. Although it did not become a box office success that made Filmation closed out it had a cult following. The Bravestarr toys though wasn’t a hit either that few would forget about it because of how Mattel wanted to bring something new instead of keeping them to scale with the MOTU toys that they produced previously.

The Action Figures produced by Mattel in 1986. Image Courtesy of NothingButNostalgia.com

Seeing Bravestarr was really ahead of its time not only in narrative point of perspective how the character development and plot would weave into what the series would have continued only if they’ve shown this first. This film would be a bit more of having young adult viewers than children as in comparison to “The Secrets of the Sword.”

The violence is not brutal to merit an R-16 or an “M” Classification, but only a Parental Guidance with the scene stealing kissing scene with the Marshal and Judge McBride THREE times is kind of an out of place for children to see this film.

That controversial scene was too awkward for twelve years old kids to see in a movie for kids.

This is probably one of the reasons why it failed to make money at the box office, which was kind of awkward to kids watching that particular scene. The other could be mild violence as the other reasons having failed please younger audience since the content is for mature viewers. The elements on Bravestarr carry more of the Native American supernatural having Shaman as his mentor and only surviving relative or foster father as explained in the film. Bravestarr’s powers come from four spirit animals calling upon their abilities to aid him in his needs.

The antagonist namely Stampede has little similarities to Horde Prime, Hordak and Skeletor’s master. Stampede is based on the character design that was originally supposed to appear in Filmation’s version of Ghost Busters, but pulled out before making an appearance and redeveloped instead as the main baddie in Bravestarr.

Will Bravestarr and Thirty Thirty ride again? We'll never know. For now.

Overall if you watch this animated film now you’ll probably appreciate it than when it was originally released in 1988. No twelve year old would go through an awkward kissing scene and live to tell about it than being traumatized on the death of Optimus Prime two years before this movie. It was really ahead of its time to focus on getting younger viewers to see this, but for an adult now a lot would have hope for the toys not to be discontinued the release of its second wave. But it is for what it was back then how different how it was made for the toys not much about telling a good story.

Entirely, it was a great animated movie for its time and it still carries that nostalgia some people would remember. But a revival can be good too, but it’s all up to Mattel now if that would possible and we can only hope someday.