On the planet Eternia, Captain Randor led his warriors to warn the Great Council of Keldor's attempt to invade and take the power of the universe. However, the council disappears, as Randor would claim victory, and replace the council as King. However, the piece was broken the day of Prince Adam's sixteenth birthday, as Keldor, now known as Skeletor after the final battle caused him to be disfigured (an event I won't spoil as it is covered in a future episode) would finally destroy the Mystic Wall keeping them in the Dark Hemisphere. Man-At-Arms (voiced by Garry Chalk) would take Prince Adam (voiced by Cam Clarke) to Castle Greyskull, where the Sorceress (voiced by Nicole Oliver) tells the youth he is destined to save Eternia. After some doubt, he soon accepts his new role, gaining the power sword, which allows him to become a strong barbarian-like hero called He-Man.
This movie would kick off the 2002 reboot of He-Man And The Masters Of The Universe (and would be separated to become the first three episodes of the first season). As this aired on the old Toonami block (which was on Cartoon Network, a cable channel), and at the time when TV shows have content ratings, this reboot would not be bound to the same restrictions as the Filmation original (allowing characters to engage in swordfights and even throw punches). It also does what Filmation did not: give an origin episode that showed how Prince Adam gained his fabulous secret powers and the power sword that turned him into He-Man.
The characters have been modernized at best, as females like Teela and Evil-Lyn are better dressed than their Filmation counterparts. Also, some characters have their origin story changed (especially Cringer's transformation into Battle Cat, and Man-E-Faces, a character who started out as a villain in one episode where a flashback introduced him, has him with the Masters from the start). Prince Adam and He-Man are more obvious, as while Filmation did them as the same model (as a way to cut production costs), here, it's easy to tell Prince Adam, who wears a brown coat, from He-Man (and Cam does a good job giving the two different voices to complete the illusion that despite being the same person, the fact is supposed to be kept secret). Also, Brian Dobson does a good job voicing Skeletor (even going as far as to put his own take on the voice made popular by Alan Oppenheimer). This is a neat origin story to watch, be it complete or in the three separate parts.
