5. Pick a Canon
The 1987 film as well as the Filmation animated series are based on the Mattel toy line, Masters of the Universe. The action figures, as originally released, included small comic books that told the story of He-Man and his foes, establishing the battle of good and evil on the planet Eternia; establishing the "first" canon of He-Man. In this canon, He-Man was a barbarian warrior. Similar to Conan he fought against Skeletor's forces as the most powerful man in the Universe. In adapting the property for film and television respectively, both the film and the series established their own "second" and "third" Canon realities from a common backdrop. The series gave us a lot of things that would be adapted by the toy line---each cashing in the the success of the other. The film, in turn, based its plot on the canon of the original toy line and accompanying comics, choosing to ignore the animated series---while still cashing in on the series' popularity. The result was an audience familiar with a toy line, and an animated series---viewing a film adaptation that contained parts of both and yet claimed neither. This would be okay if the confusion were explained---unfortunately it wasn't and loyal fans were left confused about some things, downright angry about elements of the plot that were contrived or seemed to have no recognizable basis in He-Man lore; as well as disappointed about omissions of their favorite elements from other mediums. We know how this affected the 1987 film; which means we know how to avoid it. Given the recent popularity of animated properties from the 80s as live action films---fans may, for the first time, get to see the cartoon they grew up with brought to life. So long as Sony Pictures cashes in on the nostalgia factor that made Transformers a success and got G.I. Joe off the ground.