Loo-Kee Here! It's She-Ra and He-Man!

Don't let Loo-Kee fool you.  Most of the time, this colorful woodland creature stayed hidden in the animated TV show "She-Ra" and revealed his hiding place (and the moral of the day's story) at the end of each episode.  However, Loo-Kee was also brave enough to take on Skeletor and Beast Man.  Yep!

By the Power of Grayskull, Loo-Kee matched wits with He-Man's rivals in a cross-over episode of the He-Man spin-off show "She-Ra" in an episode called "Loo-Kee Lends a Hand."

He-Man and Battle Cat (a green tiger) have been fighting off Skeletor since the early 1980s.

When I was a kid, I think my neighbor had every He-Man action figure.  I only had one, and it was Battle Cat (a hard plastic toy with no moving parts, so I guess it was really just an accessory and not an action figure).

Put down those entertaining Mattel products, because it's time to watch He-Man on TV!

Mattel had been toying with the idea of a He-Man show, and turned to animation producer Filmation to create a series in 1983.

Mattel was thrilled with the success of He-Man, since their "Mattel and Mars Bar Quick Energy Chocobot Hour" did not do so well (as noted on an episode of "The Simpsons").

Marvel produced a Star Comics title for "He-Man and the Masters of the Universe."

Here we see He-Man fighting The Price Increase with R2-D2 and C-3PO from the Star Wars "Droids" series.  Notice Spider-Ham (Marvel's own Spider-Man spoof, Peter Porker) is in combat mode here as well.  Seeing one of the Care Bears joining them in the battle is especially hilarious.

Yes, Orko was friends with Snarf from "ThunderCats" and the Transformers, too.

Marvel's Star Comics made many different titles, including "Muppet Babies," "Alf," and "Silverhawks."

It was not unusual to see characters from different studios mingling together in comic book ads.

For publicity photos for Star Comics, Heathcliff defended his turf from Lion-O (from ThunderCats).  An Ewok and a Care Bare fought over who was more cuddly.  The Flintstone Kids were rocking with laughter because He-Man slayed 'em.

She-Ra was introduced in "He-Man and She-Ra In The Secret Of The Sword" in movie theaters in 1985.

This was not a big budget film.  It was like a big episode of the TV show.  Look at Mer-Man!  Lots of fun villains in the He-Man universe.

There were two big things that made She-Ra so popular:  Her personality and her courage.  What did you think I was going to say?

She-Ra also had a big, pink flying unicorn.  Those seem to be really popular these days.  Maybe this post will show up in a lot of Google searches.

Here's a different poster for the He-Man and She-Ra Sword movie.  This one has Hordak and Mantenna, two of She-Ra's foes.  I watched an episode of She-Ra on hulu.com, and it reminded me of Hanna-Barbera's "Space Ghost."  Very limited animation, but nice drawings.

Skeletor is standing next to another cool villain named Leech.

She-Ra also had a toy line.  This is priceless.  Meet Starburst She-Ra and Crystal Swift Wind.  Meet their friends, Sweetbee, Perfuma, Peekablue, Frosta, Flutterina, Mermista, Entrapta and Angella.  Meet their enemy, Scratchin' Sound Catra.

Dolls not shown:  Lipglossia, Nailpolisha, Pillowfightina, Ticklefightina and Tamponica.

Would you like to see the She-Ra origin story?  Here it is.

When there's trouble, you call Luke Skywalker, I mean, He-Man.

When She-Ra isn't a superhero, her name is Adora.

Instead of "By the Power of Grayskull" She-Ra says "By the Honor of Grayskull."  Because she's a classy gal.

Catra clearly idolizes Eartha Kitt.

He-Man saves the day, but interrupts an entertaining catfight.

Spoiler Alert: She-Ra is He-Man's sister from the same mister!

This comic included an ad for a She-Ra Princess of Power Poster.  It looks like one of the characters drove a glittery swan vehicle of some sort.  I don't remember that in the TV show.

She-Ra and He-Man fought all sorts of kooky villains, including King Hiss and the Snake Men.

All the She-Ra and He-Man material here is from issues of Muppet Magazine and Marvel Comics published in the Eighties.

In 1987, Dolph Lundgren (as He-Man) starred in the live action movie, "Masters of the Universe."  The film was directed by Gary Goddard, creator of theme park attractions all over the world, including The Monster Plantation (now called "The Monster Mansion") at Six Flags Over Georgia.

Fans of the TV series "Friends" can see Monica (Courtney Cox) and her Mom (Christina Pickles) along with Skeletor in "Masters of the Universe."

By the Power of Grayswamp, Kermit is He-Frog in a Muppet Magazine parody.

Forget Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon.  Here, Miss Piggy connects Disney, Marvel, Warner Brothers, Six Flags, Hanna-Barbera, Alf, Star Wars, Transformers, Friends, Heathcliff, Courtney Cox, ThunderCats and He-Man and She-Ra.

Loo-Kee enjoys hiding in the forest so he can spy on She-Ra and her muscular friend.

Loo-Kee can get away with lurking in the background because he is a cute little woodland creature.

If you ever see Loo-Kee when you are in the woods, there are a few rules you need to follow.  Don't shine bright light on him and don't feed him after midnight.  But there is one rule that is the most important, and for Grayskull's sake, you'd better not break the rule.  Never, EVER confuse Loo-Kee with "Loki" from "Thor."

The Muppets And Pee-Wee Herman: The Great Big Christmas Caper Adventure

I can probably recite the movie "Pee-Wee's Big Adventure" and I obviously like the Muppets, so I was thrilled to see Kermit and Pee-Wee on the Winter 1987 cover of Muppet Magazine.

Kermit visits and interviews Pee-Wee at his Playhouse.

It looks like Kermit told his experiences to a writer named Fred Newman.

I wonder if this is the same Fred Newman from The Disney Channel's late 1980s/early 1990s version of The Mickey Mouse Club?

My guess is yes.

Muppet Magazine often featured a fold-out parody poster. In Fall 1987, it was Ker-Mee Herman and some biker pigs in "Kermie's Pig Adventure."

This is genius.

Ask Dr. Honeydew was a hysterical column in Muppet Magazine.

Gotta love the "fun" fruit cake suggestions.

Back in the 1980s, stickers were so popular, they actually made magazines about them. This Pee-Wee's Playhouse story is from a magazine called "Stickers & Stuff." I kid you not.

This article is pretty informative.

Pee-Wee's Playhouse debuted on CBS in 1986.

The show was kind of a spin-off of the 1985 Tim Burton-directed film, "Pee-Wee's Big Adventure."

Pee-Wee's Playhouse featured live actors, puppets and animation.

One of my favorite segments was "Penny," a cartoon about a clay girl with pennies for eyes.

Penny animator Craig Bartlett also created Nickelodeon's animated series "Hey Arnold!"

In 1988, Pee-Wee's Playhouse Christmas Special debuted. Penny got her own Christmas mini-episode.

All the Playhouse characters were celebrating the holidays, even the food in the fridge!

These stop-motion animated sequences are incredibly charming and fun, and so full of character and imagination.

The freezer upstairs is "ice-fishing" for party refreshments from downstairs.

The characters here among the frozen fried chicken are red and green popsicles! Note that the green popsicle is one of those "break and share" popsicles with two sticks.

Pee-Wee forces Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello to make his Christmas Cards, and offers to give them bread and water when they are finished.

From the Christmas Special DVD commentary, we know that Paul Reubens (Pee-Wee) and Frankie and Annette became friends working on the 1987 film, "Back to the Beach."

The Christmas Special includes many guest stars, including Dinah Shore, Oprah Winfrey, Charo and Cher.

Cher tells everyone the Secret Word and leaves to work on her perfume line, presumably.

Pee-Wee's Playhouse was on the CBS Saturday Morning schedule with Jim Henson's Muppet Babies.

In 1990, you could also find Garfield and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles on CBS. You could also watch Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure: the cartoon. Yes, that existed.

In the Winter 1987 Muppet Magazine, the Muppet Babies starred in a hilarious version of 'Twas the Night Before Christmas.

This clever take on the Christmas classic was illustrated by Bruce McNally and written by Louise Gikow.

The Muppet Babies animated series, created by Jim Henson and Marvel, debuted on CBS in the Fall of 1984.

A new character named Skeeter (Scooter's twin sister) was created for the show to give the series a female character to balance out the often outlandish Miss Piggy. I guess maybe they forgot about the rather mellow Janice when they were developing the TV series.

Skeeter and Animal were originally voiced by Howie Mandel.

Kermit was voiced by legendary voice-over actor Frank Welker. Gonzo was voiced by Russi Taylor (the voice of Minnie Mouse and Huey, Dewey and Louie on Disney's DuckTales).

Muppet Babies won many awards, and it is a shame that it is not aired regularly on television.

One of the big problems may be that Muppet Babies frequently used film clips from popular movies like Star Wars and Indiana Jones.

Now it's time for our very special guest star, Steve Martin. Yaaay!!

In the Spring of 1985, Steve Martin appeared in a special Muppet Babies story in Muppet Magazine.

This story was also written by Fred Newman.

Making a rare appearance here is a puppet version of Animal.

Animal did not appear in the Muppet Babies sequence in "The Muppets Take Manhattan."

Also making her puppet debut here is Skeeter.

Steve Martin gives Nanny a break and takes care of the Muppet Babies.

The Muppet Babies cartoon did not really portray the characters as "babies" in this way.

Steve Martin is one wild and crazy guy!

I like the special baby bottles for the different characters. I'm guessing the TNT is for Animal.

Animal was the only member of the Electric Mayhem to be regularly featured in the Muppet Babies cartoon.

Janice eventually made an appearance in an episode of the series (as a toddler). I would have loved to see Baby Floyd.

Younger readers may not know this, but MTV used to show videos all the time. That's why the Electric Mayhem was featured in this special MMTV Christmas poster in the 1987 Muppet Magazine.

It doesn't get much more 1980s than this.

The Muppets were never aimed just at kids, as seen in the 1984 Muppet comic strip (created by Guy and Brad Gilchrist).

What a dirty pig.

The Muppets always had an absurd sense of humor.

Bo, bless your little heart.

Wouldn't Kermit typically fit in at a beach like this?

In "The Muppets Take Manhattan" an amnesia-stricken Kermit is told by a doctor (played by Linda Lavin) that due to his lack of clothing and lack of wallet, they can't identify him, but he is most likely "Mr. Enrico Tortellini of Passaic, New Jersey."

In 1992, Walt Disney Pictures released The Muppet Christmas Carol. Hardee's restaurants had a special Muppet Funmeal Pack tied to the film.

To my knowledge, there were no commercials for this promotion.

I was able to get all of these finger puppets during one visit to a Hardee's in North Carolina.

I'm guessing that on the West Coast, you could find these at Carl's Jr. restaurants.

In 1998, the Muppets could be found at Blockbuster Video.

I don't know why they were dressed up. Was this for that Muppets Tonight TV show?

I found these at a flea market. I'm not sure how they were distributed. Did you get one with a kids movie rental?

Gonzo and Fozzie look like they are ready to do stand-up comedy in the late 1980s.

In 2004, Disney finally bought the Muppets.

Kermit and the gang had been appearing at Walt Disney World since 1990. Now they were officially part of the Disney family.

By 2005, you could find the Muppets on merchandise in the Disney Catalog.

Kermit dressed in a Santa suit really could be Disney's answer to the Grinch. I'd love to see a Kermit's Hoppy Holidays stop-motion animated Muppets special, done in the style of the old Rankin-Bass shows. I can see Macy's selling a Kermit the frog plush that ribbits and croaks Christmas songs.

Hopefully Disney's Muppets film starring Jason Segel and Amy Adams will be a new beginning for Jim Henson's famous characters.

Now it is time for something shocking.

Kermit, don't let your boss see this!