Since Cannon Films were struggling financially, which made He-Man & Co look out of place against a background audiences are familiar with, we can believe He-Man is a hero on Eternia but walking downtown LA wouldn't feel the same.
shareYes, I imagine this is the primary reason.
But I think it would have also been to a) give a broader audience more familiarity to connect with it and b) provide easier screen writing in that a lot of the early scenes involve them interacting with people and things on Earth (leading to humour in many cases).
But the film arriving on Earth kills the suspension of disbelief and wasn't the right choice for the script, it would've played better if the entire film had taken place in a fantasy sci fi setting. It would've been better if it was a Star Wars type production and probably a origin story since we never see He-Man fleshed out at all.
shareI agree with you, something like the world of Krull.
shareHaving He-Man & Co and Skeletor & Co on Earth made the costumes, props and character look tacky against a everyday backdrop, we could believe Kirk & Spock are on an alien planet or R2 D2 and C3P0 to be droids on Tatooine but walking down time square or your hometown it wouldn't feel the same. It did come across as a warning sign of the filmmakers trying to save money, took the fun out of it especially going from swashbuckle sci fi to 80's teen drama.
sharei was thinking the exact same
If the film had proper studio backing and made a few years earlier it would've been better as something like Krull or Excalibur, shooting in forest or desert locations.
shareAll the Earth stuff was nothing of major interest, the locations they used are pretty generic and were no extras about.
Going to Earth was a big missed opportunity because you want to escape from reality to experience a sci fi fantasy adventure and comes off as a big warning sign "we're trying to save money".
I recall deliberately deciding NOT to see it because it took place on modern Earth.
shareI was PSYCHED about seeing this when it first came out. I had to wait until it came out on rental. Halfway through, the the tape became garbled and wouldn't play. It turns out the Rambo action figure arm my little brother stuffed into the rented VCR slot got caught up in the tape and messed it up. I never saw the last half. After seeing the first half, I never wanted to.
shareGood for you.
Guessing the knowledge of the film talking place on modern day Earth contributed to the film flopping.