She-Ra actress Melendy Britt remembers series

The cartoon series “She-Ra” celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2010.   This interview with Melendy Britt, who provided the voice of She-Ra, appeared in The Oklahoman in October:

She- Ra, one of the most popular animated heroines of the 1980s, turns 25 in 2010, and the first 20 episodes of “She- Ra: Princess of Power” are available on DVD. Actress Melendy Britt, who played She- Ra and her alter ego, Adora, recently reminisced about the 93-episode series.

The fantasy series was a spinoff from “Masters of the Universe,” which featured He-Man; She- Ra was He-Man’s sister. She fought the forces of Hordak on the world of Etheria.

She- Ra was one of the premiere female heroes on television at the time, and Britt said her theater experience helped her with the dual role.

“Some things in life are just fated or meant to be,” she said. “I was trained in theater, and I did the classics. Shakespeare and Chekhov. Some of these characters were larger than life. So I was very accustomed to the stage and being larger than life.”

Adora, the secret identity of She- Ra, drew inspiration from a Shakespearean character, for example.

“Her innocence was a bit like Juliet in ‘Romeo and Juliet,’ ” she said. But She- Ra was perhaps more universal.

“It was a feeling that I had that I wanted to be able to express power and wisdom and kindness and love in a voice,” Britt said. “And that’s how she evolved.”