Fisto's Forest

Fisto's Forest is the 70th episode of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, written by Douglas Booth and directed by Lou Kachivas. In his first appearance in the series, Fisto tells a boy about how he used to be evil but changed his ways thanks to He-Man.

Synopsis
In a forest somewhere in Eternia, a boy tries to pick a fruit but falls and is cornered by a Grazzler. In the nick of time Fisto arrives to save the boy, who is amazed to meet the hero. Fisto humbly admits he wasn't always the man he is now. The boy doesn't believe it, so Fisto offers to tell the story of his redemption.

A few years earlier, Fisto was a bully who used his power to redirect the river near Yarrow's village. When Yarrow learned of this, he stormed off to confront Fisto.

Meanwhile, Yarrow's daughter Raina went to the Royal Palace to petition King Randor and Queen Marlena for help. She told them how Skeletor used a spell to imprison the village's Elf Lord and give Fisto mastery of the surrounding forest. Randor delegated the matter to Prince Adam, and assigned Teela to help his son and Cringer in resolving the crisis. Orko was dubious, however, that any of the heroes would stand a chance against Fisto.

When Yarrow found the site where Fisto blocked the river, Fisto and his monstrous spider Arakna captured him. As Yarrow cried for help, Adam's team happened to be nearby and rushed to help. To prevent them from interfering, Fisto had Arakna trap Teela and Raina in a sticky web while he began knocking down a tree overhead. Adam and Cringer transformed into He-Man and Battle Cat to save their friends.

In the meantime, Fisto and Arakna escape with Yarrow to their forest hideout where the Elf Lord is being kept for Skeletor. Fisto uses the Skeletor's magic to bring the trees to life to imprison He-Man and the others. Orko's magic proves useless, but Battle Cat quickly digs a tunnel to safety. Fisto taunts the heroes and heads deeper into the forest.

Although they suspected a trap, Teela, Raina, Orko, and Battle Cat pursued Fisto, while He-Man headed to higher ground to scout around. Fisto redirected the path of the river to wash the heroes into a cave, dooming them to drown when the water rose too high around them. However, in his eagerness to trap his enemies, Fisto was himself pinned down by a log, leaving him a victim of his own scheme. Raina managed to squeeze out of the cave, and decided to help Fisto free himself. By the time Raina found He-Man, Fisto had gotten free and realized the error of his ways. He helped set the heroes free and offered to assist in undoing Skeletor's enchantment of the forest.

Heeding Fisto's betrayal, Skeletor contacted Arakna and used his magic to make the spider even more fearsome and powerful. At the same time, Fisto and He-Man cooperated to catapult He-Man over the forest to save Yarrow and the Elf Lord. Arakna tried to stop He-Man, but when he freed the Elf Lord all of Skeletor's magic over the forest was undone.

Just as Fisto is about to finish his story, He-Man walks by to tell the ending himself. He explains to the boy how Fisto atoned for his evil acts and returned the river to normal. Fisto was ultimately pardoned by King Randor.

The boy thanks Fisto for his help, and Fisto offers to lend him a hand anytime. He-Man quips that a hand from Fisto is a pretty big offer.

Moral
Teela: "You all saw how Fisto changed from a bad guy who nobody liked into a real hero. At first he caused nothing but trouble. In today's episode, Fisto learned that if you treat a person with respect and courtesy, chances are that's the way they'll treat you in return. If you mistreat somebody, you'll only earn their disrespect. Remember the golden rule: do unto others as you would have them do unto you. So long, until next time."

Heroic Warriors

 * Prince Adam
 * Battle Cat
 * Cringer
 * Fisto (first Filmation appearance)
 * He-Man
 * Orko
 * Teela

Allies

 * Elf Lord
 * Rayna
 * Yarrow
 * Queen Marlena (non-speaking role)
 * King Randor

Evil Warriors

 * Skeletor

Villains

 * Arakna

Annimals

 * Grazzler

Cast

 * John Erwin as He-Man/Prince Adam, Raina's grandfather, and the Elf Lord
 * Alan Oppenheimer as Skeletor and Battle Cat/Cringer
 * Linda Gary as Teela and Raina
 * Erik Gunden as Orko, King Randor, Fisto, and Yarrow
 * Erika Scheimer as Peasant boy

(Queen Marlena appears in this episode, but receives no dialogue.)

Orko's Fun Facts
As featured in BCI's He-Man and the Masters of the Universe: Season Two, Vol. 1 DVD boxset (Disc 1)


 * "Fisto and Yarrow have a longer heated debate during their first confrontation in the episode. During this scene Fisto calls Yarrow a 'peasant.'"
 * "After He-Man catches the tree, Orko makes reference to the fact that Fisto is 'not as tough as He-Man!'"
 * "The Elf Lord was used in the Season One episode 'The Dragon's Gift' as the Treeprachaun, Tullamore."
 * "Arakna would later appear as the Jawlik in the episode 'Search for a Son.'"

Beind the Scenes

 * Script was approved March 14, 1984 and final script revision took place April 9, 1984.
 * Fisto's character model, based on the toy concept from Mattel, was designed by Charles Zembillas and Diane Keener.

Continuity

 * The character model for Rayna was previously used as Podi in It's Not My Fault and will be seen again as Ariane in the She-Ra: Princess of Power episode Book Burning.
 * The Grazzler will be seen again as one of the prisoners of Beast Island in the She-Ra: Princess of Power episode The Prisoners of Beast Island.
 * Arakna's character model would also be reused as the spider in the Abyss in The Problem with Power.
 * The animation of He-Man lifting and throwing is a reanimated version of the sequence first seen in The Taking of Grayskull and used again in Return of the Gryphon; Quest for the Sword and The Gambler.
 * An altered version of the animation model of the Grazzler will be used as a bear that She-Ra befriends in the She-Ra Princess of Power episode Battle for Bright Moon.
 * The animation model used for the Grazzler will be used again as the Polar Beast in the She-Ra Princess of Power episode Three Courageous Hearts.

The He-Man and She-Ra Blog

 * Robert Lamb: Problems with "Fisto's Forest"...
 * "Fisto's Forest" art.
 * Backgrounds, stock, same/as...
 * The Grazzler was an Ice Hacker!
 * Pop Teela!