BY THE POWER OF GREYSKULL!: Sean Collins on the greatness of He-Man. I was more of a She-Ra fan (well, actually more of a Cat-Ra fan, which, yes, predictable), but I love this description of why the cartoon worked for Sean:

To the young (and old) Sean T. Collins, that was precisely what was so cool about the cartoon: It took everything a young boy digs–superheroes, fantasy, sci-fi, swords, guns, monsters, villains, secret identities, superpowers, aliens, cool vehicles–and smashed them together, logic be damned. I don’t think the journey from He-Man to Kill Bill (or to David Bowie, actually) is a terribly long one, you know?

(link)

At the same link, Sean praises Lloyd Alexander’s Prydain books, and suggests them for any Potter-obsessed young folk. I never loved the Prydain books, and didn’t read the entire series; but I do remember liking The Black Cauldron a lot. If you want more children’s fantasy reading suggestions, you could check out my “Outside Narnia” piece for Crisis, here. (Am I slightly embarrassed by all the praise for Tamora Pierce in that article? …Yes. Yes, I am. Still, my other recommendations stand.)