Monster on the Mountain

It is said to be an evil monster called the Tingler who lives in the mountains above a settlers village from Eternia. Most think it is just a story or a superstition, but when the villagers spot the Tingler near the village well, King Randor can no longer ignore their insistence that the Tingler is not only real but that they are in danger of being his victims. Randor still is not convinced, but he sends Teela and Prince Adam to go along and check things out. Teela and Orko tell viewers not to exaggerate in anecdotes, as it can lead to wildly inaccurate gossip and difficulty in discerning truth.

**Teela:** "It's human nature to exaggerate." **Squire Wilkins:** "And then, He-Man put across a bridge to span the canyon. Why, it must've been two hundred feet, easy." **Jed Hansen:** "Two hundred? Why that bridge was four hundred feet if it was an inch." **Teela:** "I guess as long as there are people, some of them will exaggerate and others will believe them and spread rumors. It makes it hard to tell what is true and what is false." **Orko:** "The important thing is to use our common sense and not to believe everything we hear." **Teela:** "That's right. So until next time..." **Orko:** "Bye."

John Erwin as He-Man/Prince Adam, The Tingler and Farmer Elias

Alan Oppenheimer as Cringer and Squire Wilkins

Linda Gary as Teela and Emma

Lou Scheimer (credited as Erik Gunden) as Orko, Jed Hansen and Miller Perkins

1. Behind the scenes: Script was approved July 13, 1984 and final script revision took place August 21, 1984. This episode is notable in that it contains no villainous characters, with the drama coming from the villagers' misconception that the Tingler is some kind of monster. Fred Carrillo designed the villagers to resemble the peasants from Frankenstein (1931) and Emma to look like Margaret Hamilton in The Wizard of Oz (1939). He designed Buster the donkey in conjunction with Herbert Hazelton.
2. Continuity: The village of Ruxtown and it's inhabitants made a brief prior appearance in Orko's New Friend. Tingler's character model is a reuse of Cambro from The Heart of a Giant. The animation of Orko reacting in shock and pushing himself backwards was first seen in The Defection. The animation of He-Man chopping a rock with the Power Sword was previously seen in Castle of Heroes.
3. More continuity: Recolored versions of the villagers of Ruxtown were used as Etherian peasants in the She-Ra: Princess of Power episode Book Burning. The design Emma will be re-used as a woman who frets upon hearing about the Monstroids in the She-Ra: Princess of Power episode Day of the Flowers.

A Bob Forward script with a Universal-monster-style premise that resolves with the creature being misunderstood rather than truly malevolent — a recurring Filmation pattern of “first-act monster, third-act sympathetic figure”.

Catalogue source: heman.fandom.com (CC BY-SA 3.0).