The toys were around for a bit before the cartoon though. The comics that came with the figures had different takes on the characters for a while, before they were written to be more in line with the show. The artwork was like a PG rated issue of Heavy Metal at times. The costumes were more revealing than on the action figures! Seeing Skeletor's butt would never fly today. ;)

I think the expectation from kids that the live action movie would be more like the cartoon hurt it a little bit. And Gwildor is no Orko!