I’ve been seeing a lot of talk recently about cartoon reboots and there’s a lot of freaking out going on from fellow fans of animated series (ie grown ups who love cartoons). But I’m super excited about some of the upcoming shows including She-Ra: Princess of Power, DC Superhero Girls and ThunderCats Roar. Here are some reasons why!
Stylized Animation.
Animation has come really far since I was a kid. Think the Scooby Gang running for miles against the same background. Now there’s digital and 3-D animation, especially for the little kids. Some of my favorites are really stylized shows: Steven Universe, Gravity Falls and Adventure Time.
I feel like there was a big shift from traditional styles when Cartoon Network came out with shows like Power Puff Girls, Samuri Jack and Dexter’s Laboratory. Or how about the shift from the old Super Friends to Batman the Animated Series? I’m sure there were people who freaked at how square Batman looked.
I love how the new Duck Tales and Tangled: The Series have given characters we love a makeover. As artists, the creators are giving their characters new looks that fit a sensibility that kids are used to – chibi cuteness, angled lines and outlines, and hints of anime style.
Awesome players.
The DC Superhero Girls are getting a reboot courtesy of Lauren Faust, who successfully relaunched My Little Pony. (If you like the old MLP series over this new one, I don’t know what to tell you. This series now in its 8th season rocks.)
She-Ra is from Noelle Stevenson! She’s written awesome stuff like Lumberjanes and Nimona. And it’s got a great cast including my friend Merit Leighton. I don’t know much about Victor Courtright, who is behind ThunderCats Roar, but I saw this video below about his vision and it’s clear he’s a fan with passion.
The hard truth.
When was the last time you watched one of your childhood favorites? I tried watching She-Ra and it was kind of cringy. Poor animation, corny stories, cheesy voice acting. A lot of these cartoons don’t hold up. I love Tiny Toons and Animaniacs, but watching them again on Hulu, I see that the references that made them so funny in the 90s are really dated. Batman: The Animated Series is still visually captivating and has some great storytelling, but even on that, some of the attitudes toward women make me want to throw some Batman 66 style pow-bam-splat punches.
Have you tried watching old shows with kids? They either don’t get it or think the pacing is too slow. In the 70s and 80s, we weren’t as savvy and sarcastic as these kids raised on the internet. I credit Tiny Toons and The Simpsons for starting the snark in cartoons. Once you started watching those shows, lots of others seemed corny. I think the new ThunderCats will appeal to the youngins.
Your childhood isn’t ruined. It’s on the internet.
Don’t worry if you can’t deal with the reboots. Lots of classics are available on streaming services or on YouTube. You can watch the old Jem on Netflix, Pinky and the Brain on Hulu, Bugs Bunny on Boomerang. Garfield, Transformers, Speed Racer, Woody Woodpecker all live on.
Don’t write these new shows off just yet. Give them a try. Be open minded. Remember what it was really like to be a kid.
Vector Illustration by http://www.vecteezy.com
Robin Cabana loves to nerd out about Star Wars, Doctor Who, Game of Thrones, Disney and so much more. She has a pug named Penny and lives in New Jersey. 