There is no shortage of reboots on streaming platforms these days. “Hannah Montana,” “Phineas and Ferb,” “Ocean’s 8” and “Fuller House” — are we really already out of ideas? It seems like Hollywood’s pouring all their time, money and resources into cash-grab productions.
And honestly, we’re falling for it.
Reboots are topping the charts, filling theaters and making bank. Despite this, ratings are in the drain. Where nostalgia should be bringing in higher profits and encouraging more reboots, at least according to executives, it just isn’t.
The issue isn’t that we don’t want reboots, but we don’t want soulless ones. Modern reboots over rely on references to the original media and expect viewers to have previous knowledge of the media. A predetermined fictional world shouldn’t produce such boring, unoriginal and frankly horrendous remakes.
Fanfiction is a great example of reboots, or retellings, done right. In many cases, authors see a need to explore something in a piece of original media, such as the backstory of a character or a historical moment, and decide to remake the story with fresh characters and ideas.
Thousands of people read these stories every day, follow along for updates and fondly recall these retellings — sometimes more so than the original media. For many famous shows and movies, their fandoms are what push them to stardom, not the original piece.
The lesson is that the soul of the work must survive the remake. Reboots that fail aren’t flawed because they revisit old media, or we wouldn’t have live-action remakes of old cartoons topping charts. They fail because they aren’t targeting anyone who hasn’t already enjoyed the media.
The first fanfiction I ever read was from a movie I’d never even seen. I didn’t know the characters, I couldn’t describe the plot, and I didn’t know what changes the author had made. But I loved it. Every night, I would spend hours reading the fanfiction and becoming engrossed in the world. The media stood on its own.
Now, cheap references to original shows, such as in “Fuller House” where every episode had at least five references to the 1987 series, don’t make for good audience retention. They feel overdone, boring and take up way too much runtime. New reboots aren’t trying to create a new audience or discover something new, they’re soulless imitations of the original media created to get your attention and money.
I would never be able to pick up one of these remakes and call myself a fan of the story — there isn’t a story to enjoy. I don’t want to watch a watered-down version of their favorite movies, nor do I want a reference-jammed series of flashbacks and empty jokes. I crave originality and creativity, and that absolutely can be done in a way that feels nostalgic.
This isn’t to say that there aren’t good adaptations out there. A few examples of successful reboots are “Strawberry Shortcake,” “My Little Pony” and “Spiderman.” Each of these series has been through a minimum of three reboots, each targeting a new audience while amending issues with the previous iterations.
They succeeded because the goal wasn’t to keep the same audience — particularly in the case of “Strawberry Shortcake” and “My Little Pony” — but to develop a new community of dedicated supporters.
Much like fanfiction, these reboots sought to fill in a gap where the original media or latest reboot couldn’t, which made them and their originals cornerstones of our culture. They stand on their own and spark honest debate around which version was better.
On the other side, we have failed reboots such as “Teen Titans Go!” “Oceans 8,” “Ghostbusters” (2016) and “Hellboy” (2019). Fans of the original series found these remakes shallow and inconsiderate of the original media, while new audiences were repulsed by bad storytelling and confusing references. Neither side was happy enough to make a case for the new media, and they never could have been.
Growing up, I adored the series “My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic.” The show took one of my favorite early childhood movie series and added new characters, interesting plots and fun visuals that worked for the modern audience. The fandom exploded in support. While I don’t enjoy this show now, I’m grateful that the creators took the time to actually improve upon the original media — to understand it and what made it special for kids like me.
Unfortunately for us, nostalgia sells, and it sells well. Most shows don’t need a creative plot or interesting characters to get us into theaters or paying for streaming services; they just need us to be curious enough.
When times are as unpredictable as they are today, it can be easy to fall prey to nostalgia. There’s no shame in throwing on an old “Barbie” movie and taking comfort in your childhood Pokémon game. Just be careful when giving new reboots your attention. Not every one has our favorite pieces of media, or us, at heart.
