Have all your childhood franchises been ruined by new reboots/series?

[Wildcat]

Leo656,

I don’t know about NES vs SMS but you calling all those things garbage is still just personal opinion.

Look I did not like the Bay movies either, I never finished Rise because the airings changed and I totally agree about NECA. Not sure about the comics but the other toylines (not playmates) are still much nicer than what we had even if they are redundant.

I should have worded it a different way but I just cannot believe that TMNT is worse off now compared to when it was dominated by FW (which I have nothing against).

Was that era really the “best TMNT could be”? The original source comic that many did not know or care about. 2 cartoons at most and just 1 legitimately good movie as you’ve said. That’s all it was worth?

It still comes off as nostalgia. The assumption that we all grew up at the peak of TMNT quality. You say it’s bad that people view it as childish material but want it to stop altogether. Doing that is exactly how the general public would remember it forever.

As for Seth Rogen’s movie, it’s not going to determine the direction of TMNT. However it turns out another movie will come along.

We’re not drowning in TMNT stuff. That’s just what happens with long running franchises. You know everything possible was labeled with TMNT when we were kids. Even mundane merchandise. You’re basically saying it was ok then but not anymore.

TMNT is not even that old of a franchise. There’s others that have been around much longer. It only seems long because we grew up with it. If you factor in hiatuses and unsuccessful projects it’s even less. That goes for all the franchises that started when we were kids.

[Hamato Yoshi]

In the 80s in Norway no kids seem to care about Marvel , The Phantom was very popular until early 90s (some people blame video games for this downfall , the 90s stories werent the best from what i remember - they werent bad but just not as good as 70s/80s imo , another thing the comic book had been b/w from 1964 to 1991 and not every fan was thrilled about the change to color)

TMNT was very popular though , sadly BTAS comics were canned after only a yr

[ABrown]

Many of my favorite childhood franchises have been improved by reboots. He-Man got a wonderful reboot in 2002. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles had quite possibly my favorite action cartoon of all time in the 2003 4Kids series. And Transformers has had several reboots that I have loved, namely Beast Wars/Machines and Prime.

G.I. Joe and Thundercats have both yet to put out a reboot that I enjoyed more than the original series. But I'll definitely give them points for their efforts: G.I. Joe Extreme, Sigma 6, Renegades, and the 2011 Thundercats series. G.I. Joe also had Resolute, but that was pretty much a stand alone film.

[Leo656]

The 2003-era TMNT and He-Man reboots were definitely proof that it CAN work. They're easily the two best cartoon reboots of all time, nothing else really comes close. I wouldn't say either was perfect but they did a good job of maintaining what people already liked about the brands without going overboard with "change for the sake of change" just to establish their own "identity". That was a huge problem I had with the NickToons TMNT. SO much pointless and unnecessary "change".

Aside from Shredder being an Utrom, there really isn't much about 4Kids I'd throw out. Keep in mind anything past Season 4 I pretend didn't happen.

The He-Man reboot was pretty much as close to "perfect" as it gets. Literally the only "complaints" I've ever heard were from some people who think it was "not silly enough", and frankly I don't think those people deserve an opinion about anything at all.

[Original TMNT Cartoon Fan]

Originally Posted by Hamato Yoshi

some people blame video games for this downfall

Probably combined with the arrival of commercial television.

[Coola Yagami]

Originally Posted by Leo656

The 2003-era TMNT and He-Man reboots were definitely proof that it CAN work. They're easily the two best cartoon reboots of all time, nothing else really comes close. I wouldn't say either was perfect but they did a good job of maintaining what people already liked about the brands without going overboard with "change for the sake of change" just to establish their own "identity". That was a huge problem I had with the NickToons TMNT. SO much pointless and unnecessary "change".

Aside from Shredder being an Utrom, there really isn't much about 4Kids I'd throw out. Keep in mind anything past Season 4 I pretend didn't happen.

The He-Man reboot was pretty much as close to "perfect" as it gets. Literally the only "complaints" I've ever heard were from some people who think it was "not silly enough", and frankly I don't think those people deserve an opinion about anything at all.

It was cool to see the heroes be more bad-ass and have the villains be more dangerous than just throw-away lackeys. Like even Beast Man was threatening. While the original was mostly Adam, Teela, Man-At-Arms and 'guest toy of the episode', this one made them all feel more like a real team and they had way more appearances. Shame we never got to the third season with the Horde.

[GoldMutant]

Considering the majority of my childhood boiled down to Marvel or Nickelodeon (some Cartoon Network and Disney too), I don't think anything's been ruined.

Most either haven't been rebooted, or been dead. Least on the Nick front with the exception of Avatar getting Korra and some of the live-action shows. Then again, the ones I watched were doomed to lackluster writing or interference. Looking at you, Danny Phantom; definitely SpongeBob too.

Marvel and Disney are kind of similar alongside video games. There's been stinkers, but not a whole lot of reinterpretations. Yes, some do bad (Ultimate Spider-Man), but help give some ideas light. That should be the point: introducing new ideas, but a respectable spin on old. Otherwise, you're treading old water.

Maybe I just need to look at other series/franchises to know. For my money, I don't think it's been overall bad or ruined. Likely just hurt by repetition is all.

[Leo656]

Originally Posted by Coola Yagami

It was cool to see the heroes be more bad-ass and have the villains be more dangerous than just throw-away lackeys. Like even Beast Man was threatening. While the original was mostly Adam, Teela, Man-At-Arms and 'guest toy of the episode', this one made them all feel more like a real team and they had way more appearances. Shame we never got to the third season with the Horde.

I think you need to refresh your memory of the original series, as hardly any toy characters or vehicles even appeared (and those that did were often unrecognizable, especially the vehicles and such).

By contrast, the 2003 He-Man show was positively filthy with toy tie-ins. The Season One episode with Sy-Klone and the "Samurai Armor" for He-Man and Skeletor was especially egregious. *I* don't especially mind but it's been pointed out by many.

For as much as the original show gets dismissed as "just a toy commercial" it did a really lousy job of that and didn't represent the toy line very well at all. Meanwhile, the new show was absolutely a toy commercial but still managed to be a very good show regardless, on account of the writing and execution was overall excellent. They really did do a good job of making all the characters really dynamic on both sides, heroes and villains alike.

Season Two actually was supposed to be the Horde Season, and introduce She-Ra on top of that, BUT the one Snake Men episode in Season One somehow got the highest ratings by far, so they completely switched gears and turned Season Two into "vs. The Snake Men" instead. This pushed all the Hordak and She-Ra business back to Season Three, which, as we know, never ended up happening. "Whoops".

[Coola Yagami]

No no, I remember not every episode had a 'guest star's, but I mean that was usually the formula. He-Man, Teela, Man-At-Arms and Orko and guest character. I do remember occasionally Ram Man and Stratos would appear. But the new show made them into a legit team do they appeared much more often.

[Andrew NDB]

Originally Posted by Wildcat

As for Seth Rogen’s movie, it’s not going to determine the direction of TMNT. However it turns out another movie will come along.

If it makes a ton of money and gets people talking... it might.

[Wildcat]

Originally Posted by Andrew NDB

If it makes a ton of money and gets people talking... it might.

If it's really successful I guess it is possible it could start its own era similar to what happened with Transformers. I prefer live action so I hope it does not go quite that far. I still want to see it though. At least he can't use pot jokes. Being owned by Nick came in handy for something.

[Shark_Blade]

Originally Posted by Wildcat

If it's really successful I guess it is possible it could start its own era similar to what happened with Transformers. I prefer live action so I hope it does not go quite that far. I still want to see it though. At least he can't use pot jokes. Being owned by Nick came in handy for something.

Just wondering is your username based on the Wildcats from High School Musical? I just watched the trilogy the other day lol

[ABrown]

While I didn't really watch it as a child, apparently the Super Friends was still finishing its run in the mid eighties when I was about 4-5 years old. So I guess technically the Justice League/Justice League Unlimited cartoon would be another reboot that I could say was an improvement over the one that aired when I was a child.

[Leo656]

The final seasons of Super-Friends, which were rebranded as "Super Powers: Galactic Guardians" were so much different (and better) than the "traditional" Super-Friends series that some people already consider those last couple of seasons to be a "reboot" of sorts.

Most literally it's a reworking of the same show, like "TMNT: Fast Forward" or "The New Batman Adventures", but it's still a pretty big departure from previous seasons, so I can see why some people at least consider it a "soft reboot" if nothing else. It's also notable for being probably the only time a late-series reworking of a cartoon show made thing much better, rather than worse. Same desperate motives as always - squeeze a few more drops out, sell some toys - but it was a much more sincere effort than most and that's probably why it was such a success. Although it didn't hurt that the Kenner toys that went along with it were really, really good.

It's a shame it's not more often spoken of or remembered. Everyone talks about "bad" Super-Friends, but "Galactic Guardians" is almost entirely forgotten despite being a much better execution of the concept. Probably because it came out near the end, never had a VHS release and the DVD releases came out very quietly about 10 years ago to no fanfare - compared to stuff like "Challenge of the Super-Friends" which was treated like a big huge deal for some dumb reason, I guess just for being one of the "less bad" Seasons of the original series. Still not great, though.

Seriously. Pretty much all "Super-Friends" is practically unwatchable junk. But the "Galactic Guardians" seasons are actually pretty good. I believe I've read that the producers of the "Justice League" cartoon took some inspiration from that series when developing their show.

[Wildcat]

Originally Posted by Shark_Blade

Just wondering is your username based on the Wildcats from High School Musical? I just watched the trilogy the other day lol

No. It's based on my old school mascot where I grew up. Not the AZ Wildcats either but I guess that's why they used it too.