All right, I get it. Us millennials are supposed to be this nostalgia-driven group that loves to reminisce about our youths. And, yes, we enjoy seeing many of our favorite TV shows and movies come back from the dead so we can relive our amazing ‘90s childhoods.
These days, we’ve been getting plenty of remakes of throwback shows and movies: “The Powerpuff Girls”, “Teen Titans” and other shows from our childhood are making a comeback, being remade for the current generation. Movie companies like Disney are doing the same, with “The Jungle Book” being remade through live-action and CGI.
It might be an unpopular opinion, but those older movies and TV shows should just be left alone, and new content should be created alongside it.
Hold on, don’t have a hissy fit – let me explain. In 2011, Nickelodeon began an experiment, showing classic Nicktoons on its network in the late hours of the night, when youngsters would be sound asleep and us millennials would be wide awake (probably on our phones). This experiment turned into a permanent late-night program, “The Splat.” Beginning with a select few cartoons like “Doug” and “Hey, Arnold!”, The Splat now has most of the shows we used to watch as kids, with great success.
Cartoon Network, on the other hand, took a bit of a different approach. You might know about “Boomerang”, a special channel from Cartoon Network dedicated to showing classic cartoons like “The Flinstones” and “Scooby Doo! Where are you?” Recently, the network began replacing these shows with contemporary versions: “Teen Titans” became “Teen Titans GO!” “Tom and Jerry” became a much friendlier “Tom and Jerry Show”, and the current portrayal of “Scooby Doo!” has to be, like, the 15th revival of the series.
Another example? Disney. I’ve already mentioned the live-action version of “The Jungle Book”; live action versions of “Mulan” and “Beauty and the Beast” are also in the works, slated for release in the next two years. I won’t say I’m not excited, but What’s wrong with the versions that already exist?
Here’s what I’m getting at; maybe, just maybe, these movies and TV shows don’t need new versions. Maybe they don’t need to be reimagined for a new generation. Maybe this newer generation – and generations that will follow – can enjoy new content from these creators and have the option to enjoy older shows and movies that we enjoyed in their original form.
In other words, please stop making new versions of Scooby Doo! There’s only so many ways to say, “Zoinks!” or ‘Jinkies!”
