Many of the cartoons I watched growing up were largely repurposed for children after being created for adults.
The Flintstones was a prime-time TV show from the 1950s that got shoved into 1980s Saturday morning time slots as awkwardly as a parrot forced into a rock-carved intercom. Bugs Bunny was a beloved childhood icon, but I’m just old enough to remember him regularly drinking and smoking.
Roger Rabbit was the last true cartoon character; his movie itself was a throwback to nostalgia I wasn’t old enough to have. Cartoons were heavily revisited after that and most of the classics that air today have been scrubbed of the more provocative moments.
Hollywood trends have reversed themselves in recent years so that many new shows are now largely repurposed from my childhood to be marketed at adults. These revisions generally track my childhood’s timeline.
It started years ago with computerized versions of Mickey Mouse and Bugs Bunny then moved into the 1980s with Ghostbusters and Full House. Now we’ve got remakes of Boy Meets World, Murphy Brown, and Roseanne (at least until recently). It’s enough to make a person think he’s stepped into the Twilight Zone (also coming back soon, produced by Jordan Peele).
I imagine we’re only days away from the release of Sabrina the Middle-Aged Witch. Star Wars is being remade so consistently that you’ll soon be able to tell a child’s age by how many of the movies they’ve seen, like splitting open a tree to count the rings.
Even 60 Minutes has gotten into the craze ending each show with a segment from their past fifty years instead of the more typical Andy Rooney-style lecture about how jars are better than cans.
The off-air shows I enjoyed as a child had the decency to stay off: The Dick Van Dyke Show, Gilligan’s Island, and I Love Lucy. Being exposed to entertainment from different decades broadened my sense of American culture and made me appreciate humor that stands the test of time.
Each successive revisit expands the internalization of these lessons. The value of re-reading a book or rewatching a show is seeing new layers, bringing your changed perspective to the medium, and taking away deeper or changed messages. When the medium is locked in time, you’re the only variable and both the originator and recipient of any changed perspectives.
Today’s world of constant remakes robs us of that experience as once iconic characters age beyond their natural story arcs and patterns. But who’s to say the difference won’t be better?
I’m skeptically enthusiastic about ‘Cobra Kai,’ the Karate Kid spinoff series on YouTube Red. That brilliantly selected jolt of nostalgia cut through the clutter to catch my interest, but so far hasn’t compelled me to watch. I’m a bit hesitant because the movie remake with Will Smith’s kid proved the formula doesn’t always work.
Seeing tiny Mr. Miyagi protect Daniel-san from fully-grown California teenagers was far different than watching Jackie Chan beat up Chinese twelve-year-olds. How the producers didn’t see that is beyond me – I wanted to call child protective services.
Remakes often get things wrong. Some shows aren’t meant to have more depth, like Ducktales. That relaunch brands Huey, Dewey and Louie with individual personalities, like they’re Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
While I understand the decision from both a merchandising and storytelling point of view, it substantially alters the dynamic between characters. It surprised me how violated I felt. I couldn’t even watch a full episode.
It’s like visiting your childhood home after another family has moved in and being outraged that the furniture is facing the wrong direction. It’s absurd to think things should stay the way they were, but the feeling is there even though you haven’t thought about the place in years and never had any ownership of yourself; it just always felt like yours.
I’d like to think Hollywood is bringing everything back because they’re expertly curating and building smarter, more meaningful forms of culture and entertainment. But looking at all the problems we still face today, I’m not confident that the past holds many answers.
There’s only one conclusion I can come to since Hollywood has doomed us to our history, and that’s the reason they must try, try again.
If you enjoy my columns, please subscribe below.
Subscribe to future humor columns
If you want to syndicate this column, you may contact me here to discuss the details.
You may notice that I’ve disabled commenting on this post. I’d love to hear your thoughts by email at [email protected].