Best and worst reboots of existing franchises

The Overlord

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What are the best and worst animated reboots of an existing franchise? Please explain your choices.
 

Fone Bone

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Am I the only one who thinks it's weird Batman: The Animated Series is never counted as a reboot considering that's essentially what it did to the entire Super Friends franchise? If it was, it would probably be considered the greatest reboot of all time.
 

The Overlord

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Am I the only one who thinks it's weird Batman: The Animated Series is never counted as a reboot considering that's essentially what it did to the entire Super Friends franchise? If it was, it would probably be considered the greatest reboot of all time.

Justice League would be a reboot of Super Friends, BTAS would be a reboot of the solo Batman cartoons from the 60s and 70s, IMO.
 

Freddy

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Eh, I always feel iffy calling a new adaptation of pre-existing source material a reboot of the previous adaptation. Like, you wouldn't call The Shining mini-series a reboot of the Kubrick's movie or Bram Stroker's Dracula (the movie) a reboot of the Bela Lugosi Dracula.
 

Fone Bone

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Eh, I always feel iffy calling a new adaptation of pre-existing source material a reboot of the previous adaptation. Like, you wouldn't call The Shining mini-series a reboot of the Kubrick's movie or Bram Stroker's Dracula (the movie) a reboot of the Bela Lugosi Dracula.
Why not? The only difference between the idea of a reboot and a remake is that usually remakes happen decades later. Reboots tend to happen a couple of years after the last iteration ended. Reboot is just a fancy word for remake without the negative baggage attached to it. They basically mean the same thing.

People misuse the word "reboot" a LOT, particularly writers of articles about genre that don't actually understand the subtext of the genre or the terms associated with it. I have heard it used to describe sequels, or relaunches, or continuations without understanding those are different things. People use the term too loosely in describing related stuff. But at the end of the day, I think every single remake is a reboot at heart.

Basically, I'm questioning the legitimacy of the term "reboot" at all. Remakes are supposedly always bad. But reboots are supposed be judged by the project itself. I think that both of those statements can't be true at once. They are essentially the same thing.
 
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the greenman

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OP is talking about franchises. I dont consider the Shining or It or even Blade Runner a franchise. Hollywood is attempting to make/force them into being a franchise, yet they are not. They were not meant to be "stay tuned for the continuing adventures of. . ." IP's like Godzilla, James Bond, or even Harry Potter.

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Fone Bone

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OP is talking about franchises. I dont consider the Shining or It or even Blade Runner a franchise. Hollywood is attempting to make/force them into being a franchise, yet they are not. They were not meant to be "stay tuned for the continuing adventures of. . ." IP's like Godzilla, James Bond, or even Harry Potter.

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Then why is the term reboot used for films without sequels like Total Recall? It's just another name for a remake.

If they remade The Wizard Of Oz, the producers would refer to it as a reboot. Remake has become a dirty word and instead been replaced by a word that actually means the exact same thing.
 

Freddy

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Why not? The only difference between the idea of a reboot and a remake is that usually remakes happen decades later. Reboots tend to happen a couple of years after the last iteration ended. Reboot is just a fancy word for remake without the negative baggage attached to it. They basically mean the same thing.

Personally, I wouldn't call a new adaptation of pre-existing source material a remake either. It's just a new adaptation, without any connection to the previous one. In my opinion, a remake/reboot is a new version/take on the story in the same medium it originated from. Movie using an another movie as its source material is a remake, while a movie adapting the same book as a previous movie is simply a new adaptation. For example, Spectacular Spider-Man cartoon was a new adaptation of Spider-Man comics, not a remake or reboot of the 60's cartoon. Alternatively, Netflix's She-Ra is a reboot of the old Filmmation cartoon, because it is a new version of it.

Admittedly, like you said, these terms have become a real slippery-slope and they seem to pretty much mean whatever a person using them wants them to mean. And it's not like my stand it's a hard rule, since there are expectations. For example, Teen Titans Go is so clearly riffing on the previous animated series that I would consider it more of a reboot of that show, rather than a brand new adaptation of the comics.

It's a classic case-by-case situation.
 

the greenman

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Then why is the term reboot used for films without sequels like Total Recall? It's just another name for a remake.

If they remade The Wizard Of Oz, the producers would refer to it as a reboot. Remake has become a dirty word and instead been replaced by a word that actually means the exact same thing.
You answered your own question. "Remake" does have a bad connanation. However, they will exist in some form. I think it's a mixture of reboots, remakes, and spin-offs. For instance, with "The Karate Kid" they deemed it a series (I believe similar to Rocky), but without Macchio or Morita on board they only had a "Remake" option. However, imho they could have had Kove, Macchio or Swank return to let everyone know it's in the same universe if they really wanted to.

Speaking of Rocky, Ceeed is considered a spin-off. Anything within the shared universes are going to be franchises. I feel the studios push that reboot name in hopes of making it a franchise. For instance, Batman Begins was a reboot, X-MEN First Class was as well in terms of franchises. Charlie's Angels was a remake too.

The way I see it, in terms of pop music AC/DC rebooted their band by keeping key band members just replacing lead singer. Just as X-MEN kept Bryan Singer for a time. They are franchises just like Bond and Godzilla.



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Mostezli

N0t 4 3very1 & Th@t'$ OK
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Why not? The only difference between the idea of a reboot and a remake is that usually remakes happen decades later. Reboots tend to happen a couple of years after the last iteration ended. Reboot is just a fancy word for remake without the negative baggage attached to it. They basically mean the same thing.

A remake isn't that far off from a translation.
Potential treat for foreigners; nostalgic ride or bedtime for the experienced.

Beware the Batman is a remake of BTAS. When the show started out, all they did was give him a different sidekick yet have all the same stories and atmosphere with analogous villains. It's as if they were barred from using characters folks recognized or needed to present the other guys this way for tepid exposure even if these other guys have been more interesting elsewhere.

A reboot isn't merely updating for posterity's sake. There's a legitimate creative edit to what's been done before.

If any all new all different iteration of a franchise is what it takes to qualify, Kaijudo: Rise/Clash of the Duel Masters has to be top-tier. It's so far removed from the original card game-based series. I hadn't realized that one debuted around the same time as YuGiOh because the first season felt like a parody of these various toyetic anime. Kaijudo opted for more of a 'mon' approach wherein each character had their own individualized pet and it might as well be the most notable Western production of this genre.
 
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khuddle

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Best
Thundercats 2011: nice stories, decent animation, superb voice acting (Will Friedle in the role of
Liono in particular). Only problem with this reboot was that it was far too short.

Worst:
Green Lantern AS: CGI was just terrible.
 

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