The whole ‘reboot thing’ in general is something I want to address properly in a future post. Is it good? Is it bad? Does it keep franchises alive and allow our children to appreciate a property we loved? Or does it ruin or dilute our childhood memories? I’m not sure there is a hard and fast answer, because it depends on the property and how it’s done.

Currently there seem to be several children’s shows that are being rebooted. I don’t blame them because we used to have soooo many children’s cartoons in particular to choose from. Those were the days weren’t they?.

We’ve had several cartoons that have already been rebooted.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
This one has been done really well I think, although my son still prefers watching the old version from the 80s/90s.

ThunderCats
I really enjoyed the Thundercats reboot from a couple of years ago but it obviously didn’t get the ratings they had hoped for. Shame, as it’s such a cool property.

Postman Pat Special Delivery Service
Perhaps this isn’t a reboot per se, as Postman Pat has been on and off our UK screens for long and short gaps over the last 35 years, but I just love how they have done this newer series in exactly the same style as the older Postman Pat series which started in 1981. Very faithful to the animation style and atmosphere, but they’ve updated the content, his vehicles and gadgets etc to cater for a current audience.

So now on to the ones that are coming our way soon…

Danger Mouse 
This is the big one that has been announced recently by CBBC and is being shown across the pond on Netflix. Like most reboots I am torn between “Yay, we’re getting new Danger Mouse to watch and my son will get to watch it!” and “Oh no, how they can hope to be as good as the classic cartoon from the past!”. I mean, it really was a classic, and it had two comedy acting legends in the shape of David Jason and Terry Scott doing the voices. It’s hard to replicate that. But I really like the style of the trailers I’ve seen so far, and they do have Stephen Fry as one of the voices in the show which is very cool. Looking forward to checking it out when it comes out. Trailer below.

Teletubbies
I was surprised when I heard that the BBC had ordered 60 new episodes of Teletubbies. This is one of those wacky kids shows that was massive in the 90s. One of those shows where you think the writers might have been smoking some wacky baccy during their brainstorming sessions. But to be honest I’m not sure there is a place for it now. We’ve got other shows currently which are strongly influenced by Teletubbies such as In The Night Garden and Waybuloo. And Teletubbies is purely for young children. It’s not really one that nostalgic adults would sit down and watch.

DuckTales 
Such a good cartoon back in the day. Great fun. And announced earlier this year by Disney that it will be coming back on DisneyXD. And this is one I’m sure which will be given a fully professional treatment. Should be good. 

And what other cartoons would I like to see rebooted?

Bananaman
This was another classic UK cartoon from the BBC back in the 80s, this time using the voices of The Goodies to great effect. I just think it would be great to see this given a modern treatment. A superhero parody could be just what we need amidst the peak of the Marvel bubble right now. Eric is Bananaman!

Drak Pack
Hardly anyone I know remembers this cartoon, which is a travesty because it was such a cool premise. Three friends who just happen to change into Dracula, Frankenstein’s Monster and a Werewolf whenever they high-five. I think a reboot could be great and could help to bring it to the attention of more people this time round. 

Jamie and the Magic Torch
So many great memories of this show. What an intro song! Although I have to be honest and say when you watch it back now it’s not quite as amazing as you remember. It’s just as wacky and off-the-wall but the animation does let it down. A modern reboot would be fantastic. Watch the amazing intro below.

Ulysses 31
What a truly fantastic cartoon. Drawing from Greek mythology. Set in space. Great theme tune. Cute robot. What more could you want? I thought about the benefits of rebooting this one but, you know what? I think it’s just fine the way it is.