10 Excellent Cartoon Reboots That Surprised Fans

Sometimes it pays to bring back a franchise.

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Netflix

Anyone who lives in the year 2019 knows to be wary of the word "reboot". In an age where nostalgia is king and adaptations have been breaking box office records, reboots are almost unavoidable.

Cartoons seem the most susceptible to the reboot virus, with people's favourite childhood memories making comebacks for a new generation, hoping to play on people's love of a franchise, or even their nostalgia.

Sometimes they work out (regardless of what some nostalgic, hardcore fans might say), and sometimes, they really don't.

But sometimes, reboots can surprise any and all fans of the original, by either bringing something new and fresh to the table, or somehow even improving upon every aspect of the original, to bring an experience vastly superior in terms of quality and storytelling.

10. The Looney Tunes Show (2011)

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Warner Bros.

Dropping the classic Looney Tunes characters most people know and love into a distinctly modern, post-2010s setting could have been disastrous.

It surprisingly wasn't.

With old-school characters dealing with modern problems in hilarious and relatable ways, with smart writing and entertaining animation carrying the sitcom-style animated TV series, this show was able to entertain with its timeless cast and updated humour, still paying homage to the slapstick that made the original so good.

One of the better character updates of this show was that of Lola Bunny, who had been introduced in the film Space Jam as little more than a sex object to give Bugs a love interest. As if in response to her first appearance, the Lola of this show is scatter-brained, strange, and incredibly off-putting, making her leagues more interesting and funny as a result.

Another layer added to the humour was the fact that Bugs and Daffy and the gang lived in L.A. and dealt with the issues of modern Americans in that neighbourhood, not simply as the caricatures plopped into different situations and worlds with every episode, but as actual grounded characters with backstories and situations that led them to hilarious sitcom hijinks.

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Writer, artist, professional animator. Indie comics and Hi Nay podcast creator. Queer Filipino storyteller || @MotzieD on Twitter || Originally from Quezon City, The Philippines. Currently based in Toronto, Canada || motziedapul.com