I (REALLY) CAN'T BELIEVE IT'S NOT ANOTHER FOP REBOOT! · 6:04pm Mar 26th, 2023
Hello, my fellow bronies,
I've been sent a couple of videos about yet another reboot of Fairly Oddparents. In several blog posts, I explored how much of a trainwreck Fairly Odder was. Since my goal in writing FOF has been improving FOP in ways the writers never bothered, I felt the need to jump and explore a SECOND reboot of a popular series.
And based on what I've heard from those two videos...
My response is, well, mixed.
I'll explore the positives and negatives of this reboot.
Positives
1. They canceled Fairly Odder to work on a new show
While making Fairly Odder doesn't give me a good view of Nickelodeon's heads for approving that travesty, the fact that it was pulled off streaming services, with Nickelodeon deciding to make a new reboot does give me some hope that Nickelodeon is listening to their target audience and is going to give them what they want. Unlike the creators of Velma, who decided to give that horror show ANOTHER season.
Wait, did I say horror show? Velma is no horror show.
Horror shows are fun to watch.
2. It is animated somewhat well.
I've seen the animated stills, and...they're pretty OK. It doesn't mean much since an animated reboot ought to be, you know, animated. But again, I see it as a sign that the creators will try and make something good rather than make a crappy kid com with all the crappy cliches.
Negatives
The main character
One of the things that frustrates me about the FOP reboot set after Timmy grew up is they already have material for one: at the end of Channel Chasers, Timmy's children end up receiving Cosmo and Wanda as godparents. If you want to set the story in the future, you could center it around them.
Instead, they're going to make a show about Hazel, a young girl whose flaw is...that she is too nice and too generous. And, well, it gives me a lot of Chloe vibes.
The rule of having fairies is that the kid is supposed to be someone who is miserable and needs them to liven up his or her life. Timmy fits the bill quite nicely: his parents neglect him, he's unpopular at school, and he has a cruel babysitter. These give him the selfish and persnickety nature you'd expect a ten-year-old under these circumstances to have.
Granted, a genuinely loving girl can still be a good character, but they need a personal struggle the audience can relate to keep any viewers interested.
I don't have high hopes for Hazel.
3D animation
Due to the neglect of 2D animation in favor of 3D overuse, I have a bias against 3D animation. The animation doesn't look too bad, but it doesn't fit the FOP I grew up with for the first few seasons.
If the writers can tell the story with 3D animation, fine. But using it instead of the animation used for the original show means they aren't putting in the effort.
Conclusion
To sum up how I feel: I'm not as disgusted with this premise as Fairly Odder, but I'm not optimistic from what I see. I don't think this show can capture what made FOP good. Granted, when I hear more about the reboot in a few months, I might be able to give a better verdict. Still, for now, I don't have faith that Nickelodeon can deliver, and we should make the stories we want rather than wait for executives to gum things up in the name of the bottom line.
Solid argument. (Offer) Sake?
I guess we'll only know until more info about the upcoming reboot is shown