• Member Since 16th Aug, 2013
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redandready45


Urban Planner, TV Tropes contributer, and writer on the side.

More Blog Posts59

Feb
26th
2021

The New Live Action Remake of...The Fairly Oddparents?! · 12:59am Feb 26th, 2021

The last few years, much of the media has been dominated by two dreaded words: reboot and remake.

Disney has been really bad at this, producing remade versions of Aladdin and Lion King. They've even demolished the reputation of Mulan, not only with a poor remake, but also by enabling ethnic cleansing in Xinjiang.

And it appears that Fairly Oddparents will join that Hall of...Infamy.

And as you can imagine...I'm not exactly thrilled.

But not for the reasons you think.

Reboots (Don't Have To) Suck

As you all know, I have a certain adage.

There is no bad idea in fiction. Merely bad execution.

Friendship Is Magic and Equestria Girls are both properties that normally wouldn't appeal to anybody outside of the toy-loving little girl demographic. But because of good writing and animation, they're both beloved by all age groups, and have become one of the most influential forms of media in the last few years.

The term "reboot" does fill a lot of people with annoyance and disgust, because a lot of them are just junk.The 2010s Ghostbusters was especially bad.

But not all reboots have to be a bad thing.

Some reboots can be good.

Exhibit A

Cobra Kai, to me at least, represents the best things about reboots.

Here's why.

1. They choose to tell a completely different story.

One of the things I hate about reboots is that they're often done out of laziness: instead of trying to make a fresh new story, writers just rehash the old story into a new one.

This was the problem I had with the 2010 Karate Kid movie.

The problem I had with this movie was not the actors or the setting.

It was them trying to tell a story that had already been told.

Bullies beat up kid, kid learns to kick their behinds.

But Cobra Kai does something really interesting instead:

It took one of the antagonists from the first movie, and made him into the hero. Instead of a retelling of the classic tale, we get a fresh new story about Johnny, that makes him into a well-rounded human being, giving us context into why he was such a bully in the first place.

They also show him to be a pitiful shell from his high school days, estranged from his family and hitting the bottle.

And he gets was amounts to a redemption quest: he wants to rebuild his old dojo, so he can help kids learn to defend himself.

In other words, Johnny becomes Sunset: a former bully wanting to make amends by becoming a hero.

And the story is just fantastic as well.

2. They show what was great about Karate Kid, without fully embracing nostalgia.

Cobra Kai is full of what we loved about Karate Kid: the action, kids taking down bullies, love triangles, bravery, and heroism.

But there is also a brilliant respect for leaving the past in the past.

I appreciate how Karate Kid acknowledged the passing of Pat Morita in a respectful manner, rather than try and bring his character back.

But they also talk about how living in the past can be detrimental as well.

Johnny's basic immaturity, inability to accept changing social and technological norms, and his longing for high school is the thing that holds him back.

Daniel's old grudge against a bully is shown to be equally detrimental, to the point where he becomes an antagonist.

Kreese's own inability to move on from the terrors of Vietnam are what make him into the damaged maniac he is.

Cobra Kai's implicit message seems to be to not worship or live in some imagined simpler time, but to take the past and make it work for the future.

What My Frustration Is.

What aggravates me is not the idea of a reboot.

It is that Nickelodeon will most likely bungle it up really badly.

They've decided they are going for a live-action adaptation, and as we've seen with Grow Up Timmy Turner, live-action doesn't work for capturing the joys of an animated property.

Drake Bell is an average kid who no one understands? Seriously?! Again, my anger isn't Drake, its the casting director that thought it would be a good idea to make him into a grown man living with his parents.

There are so many ideas for the FOP reboot that would work better:

1. Show Timmy Turner as a teenager, struggling to adjust to more responbility.

2. Show Timmy Turner's kids as godchildren.

3. Write about another god kid with his own story.

4. MAKE IT ANIMATED!

But no. Nickelodeon is taking the lazy route!

(Cue me clutching my temples in annoyance).

Conclusion

While I try to be optimistic, this is something I really feel we're going to be let down by.

Maybe we lobby Nickelodeon for something better, or maybe we can use the power of fandom to build something better.

But whatever Nickelodeon produces, don't let it get in the way of the show that deserves our love and respect.

Comments ( 24 )

You make a sound argument.

5462054

Nick's track record and Butch's-well Butch doesn't fill me with confidence right now.

Moments like this make me wish copyright laws weren't so nuts.

We could publish a better story.

I have bad news for you dude... Butch is going to be part of it. So the series itself is already going to be prejudiced because of that, he is already messed up with many scandalls and it will be difficult even if the series work...

3. Write about another god kid with his own story.

RECK, I WOULD EVEN WATCH A SERIE ABOUT REMMY AND JUANDISSIMO.

I really like Juandissimo on the olimpiacs of the fairies, I think making a good personality for both of them would be cool as well. XD

... I'm gonna go lie down and... Cry? Yeah, crying sounds good right about now.

Grow Up Timmy Turner had its moments, FWIW. I can't even remember the 2nd live-action movie. Then came that 3rd movie which... just made so little sense.

5462054
Which Ben 10 reboot? That most recent one? I didn't care for it but it wasn't terrible. i dropped it about halfway through the first season, though, and Rise of the TMNT really picked up around that point. Didn't see that until later as I had similarly dropped that one by that point, then caught some random episodes by chance.

5462081
I'm too sexy for my sexy too sexy for my sexy.

Juandissimo is funny but I feel like he'd get old fast.

Why are they making a reboot of The Fairly OddParents I know there was one life action movie and I was okay with it now a report of the entire series really I'm disappointed.

....... while I heavily condone and hate all of what is happening in China and the horrors those people are going through.... I.... I actually liked the Mulan reboot.

And they've done it again with a new 3d animated rugrats....

Well, speaking of things that I was never expecting to see. I agree with you, reboots can be good but I doubt this will be one, especially with Butch and his desire to have absolute control over his creations.

But, well, I have also learnt to not judge until something has been shown so...

Best wishes.

5462213

Again, he doesn't have to.

He could be an interesting character with good writing.


5462251

If you like, OK.

But by buying a ticket, your feeding a government that persecutes religions, rips organs out of political dissidents, and wants to crush democracy in Taiwan.


5462078

5462322

Yeah, but Butch's behavior recently has left me...pessimistic.

That's not to say he can't make a comeback.

But...it is a very remote possibility.

Just don't cast Drake Bell!

5462213
He was great in the olimpics.

I need a pillow.

Fethers, sponge or Cotton? (Holding all 3) I like having beauty sleep.

Man that joke was pure genious, making sure all the convenice he had over the momment. When Timmy created a great speech, while cupid didn't understand, Juandissimo just says.

Yo think he wants a guepard. And then cupid cumplishes the wish making a guepard attacking Timmy, Man, writing Juandissimo like that would be so fun to watch. XD

5462377
Who says he bought a ticket?

...yes I realize that's the most likely scenario I'm just pointing out the possibilities.

5462396
The quote doeesn't sound familiar... was that the magical duel/Remy episode or one from a later season? It's possible I just haven't seen it if the latter.

5462377

Wow thanks for making me feel guilty when I literally knew none of that at the time of purchasing said ticket. Love that guilt trip.

5462460

The Fairly OddParents - 6x05 - The Fairly Oddlympics

For me is the best episode which Juandissimo made me laugh a lot. And cupid as well

5462313

The difference being that they've got the original folks behind it though. So they know what they're doing.

5462470

I didn't mean to guilt trip you.

I'm not trying to hector and be sanctiminous.

But I feel that the only way to stop these things from happening is to be aware of them so you don't enable them.

As Yehuda Bauer once said, "Thou shalt not be a victim, thou shalt not be a perpetrator, but, above all, thou shalt not be a bystander.

5463283

Yes I understand that but the fact remains if someone is unaware and says they condone and hate the atrocities committed and unknowingly watched or bought a movie that mainly was a proxy supporter that doesn't really excuse the whole thing of "Yes well congrats on buying a ticket that helped contribute to a massacre you jack ass." I know you didn't say that verbatim but that's the attitude and general insinuation with the reply you gave me.

5462477
Thanks. I don't think I've ever seen that one in its entirety. Maybe the tail end of it before something else.

5463401

I apologize.

I was out of line.

5464620
Ah. Already water under the bridge man. Bygones are bygones!

One of the things I hate about reboots is that they're often done out of laziness: instead of trying to make a fresh new story, writers just rehash the old story into a new one.

I agree with this statement.

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