Back in the 90s there were many popular shows on the Cartoon Network channel, such as "The Powerpuff Girls", "Teen Titans", "Dexter's Laboratory", "Courage the Cowardly Dog", "Ed, Edd n Eddy", "Kids Next Door" and so on. But as time passed, they all came to an end and new shows were aired instead.

However, these newer shows just did not have the same sense of humour as the old ones. Most of the new shows were quite disappointing for audiences.

In order to capitalise on the nostalgia from their old shows, Cartoon Network bought back some of their original titles, with new seasons of shows such as "Dexter's Laboratory" and "Samurai Jack". These turned out to be quite a great experience for many, and people generally enjoyed the newer seasons of these shows.

However, some of the old shows were also "rebooted", instead of continuing from the originals, and these turned out to be quite disappointing, bordering on being categorised as disasters. Some of these reboots included "The Powerpuff Girls", "Teen Titans Go", "Be Cool! Scooby Doo!", "ThunderCats Roar" and "Loonatics Unleashed".

Teen Titans Go

Teen Titans Go

In the original run, there was always a new plot in each new episode which made the series exciting and would have the audience waiting eagerly for the next episode to air. Moreover, the characters had proper character development and own unique identities, that won the hearts of the audiences.

The original show focused on how the team dealt with all kinds of criminal activity and threats to their city, while dealing with their own struggles with puberty, friendships, and the limitations of their own powers and abilities.

However, after the original show was over, "Teen Titans Go!" was released in 2013, as a comedic spin-off with little to no continuity to the original Teen Titans series. This separate spin-off basically focused on the Teen Titan teams during their leisure time. Basically, the show was centred around what the team did after fighting crimes and saving the city.

However, it focused on only comedic elements, and as a result, it was somewhat disappointing for audiences that had grown up watching the original.

The difference between the two shows can be seen perfectly within the film, "Teen Titans Go! vs. Teen Titans", which was released in 2019. In the movie, we got to see the original Teen Titans acting heroically were dealing with the antagonist Trigon, while the characters of Teen Titans Go were just goofing around and not doing anything to fix the situation.

The Powerpuff Girls (2016)

The Powerpuff Girls (2016)

The Powerpuff Girls (2016) is a reboot of the original The Powerpuff Girls (PPG) show. Unfortunately, PPG (2016) also followed a similar style to "Teen Titans Go", choosing to focus more on comedy, rather than what made the original show great.

In the original PPG each new episode had action, drama and comedy, which made the show, amazing. Moreover, the characters developed wonderfully. The audiences held these characters close to their hearts.

Furthermore, for some reason the new PPG removed the character Miss Sara Bellum. She was a very popular role in the original show. Fortunately, the reboot ended on 2019.

ThunderCats Roar

ThunderCats Roar

ThunderCats was originally featured in an animated television series running from 1985 to 1989. Later in 2011, there was a reboot of the original 1980s TV series of the same name "ThunderCats". The reboot followed the same story line as the original show but it took a much darker and more cinematic approach, with a greater focus on characterisation. The reboot was as good as the original, however it ended in 2012.

Later on, in February of 2020, "ThunderCats Roar" was released. Now, this show did follow the original story line, similar to previous reboot, but its animation style and genre completely shifted to comedy, similar to "Teen Titans Go!" and "PPG (2016)". Unfortunately, this was a huge reason of the show's downfall, which is why it got cancelled after just one season. "ThunderCats Roar" ended in 2020.  

Cartoon Network should not have rebooted these shows just to capitalise on the nostalgia factor for audiences that had grown up watching the iconic original versions. Instead of experiencing nostalgia, they saw reboots that were very far from the essence of the original shows.

Maybe they should have tried what they did with "Dexter's Laboratory" and "Samurai Jack" where they built on the original shows, rather than rebooting it from scratch. In the future, when Cartoon Network, or other content platforms try and run these reboots, they should take a long hard look at whether they can actually deliver on the expectations of their fans, rather than jumping on the bandwagon and releasing another reboot.