Infamously terrible remakes like 2008’s Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull and 2016’s Ben-Hur give the reboot a sour reputation. At best, reboots are criticized as failing to live up to their source material’s former glory. At worst, their producers are labelled as unoriginal cash grabs. However, throughout all of film history, the same stories have been updated to fit the modern times. Disney’s Cinderella (1950) has taken countless forms–from the animated Disney Classic (1950), the magical Ella Enchanted (2004), to Hilary Duff’s spunky Cinderella Story (2004) . Each of these films is proof that, sometimes, how a story is told is just as important as the story itself.
Nancy Meyer’s 1998 film Parent Trap is a critically-acclaimed classic, showcasing talents like Dennis Quaid and Natasha Richards, and kick-starting the career of Lindsay Lohan. The Parent Trap follows two girls who meet at summer camp, where they discover that they are long-lost twins. Many people overlook the fact that the film is actually based on a 1961 original, starring popular Disney actress Hayley Mills. The updated Parent Trap allowed filmmakers to show off how vastly movie technology had evolved. In the 1961 original, most shots with both twins required a body double, while in the 1998 version, the crew was able to use more advanced split-screen technology. The Parent Trap is an example of how reboots can enable filmmakers to improve both the content and mechanics of past movies.
Reboots are also valuable because they allow filmmakers to recreate beloved classics with underrepresented or marginalized cast members. Film history is dominated by white heterosexual characters, in which men get to play powerful roles while women are sidelined. Reboots allow audiences to reimagine old favourites by giving them a chance to recognize themselves onscreen. 2016’s Ghostbusters showcases the often-forgotten female comedian, with five women leads just as hilarious and dynamic as the original all-male cast. The upcoming Oceans 8 is yet another chance for women to shine in the traditionally male-led crime genre. 2014’s Annie featured Quvenzhané Wallis as the eponymous star. Annie is traditionally red-headed, but Wallis, who is African American, proves that we need not accept these arbitrary casting norms. Progression in the film industry is not just about continuing to cast diverse performers, but also about deconstructing existing conceptions of who can occupy what roles within film. Questioning and delegitimizing these notions is an important foundation to improving diversity in future films.
Granted, there are reboots that are quite cringe-worthy to watch. The fourth season of Arrested Development failed to deliver the belly-aching laughter for which its first three seasons were famous. 2016’s Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life felt like a shadow of its charming and heartwarming former self. Nonetheless, what both of these projects have in common is that they tried to recreate, rather than readapt, their originals. Like a former cheerleader at her 20-year high school reunion, these films were trying to relive past success, instead of looking at new territory to explore.
Reboots are a gamble, and hold potential to compare unfavourably to the works on which they are based. However, when executed with originality and a fresh perspective, they are a great mechanism for telling familiar stories in new ways.
Hollywood and content creators of all kinds have always been influenced by those that have come before them. Some of the greatest films of all time are based on previous works: The Godfather, To Kill a Mockingbird, and One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest to name a few. But in the past two decades, any movie fan will have noticed the growing trend of reboots, rehashes, and spin-offs filling up the theatre bills.
It's understandable why studios want to make these movies; they are easy to produce and seem like a surefire way to draw nostalgic audiences to the theatres. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008) and Jurassic World (2015) are both good examples of films that capitalize on nostalgia. Neither film managed to get out of the shadow cast by the original and stand out independently in any meaningful way, but that did not the reeboots from hitting big at the box office, with Jurassic World becoming the fourth-highest grossing film of all time.
This desire to avoid risk and stick to the 'classics' has lead to a significant reduction in the quality of new blockbuster films.We could be missing out on many new classics as studios decide to produce a reboot rather than taking a risk on a new idea. These huge projects are able to offer actors, actresses, directors, producers, and every other crew member more incentives than other projects. This often causes the most accomplished and established talent to be snapped up to work on these unimaginative money-making projects, rather than more interesting and fresh projects.
Not only are reboots uninspired and often uninteresting, historically, reboots have generally lacked critical success. For instance, take the wave of '90s and early &'00s comedies that have been been getting sequels in the past few years. Dumb and Dumber To (2014), Anchorman 2 (2013), and Zoolander 2 (2016) all floundered trying to recapture the quality and style that made the originals so great. Critics assessed them as outdated, uninspired, and nothing more than big cash grabs.
"Anytime you mention reboot and remake, the audience thinks 'rip-off',"said Jeff Bock, a box-office analyst when interviewed by the Los Angeles Times. "I don't know why Hollywood keeps shoving these movies down our throats."
There are reasons why rebooting movies is hard. Most classics are products of their time, so it is hard to recreate their tone in a modern setting. It is also hard to balance the desire to be loyal to the original while also giving the remake its own feel. This is why most reboots either feel like copies of the original or completely different movies that happen to share the same name, perhaps with a couple references to the original.
Many people enjoy the entertainment value of reboots, but it is misguided to think they aren't having a adverse effect on the film industry. The issue with reboots is that they give a creative industry an excuse to avoid creativity. This leads major filmmakers and stars of the industry away from more original projects and denigrates the legacy of these classic films. Reboots are bad for both the industry in the long-term and for movie fans who want to see classic films re-emerge in their own generation.
Hollywood and content creators of all kinds have always been influenced by those that have come before them. Some of the greatest films of all time are based on previous works: The Godfather, To Kill a Mockingbird, and One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest to name a few. But in the past two decades, any movie fan will have noticed the growing trend of reboots, rehashes, and spin-offs filling up the theatre bills.
It's understandable why studios want to make these movies; they are easy to produce and seem like a surefire way to draw nostalgic audiences to the theatres. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008) and Jurassic World (2015) are both good examples of films that capitalize on nostalgia. Neither film managed to get out of the shadow cast by the original and stand out independently in any meaningful way, but that did not the reeboots from hitting big at the box office, with Jurassic World becoming the fourth-highest grossing film of all time.
This desire to avoid risk and stick to the 'classics' has lead to a significant reduction in the quality of new blockbuster films.We could be missing out on many new classics as studios decide to produce a reboot rather than taking a risk on a new idea. These huge projects are able to offer actors, actresses, directors, producers, and every other crew member more incentives than other projects. This often causes the most accomplished and established talent to be snapped up to work on these unimaginative money-making projects, rather than more interesting and fresh projects.
Not only are reboots uninspired and often uninteresting, historically, reboots have generally lacked critical success. For instance, take the wave of '90s and early &'00s comedies that have been been getting sequels in the past few years. Dumb and Dumber To (2014), Anchorman 2 (2013), and Zoolander 2 (2016) all floundered trying to recapture the quality and style that made the originals so great. Critics assessed them as outdated, uninspired, and nothing more than big cash grabs.
"Anytime you mention reboot and remake, the audience thinks 'rip-off',"said Jeff Bock, a box-office analyst when interviewed by the Los Angeles Times. "I don't know why Hollywood keeps shoving these movies down our throats."
There are reasons why rebooting movies is hard. Most classics are products of their time, so it is hard to recreate their tone in a modern setting. It is also hard to balance the desire to be loyal to the original while also giving the remake its own feel. This is why most reboots either feel like copies of the original or completely different movies that happen to share the same name, perhaps with a couple references to the original.
Many people enjoy the entertainment value of reboots, but it is misguided to think they aren't having a adverse effect on the film industry. The issue with reboots is that they give a creative industry an excuse to avoid creativity. This leads major filmmakers and stars of the industry away from more original projects and denigrates the legacy of these classic films. Reboots are bad for both the industry in the long-term and for movie fans who want to see classic films re-emerge in their own generation.
Infamously terrible remakes like 2008’s Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull and 2016’s Ben-Hur give the reboot a sour reputation. At best, reboots are criticized as failing to live up to their source material’s former glory. At worst, their producers are labelled as unoriginal cash grabs. However, throughout all of film history, the same stories have been updated to fit the modern times. Disney’s Cinderella (1950) has taken countless forms–from the animated Disney Classic (1950), the magical Ella Enchanted (2004), to Hilary Duff’s spunky Cinderella Story (2004) . Each of these films is proof that, sometimes, how a story is told is just as important as the story itself.
Nancy Meyer’s 1998 film Parent Trap is a critically-acclaimed classic, showcasing talents like Dennis Quaid and Natasha Richards, and kick-starting the career of Lindsay Lohan. The Parent Trap follows two girls who meet at summer camp, where they discover that they are long-lost twins. Many people overlook the fact that the film is actually based on a 1961 original, starring popular Disney actress Hayley Mills. The updated Parent Trap allowed filmmakers to show off how vastly movie technology had evolved. In the 1961 original, most shots with both twins required a body double, while in the 1998 version, the crew was able to use more advanced split-screen technology. The Parent Trap is an example of how reboots can enable filmmakers to improve both the content and mechanics of past movies.
Reboots are also valuable because they allow filmmakers to recreate beloved classics with underrepresented or marginalized cast members. Film history is dominated by white heterosexual characters, in which men get to play powerful roles while women are sidelined. Reboots allow audiences to reimagine old favourites by giving them a chance to recognize themselves onscreen. 2016’s Ghostbusters showcases the often-forgotten female comedian, with five women leads just as hilarious and dynamic as the original all-male cast. The upcoming Oceans 8 is yet another chance for women to shine in the traditionally male-led crime genre. 2014’s Annie featured Quvenzhané Wallis as the eponymous star. Annie is traditionally red-headed, but Wallis, who is African American, proves that we need not accept these arbitrary casting norms. Progression in the film industry is not just about continuing to cast diverse performers, but also about deconstructing existing conceptions of who can occupy what roles within film. Questioning and delegitimizing these notions is an important foundation to improving diversity in future films.
Granted, there are reboots that are quite cringe-worthy to watch. The fourth season of Arrested Development failed to deliver the belly-aching laughter for which its first three seasons were famous. 2016’s Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life felt like a shadow of its charming and heartwarming former self. Nonetheless, what both of these projects have in common is that they tried to recreate, rather than readapt, their originals. Like a former cheerleader at her 20-year high school reunion, these films were trying to relive past success, instead of looking at new territory to explore.
Reboots are a gamble, and hold potential to compare unfavourably to the works on which they are based. However, when executed with originality and a fresh perspective, they are a great mechanism for telling familiar stories in new ways.