Do you remember your favorite movie and all the characters you loved? Well, now they’re remaking them, with some changes, for a broader audience. What are your feelings on these new takes on old stories? Over the past few years, the trend of rebooting older movies and characters has increased, and people’s opinions of them have shifted. People either hate or love them. 

Apollo Ollmann, a student at Seymour High School was asked how he feels about reboots.”I feel they are okay depending on the movie. For example, I feel that Back to the Future shouldn’t be rebooted. It is perfect as is, but if it were to be another story that is fine.”

Many people don’t like reboots because of the story being changed from the original, or because it’s been done too many times. Goose, a guest staff writer at The Owl says, “If it’s just a cash grab and it doesn’t add to the universe of the series, then I hate reboots. However, if it actively tries to expand upon the universe or retcon out somebody bad for the series, then I have a great appreciation for reboots and what they try to accomplish.”

Movies that have been redone multiple times are Spiderman, Batman, Jungle Book, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. And many of these reboots make the same mistake of repeating stories and adding nothing new to the franchise. According to Thomas C. Foster, author of How to Read Literature Like a Professor, “There’s no such thing as a completely original work of literature….there’s only one story” (26-27).

Some people argue that stories should be re-told, and it’s fine to make reboots. As Apollo says, “I believe that stories should be retold like all the fairytales and that it is fine to retell them. It’s just how they change it over time.” Many love the ideas that are brought into reboots, and they may be more faithful to the original. Examples of reboots that are considered better are IT: Chapters 1 and 2, Dune, West Side Story, Little Women, and Casino Royale.  

Reboots, remakes, re-dos, whatever you want to call them, will keep being made. Whether it be for making money, for pushing a new idea, or for retelling a story for newer generations, many people love them and many people hate them for the same reasons. Now the main question is,  “Do you like or hate reboots?”

Work Cited

Foster, Thomas C. How to Read Literature Like a Professor. New                    York, HarperCollins Publishers, 2013.