10 Retro Cartoons That Need to Be Rebooted

5. Jem and the Holograms

I know next to nothing about this cartoon, but I know how much it means to a ton of people. My wife loves it. My friend Gene loves it – and the fact that they’ve been shuffled into the background for so long is ridiculous. What better way to capture attention than via music and animation (and translate that into toy sales!)

A rebooted Jem would have to reinvent the music a bit, but I don’t think it would need to go in the direction that most pop-princesses have today. Turn the Holograms into a pop-punk band (like the Donnas) and keep the Misfits as something edgy and dark. It’s a recipe for success and a license to print money in the toy aisles – just look at Monster High.

4. The Legend of Zelda

Right off the bat, much like Street Fighter, the original Zelda series was atrocious. While the voice cast was solid, the scripts they had to work with were so far off what was seen in a Zelda game it was a huge disconnect for my 10 year old brain.

With a Zelda series, it needs to be all about high adventure and the long game – each season should be one overarching story, with subplots every episode that advance Link towards his ultimate goal little by little. Something like Zelda would work best as a primetime animated series, and I could see it being a huge hit if a major studio were willing to back it. Honestly, I’d love to see it up alongside ABC’s Once Upon A Time, where it’s just one long night of sword and sorcery.

3. X-Men

We’ve had numerous X-Men animated series in the last 20 years, from X-Men, to the highly underrated X-Men Evolution, to, most recently, Wolverine & The X-Men. All three series were excellent in their own way, but none had the staying power that an X-Men series should have. Sadly, while I think kids would eat up an X-Men animated series, I don’t know that we’ll ever see one, with the rights to the films being held at Fox, and Disney producing the television series.

That said, I’d love to see something on Disney XD in the current Jean Grey School, where Wolverine is the headmaster. You could focus the series through the eyes of one of the students – like Quentin Quire, Kid Gladiator, or Broo – or even through Kitty Pryde in her role as headmistress. The X-Men are a license to print money, and while the chances are slim, surely someone has to see how beneficial an animated series would be to all parties involved.

2. Powerpuff Girls — UPDATE: This one is happening!

I make no bones about it: The Powerpuff Girls are one of my all time favorite animated series, and thanks to Netflix, it’s become one of my sons favorites as well. Awesome action, great humor, a unique art style, and minimalist background visuals gave the Powerpuff Girls a distinct visual style, and one that is ripe for revival.

Redesigns for the girls are unnecessary, as their looks are so uniquely set to them, and really, all you’d need is to update the show to be a little more timely in its references and sets. You could also use it as an opportunity to expand the rogues gallery for the girls, and have Professor Utonium be a bit crazier and inventive, but the formula overall is solid. Just have fun with it, like they did in the first series.

1. Batman Beyond

Batman Beyond is screaming less for a reboot and more for a revitalization of its universe. Set in the future of Gotham City, Beyond follows the adventures of Terry McGinnis as the Batman of 2039, albeit one with less cape and much, much more flying. It was a visually striking show, containing signature Bruce Timm design, but spun it on its ear, giving a futuristic bend to Timm’s brilliant art-deco work.

The series has survived in comic book form – and while that’s great, it just begs to be animated. Bring back Terry, bring back the Justice League Beyond, and let’s get the adventures in the not-so-distant future going again. There’s no series, in my opinion, that deserves to have it’s story told more than Batman Beyond.

Jay Malone (@JCorduroy) is the co-host of the PushtoRegenPodcast, a fancast about HeroClix. He once lived in a cupboard under the stairs like Harry Potter, has a dog that looks like Stitch, and his 3 year old son is named after the ruler of Latveria – but don’t tell his wife that.

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