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Reboots have gotten a bad rap over the years. "Why mess with perfection?" folks say. For the last half-decade or so, everything has been a reboot it seems. Many are bad, but some have been good (Star Trek, James Bond, Mad Max, and many of the properties Netflix rebooted like Daredevil, Voltron, and the Unfortunate Events series). A combination of factors like economic downturn and the ever bountiful nostalgia market have made reboots more the norm now than ever before. But the problem is with the execution.

The problem is people only seem to remake the classics. They don't want to take any gambles, so they pick a name guaranteed to make money. But it's the stories that had potential that was botched which deserves a reboot. The things with more story to tell need to be told. Here are Ten movies/TV shows that I think not only can get a good reboot, but DESERVE one.

These are in no particular order, but mostly arranged by how much I want to talk about them. As always, please flame responsibly!

1: The Illustrated Man

Ray Bradbury's The Illustrated Man is regarded as one of the greatest collections of science fiction works. Every story on its own could be a great movie. The frame story of a man with moving tattoos is so brilliant and unique, I would love to see how they could do it with today's technology.

A film was made in 1969 WITHOUT the blessing of Ray Bradbury...and it was awful! Besides the terrible direction and abhorrent acting, the main problem with the film was it only utilized three of the stories. I get the short running time and brand-name recognition, but they barely even tried to capitalize on the goldmine they had with these unique stories. All of them were stilted and condensed, with nothing being done to add to the special effects on the tattoos!

I heard talks of Zach Snyder helming a remake, but even that was barking up the wrong tree. The remake seems to be falling into the same problems the first film had...not going all the way in its storytelling. Rather than a film, this would work best as a SyFy Channel miniseries where each episode could be devoted to one story from the collection. With today's visuals and storytelling, this would be a sight to behold.

2: Animaniacs

This will without a doubt be the most controversial item on the list. I urge you to hear me out first, though!

I get most of what made Animaniacs good was specific to who was working on it. I get that its irreplaceable soundtrack cannot be used in present day because Richard Stone is dead. I get that in order to reboot Animaniacs, you'd basically have to just not do Animaniacs. But that's the thing...

I DON'T want a direct reboot, per se! A spiritual successor will be fine.

I rewatch Animaniacs quite often, and I notice most of their satire and celebrity references became a little dated. Their politics only goes as far as Clinton, who even knows Howard Stern these days? And a handful of their shows even are products of the time. What I mean when I want to see a reboot is I want the same brand of humor but in a more modern context. Also it should be hand-drawn, not CGI. And keep all the humor in, because the adult jokes made the show. This article from Cartoon Brew got me to think of how a modern Animaniacs would go over. If anything, it would shatter the standards in place now.

So yes, I don't want to see a straight reboot. I want different characters, different targets, but same blend of humor we had back in the day.

3: Dune

Dune has a complex history as a book and film. But this property is the one that needs the Hollywood/Netflix treatment the most.

Tell me if this plot sounds familiar: A devoutly religious organization on a desert planet shrouded in mystery comes out of hiding when they find someone with hidden abilities and convince him to join their ranks. With his help, they declare war on a technologically superior empire bent on colonizing them and destroying their way of life.

No, this is not Star Wars. This is Dune, written in 1964! If you read the book, you can see its footprint throughout science fiction for the last fifty years.

Dune seems like a great film, but nobody has been able to do it justice. Alejandro Jodorowsky tried his hand first, and pitched what may have been the best film of all time. It would feature a soundtrack by Pink Floyd, art design by Salvador Dali (who would also star as the Emperor, not a miscast if you read the book), and have Mick Jagger in the lead role. The reason it was never picked up was because Jodorowsky wrote a 14-hour screenplay. Nowadays, studios would be all over it and make four or five movies from that script. But back in the 70s, nobody was willing to fund such a long script.

The project passed to David Lynch. Lynch did not even read the book, and the result was one of the most notorious failures in the history of big-budget movies. IT only barely resembles what it is adapting and has weird scenes where there were none. In 2000, there was a Sci-Fi miniseries, but that played more like a SparkNotes of Dune and was a big disappointment as well. This means Dune is to this day considered unfilmable.

But Dune is NOT unfilmable. It is perfectly filmable. If anything, this is the best time in film history to make a Dune film. WE have the technology, we have the . Our marketing strategy can milk this film for all it is worth. If anything, Jodorowsky was just ahead of his time. I may live yet to see Dune remade faithfully, but for now I wait with baited breath for that day to come.

Allegedly, Denis Vileneuve will remake Dune sometime soon. But like most big projects such as this, I'm not holding my breath. Dune has been in limbo for decades, so I'm skeptical now.

4: Chronicles of Narnia (complete series)

It is so odd how one of the most popular fantasy series of all time has never had a complete package film adaptation. Harry Potter has just as many volumes and that franchise made all seven books into films. What keeps happening with Narnia?

Most adaptations only go a few books in. Apparently one BBC miniseries did all seven, but it's not on home video. The first and only attempt at a blockbuster franchise to date came from Walden in 2005. They were...okay. Despite major deviations from the books, they were serviceable on their own as films even if they were not too memorable.

Narnia is often cited as one of the reasons our copyright system is broken. The books are public domain pretty much everywhere BUT the US. The reason the fourth book has not been adapted is because Walden is in legal limbo with CS Lewis' estate on production rights. However long we may wait, we may just need to start over from scratch for the next attempt at a franchise. So if Netflix can just strike up a bargain for a full TV series, that may be the best way to adapt the books.

5: Invader Zim

Yes, I have read the comics! They are fine on their own. But wouldn't you like to see a full reboot as a TV show? Be honest!

Johnen Vasquez got this show taken from under him pitching it to Nick. Even back in the day, Nickelodeon had scummy business practices. They were unsure to market it as a kids show or a teen show, so it existed in a nebulous primetime slot. And while many episodes were creepy, Jhonen was never allowed to go too far with his stories. Nick, maybe you should have thought of all this before giving a series to a guy who wrote a comic called Johnny the Homicidal Maniac.

While the comics are good, I read some of the plots Jhonen had for a potential Season 3. Many sound cool including continuity nods to past episodes. If it will be rebooted, it has to be an adult show. Give Jhonen the power to make the show he wants! Put it on streaming and let it go wild. This is a great show that deserves more attention.

6: Darby O'Gill and the Little People

Darby O'Gill is not a bad film, per se, but it needs a bit of an update. While the effects and characters are good, some of the story moments and songs are a bit corny. And the Celtic mythos is underused. The leprechauns can be even more tricksters and the stakes can be higher. With today's technology, it can be dark while still keeping the PG rating. I would love to see where today's minds take it.

I'm sure many of you were introduced to this film through an early Nostalgia Critic. There were several complaints how his #1 pick, the Banshee, wasn't really THAT scary. Well, let's make that Banshee as scary as possible with cutting edge technology. The Gaelic lore is so dense, there is no limit to how good this could turn out.

7: Silverwing and Redwall (tie)

I tied them because they both had similar circumstances in adaptation and were both made by Nelvana. I want to talk about both at once.

Silverwing seems to have been made by either people who never read the book or did read it and just wanted to dumb everything down to move the series along as quickly as possible. And what is with the anthro-style? Why is Shade an anime pretty boy? And shoehorning in elements from Books 2 and 3 where they would not fit doesn't work. The Orestes plot basically ruled out any attempts at a faithful sequel. So the only move from here is to start over from scratch.

Redwall was a decent series that could have been great were it not for one thing--the censorship. I get it was for public television, but you don't have to push the censors TOO hard still. This would have been adequate with a TV-Y7. The first season gets some sympathy because most of these constraints were worked out. But...my sympathies end with Season 2. Just wait on that one. It's coming!

So by all means, reboot both of them. I don't even care if it's in CGI. This is the perfect time to give a reboot because both these properties were great but squandered by people who were limited. I'll be waiting for Netflix to pick them up.

8: League of Extraordinary Gentlemen

Tell me you wouldn't want to see this remade. Look me in the eyes and tell me this would not work! Alan Moore may never go for it, but what made his work so great was all the dancing around it did with the concept of a literary crossover.

The Avengers using famous literary characters, what could go wrong? It could be so meta, you wouldn't even need to think of being faithful to them. The whole thing is about the changing tides of fiction and their impact on our culture. The story writes itself. We just need someone who is like a Joss Whedon who can be self-aware and nudge-nudge-wink-wink with the story. This was a beautiful film, but squandered because the director had no idea what he was doing.

And Tom Sawyer was included for the sake of having an American. I wouldn't use him. Peter Pan would be better.

9: Sword in the Stone/Once and Future King

The one live-action Disney remake that may actually be worth something. Once and Future King by TH White is not a direct translation of the original French myth of King Arthur, but is more a humorous compendium of stories in the mythos and an original flair injected into the story.

Once and Future King is five stories in one. Disney only adapted the first ad took major liberties by adapting parts that were only in earlier drafts. Though I find it to be an underrated comedy, it is still one of the lesser known films from Disney, and probably the least highly regarded of Walt's tenure. So why not give it a new spin? It was already a mixed bag, so the hypothetical live action remake wouldn't have much to lose. And they could even throw in Lancelot and Morgana, and everyone else into the mix.

But Disney's adaptation was not the only one. Camelot, well known as the film that killed the musical genre for a few decades, was based on the end of the book. It has great themes of the limits of chivalry and when to exercise mercy in the face of danger. Plus, these great characters are always marketable and in the public domain. So a work simply inspired by the text could work as well.

So be it as a movie or a Netflix series, Once and Future King deserves a good adaptation to its full degree.

10: Gargoyles

Gargoyles Season 3 was botched. I think we can all agree the producers screwed this one.

Gargoyles had stories left hanging. It had a unique world to build. It had a dramatic storyline that paved the way for shows like Avatar and Young Justice. But Disney's draconian market limited it to two seasons and kicked Weisman out for the third. And much of had to be toned down so he never got any creative freedom. This is the perfect storm to create something good in the modern era.

If handled with the right care and attention, this could either get a soft reboot like Samurai Jack to tie up the loose ends, or a hard reboot with an updated story. Either one would earn my approval.

Description
Reboots have gotten a bad rap over the years. "Why mess with perfection?" folks say. For the last half-decade or so, everything has been a reboot it seems. Many are bad, but some have been good (Star Trek, James Bond, Mad Max, and many of the properties Netflix rebooted like Daredevil, Voltron, and the Unfortunate Events series). A combination of factors like economic downturn and the ever bountiful nostalgia market have made reboots more the norm now than ever before. But the problem is with the execution.

The problem is people only seem to remake the classics. They don't want to take any gambles, so they pick a name guaranteed to make money. But it's the stories that had potential that was botched which deserves a reboot. The things with more story to tell need to be told. Here are Ten movies/TV shows that I think not only can get a good reboot, but DESERVE one.

These are in no particular order, but mostly arranged by how much I want to talk about them. As always, please flame responsibly!

1: The Illustrated Man

Ray Bradbury's The Illustrated Man is regarded as one of the greatest collections of science fiction works. Every story on its own could be a great movie. The frame story of a man with moving tattoos is so brilliant and unique, I would love to see how they could do it with today's technology.

A film was made in 1969 WITHOUT the blessing of Ray Bradbury...and it was awful! Besides the terrible direction and abhorrent acting, the main problem with the film was it only utilized three of the stories. I get the short running time and brand-name recognition, but they barely even tried to capitalize on the goldmine they had with these unique stories. All of them were stilted and condensed, with nothing being done to add to the special effects on the tattoos!

I heard talks of Zach Snyder helming a remake, but even that was barking up the wrong tree. The remake seems to be falling into the same problems the first film had...not going all the way in its storytelling. Rather than a film, this would work best as a SyFy Channel miniseries where each episode could be devoted to one story from the collection. With today's visuals and storytelling, this would be a sight to behold.

2: Animaniacs

This will without a doubt be the most controversial item on the list. I urge you to hear me out first, though!

I get most of what made Animaniacs good was specific to who was working on it. I get that its irreplaceable soundtrack cannot be used in present day because Richard Stone is dead. I get that in order to reboot Animaniacs, you'd basically have to just not do Animaniacs. But that's the thing...

I DON'T want a direct reboot, per se! A spiritual successor will be fine.

I rewatch Animaniacs quite often, and I notice most of their satire and celebrity references became a little dated. Their politics only goes as far as Clinton, who even knows Howard Stern these days? And a handful of their shows even are products of the time. What I mean when I want to see a reboot is I want the same brand of humor but in a more modern context. Also it should be hand-drawn, not CGI. And keep all the humor in, because the adult jokes made the show. This article from Cartoon Brew got me to think of how a modern Animaniacs would go over. If anything, it would shatter the standards in place now.

So yes, I don't want to see a straight reboot. I want different characters, different targets, but same blend of humor we had back in the day.

3: Dune

Dune has a complex history as a book and film. But this property is the one that needs the Hollywood/Netflix treatment the most.

Tell me if this plot sounds familiar: A devoutly religious organization on a desert planet shrouded in mystery comes out of hiding when they find someone with hidden abilities and convince him to join their ranks. With his help, they declare war on a technologically superior empire bent on colonizing them and destroying their way of life.

No, this is not Star Wars. This is Dune, written in 1964! If you read the book, you can see its footprint throughout science fiction for the last fifty years.

Dune seems like a great film, but nobody has been able to do it justice. Alejandro Jodorowsky tried his hand first, and pitched what may have been the best film of all time. It would feature a soundtrack by Pink Floyd, art design by Salvador Dali (who would also star as the Emperor, not a miscast if you read the book), and have Mick Jagger in the lead role. The reason it was never picked up was because Jodorowsky wrote a 14-hour screenplay. Nowadays, studios would be all over it and make four or five movies from that script. But back in the 70s, nobody was willing to fund such a long script.

The project passed to David Lynch. Lynch did not even read the book, and the result was one of the most notorious failures in the history of big-budget movies. IT only barely resembles what it is adapting and has weird scenes where there were none. In 2000, there was a Sci-Fi miniseries, but that played more like a SparkNotes of Dune and was a big disappointment as well. This means Dune is to this day considered unfilmable.

But Dune is NOT unfilmable. It is perfectly filmable. If anything, this is the best time in film history to make a Dune film. WE have the technology, we have the . Our marketing strategy can milk this film for all it is worth. If anything, Jodorowsky was just ahead of his time. I may live yet to see Dune remade faithfully, but for now I wait with baited breath for that day to come.

Allegedly, Denis Vileneuve will remake Dune sometime soon. But like most big projects such as this, I'm not holding my breath. Dune has been in limbo for decades, so I'm skeptical now.

4: Chronicles of Narnia (complete series)

It is so odd how one of the most popular fantasy series of all time has never had a complete package film adaptation. Harry Potter has just as many volumes and that franchise made all seven books into films. What keeps happening with Narnia?

Most adaptations only go a few books in. Apparently one BBC miniseries did all seven, but it's not on home video. The first and only attempt at a blockbuster franchise to date came from Walden in 2005. They were...okay. Despite major deviations from the books, they were serviceable on their own as films even if they were not too memorable.

Narnia is often cited as one of the reasons our copyright system is broken. The books are public domain pretty much everywhere BUT the US. The reason the fourth book has not been adapted is because Walden is in legal limbo with CS Lewis' estate on production rights. However long we may wait, we may just need to start over from scratch for the next attempt at a franchise. So if Netflix can just strike up a bargain for a full TV series, that may be the best way to adapt the books.

5: Invader Zim

Yes, I have read the comics! They are fine on their own. But wouldn't you like to see a full reboot as a TV show? Be honest!

Johnen Vasquez got this show taken from under him pitching it to Nick. Even back in the day, Nickelodeon had scummy business practices. They were unsure to market it as a kids show or a teen show, so it existed in a nebulous primetime slot. And while many episodes were creepy, Jhonen was never allowed to go too far with his stories. Nick, maybe you should have thought of all this before giving a series to a guy who wrote a comic called Johnny the Homicidal Maniac.

While the comics are good, I read some of the plots Jhonen had for a potential Season 3. Many sound cool including continuity nods to past episodes. If it will be rebooted, it has to be an adult show. Give Jhonen the power to make the show he wants! Put it on streaming and let it go wild. This is a great show that deserves more attention.

6: Darby O'Gill and the Little People

Darby O'Gill is not a bad film, per se, but it needs a bit of an update. While the effects and characters are good, some of the story moments and songs are a bit corny. And the Celtic mythos is underused. The leprechauns can be even more tricksters and the stakes can be higher. With today's technology, it can be dark while still keeping the PG rating. I would love to see where today's minds take it.

I'm sure many of you were introduced to this film through an early Nostalgia Critic. There were several complaints how his #1 pick, the Banshee, wasn't really THAT scary. Well, let's make that Banshee as scary as possible with cutting edge technology. The Gaelic lore is so dense, there is no limit to how good this could turn out.

7: Silverwing and Redwall (tie)

I tied them because they both had similar circumstances in adaptation and were both made by Nelvana. I want to talk about both at once.

Silverwing seems to have been made by either people who never read the book or did read it and just wanted to dumb everything down to move the series along as quickly as possible. And what is with the anthro-style? Why is Shade an anime pretty boy? And shoehorning in elements from Books 2 and 3 where they would not fit doesn't work. The Orestes plot basically ruled out any attempts at a faithful sequel. So the only move from here is to start over from scratch.

Redwall was a decent series that could have been great were it not for one thing--the censorship. I get it was for public television, but you don't have to push the censors TOO hard still. This would have been adequate with a TV-Y7. The first season gets some sympathy because most of these constraints were worked out. But...my sympathies end with Season 2. Just wait on that one. It's coming!

So by all means, reboot both of them. I don't even care if it's in CGI. This is the perfect time to give a reboot because both these properties were great but squandered by people who were limited. I'll be waiting for Netflix to pick them up.

8: League of Extraordinary Gentlemen

Tell me you wouldn't want to see this remade. Look me in the eyes and tell me this would not work! Alan Moore may never go for it, but what made his work so great was all the dancing around it did with the concept of a literary crossover.

The Avengers using famous literary characters, what could go wrong? It could be so meta, you wouldn't even need to think of being faithful to them. The whole thing is about the changing tides of fiction and their impact on our culture. The story writes itself. We just need someone who is like a Joss Whedon who can be self-aware and nudge-nudge-wink-wink with the story. This was a beautiful film, but squandered because the director had no idea what he was doing.

And Tom Sawyer was included for the sake of having an American. I wouldn't use him. Peter Pan would be better.

9: Sword in the Stone/Once and Future King

The one live-action Disney remake that may actually be worth something. Once and Future King by TH White is not a direct translation of the original French myth of King Arthur, but is more a humorous compendium of stories in the mythos and an original flair injected into the story.

Once and Future King is five stories in one. Disney only adapted the first ad took major liberties by adapting parts that were only in earlier drafts. Though I find it to be an underrated comedy, it is still one of the lesser known films from Disney, and probably the least highly regarded of Walt's tenure. So why not give it a new spin? It was already a mixed bag, so the hypothetical live action remake wouldn't have much to lose. And they could even throw in Lancelot and Morgana, and everyone else into the mix.

But Disney's adaptation was not the only one. Camelot, well known as the film that killed the musical genre for a few decades, was based on the end of the book. It has great themes of the limits of chivalry and when to exercise mercy in the face of danger. Plus, these great characters are always marketable and in the public domain. So a work simply inspired by the text could work as well.

So be it as a movie or a Netflix series, Once and Future King deserves a good adaptation to its full degree.

10: Gargoyles

Gargoyles Season 3 was botched. I think we can all agree the producers screwed this one.

Gargoyles had stories left hanging. It had a unique world to build. It had a dramatic storyline that paved the way for shows like Avatar and Young Justice. But Disney's draconian market limited it to two seasons and kicked Weisman out for the third. And much of had to be toned down so he never got any creative freedom. This is the perfect storm to create something good in the modern era.

If handled with the right care and attention, this could either get a soft reboot like Samurai Jack to tie up the loose ends, or a hard reboot with an updated story. Either one would earn my approval.