80s | 90s | Pop Culture | Cartoons
10 Cartoons We Grew Up Watching That Were Actually *Gasp* Reboots
While it's easy to get frustrated with all the shows we loved from the 80s and 90s that are getting boring, unoriginal reboots these days, it's important to remember that this phenomenon is nothing new. Studios have been trying to make lightning strike twice for decades, and in the case of these 10 shows, we sometimes remember them just as much as the originals.
The Real Adventures of Johnny Quest
This blast from the past was an attempt to modernize the franchise (and make it less glaringly racist than the original). Some people really loved it, but ultimately it only lasted two seasons.
Yo Yogi!
Fun fact: this cartoon tanking as hard is it did is the reason that Saturday morning cartoons stopped being a thing. Really.
Tiny Toon Adventures
Probably the best of the "Old cartoons, but kid-sized" reboots, Tiny Toon Adventures was amazing even without being related to Looney Tunes, and we still miss it today.
New Adventures of Winnie The Pooh
Disney's infinitely popular bear with very little brain came back for a pretty long-running series that had him and his friends getting into all sorts of adventures. Also, that catchy theme song!
Some of these next few reboots were pretty surprising...
Muppet Babies
Okay so The Muppet Show wasn't really a cartoon, but kids loved it, and they REALLY loved the baby versions of the classic puppets; the cartoon ran for six years.
Beast Wars: Transformers
It's hard to think of a time when Transformers wasn't a franchise that was absolutely everywhere (thanks for nothing, Michael Bay) but in the 90s it'd been a while since we'd gotten our fix of transforming robots. Enter Beast Wars, which was actually both a sequel and kind of a prequel.
Extreme Ghostbusters
Remember how EXTREME everything was in the 90s? Apparently even ghost-busting was in need of a hip makeover for the kids.
The New Adventures of Speed Racer
This was a weird one. The original Speed Racer was a Japanese show that found massive success in the West, but this reboot was entirely American-made.
Sonic Underground
After two pretty popular Sonic cartoons that got canceled way before their time, DiC decided to reboot the series as a "dethroned royalty must reclaim the throne" story... with songs and musical instruments that shot lasers.
A Pup Named Scooby-Doo
Yup, even the Scooby Gang got the baby treatment, and for some reason every episode featured a (surprisingly catchy) song in the middle of it.