Times That Reboots Of '80s Cartoons Outraged Fans

Over the last decade or so, we've been in the middle of a major 80s revival. While some original films and tv shows, like "Stranger Things," have evoked the 80s through their visual style and some nostalgic homages, other classic 80s franchises have been rebooted and reimagined for a new era. With each day, the list of classic 80s films receiving a reboot grows exponentially, and no franchise is too big or small.

From "The Last Jedi" dividing the "Star Wars" fanbase to the 2016 female-led "Ghostbusters" reboot causing a full-blown war on social media, 80s reboots can spark some nasty debates amongst fans. No 80s reboot is safe from fan uproar, not even reboots of 80s cartoons. Some might think that it's unlikely or rare to see substantial backlash or outrage just because cartoons tend to have younger audiences, but that simply isn't true. Reboots of some of the biggest 80s cartoons have seen some of the biggest outrages from fans, from parents calling for boycotts to fans arguing about character designs. In the age of social media, fan outrage is more vocal than ever before, and these reboots of 80s cartoons have received some loud backlash.

For many kids of the 80s, "Voltron" was a cartoon cross between an epic team-up show and a stylistic action anime. As the series' central team of space explorers traversed the galaxy in search of new planets, fans were constantly treated to some epic animated moments of the group fighting against gigantic evil forces and eventually coming together to form the super robot Voltron. 

While Netflix's reboot series, titled "Voltron: Legendary Defenders," has generally received widespread praise from critics and fans for its updated animation and intense story arcs, it faced severe backlash surrounding its handling of LGBT characters. Before its seventh season, it was announced that the series would explore the main character Shiro's gay relationship with a previously unseen character named Adam, and fans were more than happy with that news.

Unfortunately, fans felt queer-baited since Adam was barely given any screen-time before his swift death. Their outrage and anger over the matter caused series writer Joaquim Dos Santos to pen a heartfelt apology (via Digital Spy). "I'd like to say that we created this version of "Voltron" with the intention of being as inclusive as possible within the boundaries given," said Dos Santos in his letter to fans. "The fact that there is a vocal audience demanding for the conversation to be pushed farther and faster is ultimately an incredibly positive thing and a lesson we'll take moving forward."

"Ducktales" is one of Disney's most beloved cult classic cartoons, with fans loving the hilarious misadventures of Donald Duck's nephews Huey, Dewey, and Louie. The series introduces plenty of interesting and easily likable characters that fans still adore to this day. The 2017 reboot of the series has equally found the same kind of adoration from fans. Both old and new fans have dug just about everything Disney's reboot has offered, including the story, new animation style, and how it feels like a bolder take on the series. However, one moment in the season three premiere outraged a small group of parents.

In the episode "Challenge of the Senior Junior Woodchucks," viewers were introduced to Violet's two dads wearing some delightful matching t-shirts with "I'm With Dad" pointing at each other. It's not too hard to figure out that Violet's dads are together in a romantic relationship, and one anti-LGBT social media outrage group called One Million Moms were fuming. In a bunch of rampant messages on their Facebook group, members were calling to boycott "Ducktales" for "pushing an LGBT agenda on their children" (via MetroWeekly). The main fanbase didn't agree and celebrated the small but memorable inclusion of LGBT families.

Although "Thomas and Friends" wasn't a straightforward animated cartoon like most others in the 80s, it was a children's series that remains nostalgic and charming. It played out like a children's book unfolding before your very eyes, and the stop-motion aesthetic with real props delivered an eye-pleasing experience that still looks good to this day. Honestly, if you go back and watch the original run in the 80s, "Thomas and Friends" maintains its charm well. Although Thomas the Tank Engine has gone through many weird and memeable redesigns, the latest redesign for a 2021 reboot on Cartoon Network, titled All Engines Go, has upset parents and young fans.

According to an article from The U.S. Sun, parents proclaim that Thomas's updated 2D design is frightening for kids and have stated that their kids are "in tears" over the change. One parent has even compared Thomas's new look, particularly his face, to Dennis the Menace, and some kids have supposedly said they barely recognize the character in this new form. It's no shocker that a modern reboot would change the character design for a new generation, but it seems this change has left parents and kids steamed.

"Jem" was unlike most cartoons in the 80s as it traded out sci-fi action for sci-fantasy mixed with music. The series followed record store owner Jerrica, who becomes her pop star alter ego Jem when she's onstage with her band, The Holograms. With its mix of sci-fi fantasy visuals from Jerrica's holographic computer assistant known as Synergy and some solid music fitting for the era, "Jem" has become a nostalgic cult-favorite cartoon of the 80s. Unfortunately, that status made it an easy target for an attempted live-action reboot movie in 2015 that caused the fanbase to become outraged.

It's no secret that the live-action reboot "Jem and the Holograms" has been panned by most critics and nearly the entire fanbase, but fans felt especially duped. Look, "Jem" wasn't this massive mainstream hit like other 80s cartoons, but its distinctive style and music-focused premise made it a perfect time capsule of the era, and that's something that fans continue to love about it. But, as said in Nathan Rabin's article on AV Club, "it's just as silly for filmmakers to take a franchise whose appeal was almost entirely nostalgia-based and alter it so dramatically that it barely resembles the unfiltered blast of 1980s that inspired it." "Jem and the Holograms" was a hollow shell reboot that throws away its unabashed love of the 80s for unremarkable modern beats instead of being the celebration of the era fans would want.

There is no shortage of gripes that "Transformers" fans have with Michael Bay over his slew of live-action films. While the 1984 animated series set a high bar for any adaptation to follow with its iconic characters designs that brought the Hasbro toys to life, memorable story and characters, and unique action, Bay's "Transformers" films were going in their direction and not one that fans particularly were thrilled about. Yes, they had Bay's signature action filled with awesome explosions, but they also had his crass style of humor and more machinery character designs that drifted too far from what fans loved about the series.

There were two Autobots in Bay's second film, though, which upset many fans. In "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen," there were two bickering twin Autobots named Skids and Mudflap who come with some banter that many felt promoted racial stereotypes. While they're intended to be comic relief, some fans felt these two were "comic relief in a degrading way" and even called them "Jar Jar Bots" (via The Hollywood Reporter) in reference to the disliked character Jar Jar Binks from "Star Wars: The Phantom Menace." Once again, Bay tried to calm fans down by saying, "it's done in fun. I don't know if it's stereotypes — they are robots, by the way" (via The Hollywood Reporter). Oh, Michael Bay, always putting your foot in your mouth and upsetting fans.

When Nintendo initially announced that Chris Pratt was set to voice Mario in Illumination's upcoming "Super Mario" movie, the internet was laughably confused. Pratt has had a decent career in voice acting with characters like Emmet in "The LEGO Movie" and Barley in Pixar's "Onward," but that doesn't mean he's a great fit for Mario. Seriously though, when you think of Mario's iconic voice, is Pratt really your first choice? For most, the answer is no, and Mario fans were thrown into a state of confusion and frustration. Sadly, they're not alone.

Not too long after the announcement that Pratt was voicing Mario, the entire internet was thrown another curveball when it was announced that Pratt would also be voicing Garfield in an upcoming reboot film. People were already confused about how Pratt was the right choice for Mario, and now, they're equally confused about how Pratt is voicing Garfield. With the "Garfield" fanbase still reeling from the ugly live-action design from the 2004 reboot, they were certainly unhappy about this choice.

Many fans took to social media to voice their displeasure, with one person saying that they "don't want to live in a world where Mario and Garfield are voiced by the same guy" and another calling it "the biggest miscast since Chris Pratt as Mario" (via Independent).