Preying on Nostalgia

[Guest]

Hello! 
So recently a new meal at McDonalds came out called Cactus Plant Flea Market meal 
McDonalds adult happy meal

which plays on young adults nostalgia for the toys they had in their happy meals as kids. 

Which brings me to theme that is constantly repeating: movies, tv series, clothes, food, etc. 
Nostalgia is the core incentive, but most of the time its lacking the original feeling we loved about it. 

• remake all the disney classics as live action (Disney remakes rankings - buzzfeed)
• remake classic tv shows but with better graphics or theme ( 90s reboots )
• remake old movies (list of some remakes)
• re-releasing old brands (lisa frank brands, 90s shows brands, etc.)
• re-releasing old food brands (oreo cereal, dunkaroos, etc)

and a whole lot more. 

 

So what do all of you feel about this never ending trend?

Personally I feel like majority of the time if something is released thats a remake or sequel to classic from my youth, I just feel like it will probably let me down.  They normally make it with some new "update" to be socially correct to world today, complete ruin the plot and subsequently making a whole new thing under a nostalgic name, or make a subpar horrid sequel. 

 

I find majority of the disney live actions lost key points of what the original animations had. The most horrid to date being the monstrosity of mulan... 

Don't get me wrong, some remakes are good but majority I feel I can't watch with a lot of hope or I will be severely let down. 

 

Food wise, I enjoy trying the stuff I had as a kid, though I feel like the sugar levels are 10x more or maybe I'm getting old. lol The McDonalds Adult happy meal was good, same old burger with a semi-nostalgic toy 

but otherwise its mostly relying on people getting it for the nostalgia. 

 

The final thing being the re-release of brands from the 90s/80s.... this is the only thing I absolutely love lol I loved lisa frank, clothes of my favorite shows, covering my bags/jackets with pins, etc. I love reliving that stuff.

Anywho, what do you all think on this stuff? lol
(sorry for the super long random brain unloading of thoughts)

 

 

[Sloth Fairy]

I'm kind of annoyed with the remakes of movies. I guess it's the people who grew up with these movies that want to do their version of the story, but it would be good if people could come up with original ideas. 

I'm always disappointed with the remakes.  I'll stick with watching the older versions. 

[Guest]

ditto. xD like why would you remake something that is ALREADY amazing? 

[LeftyGuitar]

I agree that some of it is getting old. I thought it was cool when they brought back Dunk-A-Roos, but they weren't as good as I remembered or maybe things just taste better when you're younger? I don't know. Also, a lot of the Disney remakes are pretty bad. Some are ok, but most of them are just ugh. Plus the music in the remakes is just awful. Does an Adult Happy Meal have more food in it? I mean you could just get a regular Happy Meal if you're in little space or just want one for the fun of it.

 

I think one plus of it, is when a old video game is remade. If they do it right, then it can be great fun and nostalgia. Think of the Crash Bandicoot and Spyro remakes. Those were great. Although, I'm annoyed with how the game industry is re-mastering games that are only a few years old, these are nothing more than cash grabs to me.

[SmolAetherr]

1 hour ago, Alana_Lala said:

ditto. xD like why would you remake something that is ALREADY amazing? 

money, and to re-write history

because the disney of today thinks they can take what made them famous and do it better.

Disney have never been a good company, only Walt Disney had the vision to make it a good company and he was screwed at every opportunity

Walt wanted to make animated shows, not merchandising and theme parks

Edited October 4, 2022 by SmolAetherr

[Andriel_Isilien]

I felt like such a snob when My Little Pony was remade. Sorry to all the MLP lovers!! 😅 I grew up on the 80s cartoons for that as well as the CareBears. No remake can top those old shows. I was pleasantly surprised when Duck Tales got rebooted, however. I wouldn't say that it's better than the original; just a good expansion.

3 hours ago, Sloth Fairy said:

it would be good if people could come up with original ideas. 

This! 👆 Nothing exposes a franchise more in being greedy for money but lacking creativity than remaking what has already been made or tagging on sequels one after another that are sour (COUGH Land Before Time COUGH).

There are SO MANY tales and legends out there from other countries that Disney could highlight, for example Frozen and Moana. There are LOADS of original stories people write for free here on the Internet. I mean, heck, the fanfic for Twilight was able to take off with some tweaks and became 50 Shades of Grey. Regardless if you like that series or not, imagine the possibilities if unknown writers could get their works made.

[shadowrider]

 I have been saying for years that hollywood is dead. No one can think for themselves anymore and create an actual original work. My theory is that if you can't write an original movie or tv show, then you are not a writer. What you are is a re writer, which a lot of us could do if we were into stealing someone else's ideas and tweaking them a little and then claiming them as ours. It's all about the least effort and the biggest payout. If I remake a movie you loved as a kid you will take your kids because you think it will be as good as you remember and they will love it and y'all can bond or whatever over it. Write something original or step away from the writer's guild.

 

[Guest]

8 hours ago, LeftyGuitar said:

 Does an Adult Happy Meal have more food in it? I mean you could just get a regular Happy Meal if you're in little space or just want one for the fun of it.

ooh I apologize yes it does have more food, you can get a big mac or a 10 piece chicken . so different than a happy meal in that way. but other than the toy, its essentially a regular meal. 
 

Quote

I think one plus of it, is when a old video game is remade. If they do it right, then it can be great fun and nostalgia. Think of the Crash Bandicoot and Spyro remakes. Those were great. Although, I'm annoyed with how the game industry is re-mastering games that are only a few years old, these are nothing more than cash grabs to me.

I forgot all about video games!! So i agree that some remakes or remasters of old video games can be awesome. spiffing up the graphics or making them a bit longer. but your definitely right that the remakes of ones just a few years old is just a huge cash grab. just bleh. 

[Guest]

6 hours ago, andrielisilien said:

There are SO MANY tales and legends out there from other countries that Disney could highlight, for example Frozen and Moana. There are LOADS of original stories people write for free here on the Internet. I mean, heck, the fanfic for Twilight was able to take off with some tweaks and became 50 Shades of Grey. Regardless if you like that series or not, imagine the possibilities if unknown writers could get their works made.

Right!! folktales from so many places can be made into a movie or series. it would be amazing and people could learn about the world. or even taking a good fanfic or short story. like them taking those short horror story from youtube, lights out, and made that into a full length movie. that was amazing!! why arent they doing that more, highlighting small authors or directors.

Like shadow said
 

6 hours ago, shadowrider said:

if you can't write an original movie or tv show, then you are not a writer. What you are is a re writer, which a lot of us could do if we were into stealing someone else's ideas and tweaking them a little and then claiming them as ours.

They have the same directors and writers who just have gotten lazy, they dont put in the effort to make anything original and those who do try to have a hard time getting the budget since most of hollywood is about who you know vs actual talent. 

[LeftyGuitar]

11 hours ago, Alana_Lala said:

ooh I apologize yes it does have more food, you can get a big mac or a 10 piece chicken . so different than a happy meal in that way. but other than the toy, its essentially a regular meal. 
 

I forgot all about video games!! So i agree that some remakes or remasters of old video games can be awesome. spiffing up the graphics or making them a bit longer. but your definitely right that the remakes of ones just a few years old is just a huge cash grab. just bleh. 

 

Yeah remaking a game that is just a few years old is an obvious cash grab. Now if its 10 years or older, then that's ok. I would love to see a remake of Motorstorm, that racing game was revolutionary for its time and it still holds up. An array of different vehicles, ATVS, Motorcycles, Rally Cars, Monster Trucks, Semi-trucks and more. Plus it had real-time track deformation. If you were on a motorcycle you were going to have a hard time racing through the deformed track. Also, the graphics were amazing and a cool soundtrack. Ok I rambled on, but still remake something is 10 years or older, not something that is 3 years old.

 

When it comes to movies, most of the time its best to leave it alone. With music it can be hit or miss if its remade. I don't mind covers as that's just another band covering another song in their style. Sometimes the cover is better than the orginial, but not always.

[Guest]

16 hours ago, LeftyGuitar said:

With music it can be hit or miss if its remade. I don't mind covers as that's just another band covering another song in their style. Sometimes the cover is better than the orginial, but not always.

How did I forget a song remake!! I remember hearing a remake of "shes like the wind" a few years back (for those who are not a huge 80s movie fan, that was like the only song Patrick Swayze ever sang officially and it was on dirty dancing) and it was just silly, they upped the beat, made it hip hop i believe and just made it some frankensteined version of the love song it was supposed to be. 

I know theres a million others that follow this same thing but that stuck in my head. I dont mind covers really, most of the time covers are just people paying homage to the original artist and is done respectfully. Alot of the remixes, remakes and so forth are like we talk about just people trying to get paid off nostalgia or like shadow said 

On 10/3/2022 at 11:20 PM, shadowrider said:

No one can think for themselves anymore and create an actual original work........ It's all about the least effort and the biggest payout.

 

[Guest Daddylyfe]

Can't say I disagree with anything that's been said. I'm glad I'm not the only one who feels this way. I always thought I'm just getting older, more bitter and cynical. But maybe people who view these things as soulless cash-grabs are in the right. I'm writing stuff right now while I wait to recover. Although I would hate if Hollywood touched it. I don't care how much money someone would offer me. Right now Hollywood needs to really reprioritize their values and go back to telling stories in a way that doesn't destroy the source material. 

Not everything HAS to be political. Oh! There's 1 thing I do think Disney could do that I would see as a big plus rather than soulless. I really think ditching 2D animated movies was such a mistake. Not everything has to be 2D but in art you should choose the medium that's best for the story you are telling. Sure CGI is cheaper. But Disney was on the cutting edge of 2D story telling. Tarzan and Treasure Planet both were using a cool mix between 2D and CGI that allowed them to make these incredible sequences.  

[Andriel_Isilien]

Saw this and the nostalgia hit me HARD. I do miss those chokers 🥺

 

[Guest]

>.> I still wear those chokers lol I just like them. I do miss blockbuster. Like I know Netflix and all other streaming services make it more convenient but going to blockbuster was an experience. 

 

[DaddysMonkey]

10 minutes ago, Alana_Lala said:

>.> I still wear those chokers lol I just like them. I do miss blockbuster. Like I know Netflix and all other streaming services make it more convenient but going to blockbuster was an experience. 

 

People from the block buster generation are ✨elite✨💖

[Guest]

Lol yass no one from this generation understands the struggle when your trying to watch all of the series and some shmo keeps renting the final tape....or even worse, they lost the tape due to previously mentioned shmo and now you got to wait eternity for them to order it from another Location....the agony lol

Tbh just the act of using vhs tapes is lost now.. the grind of rewinding it.. oof...or if a really good movie has been watched so much its got issues... 

[Sloth Fairy]

Be kind, rewind! Lol

Oh I hated when the videos were wearing out and it got all jumpy. 

I feel that woman's pain. I know I'm old. I've been hearing music I love at grocery stores. I think that means I'm ancient 😭

[Guest]

Ahaha I think we are... honestly I watch tiktok like an old lady cuz every 5 minutes I'm either going "these dam kids are going go kill themselves" or saying "they stole that from us"

XD 

Ahh be kind rewind, yesss oml I forgot

[Guest]

Just an update on how this topic even started, I think the adult happy meals have turned into a huge headache. Poor employees 

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/mcdonalds-workers-begging-people-stop-170500362.html

[Nymph]

Let's see, remakes that have made me happy:

- Tamagotchi

- Older games released on switch, specially if they added a little something or improved how it looks without actually changing it... Like Pikmin or Harvest Moon.

- Movies focusing on other cool characters like Maleficient or Cruella or the Mandalorian. But I guess that is more of a spinoff and not a remake.

[AmandaBear]

I am getting tired of them coming out with the remakes/sequels of movies and making money off of it because it is tied to the original rather than being something that is great on its own.

[Guest]

dont get me wrong there can be good remakes or sequels but when that all they can do, its kinda sad you know. but i will be honest that i did enjoy maleficient, cruella, and mandalorian. those were good. and i do like the rereleasing of old games. thats fun ^-^

[AmandaBear]

I agree, there are definitely some good ones! It just kind of feels forced now. Like it is a bandwagon that people are jumping on because they know they'll make money regardless. 

[Guest]

Oh for sure!! As others have said here, it's just lazy "writing".they tweak it a bit and slap a few cgi changes then say it's improved. It's bullhockey

 

If your going to remake classics, don't f it up. 

[LeanBlaster]

the thread very big so i didn't read the comments and just read most of the post but my opinion is i really hate what they are doing by praying nostalgia, i freaking hate the live actions just for the money and to renew their rights over it while creating controversy so it gets more exposure instead of giving those amazing actors a brand new role in a brand new story that would be worth to them than being used to create fight -.- in my opinion remasters and remakes should only be deployed when the original wasn't that good, thus having sense the remakes or remasters by makind something not so good being good, you don't fix whats not broken sigh..