(AfroGamers.com) While I’ll be the first to say that show writing got better as the decades went on, there are a few cartoons that had writing that was good for it at that time. Nowadays, there are complaints from some cartoon connoisseurs that remakes and reboots offer little new and original.
I believe differently as an established property can always benefit from a fresh take or in-depth storytelling. Also, if it’s a show where there have been years or decades since the last episode, revive it if it was a show with a dedicated fanbase.
Let’s look at three cartoons from the 1990s.
The Pirates of Dark Water
Produced by Hanna-Barbera and running for two seasons on ABC’s Saturday morning block between 1991 and 1993, The Pirates of Dark Water was a fantasy adventure series where the prince of a kingdom in danger searches the world for 13 artifacts. These articles—known as “Thirteen Treasures of Rule”—aren’t going to heal the ailing king but solidify the prince’s rule.
In his journey he is befriended by different characters who all have their own agenda to join his party. However, they all have a love for adventure and treasure and that drove the weekly adventures. The major villain was a seasoned pirate who also wants the Thirteen Treasures of Rule to control the Dark Water which causes constant changes on the planet of Mer.
I’ll be honest, a little too much went into the world-building for this show. It has enough world-building that it generated lore off of 21 episodes. It’s weird since this was a 90s toon and most of them followed a monster-of-the-week format. Even a favorite like Batman: The Animated Series featured many villain-of-the-week episodes which were similar to the Batman ’65 show—only better written and with more of a mature tone to it at times.
The Pirates of Dark Water is a show that has been dormant for 30 years. It could easily be picked up by Netflix or Disney+ as a fresh series as very few remember it unless they were a 90s kid, just love cartoons, or watched the show after someone reviewed it decades later. Like many toons from the 90s, it left some impression on me to some degree.
I always think about Pirates and how more could be done with it with a modern studio, writers, and flexibility in both writing and broadcasting.
The Savage Dragon
This was a cartoon on the USA Network Cartoon Express between 1995 and 1996. It’s amazing that it got a cartoon so soon after the comic debut with Image Comics in 1992. This is different from The X-Men, Spider-Man, and The Marvel Action Hour as the Marvel stuff had all been around almost 30 years at this point. However, USA Network was trying something a little different with their lineup while still being hip with cartoons at the time.
The Savage Dragon was more of an XTREME 90s series similar to our next entry. It’s in the same mix with other toons on the network like Mortal Kombat, Street Fighter, and Wild C.A.T.S. Like many Image Comics characters, Savage Dragon and other characters in the show were drawn in an extreme manner with muscles upon muscles, necks the size of tree trunks, over-exaggerated bust-waist-hips, and guns upon guns.
I’d say The Savage Dragon is 100% good for a reboot or remake for Hulu or Netflix. It should have the same content as the comics and ran in a shared world with a new Spawn and Wild C.A.T.S series. Hell, throw in cartoons for Witchblade and The Darkness while we’re at it! The Savage Dragon is a show that should’ve never been villain-of-the-week anyway as the comic had fast-paced but progressive storytelling where previous events impact the present.
Mutant League
Now this is a unique series even for the 90s. Based on the 90s fantasy sports games Mutant League Football and Mutant League Hockey—which got inspiration from Blood Bowl—ML followed the career and adventures of athlete Bones Justice. During one game, he and others in the arena are caught in an earthquake that irradiates everyone inside, turning them into mutants.
Justice is basically forced into playing for the Mutant League, a multi-sport league for mutants and their unique abilities. Competitions are often extremely violent and require a rejuvenator to put the athletes back together. Note that in the games, athletes just die once severely injured.
The one reason Mutant League could do with a remake is similar to The Pirates of Dark Water: there was definitely a storyline and something for the main characters to achieve. However, both shows obviously ended with two seasons and no closure. These were series written with the intent of going more than two seasons obviously.
I believe ML could have a home on Netflix or Hulu—streaming services that are flexible with content. Mutant League was a pretty violent cartoon that was made less violent by these mutants getting dismembered and brutalized and not humans. Still, a mature approach to the series could go over we’ll and might even be a hit for those who still remember this cartoon or games like NFL Blitz.
What are some cartoons from the past you’d like to see receive the remake treatment? Drop ‘em in the comments!
Staff Writer; M. Swift
This talented writer is also a podcast host, and comic book fan who loves all things old school. One may also find him on Twitter at; metalswift.