Revive or revise?
Two fans face-off on whether revivals of iconic films and series with the same cast work
Iam a cheesy person. And Enchanted gave teenage me the typical ‘princess found her happily ever after with her prince’ ending. My mom and I have watched the fantasyreality crossover multiple times on TV now.
I’m glad they are going with the original cast for the reboot as once you see an actor play an iconic character, you don’t want to see someone else play them.
People want to see their favourite characters and the actor share a journey. You don’t mind seeing them age. I prefer that as I would want the decade gone by to be acknowledged, like they did in the Before trilogy, with a movie coming out every 11 years. You can’t disassociate a character from the actor once its has registered in your head. Which is also why I can’t imagine another Grindelwald after Johnny Depp.
The Gilmore Girls reboot wouldn’t have worked with any other actors playing the roles, because you associate what you watch with an aspect of your life. The only one that got it more or less right was the movie Cruella, a reboot (of sorts) of 101
Dalmations.
Aanandita Chawla, 31, is a content marketing manager who dreams about food and princess gowns.
I“You don’t want to see someone else play an iconic character” By Aanandita Chawla “For a genuine trip down memory lane, do a reunion instead ” By Karishma Kuenzang
“PEOPLE WANT TO SEE THEIR FAVOURITE CHARACTERS AND THE ACTOR SHARE A JOURNEY. YOU DON’T MIND SEEING THEM AGE.” — ANANDITA CHAWLA
“IT WAS GREAT TO SEE OUR FAVOURITE CHARACTERS AGAIN, BUT THERE WERE ABRUPT, UNEXPLAINABLE CHANGES.” — KARISHMA KUENZANG
remember my excitement when the makers of Gilmore Girls (2000-2017) announced that they were coming back with almost the entire original cast in Gilmore Girls: A Year in The Life Of (2016). But, when I watched it, I was in for disappointment. It was great to see our favourite characters again, but there seemed to be a lack of flow and abrupt, unexplainable changes.
You can’t ignore the disaster the Sex and The City revival is, whether it comes to fashion, friendships, the plot, or the excuses they’ve made to explain the doing-away of Samantha. The attempt to hide how the characters have aged also left a bitter taste.
Hence my fear about the revival of Enchanted, a sweet and pure fairytale, the kind that’s not really made anymore. So, maybe let’s just leave the movie be and not poke holes in the ‘happily ever after’?
For a legit trip down memory lane, do a reunion, instead. Like the cast and crew of Friends and the Harry Potter franchise did—it had drama, nostalgia, BTS information, and your favourite characters crying with you. Or, give it a different spin like the revived I Know What You Did Last Summer series. Or, just rewatch your favourite episodes, like I do.