Yearly Archives: 2023

Five Forgotten IP’s Deserving of a Reboot

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With the huge success of “Barbie,” Mattel just revealed that they’re planning on turning a lot of their classic toys in to big movie projects. On the other end, Hasbro is taking another crack at their own extended universe, intending on developing more Transformers movies, as well as rebooting “G.I. Joe,” and bringing “M.A.S.K.,” “Micronauts,” and “Rom” to the big screen. What with these companies developing big projects, I thought of five great forgotten IP’s that deserve a reboot, or big screen franchise. 

What are some forgotten IP’s would you like to see on the big screen?

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Tokyo Pop (1988)

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Opens with a New 35th Anniversary 4K Restoration by Indie Collect in New York at BAM Rose Cinemas on August 4th and in Los Angeles at the American Cinematheque on August 11th, followed by national expansion.

Watching Fran Rubel Kuzui’s gave me a mysterious sense of déjà vu as her movie “Tokyo Pop” is very much about a misplaced American experiencing culture shock and alienation in an Asian country. Then I realize that Sofia Coppola pretty much conveyed almost the exact same narrative in her acclaimed “Lost in Translation.” Fran Rubel Kuzui’s “Tokyo Pop” from 1988 was an obvious influence that apparently never really was discussed very much. So much of “Tokyo Pop” is similar in tone, aesthetic and the idea of using media as a means of helping people to connect. With “Tokyo Pop” characters Wendy and Hiro use music as a means of connecting in a world where they’re separated by language and culture.

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Ranking the TMNT movies from Best to Worst

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Despite being mainly associated with the 1980’s, Eastman and Laird’s “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” is the franchise that has yet to suffer a death of obscurity. It is instead rebooted and revamped every decade for a new generation and they still hold some massive appeal. This week the Turtles make their cinematic comeback with “Mutant Mayhem,” an animated reboot from produces Evan Goldberg and Seth Rogen. In celebration I thought it’d be fun to rank all of the cinematic outings of the Heroes in a half shell from Best to Worst.

What are your rankings?

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Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem (2023)

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What we’re seeing with “Mutant Mayhem” is what happens after every movie makes a bang at the box office. The “The Spider-Verse” movies were so beloved and influential that we can expect studios to ape its animation and storytelling style for at least a few years. The first of what will probably be many to come is “Mutant Mayhem.” Jeff Rowe’s animated movie is a new re-imagining of Eastman and Laird’s “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” franchise, but aimed a lot more toward Generation Z. That’s both a quality that improves what producers Seth Rogen and Evan Goldbergh aim to be the beginning of a new wave of popularity for the Turtles, and a hindrance. 

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