Christopher Cupo Portfolio

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Design Statement

Christopher Cupo is a graphic designer interested in coming up with ideas for logo design, character design, video editing, and animation in particular. Ever since he was three, creativity and drawing has always coursed through his veins for his passion in art. In an era where we strive for creativity, Cupo will go above and beyond with his designs. His art has many shapes and sizes to experiment his style and expresses it in any way he can. Throughout his journey, he has studied graphic design in Berkeley College for four years and has studied in many adobe products including Photoshop, Illustrator, In-design, After Effects, and Dimensions. During those four years, he has studied new techniques on proportions, what colors to properly pick when designing, and how to capture a viewer’s eye with a good design. Through extensive research and observation, he has formulated the important aspects of design required for a successful product. He hopes to use his findings to create something that everyone can personally enjoy.

Thesis Paper

Berkeley College

Reboots in Animation are Failing and losing their audience

Christopher Cupo

Professor Sottos

Capstone Project GRD4460

October 4, 2020

Over the past few decades, animated shows have made a major impact on Western Television. “In serial fiction, the term "reboot" signifies a new start to an established fictional universe, work, or series.” (Wikipedia, 1) However, in recent years one reoccurring animation trend are rebooting previously aired series. Reboots are and have consistently been a controversial topic. They often make unnecessary changes to details that turn off older fans who watched the original version. Some of these details drastically change the context of the original show to a point that creates a completely new show all together. Changes to animation style, storyline, and characters from the original slapped in with different personalities all contribute to unsuccessful reboots.

A reboot is a new take on a show and adds in new features while still building on what the original show was about. When rebooting animated shows, it’s important to look at what made people love the original. This includes elements such as the characters, the story, the scenery, and what type of show is it. It’s important to keep that in mind when wanting to add new material into a reboot whether it’s changing up the design or adding more depth into the characters. Going so far off track to the point where the reboot looks like an entirely new show contradicts the original goal. “A reboot has to understand the core appeal of the originals and has to acknowledge and study the cultural, social and political climate that the original was created in.” (Right Brain Rants: What Makes A Great Reboot?)

Many reboots add in too much new material leaving out the original material that made a show great. Adding too much new material is problematic because it leaves out the old, important material. Analyzing the show’s original material and interpreting for a new show requires a fine balance. When adding new aspects to the show’s characters can be a difficult thing to do. Completely altering their traits defeats the purpose of refreshing the character. Instead you end up with a completely new character, thus the point of a reboot is lost. Eliminating traits entirely, destroys the connection they have with the original audience and what they know and love about that character. “Updated characters shouldn’t look worse than the originals” (Larry, 4) Shows that that do this are Teen Titans Go!, Powerpuff Girls (2016), and Loonatics Unleashed. They all take away character traits that were an integral part of that character into causing a disconnection with the people who were fans of the original. With the original Teen Titans, it focuses on a lot of action, drama, and comedy. Teen Titans go took the original and turned it into a comedy with little action involved. This meant losing moments that were important such as character’s struggling with their identities. The same thing happened with Loonatics unleashed, but it was the opposite. It took Looney Tunes, one of the most iconic slap stick comedies, and turned it into a serious action show. “For those that were fans of the comedic loving characters of Looney Tunes, the difference is jarring at best and just plain terrible at worst.” (Heather Moon, 4) This took away the humor from all the classic characters, trying to make them act cool and serious.

The original audience is important because they are an established base who watch the older shows and enjoy them. If you reboot a popular a show, there is already an established consumer base for the new version. It can potentially jumpstart an economic success for the show. However, rebooting a popular show after a long cancellation can turn into a mixed bag of emotion. Things can get controversial when a reboot divides the audience into newer viewers tuning in to watch and older viewers who are left out of the picture. While the fresh version may become popular with a new audience, if it does not consider the taste of the old, the lose their viewership. To maintain the larger audience, a reboot must be vigilant to maintain the core qualities of what is loved about the original iterations of the characters and story. If you have a show that focuses on action and viewers enjoy it don’t change it into a comedy completely. If you have characters that are comedically funny don’t make them serious. Though it may not affect the newer viewers, older viewers lose connections quickly because of changes like these. “When you compare the old cartoons with the newer cartoons, aside from the art style, as that is something that will change with time, it’s lacking in terms of quality.” (Emperor Pyros, 2) When rebooting a show, the goal is to grow the audience. A show should want to maintain an audience of older viewers coming back to a show they love, and simultaneously appeal to a newer generation of viewers. New material can be incorporated, but not so much that it separates your audience. The Ben 10 reboot is a perfect example because it’s a new take of the original series, but its target audience is primary kids. It’s a show that focuses on a kid named ben who holds the power of a watch called the Omnytrix. With it, he has the power to change into 10 different aliens. Both shows do follow the same structure, but the difference is the tone. Again, just like with teen titans go, the Ben 10 reboot focuses on comedy more.

When adding new elements to a show, keeping in touch with your audience is important. New material can consist of adding new characters such as allies or enemies, new locations within their established area, new plotlines in the story, and even the visual style that gives characters and scenery a fresh new look. When changing elements such as the characters, it is best to use what’s already there and refresh aspects without going overboard. If there are certain elements that didn’t work with characters from the old show, this is an opportunity for reboot designers to incorporate changes. “A reboot should be able to stand on its own without the viewer knowing or ever viewing the original”. (Rebeltaxi: Why POWERPUFF GIRL’S 2016 Reboot Failed (@RebelTaxi) Worst #4)

For example, the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles had a successful 2012 reboot other shows should reference. The comedy/action show is about four humanoid ninja turtle brothers that stop evil doers in New York City from taking over the world. Our characters included Leonardo, who was the leader of the group. Raphael, who was the rude turtle. Donatello, who was the genius group making most of the stuff for the turtles. Finally, Michelangelo, who was the party dude and the reckless one of the group. “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was not about logic; it was about what was rad, and absurdity presented as pragmatic reality was absolutely rad. The fact that parents were confounded made the show totally bossa nova, maybe even tubular.” (Brad Gullickson, 2)

In the 2012 reboot, designers referenced what was successful about the show and improved it. Instead of the show being in 2D, it was updated to 3D animation which gave a fresh take on the original design. The characters personalities and distinguishing features are the same, but have been greatly improved visually. The problem with the original visual was that all the characters looked too similar and did not incorporate enough variety. Another change in the new version were episodes focused on each individual character overcoming obstacles and developing personally as each episode progresses. For example, Raphael who is identified by his rude nature, has trouble controlling his anger when met with a person calling him names. He learns to not let his anger cloud his judgement while in dire situations and calms himself. This type of character arch was not present in the original version. The 2012 version had a change in tone shift that completely improved the original in every aspect.

One mechanism that is popular in reboots is a tone of shift. This can prove problematic if the tone is too drastic when compared to the original. For instance, Teen Titans Go! was rebranded into a full-on comedy show, which starkly contrasts with the original tone of Teen Titans. The original had a much darker tone that focused on the action of the storyline with comedic and dramatic references to lighten the mood and keep the show engaging. Looney Toons, one of the first popularized animated series, originated beloved slapstick comedy with memorable characters. Oddly, the reboot Loonatics Unleashed was adapted into a full on-action show that shifted characters and environments from goofy and lovable to dark and serious. “The problem is that the show takes the characters of Looney Tunes, a show focused on comedy and tries to put them in a show that’s focused more on action and drama.” (Heather Moon, 4)

Reboots have lost their way for the past few years. The bad outweigh the good when it comes to rebooting a show. They lose a lot of people if the end product doesn’t meet up to expectations. They can be done well with enough effort. The problem is that they don’t most of the time and for the ones that don’t they lose touch with the audience that grew up with the original. “The TV shows we grew up with will always have a place in our hearts. At least that’s what TV executives are banking on.” (Annika Fredrikson, 1)

That’s not to say they’ll never be good reboots out there. Reboots like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2012 are good. The problem is that it gets overshadowed by a lot of bad. The bad tends to hit more harder than the good because our expectations go so high only to be let down by what reboots show. They don’t capture the original feeling that older fans have, and that’s where the problem lies. They close the door for one group to let another one in, and that’s where the problem lies.

Work Cited

CBR: 15 Animated Reboots That Ruined Your Favorite Childhood Cartoons (February 11th, 2018)

https://www.cbr.com/bad-animated-reboots/

CBR: Animation Recreation: 10 Cartoon Remakes That Are Much Better Than the Original (And 10 That Are Worse) (September 8th, 2018)

https://www.cbr.com/good-bad-cartoon-remakes/

Cracked: 12 Rules Anyone Considering Making A Reboot Should Follow (February 26, 2017)

https://www.cracked.com/photoplasty_2390_12-rules-that-would-make-movie-reboots-watchable/

Film School Rejects: ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’ Thrive on Cartoon Reboots (August 8th, 2020)

https://filmschoolrejects.com/teenage-mutant-ninja-turtles-thrive-on-cartoon-reboots/

Nerdbot: 5 Cartoon Reboots (That Came Back as Garbage) (Date unknown)

https://nerdbot.com/2018/07/08/5-cartoon-reboots-that-came-back-as-garbage/

Omni Geek Empire: Old Cartoons vs New Cartoons/Reboots – A Discussion I Didn’t Think I Would Make In 2018! (May 22nd, 2018)