Why Everything Old Is New Again in the World of Movies and TV

Media is a key driver of nostalgia. Movies and TV shows can make us feel sentimental, and remakes offer an opportunity for younger generations to experience the appeal of a bygone era (maybe even one before social media!). Many of today's parents grew up in the '80s and '90s, and they have emotional connections to older works getting new life. Reboots give parents the chance to share childhood favorites with their kids in fresh, appealing new packages.

The signs of this trend have been clear over the past several years, as far back as the remakes of movie classics like Annie in 2014 and Ghostbusters in 2016. Stranger Things and It both tapped into 1980s horror nostalgia. The Baby-Sitters Club reboot on Netflix in 2020 generated great interest from nostalgic fans, and the long-awaited Hocus Pocus 2 finally came out after almost 30 years of fervent love for the original. Then last year, Top Gun: Maverick drew fans of the 1980s landmark film to theaters in droves, and even garnered an Oscar nomination.

Studios typically have an aversion to risk, so it's likely that's another factor driving this resurgence. With streaming options continuing to gain steam, and with so much buzzworthy content in the palms of viewers' hands, there's stiff competition for an audience's time and money. If an older film or show was popular enough, it probably has a sizable built-in fan base eager to check out a reboot or remake. Historically, a movie's theatrical release also means a big boost to a studio's bottom line, thanks to secondary platforms such as DVD. With fewer and fewer people buying physical media, ticket sales are now the main vehicle for profits. Reboots have a low-risk success model with their ready-made audiences.

What's good about this trend?

Common Sense Media's research has shown that media representation influences how kids build their understanding of both their own ethnic-racial group and that of others. Our studies have also revealed that when children see positive portrayals of their own culture or race, it makes kids everywhere feel included and celebrated. Small nuances can make a big difference to kids.

Reboots let parents share some of their favorite characters and stories with kids, without having to deal with the more outdated aspects of the media they grew up loving. It's the best of both worlds—story elements remain the same but get updated to reflect modern standards of inclusion and representation. For example, Disney's recent live-action reboots have addressed issues like authentic voice casting, stereotypes, problematic representation, and more.

A great example is this year's update of The Little Mermaid, which is much more diverse and inclusive than the original. It reimagined who can be a Disney princess by casting Black actor Halle Bailey to play Ariel, and giving the character much more independence and agency than in the 1989 animated version.

Disney also scored by remaking the 1990s TV show Doogie Howser as Doogie Kamealoha, M.D., with a mixed-race female teenager as the lead. The update of the 1970s classic One Day at a Time earned critical praise for featuring a Latino family and exploring race-related issues and questions of identity.

More of Disney's animated classics are getting Indigenous language dubs on Disney+ too. Film dubs are essential tools for people who have difficulty reading subtitles (a group that includes plenty of children) to enjoy the show. This effort increases accessibility and is another positive sign of progress in family movies and television.

What do we hope to see in the future?

Reboots are lots of fun (and safe bets), but ultimately we'd love to see a more diverse range of original stories based on authentic lived experiences—stories that imagine the future, not just revisit the past. Let's tell the stories that we haven't seen yet, rather than new versions of the ones we have. There are many, many out there ready to be told.