Top 20 Most Unnecessary TV Character Redesigns
Who asked for these?! Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the most pointless redesigns for TV show characters.
Transcript
00:00 "This should clear up your account."
00:02 [Suspenseful music]
00:04 [Screaming]
00:06 Welcome to WatchMojo,
00:08 and today we're counting down our picks for the most pointless redesigns for TV show characters.
00:13 "That's such a bummer, bro!"
00:16 "Why? Why?"
00:19 Number 20, Knuckles the Echidna, Sonic Boom.
00:25 Sometimes not everything good comes in bulk.
00:28 Many of the designs from the Sonic Boom show were considered a bit of a departure
00:32 from prior Sonic shows and media, and Knuckles is no exception.
00:37 "He's a waif. The orphan of our times. A lost child oblivious to the never-ending sea of despair."
00:44 While it's not as if the Sonic Boom version of Knuckles is unrecognizable,
00:49 the differences were noticeable enough to fans.
00:51 Many didn't like how much more bulkier Knuckles had gotten, especially around his head area.
00:57 "You've forgotten what an arm is. This is an arm."
01:01 "Wow, you are the whole package."
01:04 "And here's the gift wrapping."
01:06 The design also gave him lanky legs that, when paired with his massive frame,
01:12 gave off a weirdly disproportionate vibe.
01:15 It was like they gave him a boatload of roids and told him to skip leg day.
01:19 Number 19, Angelica and Suzy, Rugrats Preschool Days.
01:25 There's a reason this show is practically unheard of.
01:28 Preschool Days was a short-lived sequel series to Rugrats,
01:32 which followed Angelica and Suzy.
01:34 "What's the big deal about having a key? I got one too!"
01:38 "You do not, Angelica."
01:40 "You do too! How come I never saw it?"
01:42 "It was, um, still in the key factory."
01:44 While the original Rugrats had an unconventional art style itself,
01:48 it was still unique enough that it worked for the popular show.
01:52 But this new art style, however, was just noticeable enough of a detour
01:56 to make most fans tune out.
01:58 Angelica and Suzy's designs were cleaned up a bit,
02:01 but the more polished look just didn't really mesh well,
02:04 and made it feel far too removed from that distinct Rugrats feel.
02:08 "Angelica, what are you doing?"
02:12 Not to mention that their new set of eyes, in particular,
02:15 could come across as unsettling at times.
02:18 It's no surprise that the show only lasted four episodes.
02:22 #18 Jack Spicer - Shaolin Chronicles
02:26 Jack Spicer went from a stylish villain in Shaolin Showdown,
02:30 to lacking most of that signature flair in Shaolin Chronicles.
02:34 When it comes to Spicer's redesign, it's a pretty noticeable change.
02:39 "As your CEO, Chief Evil Officer, I have something that will help boost team morale."
02:45 "Yes, I can!"
02:47 "Yes, I can!"
02:49 He grew taller, and his face became much more pointy and angular than before.
02:54 His signature red eyes were also swapped out for black ones.
02:58 While it isn't terrible, it definitely feels like they were
03:01 messing with a design that was totally fine in the first place.
03:04 "What do you say I challenge you to a Shaolin Showdown first,
03:08 then we go grab some ice cream afterwards."
03:10 And as Jack's design changed, his status as a prominent villain changed, too.
03:15 Once he started appearing in Chronicles, he more or less became a side character.
03:19 #17 The Entire Cast - Sailor Moon
03:24 This American version of the beloved Sailor Moon anime series never actually saw the light of day,
03:30 but that's probably for the best.
03:32 "Sailor Moon was surrounded by her closest friends, the Princess Warrens,
03:37 Sailor Mars, Sailor Mercury, Sailor Venus, and Sailor Jupiter."
03:42 When this take on the franchise began in the early 90s,
03:45 an un-aired pilot was created, which featured a radically different animation style.
03:50 The designs which were made essentially got rid of all the uniqueness that the
03:54 original Sailor Moon had. You don't even need to be a fan to know that this is a pale imitation.
03:59 Just look at these characters and compare them to the classic,
04:02 and the differences are night and day.
04:04 "So this is what I missed the dance for? You guys are in for it.
04:08 And if I break a nail, you're really in for it."
04:11 The new animation style wasn't the only thing they westernized.
04:15 They also completely changed the names too.
04:17 Sometimes it's better to just leave some properties untouched.
04:21 #16 The Trains - Thomas & Friends - All Engines Go
04:27 Not everything has looked great in a CGI style, but Thomas & Friends was an exception.
04:33 Its original model style wasn't just something that made the show work, it made the show iconic.
04:38 So when everything went 2D in the new All Engines Go series, things just fell flat. Literally.
04:45 "Here comes Thomas!"
04:46 "Oh no, I'm on the wrong tracks!"
04:50 The flatter two-dimensional look made these newer baby-faced versions of the
04:54 sentient trains feel lifeless. The original show felt lively and full of charm, but this new show
05:01 and their oversimplified designs just felt devoid of all of that magic.
05:06 This reboot ultimately went off the rails.
05:08 "Oh no!"
05:09 "Epic mud plunge!"
05:15 "Come on, we gotta get you back on the track."
05:17 "Oh, what's the point?"
05:18 #15 Jake Long - American Dragon - Jake Long
05:23 Disney had a real hit on their hands with American Dragon Jake Long.
05:27 After all, the premise of a teenager being able to morph into a gigantic
05:31 freaking dragon is impossible to be bored by.
05:34 "Check this out, G. Dragon up, yo!"
05:36 "Bow! I'm not only ready to fly, I'm ready to soar! Represent!"
05:46 And for the first season, this show captivated viewers with its compelling story and amazing
05:51 art style. Then in season two, the direction just abruptly changed. As the show entered into a much
05:58 more slimmed down art style, it really took some of the oomph out of the show. And this was especially
06:04 obvious with Jake.
06:06 "Jake! Welcome back, buddy!"
06:08 "Whew! I've never been so happy to be bad at score!"
06:12 His dragon form became smaller, thinner, and just less exciting overall. Jake looked like a real
06:18 American Dragon for about the whole first season. Then afterwards, he looked like an American
06:23 Dragon from Wish.
06:25 Number 14. The Entire Cast. Be Cool, Scooby-Doo.
06:30 Scooby-Doo has always been a franchise with recognizable characters. So did Be Cool,
06:34 Scooby-Doo really need to try and reinvent the wheel? The designs for Mystery, Inc. stand out
06:40 right away for being kind of distracting.
06:42 "That's how we can help. We solve mysteries."
06:44 "And there's a rational explanation behind every mystery."
06:47 "Huh. That's very interesting, Ms. Stinkley."
06:50 Sure, the gang pretty much rock the same iconic clothes as always, but the way they're drawn is
06:55 certainly something else. The fairly realistic human designs were swapped for a cartoon aesthetic
07:00 reminiscent of shows like Family Guy. And at times, it almost feels like you're watching a
07:05 parody of Scooby-Doo rather than the real deal.
07:08 This might not be a deal-breaker for everyone, especially to hardcore fans,
07:19 but it may take some getting used to.
07:22 Number 13. The High Evolutionary. Spider-Man Unlimited.
07:27 Unlimited had many really interesting designs. But when it came to the High Evolutionary,
07:32 his look didn't quite land. The villain's inclusion made sense given his role as a
07:37 geneticist who experiments with animals and the fact that Counter-Earth was filled with
07:41 animal humanoids.
07:43 "It has taken decades, countless experiments, countless failures. But at last,
07:49 my perfect society nears completion. Look upon my works, Spider-Man."
07:56 Unfortunately, he looks essentially nothing like how his version from the comic books does.
08:01 Instead of his slim and dynamic armor he usually sports, he has a tacky suit that looks like he
08:07 watched too much Game of Thrones. This wouldn't be the last Spider-Man series to have a weird
08:12 villain redesign either. Remember when the spectacular Spider-Man turned Kraven into a
08:17 lion-humanoid? "Call me Kraven. Kraven, the hunter."
08:23 Ultimately, in regards to the High Evolutionary's makeover, we're not too high on it.
08:28 Number 12. The Entire Cast. Aquaman, King of Atlantis.
08:34 This three-part miniseries that followed Aquaman as the newly appointed King of Atlantis
08:39 sounded admittedly pretty fun. "First day on the job as King of Atlantis, King Aquaman!"
08:46 "Thank you. The outsider from the surface world."
08:49 "Uh, yeah. Uh, thank you one and all. I am really looking forward to being your king."
08:55 However, the art is one huge barrier to entry. If the phrase "it's an acquired taste" were a show,
09:01 it would be Aquaman, King of Atlantis. These designs had a very hyper-exaggerated style
09:07 that fans didn't necessarily think complemented the show. While the whole crew of characters
09:11 look quirky, Aquaman himself is arguably the biggest offense. "You don't think about that
09:17 until you live there. Then it's all you think about." It'd be mean to say he looks feral,
09:23 but he kind of does. His scraggly beard, green seaweed hair, and crazed eyes definitely don't
09:29 help his case. Maybe it's best for DC to stay away from this look.
09:33 Number 11. Ash Ketchum. Pokemon the Series, Sun and Moon.
09:39 To say fans didn't like the redesign of Ash Ketchum in Sun and Moon would be putting it lightly.
09:45 It's been one of the biggest criticisms hurled against the series, and we can see why.
09:50 "Yeah, professor, you're right. I'm sorry."
09:52 The decision to change Ash's design by giving him more childlike and babyface features
09:57 set him drastically apart from how he looked in other Pokemon media.
10:02 Unfortunately, this wasn't a very good change, and certainly not a popular one either.
10:07 "What's wrong?"
10:07 "It doesn't sound good."
10:13 For the fans, this was a jarring departure from the normal style.
10:17 It also wasn't something they wanted to have to adjust to.
10:20 This was a design that probably would have been best kept locked inside of a Pokeball.
10:24 Number 10. Looney Tunes. Lunatics Unleashed.
10:29 Not every Saturday morning cartoon needs an edgy, gritty reboot, Warner Brothers.
10:33 [Looney Tunes theme]
10:39 The Looney Tunes as superheroes sounds, eh, okay on paper, but it's hardly a new concept.
10:46 In the old cartoons, Bugs had become Super Rabbit and Daffy Duck had his Duck Dodgers alter ego,
10:52 with Porky as the eager young space cadet.
10:55 "What's up, Doc?"
10:57 This was just a sad attempt at being an equivalent to Power Rangers.
11:01 Considering the number of gadgets introduced every episode,
11:04 it feels like pandering to kids just to earn a toy line.
11:07 Kudos to them for the more creative and lighthearted second season,
11:11 but the show still sucks. Though not half as much as those character designs.
11:16 "You go, buddy. Kick some Martian butt."
11:18 Number 9. Bob the Builder. Bob the Builder.
11:22 Children's cartoons of this caliber don't typically go through significant changes,
11:27 because when you mess with something like Bob the Builder, you're making a big mistake.
11:31 Bob's design had the charm and personality that would make any kid immediately recognize his face.
11:36 "Can we build it?"
11:37 "Yes, we can!"
11:39 The new Bob is so bland looking, you could mistake him for a background character if
11:44 it weren't for the bee on his helmet. He doesn't even look as kid-friendly as the first Bob.
11:48 "Can we fix it?"
11:50 "Bob the Builder."
11:52 "Yes, we can!"
11:53 And as you'd expect, fans and critics did not take this lightly,
11:57 and condemned the show for its drastic changes.
12:00 Can we fix it? Hmm, maybe not.
12:03 "What could possibly go wrong?"
12:05 Number 8. The Entire Cast. Captain N, the Game Master.
12:12 Ever watch a cartoon and find yourself saying, "That's not what they look like."
12:16 Trust us, we were repeating those words throughout Captain N.
12:19 "Let me tell you why!"
12:21 Where to begin? Well, Mother Brain is not a goofy alien with mascara and lipstick.
12:27 King Hippo is not blue. Simon Belmont is not a blonde, brawny douchebag.
12:32 And last we checked, the Blue Bomber was, you know, blue.
12:35 "I've still got to rescue the princess."
12:38 "Speaking of her hindicus, look!"
12:40 Things got worse when the show experienced licensing issues and suffered a deep budget
12:45 cut in season 3, causing the characters to look even more basic and dull.
12:50 Oh, the complications of video game-based cartoons.
12:53 "We've gotta do this as a team, remember?"
12:56 "A team, of course."
12:58 Number 7. Tom 4.0. Toonami.
13:02 Hey, it may not be a show like the others on here, but Toonami is a special case.
13:07 Because it's awesome.
13:08 "You guys ready to make the magic happen?"
13:10 What's not awesome, though, was the awkward phase Tom went through before the block went dark.
13:15 Not only did the block go through a change by broadcasting more kid-friendly shows,
13:20 but Tom changed from a badass robot to looking more like a rejected Dreamworks character.
13:25 "We are go in 5, 4, 3, 2..."
13:30 Was this the sole cause for Toonami's low ratings?
13:34 Maybe, maybe not.
13:35 But the dull changes were the last we would see of Toonami until its reboot in 2012.
13:41 It's so nice to have the old Tom back, and he looks cooler than ever.
13:45 "Until we meet again, stay gold."
13:48 Number 6. The entire cast. Teen Titans Go!
13:53 There isn't enough time to talk about everything wrong with this show,
13:56 from the random dancing, the bland writing, and loud noises.
14:00 "We have to get the candy keys from Gumdrop Goblin!"
14:03 But the obvious crime here is in the characters' basic appearances and lack of detail.
14:08 Don't even get us started on the lack of any character development or compelling stories.
14:13 When the original Teen Titans was on, you could expect relatable stories,
14:17 intense action, drama, and comedy.
14:20 Each Titan had problems, and you wanted to see them overcome them.
14:24 There was something real, something personal.
14:26 These Titans are absent of all of that in exchange for memes, trends, and utter stupidity.
14:32 "When I say yummy, you say pie. Yummy, pie! Yummy, pie!"
14:36 Number 5. The entire cast. Ben 10 Omniverse
14:40 "I told you, we've spent years saving the world.
14:44 I just want to see some of what I've been saving."
14:46 The Ben 10 series that came before this one managed to keep a good balance between simplicity
14:51 and detailed characters.
14:52 Omniverse dumbs down more of the animation and makes them look like they came out of a Scooby-Doo special.
14:58 "I'm trying to get the hang of my powers, Grandpa. I don't have time for fly fishing."
15:02 Like, what the hell is going on with Gwen?
15:04 Why does Ben have mini muscles?
15:06 And is that really Kevin Levin or one of the members of Gorillaz?
15:09 The first Ben 10 was fine the way it was,
15:12 and the constant redesigns only give us the groans and little else.
15:16 Number 4. The Maximals. Beast Machines. Transformers.
15:25 What sort of Cybertron hell have we stepped into?
15:27 "Maximals! Maximize!"
15:34 We know what the Maximals look like, and those? Those are not Maximals.
15:38 "Oh, look out, world! The Rat Trap is coming back in style!"
15:43 Rat Trap is not a wagon.
15:45 It wasn't enough to make this entire show look like a robot nightmare.
15:49 All of the Maximals look like a new Five Nights at Freddy's game.
15:53 Why not just go with the classic designs?
16:01 They're so awesome on their own, and these just have this creepy, uncanny look to them.
16:06 Any other Transformers series has better designs than this,
16:09 and that's including the Michael Bay film franchise.
16:12 Number 3. Porky Pig. New Looney Tunes.
16:18 As we learned from Lunatics Unleashed,
16:20 the Looney Tunes never, or rarely, need a redesign.
16:24 "Be a dear and, uh, please pass me the ketchup."
16:27 We'll give the show some credit in not completely changing Bugs' appearance,
16:32 but when we got sight of Porky, things took a turn for the worse.
16:35 "This place isn't safe for you, baby, baby, baby, baby, little one."
16:38 Just because he's a pig doesn't mean you have to make him morbidly obese.
16:42 And since when did he start wearing a necktie?
16:45 The old Porky was bubbly and charming in his blue coat and red bow tie.
16:49 If anything, it made him one of the cutest Looney Tunes.
16:52 Why this dumbed-down, simplistic change was so important, we may never know.
16:57 "My mind's already damaged."
16:59 Number 2. The Joker. The New Batman Adventures.
17:04 Look, we're not saying this is the worst Joker of all the Batman shows,
17:08 although Bats himself doesn't come out much better.
17:11 "Two hundred and fifty million dollars! Woo-hoo!"
17:17 What makes fans feel so much contempt against these designs
17:21 is because of the ones that came before them.
17:23 In Batman, the animated series,
17:25 the Joker was much more detailed with his blood-red smile and vibrant colors.
17:30 The Joker in The New Adventures just felt cheap,
17:33 with his outfit primarily being a solid purple and a small touch of green.
17:38 "You owe us a tiny bit of inheritance tax."
17:40 Where's the creepy smile?
17:41 This Joker just debuted in the wrong place at the wrong time.
17:45 Before we continue, be sure to subscribe to our channel and ring the bell to get notified
17:50 about our latest videos. You have the option to be notified for occasional videos or all of them.
17:56 If you're on your phone, make sure you go into your settings and switch on notifications.
18:01 Number 1. He-Man - The New Adventures of He-Man
18:05 Where's the power of greyskull in this guy?
18:08 He-Man is recognizable for the barbarian armor,
18:11 luscious blonde hair, and his kick-ass power sword.
18:13 Oh, and we can't forget those sweet, massive muscles.
18:23 So what do we get with The New Adventures of He-Man?
18:26 He's trimmed down, wears pants, has a ponytail,
18:29 and turned into a pathetic living action figure.
18:32 Either that or G.I. Joe forgot which cartoon to be in.
18:43 And even the power sword looks stupid.
18:51 Well, hopefully his adversaries are still just as menacing.
18:55 Wait, why does Skeletor have eyeballs? How does that work?
18:58 Now what can I do to make up for this misunderstanding?
19:01 Is there a not-so-great redesign that we missed? Let us know in the comments.
19:05 Did you enjoy this video? Check out these other clips from WatchMojo,
19:12 and be sure to subscribe and ring the bell to be notified about our latest videos.
19:18 [music]