Richard's Animorphs Forum
Animorphs Section => Animorphs Forum Classic => Topic started by: TobiasMasonPark on June 20, 2013, 07:26:19 PM
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Let's talk about a hypothetical reboot of Animorphs: same concept, same premise, same/similar adventures, but not a relaunch. I'm talking about a modern Animorphs series, similar to the Ultimate universe of Marvel comics. I mentioned this in RAF projects but put it here as well to get some ideas from fans. What would you guys change about the Animorphs to make it so that the series maintains its uniqueness and like ability, but not trapped in the nineties.
Of course, it can be argued that doing so would take away from the Animorphs as a series. Maybe that's true. But I think that the relaunch failed because it brought a series so entrenched in 90s culture that the kids of today just had no interest in it.
So, what would you change or update in terms of characters and their personalities, events and missions, etc.
We're not talking about fixing KASUs. We're not talking about giving Ax and Tobias more books (because they will naturally get the same amount of books as the others). And we're not talking about substituting a reference to sega with one to Xbox. We're talking an actual reboot.
Edit: I'm adding some more stuff that I didn't have time to type on the drive home.
Here are some things we should consider for discussion:
Would we keep the books as a "children's 9-12" series, or make it a Young adult (13-17) or Adult series?
I'm thinking fans would choose the first two. I personally don't think Animorphs is quite an Adult series, per se. I think a Young Adult series is appropriate given the content. I mean, Darren Shan's Cirque Du Freak and Demonata series are targeted to Young Adult audiences, and it lacks the more adult themes (not to mention complexity) that a "children's series" like Animorphs has.
This change may seem unneccesary to some fans, but it still bugs me that people look at Animorphs and laugh, thinking that it's a silly kid's book. I don't know. Maybe I should just get over it already...
So, let's think about what effects this change would have on the books. The characters themselves are already pretty mature for their age. Do we add minor sexual themes, and such? This brings us to the next point for consideration:
What age do we put the Animorphs at in the Invasion?
By the final book, we learn that the Animorphs had been fighting the Yeerks for three years--putting them at age sixteen by the end of the war. In some posts I've seen around the forums--particularly in my discussion about a new live action TV series-- some fans were in favor of an "age up" to sixteen in the invasion.
So should we keep the Animorphs at age 13 in the books? Or do we make them sixteen? 13 would emphasize the whole "forced to grow up" theme present in the Animorphs series, but do you think this could still work if they were 16? Is an age up necessary at all?
What effects would present day technology, politics, and popular culture have on the Animorphs reboot?
I mentioned the chase scene between Ax and Visser Three in Animorphs 18: the Decision in my other thread; specifically how it would be VERY difficult for that little expose to have gone unnoticed in a world of camera phones. Then there's the World Leader summit in the David trilogy, and how the Yeerks specifically chose America because it was a super power politically and economically-- which brings up politics.
How do we tweak a very good sci-fi/adventure series in a way that it keeps its charm and complexity, but in a modern setting where almost everyone has access to a camera and internet connection, and America isn't as economically powerful as it had once been.
What would the covers look like?
This is also something I've brought up in a thread at least once. I asked what people thought of the lenticular covers of the relaunch, and what the covers would look like once they started to get to the alien morphs (Yeerk, Andalite, Hork-Bajir, Taxxon) and the Tobias books (i.e. would his books just cease to have a human cover model, and just have a hawk do all the morphing? Or would they go the same route as the original series?).
In my opinion, the lenticular covers were just ok--if not a bit cheesy. But I have to wonder if the original covers would work for a reboot, too? Especially if we're making the series young adult.
And, finally:
Would fans want a reboot anyway?
Maybe fans feel a reboot would ruin the series that they held so near and dear to their hearts. Maybe a reboot shouldn't happen (although, remember, this is just hypothetical). Maybe other mediums should be explored: manga, comic books, etc. Maybe what makes Animorphs so charming and loved by fans is the nostalgia; that link between fan and their childhood that they can keep with them.
I can see both sides of the argument. I'd just really like to speculate about this kind of thing.
The five topics for consideration are just a part of the discussion here. Feel free to add anything relevant to the discussion.
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honestly, animorphs is dark enough to BE an "ultimates version" of a story already... it would practically be more interesting to imagine a lighter and softer more cornie/kid friendly version...
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^I don't know about that. I mean, if we take the gray morality, complex themes, and "darker stuff" and make it a corny kids series then what would be the point? Why dumb down something and make it insulting to the audience--not to mention the already picky fans of the first run.
I grant you that it would be interesting to think about. But I personally wouldn't want the Animorphs to lose what made the series what it was.
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If it was a TV show aimed at young teens, it would pretty much have to be lighter and softer. Not that it would make the series better, but you just can't put the stuff that happens in the books on TV and market it to the same demographic. Not that it would have to be a TV show.
I'd try to keep Visser Three as scary through the series as he was in the first few books. This would mean using him a lot less, but when he does show up it makes a considerable impact. I would flesh out the other factions a bit. The anis would still be the main characters that the books revolve around, but there would be some focus on other groups. Day in the limelight episodes and such.
Drop the whole "I can't tell you my last name" stuff. We already know so much about the characters, it's laughable that they think it matters that we don't know their last names.
Make David a recurring villain of both sides.
Those would be the most important changes.
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A few story changes I'd like to see:
1) This one will be controversial, but I'd actually like to see a "David" type character as the 6th original Animorph who creates friction in the group early on and ultimately becomes a rogue character who switches loyalties whenever it suites his/her interests. An early mistake by the Animorphs could cost him his family and serve as a catalyst for the increased rift between him/her and the other characters. This will mean that throughout the series the Animorphs are torn between feelings of guilt and feelings of resentment and hatred over being betrayed. It would be especially fascinating if he/she could narrate a few books from time to time as well.
2) More recurring villains besides just the Vissers. Taylor could appear in more books, for instance.
3) No time travel or Sario Rips. Time Travel was never effectively used in this book and the Sario Rip was basically just a gut wrenching "we're just kidding, all that crazy stuff never happened" nonsense.
4) Get rid of all Megamorphs books to make room for more Chronicles books to flesh out the extended universe more. The Chee, Taxxons, the Pemalites, the Crayak and others all get their own books or at least parts of books like Visser 3 got in the Hork Bajir Chronicles.
5) Unique cover art for each book that teases different plot elements.
6) Character deaths. A major recurring character should die sometime midway through the series.
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Give the Visser fewer appearances, and make him a little less of a bumbling evil maniac, and a little more cunning.
More focus on secondary characters (i.e. The Chee, Free Horkies)
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I like the idea of getting rid of time travel/sario rips, though I'm not sure I'd just get rid of megamorphs.
As much as I complain about Rachel dying, I'm not actually against developed characters dying if it happens a few times through the series. It's just when you shake the status quo for cheap, inconsequential tear jerkers.
I don't know about david being an original, but I would be for letiing the kids keep the escafil device, and recruiting new members when they can. This would go hand in hand with animorphs dying from time to time.
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I'm glad the discussion has taken off to a good start :)
I'm intrigued by the idea of having David starting off as an original. I wonder what his reasoning for walking home with Jake would be. I personally don't think I'd make David an ringingly, simply because the David trilogy was a major turning point for the Animorphs and I wouldn't want to get rid of that.
Character deaths...Depends; are we talking about the Animorphs? I wouldn't want any of them dying before the final battle.
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I'm glad the discussion has taken off to a good start :)
I'm intrigued by the idea of having David starting off as an original. I wonder what his reasoning for walking home with Jake would be. I personally don't think I'd make David an ringingly, simply because the David trilogy was a major turning point for the Animorphs and I wouldn't want to get rid of that.
Character deaths...Depends; are we talking about the Animorphs? I wouldn't want any of them dying before the final battle.
I agree about the David Trilogy being a critical turning point in the series, but I still don't think placing a similar plot earlier would detract from it.
The David thing wasn't critical in terms of its specific impacts on the plot. It was critical in that it made the series darker and more intense, and that can be done by other means.
And if you don't want to get rid of the Megamorphs, at least change them in a major way and have them have a larger impact on the story as a whole.
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I'd personally change Megamorphs 1, ad tweak Megamorph three--in terms of places to time travel.
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^I guess I may have totally misinterpreted the spirit of the post.
My understanding of a reboot is that it would be an entirely new series with the same premise, meaning it wouldn't necessarily (and certainly not by default) contain the same books/missions at all.
That last post seems to indicate I misunderstood.
Any real reboot would change more than what you're probably thinking. They wouldn't reboot it with the same stories again. I'm sure some would survive but others would be scrapped or replaced entirely, and would probably not occur in remotely the same order.
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^No we're thinking the same thing. I'm just saying the David trilogy should stay.
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Oh, jeeze, this topic is a can o' worms. I'm due for a reread, so I'm sure I'm going to be forgetting points here.
I'm with Snakie in that a reboot should be basically a total restructuring of the series. One of my biggest issues with the series as it stands is that it's got such a fantastic overarching story, and so many heavy, fantastic themes, but the books end up being so episodic, and so many of them are just filler.
Personally, I'd love to keep the main overall story and most of the major elements; the Yeerk/Andalite war, the Sharing, the invasion, and so on; but I'd want to cut out most of the filler and the themes that don't really fit with the spirit of the series. I think I'd drop, as has been discussed, anything relating to time travel or Sario Rips. I'd drop the Nartec and the Iskoort. I might drop the Ellimist and Crayak altogether, honestly. While the Ellimist is fine in concept, he's used in the series as basically a cheap plot device. If we did keep Crayak and the Ellimist around, I'd want to minimize their impact.
I think I might keep the Helmacrons, and some of the other ridiculous themes. The series has a very strong showing in its sense of humor, and I wouldn't want to lose that in favor of 'just another gritty reboot.'
I think I'd actually go for the YA format as opposed to the children's format. The overall series arc would remain the same, but it's a story that could probably be told in ten or fifteen longer volumes, instead of 54 short ones. I may go through, book-by-book, at some point, and decide which of the events I'd keep, which I'd change, which I'd move and which I'd just throw away. I'm not sure how I'd do the narration... one narrator per book would probably still work out well.
I think I'd keep the kids' ages; if we age them up, it feels like we're saying that we don't think kids that young are capable of accomplishing things like this.
The covers in the original series are definitely one of the strong points. Whenever I talk to someone about Animorphs, even if they never read it, they remember those covers. Something that shows a person turning into an animal would be ideal, though if we're doing fewer volumes, some plot elements would be nice, too. I think I'd steer clear of the lenticular covers. They just feel gimmicky to me.
Give the Visser fewer appearances, and make him a little less of a bumbling evil maniac, and a little more cunning.
This. The Visser became a joke somewhere around book 9 and never looked back.
For that matter, a lot of the issues with the original series, in my mind, stem from the lack of an overall plan going into it. Granted, I can't fault KA for that- she didn't realize how far it would go until it was well on its way, and changes were made as time went on, but if we're rebooting it, we know exactly where it's going from square one. I'd want to see consistency in the story and especially in the characterizations. A lot of the ghostwritten books seemed to just use one-dimensional versions of the Animorphs, which is a shame, because I felt like the characters were really gaining some depth and humanity by the end of the David trilogy.
I would flesh out the other factions a bit. The anis would still be the main characters that the books revolve around, but there would be some focus on other groups. Day in the limelight episodes and such.
Now there's an interesting thought. I like this idea. It would add depth to the world, and provide a way to make the invasion seem bigger than just the Yeerks hiding out in the Animorphs' hometown.
Drop the whole "I can't tell you my last name" stuff. We already know so much about the characters, it's laughable that they think it matters that we don't know their last names.
Agreed. That whole intro just got tiresome. I get that KA wanted new readers to be able to pick up any book in the series and be up to speed, but for us die-hard fans, fifty-seven iterations was a bit much.
1) This one will be controversial, but I'd actually like to see a "David" type character as the 6th original Animorph who creates friction in the group early on and ultimately becomes a rogue character who switches loyalties whenever it suites his/her interests. An early mistake by the Animorphs could cost him his family and serve as a catalyst for the increased rift between him/her and the other characters. This will mean that throughout the series the Animorphs are torn between feelings of guilt and feelings of resentment and hatred over being betrayed. It would be especially fascinating if he/she could narrate a few books from time to time as well.
the David trilogy was a major turning point for the Animorphs and I wouldn't want to get rid of that.
Make David a recurring villain of both sides.
There's no reason David can't fulfill all these requirements. David really is a very tragic character, if you think about it, but we're never really given the time or the perspective to sympathize with him properly. The David trilogy arc can still happen, but think about how much more punch it would have if David's a character we've come to know and love up until that point. And then, afterwards, we could still deal with the turmoil caused by the traitor.
6) Character deaths. A major recurring character should die sometime midway through the series.
Yeah, for a series that occasionally tried to be so mature and serious, the fact that everyone always came back unscathed kind of gave it the feel of a Saturday morning cartoon. There needs to be some reason for us to sense that the Animorphs are actually in danger, and killing off a character occasionally would keep that very real.
Even the original Animorphs should be subject. As much as it might hurt us, it would make the series that much more impactful and meaningful, so long as it was handled well. I'm with Chad- my problem with Rachel's death is not that Rachel died. It's that the plot felt forced and it seemed so cheap.
I don't know about david being an original, but I would be for letiing the kids keep the escafil device, and recruiting new members when they can. This would go hand in hand with animorphs dying from time to time.
I'm torn... on the one hand, new members would let you do more things with character deaths, but on the other, if they can recruit people whenever they want, you run the risk of making things too easy for them. I wouldn't want to lose the whole "this is a few kids in so far over their heads" aspect. Do we really want the ability to create redshirts? Cause if the Animorphs aren't able to recruit more members, every death has that much more impact.
4) ...more Chronicles books to flesh out the extended universe...
Yes.
Would fans want a reboot anyway?
Maybe fans feel a reboot would ruin the series that they held so near and dear to their hearts. Maybe a reboot shouldn't happen (although, remember, this is just hypothetical). Maybe other mediums should be explored: manga, comic books, etc. Maybe what makes Animorphs so charming and loved by fans is the nostalgia; that link between fan and their childhood that they can keep with them.
Any reboot is going to ruffle some feathers among fans, but the originals will always be there. Besides, if anyone's going to discuss a reboot, it might as well be fans ^_^
Welp... that was a brick of text... sorry about that >.<
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I wouldn't say be able to recruit a bunch sp they could die like flies or something, but if you're going to have deaths happen from time to time, you need a way to replace the fallen. You can give them a reason to have a certain limit. It's just that it seemed kind of silly that the box just kind of disappears after it's used (Jake didn't take it back into Elfangor's ship), and have it survive an explosion.
I think it was book 9 when V3 became a joke, and maybe aside from the occassional cleverness, he's never treated with nearly as much gravity as he was in the first two books.
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I wouldn't say be able to recruit a bunch sp they could die like flies or something, but if you're going to have deaths happen from time to time, you need a way to replace the fallen. You can give them a reason to have a certain limit. It's just that it seemed kind of silly that the box just kind of disappears after it's used (Jake didn't take it back into Elfangor's ship), and have it survive an explosion.
Limit would be good, if we could do it without the explanation being too contrived. Heck, if we're changing things that much anyway, why don't we just make it so they don't figure out how to use it until later (make it harder to use than the original), and then destroy it or have David steal it or something. They'd get a brief time where they could recruit people, then it would be gone.
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I always liked the idea that the ellemist was helping them survive. I know some people don't like the idea, and want to limit him, or get rid of him, but it's more of a reason for plot armor than some other shows give.
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I'd drop...the Iskoort. I might drop the Ellimist and Crayak altogether, honestly.
I liked the Iskoort though. The Departure set up the Yeerks as not completely evil with the Yeerk Peace Movement, and the Attack, at least for me, gave the Yeerks hope of changing their ways.
I liked having the Ellimist and Crayak in the series. Yea, I can see why one would think they were a huge deus ex machina, but I liked how it provided the series with a good old fate vs freewill debate. They also put the series into perspective-- the the war was just ONE battle between the Ellimist and Crayak. Once the Yeerk Empire falls, they'll move on to something else.
Also, assuming we're keeping Tobias as a nothlit, how would he regain his morphing powers without the Ellimist? And, if we limit the Ellimist's role in the series, then--at least to me-- using him to give Tobias the morphing power again would be more of a cheesy plot device than in the original run.
I don't know. I personally don't think they were used too often. The Stranger, the Attack, the Drode in the Exposed, the Return, and the Andalite Chronicles. The Ellimist Chronicles, naturally, explained his origins, so that was needed. And, of course, the Ellimist, Crayak and the Drode have their limitations. [/quote]
Now there's an interesting thought. I like this idea. It would add depth to the world, and provide a way to make the invasion seem bigger than just the Yeerks hiding out in the Animorphs' hometown.
Agreed.
6) Character deaths. A major recurring character should die sometime midway through the series.
Yeah, for a series that occasionally tried to be so mature and serious, the fact that everyone always came back unscathed kind of gave it the feel of a Saturday morning cartoon. There needs to be some reason for us to sense that the Animorphs are actually in danger, and killing off a character occasionally would keep that very real.[/quote]
I shall paraphrase Alloran by saying that not all heroes ever really come home. By that I mean that, while the Animorphs came back "unscathed", as you put it, they were mentally shaken. Morphing takes away a lot of the wounds, and the Animorphs were VERY lucky. But that happens with plenty of books, though. Harry Potter, for example, only started killing people off after Prisoner of Azkaban, but you didn't need a whole bunch of people dying to show how high the stakes were.
I don't know. I guess I could accept having one of them die mid-series. But I wouldn't want it to happen too often.
As for expanding their numbers, I'm not sure. It would have to be handled well. If we're keeping David as the new guy, then the experience would make them wary about who they let in. If he's one of the originals, they'd probably add more.
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Here is an idea that I've never really thought about. I thought about making this its own thread but it seems to fit nicely here.
Anyone think the original group dynamics (excluding my David as an original idea for a moment) should be different? In other words, any changes to the group structure (modifying or replacing primary characters) that might make for more interesting character interactions?
In the original series you have:
1) The fearless leader with personal reasons for being in the war.
2) The weak and emotionally unstable but gentle soul who ends up shouldering the biggest burden of all.
3) The moralizer/moral compass of the group.
4) The overzealous Yeerk killer.
5) The skeptical strategist with a personal beef with the enemy.
6) The alien with a legacy to uphold.
Who do you replace or change? If you could add a 7th member what characteristics would they have? How would that make the series more interesting?
To be clear, I really liked the original mix of characters that we have. I just thought this was an interesting line of discussion.
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It's an interesting topic for discussion. Kudos.
I'd keep the Animorphs in their proper roles, but either emphasize or down play some of the stuff mentioned in the earlier books. I can't help but think of Melissa and David as "Potentials", like in Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Maybe have Melissa integrated into the group somehow--I mean, why keep the girl in the dark, probably facing depression from the way Rachel and her parents treat her, when you have a means of having her fight? Maybe instead of Rachel or one of the main Animorphs, Melissa could be the casualty?
This, of course, has drawbacks: an Animorph living with one controller was bad; imagine living with two--one of whom is a very high ranking Yeerk. And surely Melissa's parents would be suspicious of the nature of their daughter's death.
Also: maybe have the group come to the decision that the Yeerks wouldn't want the disabled. This would help with the numbers thing, and keep the Yeerks assured that the group is composed of Andalites. At least...in theory.
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I was actually thinking the series might also benefit from having a kid at the construction site who one or more of the Animorphs had a NEGATIVE relationship with.
One thing the series really lacked (and a partial reason why I proposed the David as an original idea earlier) is genuine friction between the characters early on. You've basically got two pairs of best friends linked together by family and love interest, and an "outsider" who is emotionally unstable but ultimately inoffensive to the rest of the group. The most we ever get in terms of early conflict is some snide remarks from Marco directed at Tobias early in the books.
It would be nice if there was some internal conflict early that needs to be dealt with, and I suppose that doesn't NECESSARILY have to come from a character who ends up betraying them.
Thoughts?
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I liked the Iskoort though. The Departure set up the Yeerks as not completely evil with the Yeerk Peace Movement, and the Attack, at least for me, gave the Yeerks hope of changing their ways.
I agree with you there, but the Iskoort may have been more effective if they were... like, ever mentioned again.
I liked having the Ellimist and Crayak in the series. Yea, I can see why one would think they were a huge deus ex machina, but I liked how it provided the series with a good old fate vs freewill debate. They also put the series into perspective-- the the war was just ONE battle between the Ellimist and Crayak. Once the Yeerk Empire falls, they'll move on to something else.
Also, assuming we're keeping Tobias as a nothlit, how would he regain his morphing powers without the Ellimist? And, if we limit the Ellimist's role in the series, then--at least to me-- using him to give Tobias the morphing power again would be more of a cheesy plot device than in the original run.
I don't know. I personally don't think they were used too often. The Stranger, the Attack, the Drode in the Exposed, the Return, and the Andalite Chronicles. The Ellimist Chronicles, naturally, explained his origins, so that was needed. And, of course, the Ellimist, Crayak and the Drode have their limitations
You raise some good points for keeping the Ellimist in, and the whole Ellimist concept is something that makes Animorphs... Animorphs. I'd just want to cut out some of the... like, cheapness they bring with them on occasion.
As for expanding their numbers, I'm not sure. It would have to be handled well. If we're keeping David as the new guy, then the experience would make them wary about who they let in. If he's one of the originals, they'd probably add more.
That's a good point. Maybe David shouldn't be an original, simply because the fact that he caused them so many issues as a new recruit is a lot of the reason they didn't recruit more people in the original series.
What if the Animorphs recruited him earlier, and then we got the chance to know him, and then he betrays them later on? Sort of split the difference between his being a new recruit and his being an original?
Here is an idea that I've never really thought about. I thought about making this its own thread but it seems to fit nicely here.
Anyone think the original group dynamics (excluding my David as an original idea for a moment) should be different? In other words, any changes to the group structure (modifying or replacing primary characters) that might make for more interesting character interactions?
In the original series you have:
1) The fearless leader with personal reasons for being in the war.
2) The weak and emotionally unstable but gentle soul who ends up shouldering the biggest burden of all.
3) The moralizer/moral compass of the group.
4) The overzealous Yeerk killer.
5) The skeptical strategist with a personal beef with the enemy.
6) The alien with a legacy to uphold.
Who do you replace or change? If you could add a 7th member what characteristics would they have? How would that make the series more interesting?
To be clear, I really liked the original mix of characters that we have. I just thought this was an interesting line of discussion.
I like seeing them listed like this. I don't think I'd change that group, much, if at all. It really is a very strong, respectably broad mix.
I was actually thinking the series might also benefit from having a kid at the construction site who one or more of the Animorphs had a NEGATIVE relationship with.
One thing the series really lacked (and a partial reason why I proposed the David as an original idea earlier) is genuine friction between the characters early on. You've basically got two pairs of best friends linked together by family and love interest, and an "outsider" who is emotionally unstable but ultimately inoffensive to the rest of the group. The most we ever get in terms of early conflict is some snide remarks from Marco directed at Tobias early in the books.
It would be nice if there was some internal conflict early that needs to be dealt with, and I suppose that doesn't NECESSARILY have to come from a character who ends up betraying them.
Thoughts?
I am definitely with you. If we were doing that, we'd want to change the initial group relationships. Rachel and Jake can be cousins, but they don't have to be cousins who get along. I could see Rachel and Marco just, like, hating each other from school. We could play up the Marco bagging on Tobias thing. Really, a number of directions we could take that, and it would be interesting to watch them grow and learn to rely on each other, getting all "brothers in arms" or whatever. I think this particular thread would be more interesting if the characters who don't get along are actually not whoever ends up betraying them- though a little occasional conflict with David couldn't hurt.
A lot of my problems with the team have to do less with archetypes than they do with the characters' development. Cassie decides, like, a dozen times, that they have to fight, for the good of humanity and the good of the Earth. She decides it definitively and repeatedly, and each time the lesson remains unlearned, to be rehashed in a later book. Same deal with Ax- if you take a look, almost every Ax storyline has to do with him questioning his loyalty to the Animorphs, and then deciding at the end that he's with them until the end. Also, he's on Earth for three years but never learns to not play with mouth-sounds, which I know is a great joke, but it makes him seem like kind of an idiot after a while. Ax can have other jokes. And the rest of the characters have their own issues, too, with inconsistent development, especially with the ghostwriters. I'd just want all of that to be more consistent and believable.