I think maybe Hasbro needs to go back to basics with the Joes. There was something magical about the early 1980s stuff that is still awesome...
I could not agree more with this. They totally missed the boat with their last two animated endeavors. Resolute, as cool as it may have been for the dorky adult fans who want everything Nolanized and gritty, sure didn't gain any kid viewers. While softer, Renegades required way too much to follow and took too long to introduce other Joes for most kids. When there were introductions of guys like Airtight or Breaker or Shipwreck, they were essentially glorified cameos.
My kid is 8 and he watched almost every episode of Renegades with me, but he vastly prefers the old school cartoons. There's a very simple formula, and with the exception of a few two parters or mini-series things, it all gets wrapped up in a single episode where a few key good guys fight a few key bad guys. That **** works.
I watch the old toons all the time, and they're brilliant 30 minute commercials that highlight a few main staples (e.g. Snake Eyes, Duke, Scarlett, etc.), but give everybody else a chance to shine, which makes you want to go out and add that guy to your collection. Giving the characters distinct personalities, even if they were stereotypes, was brilliant.
If they'd go back to basics, I think the line could do extremely well with kids as well as adult collectors.
Marvel's doing a wonderful job of this with its Avengers cartoon, by the way.
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