Nah, I’m not taking any shots at Nelvana, nor is the stuff they produce actually “bad”. I think they’ve been quite successful at making shows that appeal to kids in the 2-6 year old range. Like you said, they did a good job on their iteration of Tintin, so they know how to be respectful of source material. Nelvana was tasked with reinventing Thomas because Mattel has pretty much crashed the franchise (there’s a long story there but those of you who are hardcore fans know much of the background already). They created what Mattel wanted; a fun little show for kids that pays scant respect to its source or it’s older fans. Like many such franchises, it’s a generic mix of acceptable concepts of the moment, wearing the facade of a respected, beloved franchise.
That’s pretty much the world today. Take a venerable old name and slap it on some generic “product”. (Why yes, I have been buying power tools lately!)
As I said above, I give AEG some credit for being nothing more that a happy little generic kids’ show with characters who are locomotives. BWBA was almost too cringey to watch and excessively “try hard” self conscious. Neither is what True Fans want or like but if Mattel sells a lot of toys and makes a lot of money in licenses, it accomplishes what they want.
(This post was last modified: 12-20-2021, 07:41 PM by Super.)
That’s pretty much the world today. Take a venerable old name and slap it on some generic “product”. (Why yes, I have been buying power tools lately!)
As I said above, I give AEG some credit for being nothing more that a happy little generic kids’ show with characters who are locomotives. BWBA was almost too cringey to watch and excessively “try hard” self conscious. Neither is what True Fans want or like but if Mattel sells a lot of toys and makes a lot of money in licenses, it accomplishes what they want.