My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is far from the only girl cartoon I’ve watched. The very first one I watched was Jem. It started out as the odd cartoon out on the “Super Sunday” block back in the 80’s (or “Super Saturday”, depending on where you lived), because it was the only girl cartoon in a 2-hour block of boy-oriented cartoons. I’ve recently learned that it’s going to be turned into a live-action movie. I’m a bit worried about this, because Hasbro’s previous live-action movies based on their toys haven’t necessarily been stellar. Michael Bay’s Transformers movies are an abomination of my childhood. Battleship was a joke. But there may be hope for the Jem movie, if they do what I suggest below:
1. Keep it in the 80’s. Unless you bring up the modern day as a framing device, I would suggest keep the modern times out. The premise of the cartoon would really only work in the 80’s. The hairstyles and songs were way too cheesy to fit in to the current day.
2. Only show the good side of fame. We don’t need a darker and edgier version of Jem.
3. Make it kid-friendly. The Transformers movies’ biggest crime is that they aren’t kid-friendly movies, despite their PG-13 rating.
4. Some 80’s cameos would be nice. I hear Molly Ringwald is slated to appear. It’s a start.
For now, I’m cautiously optimistic. The movie might be good, or it might bomb. But I always reserve judgment until I see it for myself.
Aspie Catholic 