Summary
Disney is rebooting Gargoyles in a live-action format to capitalize on nostalgia, but fans may prefer a continuation of the original animated series. The cancellation of Gargoyles after Season 3 was due to production changes, poor viewership, and outlandish storylines. The success of the live-action Gargoyles will depend on the quality of visual effects, as the animated series thrived on the realistic depiction of the characters in their own setting.
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Disney is rebooting the ’90s classic animated series Gargoyles by turning it into live-action, but it’s making the show’s cancelation 26 years ago even worse. Disney has been mining its catalog of animated feature films for possible live-action remakes, most recently with The Little Mermaid, which performed adequately at the box office but demonstrated that perhaps fans have grown weary of scene-for-scene conversions of childhood classics. Pivoting to reviving animated series in live-action might be the next step for the House of Mouse hoping to keep active subscriptions for Disney+.
James Wan, known for The Conjuring and Annabelle movies is set to be the writer, showrunner, and executive producer, and his background in horror will certainly add a different dimension of creativity amidst the staggering 21 Disney live-action movie remakes that exist so far. While there’s always been a touch of gothic horror in this series, it was successful because it was primarily an amalgamation of history and urban fantasy. Provided the live-action casting for Gargoyles lives up to expectations, a live-action remake promises that the series might be able to ensnare some new fans, but longtime fans might just want a continuation of the original.
Disney Is Bringing Gargoyles Back – In Live-Action
Hoping to capitalize on the nostalgia of Gargoyles, Disney is bringing back the series in a live-action format that finds Goliath, the leader of the stone warriors who protected New York City from ’94 to ’97, as the last of his heroic race of guardians, struggling to solve the mystery of his past while adjusting to life in the modern-day Big Apple. A live-action series not only has to find the right tone, but make sure that the titular characters can integrate with the human actors playing their friends and foes while combining historical facts, drama, comedy, and action into something that’s fun for both kids and adults.
Why Gargoyles Was Canceled After Season 3
Gargoyles was canceled after only 3 seasons because of a change in production and subsequent poor viewership and ratings. The animation was noticeably different in the third season than in the first two seasons, and the storylines got particularly more outlandish. Even though it was part of a popular block of programming called Disney Afternoon, it never recovered from the changes that caused a drop in its key demographic, and it ended on a cliffhanger.
Gargoyles Season 4 Would Have Been Better Than A Live-Action Reboot
The issue of visual effects will make or break the series because if they’re too poorly rendered, Gargoyles won’t be able to sell its premise, which could be one reason why the remake will focus exclusively on Goliath. One of the reasons it worked so well in an animated format was because the Gargoyles looked real in their own setting and didn’t suffer from questionable practical effects or CGI. Season 4 of Gargoyles would have been a better idea, with enough of the original cast to voice the beloved characters, than a live-action reboot that could look gimmicky and be canceled before it can do justice to the original.