Is it just us, or are the 1990s slowly returning? It certainly feels like it, what with the Goosebumps movie having proved a hit, a new Power Rangers film on the way, and a Clinton potentially becoming US President next year. So, are there other cultural properties that, with the passage of time, could be worth revisiting for the first time since that eventful decade?
LEGO Throwbots
Of course, films based on LEGO franchises are nothing new these days – but many people might not remember the Danish company’s Throwbots toy line. Debuted in 1999, it was very much akin to the now better-known BIONICLE range, consisting of several robotic characters, most of which came with six discs. We especially loved the Millennia Throwbot, which could be built in two different forms and was packaged with an especially appealing-looking gold disc…
Chances of a return: Unlikely given the obvious strong similarity to BIONICLE.
Streets of Rage
If you owned a Sega Genesis in the 1990s, you very likely would have been aware of the super-addictive, side-scrolling beat-‘em-up gaming series Streets of Rage. Despite its popularity back in the day, however, there has not been a proper addition to the series since Streets of Rage 3 in 1994. In that time, we’ve had to make do with a plethora of ports and remakes, fun though many of those have been.
The second and third Streets of Rage titles were even available on iOS at one point, before being pulled by Sega last year. Sega revealed that this was because the games “no longer meet our standards”, but didn’t entirely rule out the possibility of the games later returning “in an updated form”.
Chances of a return: A Streets of Rage 4 looks unlikely considering that Streets of Rage 3’s original release came 22 years ago. Maybe we should just enjoy whatever ports and remakes continue to be brought out, and feast on the nostalgia.
Bonkers
The 1988 cinematic hit Who Framed Roger Rabbit inspired this Disney animated series, which ran from September 4, 1993 until February 23, 1994. The series followed anthropomorphic toon bobcat Bonkers D. Bobcat as he fought crime alongside, first, the Eddie Valiant-like middle-aged detective Lucky Piquel and, later, mild-mannered young policewoman Miranda Wright.
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Chances of a return: The original TV run of Bonkers was relatively short, while even reruns were last seen on US screens way back in 2004, when they aired on Toon Disney. New adventures for the feline cop therefore seem improbable; however, as Who Framed Roger Rabbit brought back various memorable characters of yesteryear, is a similar kind of return for Bonkers D. Bobcat really so far-fetched?
