By Jonathan Klotz
| Published
Cartoons of the mid-90s were stuck in that awkward era between the comic-book style of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and The Real Ghostbusters, and the late-90s abstract animation of SpongeBob SquarePants and Dexter’s Lab. Instead, the mid-90s gave us shows that used CGI, including the amazing Transformer series, Beast Wars, and the classic that helped define the style, look, and feel of this new wave of shows, Reboot. Released in 1994, the entirely CGI series was one of the first of its kind, and it pushed the medium forward a year before Toy Story changed movies forever.
Before Woody, There Was Bob
Reboot looks awkward today with its stiff characters, bland backgrounds, and blatant re-use of frames and yet, the bold character designs and eventually, the multi-episode arcs, make it one of the most clever and well-written series of the era. Bob, Guardian 452, uses his Keytool, Glitch, to defend the Mainframe, though his stance that viruses can be reprogrammed and not deleted tends to annoy his fellow Guardians. Alongside Bob is Dot Matrix, a talented tactician and in another bold move for a 90s children’s show, she and Bob end up developing a romantic relationship as they battle the villainous Megabyte together.
The real-life limitations of the computers developing the cutting-edge animation of Reboot influenced the series’ setting of Mainframe. Blocky character models make more sense when everything represents a computer program, and it allows for episodes where a User (human) plugs in a game, forcing the trapped residents of the city to fight back as NPCs (non-player characters). Later episodes focus on the Virus Wars, and Megabyte’s machinations, which, as the show advances, become more evil and even deadly.
Substance Over Style
Fans have kept Reboot alive for decades to the point that Netflix took a chance on ReBoot: The Guardian Code, a new series that merged live-action with CGI to show normal teenagers entering the world of Mainframe. The reimagining included the original characters in only one episode, proof that the streaming giant missed what fans truly love about the original: the characters. It wasn’t the rudimentary CGI that made the series great, instead it was moments like Dot dealing with PTSD after winning the Virus War, or Bob’s cheerful nature and ability to wing it in any situation.
Reboot’s third season is, arguably, the best of the series’ run. That’s when Mainframe, the animation studio, was cut free to do what they wanted, which included darker storylines. The studio’s computers were significantly upgraded after the second season, when ABC was bought out by Disney, and the series was now free to be syndicated instead of tied to the broadcast network. With improved visuals and a fresh, more mature take on animation, it’s still, nearly 30 years later, one of the best sci-fi cartoon seasons ever made.
Unsurprisingly, Reboot was one of the most expensive series of the 90s, with Season 1 carrying a price tag of $10 million, which adjusted for inflation, is $24 million today. It’s old, but not forgotten, and the show remains one of the finest examples of what happens when very creative people are forced to work within well-defined limitations. The result is a classic show that defied expectations, overcame the cutting-edge but limited visuals, and became a classic.
All four seasons of Reboot are available for free on Tubi.
