‘As Told By Ginger’: Will There Be a Live-Action Reboot?
As Told By Ginger followed Ginger Foutley as she navigated the uncertainty of junior high school. The Nickelodeon show was extremely popular. For a lot of kids, watching Ginger solve her conflicts and get through the in-between years helped them get through theirs. Ginger was funny, nerdy, and totally relatable. That’s because the show was personal for the writers. A lot of the stories on As Told by Ginger came straight from the lives of the creators, and the realness resonated with fans.
The ‘As Told by Ginger’ crew had fun making the show
As fans of Nickelodeon animation probably already know, As Told by Ginger was made by the creators of Rugrats and The Wild Thornberrys. Their unique animation style is recognizable and added to the fun of As Told by Ginger. But in reality, it was the stories of the show that made it special. As Told by Ginger was popular enough to land a few Emmy nominations in its day, and creators credit how personal the show was for its success.
Creator Emily Kapnek told Entertainment Weekly that “A lot of Ginger’s stories were borrowed from my childhood and the childhoods of the people working on the show. I identified with her a lot.” It wasn’t just Kapnek and the other writers who related to Ginger. Fans did too. And the personal nature of As Told by Ginger was something other cartoons weren’t doing at the time. According to Kapnek, she wanted to make a cartoon that kids could relate to. “I didn’t feel there were a lot of cartoons that were really honest and dealt with real issues that kids were dealing with.”
‘As Told by Ginger’ could come back as a live-action reboot
Fans got nine years of stories out of As Told by Ginger, but some want more. Kapnek isn’t averse to rebooting the show in one way or another. She’s even floated the idea of a live-action reboot. Kapnek doesn’t want to do the same show, but she also doesn’t want to change it up too much. She told Entertainment Weekly she would want a new version to “Just pick a different life than it already had. I do think it was so great. I love what the show was and I wouldn’t want to dismantle it too much.”
An As Told by Ginger live-action show or TV movie would definitely entice fans, and bring in new ones who weren’t around for the first version. But there may be fans who don’t want to add to the show. Having new As Told by Ginger material could take away from the show’s sweet, optimistic ending.
‘As Told by Ginger’ ended on an optimistic note
Kapnek and the show’s other writers didn’t know from the beginning how the show would end. Like most television producers, they weren’t sure how long a run they would be given and didn’t want to lock themselves into an ending too early. But they also didn’t want to leave fans hanging without answers. Their compromise was a sweet, optimistic ending that had fans feeling that Ginger was exactly where she needed to be.
According to Kapnek, “We wanted to end on that optimism and feel like Ginger and Darren belong together, and all the other funny things you get to see. We weren’t working toward that. In our minds, we were always hopeful that we could keep telling those stories and keep everything loose.” Considering that the creators wanted to keep going with the show, they probably have a lot of good ideas for any prospective reboot, whether it be a cartoon or live-action.
