Rupert the Bear

I hear the plan is to revamp Rupert the Bear. There has been a lot of this lately, or maybe not so lately now that I think of it - take Disney's redrawing of Winnie the Pooh for example. I suppose that I am a purist, but I can't see why timeless drawings cannot appeal to new generations. I can see the need for sometimes changing or updating storylines - the removal of a golliwog character from Toytown (as I recall) was a good move, I believe. I can see that new techniques in animation can change the way the programme is produced. I cannot, however, understand why it is necessary to fundamentally change the drawing itself. Is there something about the original Rupert drawing that means it only appeals to a certain generation? I very much doubt it. My elder Dragonet certainly enjoys watching Rupert and the Frog Song. She also likes drawings of the Classic Winne the Pooh. I think it's a trifle insulting to the taste of today's children to suggest that they wouldn't appreciate the same drawings, and it's certainly an insult to the original illustrators to suggest that their drawings lose their appeal.

My own reaction, as a parent, when a character I loved as a child is rebranded, is to try not to expose my child to the rebranded version. I admit that I am not wholly consistent with this approach - I will let my Dragonet watch the CBeebies version of Bill and Ben which my mother loved as a child. However you can guarantee that the only Disney Winnie the Pooh items in our house have come from elsewhere (and generally don't stay in the household very long), and I suspect that my Dragonet will not be watching Rupert the Bear.