Story Updates: Yay or Nay?

What do you all think about story “updates?” Are we trying to fix what’s not broken? Or do we sometimes need updates to make the stories resonate? What story do you say “hands off” to (if any)?

I don’t question that updates might make some stories easier to understand. I mean, it’s a little easier for a young person today to understand watching someone drive by in a Ferrari than it is for them to understand someone driving by in a guilded carriage.

But sometimes I feel like we’re doing story updates not to improve accessibility, but rather because that’s easier than coming up with something completely original. Or just so someone can say it’s “their” version. I’m not completely opposed to someone putting their own twist on things. But I think some films don’t need new twists. Like, at all. They’re ideal as they are. The Wizard of Oz to me is one of those. And I challenge anyone to do better than Jimmy Stewart in It’s a Wonderful Life, both in the phone scene with Donna Reed and the bar scene where he prays. Of course, people have tried (and still are).

I guess the real question in my mind is, how do we retell a story in a way that truly honors the original version? I think we have to answer that question. If we don’t respect what the original storytellers were trying to do, it cheapens their effort. Even if the new version is “better,” we can appreciate the shoulders we stand on.