Niccijade Reeves-Alhark
Staff Reporter
Netflix’s live-action reboot of Winx Club is disappointing. As someone who grew up with the show and was very inspired by it, the way Netflix has translated it is, to say the least, confusing and aggravating.
First off, not only were the main cast cut short, but their ethnicities were changed entirely. Three members of the Winx were originally non-white characters; Flora, Musa, and Aisha (Layla in other translations). This was important to the series to show and represent more than one culture and a part of the world Winx is set in. Each member came from a different place, whether it was a planet, realm or a different dimension, the way each character dressed, looked and acted would show their relation to the Magix dimension. Musa, for example, is from Melody. You can tell that she is from that specific realm because not only are her powers music themed, but so is her design; she has headphones, a passion for music and she appears to be of Asian descent. Melody is shown to be a kingdom with Asian inspiration along with a theme of music, specifically Chinese, so when they changed Musa’s ethnicity, they also changed part of the lore and universe the show is set in. There is nothing wrong with changing the story, but I see this change as unnecessary because it seems like they are taking out the things that made Winx Club diverse and interesting. The only person that Netflix did keep the original ethnicity of, probably to avoid extreme backlash, was Aisha, making her the only black and non-white person in the group. In a way, they have forced the ‘token black friend’ agenda onto her despite the diversity of the original cast and the fact that she is not even supposed to show up until the second season.
Second off, the stylization of Fate: The Winx Saga is unnecessarily low in contrast. Winx Club conceptually is associated with bright colors and bold fashion; making it so everything in Winx Club has its own distinct style from everything else. Netflix has reformed it into some sort of dark academia, badly styled nightmare. Since one of the characters’ (Stella) main passions is fashion and styling, I really do not know, with all the examples of fashion they had, how they managed to come up with some of the blandest and terribly boring outfits I have ever seen on a TV show. Four of the five Winx members are wearing monochrome outfits in the trailer. There is nothing wrong with monochrome, in fact it is one of my favorite styles, but when it is repeated several times throughout characters it comes off as lazy and uncreative; the opposite of what Winx is. I literally could not tell who Musa was, or if she was in the show, not only because they changed her ethnicity, but because of the blatant lack of contrast between characters and their design.
Finally, there are some aspects of the show that Netflix did not need to make dark. An example of this would be the architecture of Alfea. The college for fairies has circular, pastel domes and has a celestial vibe to it, Netflix’s adaptation of the college looks grungy and eerie. The problem with this is that there is already a college in the show for that description-for that vibe; Cloud Tower, a college for teaching witches. Netflix could have explored the other side of the Winx universe that would not have been seen in the children’s show without obscuring the meaningful points of the show. I personally would have liked to see a different take on the antagonists of the show, maybe a deeper, more sinister look into their plots and schemes against the Winx. However, that is not what they did.
In summary, Netflix should back off of nostalgic kid’s shows for a while. I am sure the show would be amazing and I would definitely watch it- if it was not under the title of Winx.
Image Credit: Fate: The Winx Saga| Teaser and Date Reveal | Netflix
Kommentare