Cartoons are just as popular now as when we were children. I'm sure that we've all reminisced at the dinner table with our friends in Sherman how much we loved "He-man," "David the Gnome" and "Gargoyles." However, toons have changed so little over the years that the same shows are coming back, with a new twist.On August 16, Cartoon Network premiered a made for TV cartoon movie titled "He-man and the Masters of the Universe: The Beginning." The movie will be followed by an animated series airing on the same network later this year. The movie and show were advertised to be all new adventures of the '80s defender of justice and goodness, and the movie explained how Prince Adam got his powers and how Skeletor became . skeleton-like. We remember the show for the ugly clothes, the bad voice acting, and the all-too-easily-solved adventures, but that is all about to change.

Being a cartoon lover, though I never watched the original He-man (I was and still am a big She-ra fan), I decided to give the new He-man premiere a shot. It was actually better than I expected, but it was definitely not the same. Gone was the campiness and child-like innocence of the classic, replaced by a show with better animation and what appears to be tighter plots.

Some of the characters such as Orko, Cringer and of course arch-villain Skeletor made it to the 2002 version, but others were brand new. The main character's transference from a 16-year-old sissy to the most powerful man in the universe could have used a bit more development, however, to increase its already thin believability.

What is even more disturbing about an all-new He-man show is the fact that 2002 He-man toys lined the shelves of toy stores weeks before the show even premiered.

If that's not enough, the WB is advertising an all-new Scooby Doo show, aptly titled "What's New, Scooby Doo?" beginning in the early fall. Similar to the concept of the new He-man show, the Scooby Doo makeover is advertised to use the beloved characters of the wacky '70s crime-fighting team in all new adventures against spooks and monsters.

So, what are kids going to think of, as the WB puts it, "The New Doo"? If the poor success of the Scooby Doo movie is any inclination, expectations should not be too high. How will a shaggy-faced hero and an old-fashioned Volkswagen do when sandwiched between shows like "Yu-gi-oh!" and "Mucha Lucha!"?

Have cartoon creators, like some movie makers, gotten so desperate for ideas that they're copping old cartoons, stealing the characters, giving them new voices and slight twists, and packaging them as brand new? Why do I have the feeling that this generation of kids won't have the same fond memories of cartoon shows as we do?

Even Disney, which in the past made cartoons based off movies and classic cartoons such as "Aladdin" and "Chip and Dale's Rescue Rangers" were more original than these new direct rip-offs of classic toons. He-man and Scooby Doo were corny, but we loved them for it in all of their '70s and '80s splendors. It is doubtful the two new remakes will be able to hold up to the glory of the originals, and it seems time for animators to go back to the blank drawing board.