Bel-Air | Freak Out Reboot Is Much More Critical and Dense Than the Original Series

With the same story as the original series, Bel-Air tells his own version of Will's going to his aunt and uncle's house, in a more dramatic and critical way.

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The new series of Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, better known in Brazil as Fresh prince of Bel Air already debuted in the US. When Bel-Air was billed as a reboot of the 1990s original with Will Smith, it generated a number of comments from fans who were outraged, others who found it interesting and some who didn't care.

And when the first trailer appeared, a part of the fandom repudiated what they were seeing, as even the opening theme was changed. It's not news that messing with a series from the last century that was a success and messes with people's feelings, ends up creating this kind of negative repercussion.

It was just like Battlestar Galactica, The Bionic Woman, The Super Machine, in addition to films that also drank from these 70s and 80s series such as Law Angels, Class A Squadron, among others. Some even made success like the Class A Squadron itself, Mission Impossible that is out there with a new generation of fans and so on.

Therefore, the creators of Bel-Air, who are the same creators of Crazy in the Hill, already expected this. But is the series any good? What are you talking about? Do you have Will back? Let's get the answers down below!

Will Smith and company are back, but it's not them

For those who don't know, the character played by Will Simith, was also called Will Smith. That was a tip from the actor Alfons Ribeiro, the Carlton, so that he would be marked by his own name. And it worked.

Now the character is played by the actor Jabari Banks. In the US, 4 episodes have already aired, the first three of which premiered on the same day. The other characters in the family, as well as Jazz and Geoffrey, also returned. Jazz even reminds a little of the original character, but the “butler” is now quite different, as he is the “administrator” of the house.

Of course, he looks a lot more like a bouncer and henchman than a real butler, since he doesn't even come close to doing this type of work. Hillary also remains in the same style as she was, but now revamped as an influencer. The characters that have changed the least for now were the youngest Ashley and Aunt Viv.

Ashley maintains the same strong personality of wanting change in the world, and Aunt Viv remains the same. Wanting the best for your family and seeking a balance in family problems and conflicts. Uncle Phil is still a lawyer and already wanting to be a prosecutor.

For those who have followed the series and from time to time pay a visit and rewatch the original on HBO Max, you will realize that many things and events are from the original, but told in a more serious and critical way.

In the late 1980s and early 90s, it was not so easy for black actors to make series critical of society and racism. So the best way was still comedy. To tell with good humor how a black man was arrested simply because of his color did generate criticism, but it was just a joke.

In the 21st century, making fun of racism is not funny at all. And this is where a lot of the stories from the original series are retold in a heavier way and without any humor, even if it's funny to see the way Will walks or Hillary all the time talking to his 70,000 followers on Instagram.

Theme song now tells a story

Everyone remembers the reasons that led Wil to Bel-Air. He was playing basketball when he got into a fight on the court. In the opening this is funny, but in real life, for those who live on the periphery, things are very different from the way Will's escape to his aunt and uncle's house to become a Prince in Bel-Air is portrayed.

Following the opening theme, the first episode already shows that Will has a very serious problem and his life is at stake and thus he is forced to flee to his aunt and uncle's house. Very different from it was just a little fight, a scolding from the mother and I'm ready to be King of the Hill.

When he arrives at his uncle's house, the situation is not pleasant and Will will have to learn to follow rules, something that the current youth are completely allergic to. And he starts to realize that not everything is as he wants or as others wish. There's a middle ground to all of this, but for a young man who was the king of basketball and a darling in high school, he's now just another Bel-Air player.

Carlton has a stronger role in this new storyline, so it was left to be added later. Played by the excellent actor and musician Olly Sholotan, his character is more layered than Alfonso's. He is no longer just the comic point of Will's bullying-filled pranks, but a young man who lives by appearances and seems to have serious emotional problems.

Conflict between cousins is really something that goes beyond a family rivalry. So for sure Carlton will bring great stories to be told this season, not just leaving Will to be the center of everything.

Bel-Air came as a bet that might not work, unlike Amazing years which has also been released. As Um Maluco no Pedaço was more of a comedy, many people may not have realized the whole critical tone about racism, machismo and other subjects that were contained there.

Today this is much easier to tell, or maybe not, as there is still a part of the public that prefers to turn a blind eye to this kind of toxic society. The answer is always if you want reality, don't watch TV.

Well, this is proven not to be the case, and the stories must be shown, be they serious, funny as in ted lasso or Miss Maisel or dramatic as in the Freak Out reboot.

Bel-Air arrived showing that it doesn't need to live off the numbers and fandom of the original series, as it has a unique story to be told, for all generations. And what about Uncle Phil? Well, he is one of the centers of the episodes and talking about him is giving away spoilers.

about the series

Bel-Air follows the same plot as the original production, but with a dramatic tone. In the series, Will (Jabari Banks) is a troubled young man who is having problems in the neighborhood where he lives with his mother in Philadelphia. After getting into trouble with the police during a street fight, she decides to send the young man to his rich uncles Vivian (Cassandra Freeman) and Phillip Banks (Adrian Holmes) in Bel-Air, an upscale Los Angeles neighborhood.

Although excited about the new life of luxury, Will takes time to get used to this different reality. Used to a simple and unruly life, he feels out of place in this new bourgeois and class environment, full of implicit rules of coexistence. At the new school, Will is also not sure if he will be able to fit in, but he finds in basketball a way to demonstrate his talent and focus his energy.

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