Thoughts on the Winx Reboot Transformations script

Intro:

When it comes to Winx Club transformations, the ones that stick with me are the ones that… think outside the box. That are more than just floating around and putting on sparkly outfits. They’re novel and original, trying new things, and also put in the effort to communicate the unique power and personality of each girl.

Sadly, that was slowly lost in the newer seasons of the original show, and with my hesitancy towards the reboot growing the more I learn about it, I was deeply concerned the new transformations would suffer as well. And… they didn’t? But they also kinda still did. It’s complicated.

I’m still not big on the outfits themselves. Originally, Rainbow would have actual fashion designers and consultants help to design the girls’ outfits, to make sure they would actually resemble things you’d see on runways. But these outfits… are not giving fashion model. Not at all.

The sequences, meanwhile, are hit and miss. It does feel like a significant chunk of effort’s been put into… some of them. I at least appreciate the attempt to clearly communicate each girl’s power, and for the ones who go outside the box, they actually do a great job at standing apart from the crowd. But the girls who don’t… well, just be prepared for a lot of aimless floating and spinning.

So today, we’re gonna talk about the new transformation song, as well as each girl’s sequence in their order of release. What I like, what I hate, and how I have absolutely no hope whatsoever. Sound fun? Cool.

The Song:

So when I first heard this song… I kinda hated it. While hearing it on repeat as I rewatch the transformations, “Forever Winx” has grown on me, but it still doesn’t quite feel like a Winx Club song. From jump, it sounded like a generic pop song that, if you remove any reference to Winx, wouldn’t feel out of place in any other show or soundtrack.

It’s not bad by any means. I like Virginia Bocelli’s performance, and the lyrics are… about on par with any post-season 5 transformation song. I think my main issue is the stock-standard synth-pop production. That’s the element that makes it sound super generic.

“Siamo Noi Le Winx” featured a kickass guitar that wasn’t trying to follow musical trends, but just focused on sounding like a bad-bitch anthem. Not to mention using the girls’ names to punctuate the rhythm, often in tandem when they were onscreen.

“Forever Winx” just doesn’t really have that same unique energy, which feels like a microcosm of all my issues with what we’ve seen of the reboot: watering down Winx to try and make it more similar to its modern competitors, instead of leaning into its unique qualities that made it such a powerhouse of a brand back in the 2000s.

I’m also not quite sure why the back half of the song sounds like it’s a remix… of itself? It’s fine, but it’s deeply confusing.

Flora:

So, nice things first: I’m always a sucker for Flora emerging from a flower. I loved it in Enchantix, I loved it in the one-hour specials and in the 3D Believix sequences, and I love it here. Each sequence starts with the girls emerging from some kind of sphere, but I wish the rest of them got more unique intros like Flora.

So I dig the wind carrying her out, and I kinda like the idea they’re going for here. She’s soaring around on vines like she’s Tarzan, donning her outfit through gymnastics. It’s way more action-oriented than I’d expect from Flora, and admittedly, that kinda put me off initially. It just doesn’t feel like the Flora I’ve always known, since I’d associate these kinds of acrobatics more with Aisha or Tecna. Still, it’s a novel concept that’s so much better than just float, spin, and bam you’re transformed.

I will say, I’m not a big fan with when the sequences speed up, as it can easily become overwhelming visual noise where it’s hard to follow the motion. Flora’s isn’t too bad, with her spinning around in the vines as her wings form and she strikes her final pose, but it does kinda feel like they’re trying to rush her to the end of the sequence.

As for design… yeah, I’m gonna be that bitch again: she’s significantly lighter skinned than she was in the original. This has always been an issue for Flora, specifically in 3D, and I understand it can result from the lighting engines used in 3D. To which I say… adjust the model so it matches her original skin tone. Even if you have dynamic lighting, you’re still in control of a model’s colors.

As for her outfit… it’s fine. There’s been lots of accusations of Rainbow using generative AI for their concept art and designs, and while I’m gonna emphasize these are alleged, I wouldn’t be shocked if that were the case, because so many details of these outfits feel like something only an unthinking algorithm would cook up. Namely, the overabundance of detail that becomes visual noise.

3D designs tend to be a bit busier than 2D ones, since you don’t have to draw them over and over in each frame, but I feel like these reboot designs come across as overly busy without actually giving us anything that warrants these excess details. Flora’s is just her original Magic Winx look, but… more, with less contrast. The shades of pink are much closer to each other here, and far lighter.

I’m not a fan of all the layers on her skirt. I get the petal shape they’re going for, but the original design had that too with only one layer just through its unique shape. All of this feels like far too much. I will say, I do like the braid providing her a more unique silhouette, and I like all the flowers across her design: on her torso, her arms, and in her hair. It gives her a very flower child kinda energy.

I do miss her arm warmers though, and I’m still not a fan of these wings. I hope they don’t look like solid plastic like they did in the trailers when the show finally drops, but design-wise, I miss the simple green, leaf-shaped wings.

Tecna:

Tecna’s… yeah, not a big fan. I like how it starts with her emerging from this hexagonal sphere (hexagons are bestagons). And it’s cute seeing Tecna customize her look with all these virtual menus and keyboards, which are very reminiscent to the holographic menus she’d make in the original show. I think that’s a neat way of communicating her powers, even though it also kinda makes Tecna feel more like a gamer girl than a science geek.

I’m not big on the rest of the sequence though. It’s a lot of spinning that doesn’t have much to do with her power or personality, all just to don her wings. I dig all the circuit backgrounds, at least. I’m just kinda shocked they dropped her whole martial arts shtick, since she’d do those kinds of moves constantly. It was a nice addition to help her stand out beyond just the techy stuff.

And while I do like all the blue, purple, and pink, it also feels odd that green is missing? Tecna’s main color was purple, but green was her secondary accent color, often used for her magic; more yellowish, lime greens compared to Flora’s softer spring greens. It reminds me of her Bloomix, where yes, the blue looks great with Tecna, but it feels odd to have most of the Winx rely on it, since she also has to share blue with Bloom and Aisha.

The outfit though… I do not like it. A lot of folks like to make fun of her old catsuit with the pointy helmet, but silhouette-wise, it was PERFECT. This… just gives athleisure wear. Nothing about it screams Tecna or technology, aside from the light-up trims. The wings are an unimpressive shape with circuit patterns just thrown overtop. God, I miss the laser hang glider wings.

The hair… is fine. I only accept it because it gives lesbian, potentially nonbinary fringe, and it is the only solace I can find in how much I dislike this look for her. This doesn’t feel like Tecna. This feels like an imposter.

Musa:

Musa’s transformation… slays. She always gets screwed in terms of having her music powers represented, both in spells and transformations, so it’s incredibly refreshing to see it on full display here. Her being distracted as she blasts music through her headphones at the beginning, strumming the musical staff like a guitar, and her hitting the dance floor? I live for all of it.

I only have two critiques. Firstly, and this one admittedly really bothered me at first, is the lack of a focus on key poses and slowdown. It feels like Musa’s moving at one constant speed with no time to emphasize certain poses or rhythm. It’s the kind of thing that can still be finely tuned by messing with keyframes in animation software, probably some kinda dope sheet or graph editor, but it’s not the end of the world.

Secondly, the number of different color backgrounds can feel quite… chaotic. Like, the colors are all over the place. I get that it could be a way to visualize the music, the way rave lights change colors at a club, but it feels like a bit much. Especially that weird red, white, and blue ceiling as she dances. That’s… very unfortunate, especially with that country bumpkin hairstyle they stuck her in.

I’m sorry, I just, I HATE these down pigtails for her. They really kill her silhouette and just do not suit her personality at all. The outfit… is fine. Again, an overcomplicated version of her original look. I like the added purple, but we don’t need the pink, and the wavy cutouts along the torso feel unnecessary too. The only improvement for me are the laced boots.

Her wings… I’m torn. On the one hand, I think it’s neat that they resemble piano keys, but at a first glance, they share that over-complicated design problem, where I don’t think you’d really get the piano visual unless you looked closely.

Stella:

Stella… my girl Stella got robbed. Like Tecna, it starts impressively, then quickly devolves into “Wow, they did not try.” I like her starting in this orb of light, shielding her eyes, then putting on a whole-ass light show in the night sky. But from there, it’s all just generic spinning and waving. It feels far too short, especially compared to the other girls’ transformations.

I do dig her turning it from night to day, especially because it communicates the sun and moon theme of her magic (we’ll ignore the Shining Sun debacle for right now, because otherwise we’ll be here all day). I’m just really disappointed with how lacking this sequence is.

Her scepter isn’t even here? What a missed opportunity. Even her swimming across the sun’s surface can’t save this. Also, the animation of her turning it from night to day… very unimpressive. It’s lacking in punch, except in Iginio’s hatred of the moon.

And the outfit… okay, imma be so real: I hate Stella’s pigtails in 3D. In the original, her hair was usually down in her casual outfit, and then she got pigtails when she transformed, and it made for a nice switch-up that communicated she was putting herself together to kick some ass. Not to mention it also differentiated her silhouette from Bloom and Flora’s.

This… I don’t know why they switched them, and I don’t know how they made her 3D pigtails look so ugly. There’s just something about them, combined with her face shape, expressions, and body language, that’s giving Despicable Me - and I do mean that as an insult. On the bright side, her hair down actually looks great, and fixes that entirely.

The outfit itself… eh. I get that we’re going for more modest outfits, so Stella’s original look with the shorts isn’t gonna fly this time. I do like the cut of the top, with separated straps over the shoulders, and I genuinely love this shade of orange. It feels very warm and like it’s crafted by the sun.

But I’m noticing now it doesn’t have any blue accents. The blue accents not only tied Stella to the moon, but also helped to cool down her look and complement the orange, since… ya know, those are complementary colors. Instead, it’s all orange, with the only accent being… pink thigh highs?! Gurl, why? I get these are like the pinks you see in a sunrise or a sunset, but why only in the shoes? They just stand out so badly.

The wings… are fine. I get the idea of them looking like a sunrise mosaic, but they don’t look refined or elegant - they look cheap and tacky. They’re giving toyetic to the max.

Aisha:

Aisha highkey got the best sequence. It seems they’re really leaning into her power over water, but without sacrificing her Morphix, which I appreciate. The contrast of the blue water and pink Morphix looks really good, especially with the pink sky against the sea.

Having Aisha swim to transform, breaking through the water with her hair flip, and then SURFING?! Oh it fucking eats. It DEVOURS. When I ask for unique sequences, this is the kinda out-of-the-box shit I have in mind. I especially love using the water droplets to transition between shots.

Her outfit… is cute. I dig the shorts with the open skirt to look a bit more athletic, and I LOVE this turquoise she’s in. It reminds me of her Believix color palette. I do wish it was more on the green side to stand apart from Bloom’s outfit, but this still looks great. I think my only issue is that the cuts don’t look all that unique, and I miss all the jewelry present in her original outfit. Her wings… are also fine. They don’t scream “water fairy,” but they do look better than most of the other girls’ wings, so I’ll take it.

I’m not sure on Aisha’s hair though. I do like the idea of her having braids and leaning more into natural black hairstyles, as not only is it important in terms of representation, but also, there’s so much variety when it comes to black hair. Genuinely, look up lists of black hairstyle ideas - that shit is GORGEOUS.

But I’m not quite sure about the braids in her fairy outfit. I kinda like the idea of them being segmented, with this higher layer behind her head almost kinda giving the image of a crown, but I have to admit, I do miss the original ocean-wave hair. It felt voluminous and beautiful, and even the shape of it echoed her connection to the sea.

Imma leave this one to the girlies in the audience who have natural black hair. How do y’all feel about Aisha’s hair here? Did Rainbow do our girl justice, or did they fuck up? Cuz like… with Rainbow’s track record, I think we all know which side to air on.

Bloom:

And now, the last for last… Bloom. Weirdly, as clear as it is that she’s the most important character, I feel like that’s also led to her having the most unimpressive transformation. My friend described her flying around on the flames as very wannabe-Starfire coded, and I have to agree. Starfire would’ve done a much better job at this.

It suffers from a similar issue I have with her Believix sequence, where it’s just Bloom floating around as her transformation happens to her. The only advantage is that Bloom is actually using fire to don her outfit, so you know what her magic is. I do like the idea they were going for as she’s in awe of what she can do, and I appreciate the heart imagery, but that’s about it. And truth be told… the butterflies should’ve been fireflies. Just saying.

Honestly, I would’ve preferred them incorporating Bloom’s love of drawing here. Maybe she draws her outfit in flames, and then it manifests? Show off her unique interests and skills as she’s transforming, the way y’all did with Musa and Aisha, and even Flora and Tecna to some extent.

And… oh god, Bloom’s outfit. I hate it so much. This one is really not beating the AI allegations, cuz only an AI would make such a hideous pair of shorts with that hideous-ass skirt. Like, it’s trying to be both a full and half skirt, half of it is sorta wavy, and then the other half is overly frilled?! Why?! It looks like it was being forged, not woven, and it melted before it could be properly shaped.

I hate the pink accents. Yes, Bloom can be cute in pink, but does it have to be her main accent color? Why not yellow? I don’t like the gradient on her shoes, which are very ugly by the way, and I hate this weird top that looks like it wants to be armor with the pauldrons? Gurl stop it. Stop it right now.

And the hair… oh god. Admittedly, I’ve never liked the high-ponytail look for Bloom, but this is crossing a line. This doesn’t look like Bloom. She lacks her iconic face-framing bangs, her silhouette is ruined, and these braids on either side of her face have got to go. Right. Now. Her wings don’t even look good. They look like a worse version of Aisha’s wings.

It’s just… so insane that Bloom looks the worst here. Usually they try so hard to make her look more important, and in the process, she looks like she’s been fed through an AI slop machine the most times. Like her outfit is just… so ridiculous and hideous, that it’s broken reality itself.

Conclusion & Outro:

So… these transformations were very hit and miss. Overall, they’re definitely leaning on the overly busy side, but it’s so strange to see the characters Rainbow usually ignores fare far better than the screenhogs. The designs are on the whole worse than their originals, giving over-designed costumes rather than Italian high fashion. And perhaps that is the biggest crime of all.