Whenever a highly anticipated film comes out, there is always a sense of excitement that comes over me. However, this past Friday, as I stood in line to purchase a ticket for "Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie," a more complex feeling consumed me: nostalgia. While the film was a solid and stylistic adaptation of the original source material that I devoured as a youngster, I wondered if I would've been as inclined to see it had it not been for my love of the graphic novel series as a child.

After all, the toilet humor of the film (which the filmmakers cleverly poke fun at throughout the movie), like the source material, was something I would have only found funny in elementary school. If I didn't grow up with these books, or had no child to see this with, I may have saved my money for "Wonder Woman."

Underpants author Dav Pilkey's decision to hold off on handing over the film rights may have proven beneficial to Dreamworks Animation (for the hilarious story on how they finally obtained the rights, click here) . Hollywood executives know, with any book-to-film adaptation, they'll have a built-in audience. Surely enough, the kids that read these novels when they came out grew up to become young adults with paychecks and a burning feeling of nostalgia.

Of course, young adults aren't the only ones prone to nostalgia. Classic television series from the 70's, 80's, and 90's, such as "CHiPS" and, "Baywatch" have recently received the silver screen treatment. The trend I've noticed with these films is that, while the filmmakers keep the general premise of the source material, they make R-rated content from what could easily be considered family-friendly TV shows (aside from "Baywatch's" jiggle factor, obviously).

Since the executives already know that older adults are going to see these films based off of nostalgia alone, they push the screenwriters to include plenty of raunchy humor to draw in the younger crowd. The result for these two films: not so great. "CHiPs" only made $25.5 million off of a $25 million budget. "Baywatch" is currently at $36.7 million worldwide and still has a ways to go to make up for its $69 million budget. Both films have also been generally panned by critics.

The question then is this: When does nostalgia translate into dollars? After all, "Captain Underpants" made $8 million opening day, and will likely surpass its $38 million budget. Why did some of the other treasures of simpler times not stuff the Hollywood execs' wallets? From my observations, it seems as though the whole reason things are nostalgic is because fans remember them a certain way.

Even though the humor of "Underpants" doesn't necessarily resonate with me the way it used to, it's still the same humor. It doesn't try to be something that it isn't. I can appreciate the fact that it sticks so closely to the source material and offers a fresh visual style and self-referential jokes from time-to-time to appeal to the older audience. It is everything I loved about the series as a kid to begin with. People who loved the original "CHiPS" and, "Baywatch" may be disappointed that they aren't how they were when they aired on television. Slapping a familiar title on something doesn't necessarily make it the same thing.

Personally, my childhood was the best time of my life, so anything that reminds me of it will naturally draw my attention. That being said, nostalgia blinders off, "Captain Underpants" was a fun movie and can probably be enjoyed whether you read the books or not. Have you seen "Captain Underpants" already? Did you enjoy "Baywatch"? Share your thoughts in the comments below.