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Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

edited March 2012 in Manga/Comics
So in light of the size of the franchise, the fact that this forum is largely populated by geeks that grew up in the 80s and early 90s, I thought the TMNT deserved its own thread. So here it is to discuss all about it, including the announcement about the new Michael Bay produced film.

Speaking of which:




Generally, I don't have great hopes for it, but I'm open to surprised. If it even comes close to the 2007 animated film (which was actually pretty good), let alone the original live action film, I'd be very, very surprised.

What I'd really like is a really dark and gritty film, such as were the comics at the very beginning. Unfortunately, the only time we've really come close to this on any cinematic scale is the black and white universe at the very end of the Turtles Forever TV film.

At least the promo picture looks nice, though I'm not sure if it is directly associated with this film or if it is from a different property:
image



There is also a new animated TV series forthcoming this year, which I may watch. Considering the decent show that 4 Kids put together between 2003 and 2009, this could be pretty good.
Post edited by chaosof99 on
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Comments

  • Eh, I'm not a big fan of movie bob. A lot of the time, it seems he's just being negative for the sake of being negative and snarky, trying to out-yahtzee yahtzee, but not being anywhere near as successful as it.
  • Eh, I'm not a big fan of movie bob. A lot of the time, it seems he's just being negative for the sake of being negative and snarky, trying to out-yahtzee yahtzee, but not being anywhere near as successful as it.
    First time I've watched it actually. Only noticed it being advertised because the advert Icon which was on the page while I was watching Zero Punctuation had a Ninja Turtle on it. Did agree with him here.

    But please, don't derail the thread.
  • When people get cranky about "derailing the thread," it makes me want to derail it even further.

    I think the Decepticons deserved to inherit Cybertron. After all, it was Megatron's cunning that killed Optimus.
  • But the first Ninja Turtles movie is already dark and gritty. It is the perfect balance of dark and funny. Plus, Michael Bay. Bleagh.
  • As long as the new film has Rocksteady and Bebop, I will be okay with it. I sure miss those goons.
  • edited March 2012
    http://hardcoregaming101.net/tmnt/tmnt.htm has a pretty good look at the series, the comics, and of course, the video games.
    http://www.awopodcast.com/2008/08/anime-world-order-show-71-depression.html is the episode of Anime World Order that reviews a TNMT anime.
    Generally, it's a series that I liked as a kid and want to like, but the old TV show just does not hold up from the couple of DVDs I've watched.
    Post edited by Hitman Hart on
  • Michael Bay is fine. Honestly, his direction could work with this property. Even movies that are still bad of his, can still be loved like Bad Boys 2.

    Just get a good writer, not Ehren Fuck Krueger.
  • Frankly, I think right now the bigger issue is that the franchise is called Teenage MUTANT Ninja Turtles and he's going to make them aliens, thus fundamentally changing the story.
  • But the first Ninja Turtles movie is already dark and gritty. It is the perfect balance of dark and funny. Plus, Michael Bay. Bleagh.
    If nothing else we can at least expect a level of violence fitting the original comics.
  • But the first Ninja Turtles movie is already dark and gritty. It is the perfect balance of dark and funny. Plus, Michael Bay. Bleagh.
    Interesting thing: At least in germany they dubbed various comedic sound effects (think 60s batman without the sound effect cards) into the fight scenes of the first live-action film. It's really bizarre. Not sure if it happened anywhere else.

    They also cut the scene where Michelangelo has the show-off fight with one of the foot soliders about their prowess in handling a nunchuk:


    That's probably because nunchuks were banned in the UK or something and I believe they were working off the UK print. They also cut scenes from the 80s cartoon for that reason.
  • Personally, I hope that new film would go somewhere in the direction like this fan made short film:
  • Frankly, I think right now the bigger issue is that the franchise is called Teenage MUTANT Ninja Turtles and he's going to make them aliens, thus fundamentally changing the story.
    I don't know about that. After watching that video, that seemed like a very small snippet of what he was saying, and it didn't have any context at all. "Alien origin" can mean a lot of things. Heck, alien can even simply mean unknown. But yeah, if it's Turtles From Space, fuck that nonsense.

  • edited April 2012
    1) Mutated amphibian ninja warriors who live in sewers and fight space aliens and other mutants is already ridiculous. Even somebody like Michael Bay can't fuck it up because the "lore" (oh god) is already batshit insane.

    2) The cartoon you love already changed a whole bunch from the comics.

    3) The 80s movies changed a bunch on top of that. And the creators gave Vanilla Ice the go-ahead for "Ninja Rap."

    4) The ooze that mutated the turtles was brought to Earth from space by Krang, so there's already a "Turtles From Space" element to the story.

    5) I can't believe we're debating whether introducing an arbitrary change (to a franchise that, frankly, Salvador Dali would have found implausible) will "ruin" it. That's just a hilarious thing to think about.
    Post edited by Jason on
  • Jason, I think it has more to do with Michael Bay announcing that change (if it even is a change), rather than the change itself. Bay has kind of a reputation for ruining franchises in the name of making them more accessible, and that makes fans alarms trigger kind of easily.
  • edited April 2012
    Then it sounds like "fans" are looking for any reason to get riled up and indignant. This is what Comic Book Guy was made to lampoon.

    Also, Bay didn't ruin the Transformers franchise. He made one mediocre movie and two bad ones. That didn't make the pre-existing Transformers media worse.
    Post edited by Jason on
  • No, it didn't change the pre-existing Transformers media, but EVERY SINGLE TRANSFORMERS THING since the horrible movies draws heavily from the horrible movies. It will take a LOOOONG time before Bay's influence is allowed to exit the franchise, if it ever does. So yes, Bay has in fact ruined the Transformers for those fans who were interested in the future of the franchise and dislike the elements introduced in the live-action films.
  • So don't watch the new stuff. There is no reasonable expectation that a consumer toy-driven cartoon franchise from the 1980s has "a future," so you'd be hard-pressed to show that Bay's handling of it "ruined" anything. There are no demonstrable damages here. This is why nerds need to take a step back and put things in perspective. Jesus. It's cartoon robots and amphibians, people.
  • I don't know, Transformers Prime is pretty good, but that might be because Peter Cullen is Optimus Prime and Frank Welker is Megatron.
  • Jason, it's not Turtles from Space. It's ooze from space that happened to mutate 4 perfectly ordinary Earth turtles. That's the difference.

    Honestly, there is so much new TMNT stuff, including cartoons, since the old comics and TV show I used to watch that I have no care about "canon." I just want an entertaining movie that doesn't suck. If it sucks, I'll just not watch it again. That's not going to stop me from pointing out why it sucks, but I'm also not going to whine about how it needs to be undone and reversed for the sake of canon. Sort of like the Sherlock Holmes movie. I hated the shit out of it, but I'm not demanding reparations.
  • When people get cranky about "derailing the thread," it makes me want to derail it even further.

    I think the Decepticons deserved to inherit Cybertron. After all, it was Megatron's cunning that killed Optimus.
    Totally correct. Also, realistically, how the hell did some slaves manage to best military robots in combat?

  • First of all, Transformers was ALWAYS garbage. Yes, always. Yes, even the movie. Especially the movie - fuck you, Hot Rod. You will never be Optimus.

    So, sometimes, there's really nothing to ruin. In the case of TMNT, we had a ridiculous premise and various media of various quality. Like Nuri said - there's so much turtle stuff out there that you'll always have something to enjoy.

    And the original TMNT movie will forever have points deducted because of that line from "T-U-R-T-L-E Power" about Raphael being the leader.
  • Totally correct. Also, realistically, how the hell did some slaves manage to best military robots in combat?
    Supposedly, the Autobots were the first to develop the ability to transform. Using their abilities to disguise themselves, they waged an effective guerrilla campaign. By the time the Decepticons had developed transforming ability themselves, the Autobots had reached a point where they were militarily on an even level.
  • Transformers wasn't garbage. It was half garbage. On the one hand you had this pretty great epic sci-fi story and awesome robots battling. On the other hand you had awful animation, stupid corny characters, a lot of bullshit to sell toys, etc. Also, in a lot of the episodes that sci-fi story doesn't really shine through. You would watch a whole season and barely get five minutes of information about the matrix or whatever. He-Man is completely garbage. Transformers has some magic that shines through that makes you want to dig it out from underneath the crap.

    The original TMNT movie is the greatest and is perfect in anyway. No points deducted for anything whatsoever. It's probably the best turtle thing there is, period.
  • Oh, the original movie is certainly the best, but that one blemish is so glaring that it HURTS. I can't ignore it. The error was burned into my 8-year-old brain.

    You never know - maybe Michael Bay will choose this moment to be good.
  • Oh, the original movie is certainly the best, but that one blemish is so glaring that it HURTS. I can't ignore it. The error was burned into my 8-year-old brain.

    You never know - maybe Michael Bay will choose this moment to be good.
    Doesn't hurt me.

    I MADE A FUNNY
  • Oh, the original movie is certainly the best, but that one blemish is so glaring that it HURTS. I can't ignore it. The error was burned into my 8-year-old brain.
    Okay, but that song isn't actually played until the credits. So you can watch the movie and not hear the song.

  • Oh, the original movie is certainly the best, but that one blemish is so glaring that it HURTS. I can't ignore it. The error was burned into my 8-year-old brain.
    Okay, but that song isn't actually played until the credits. So you can watch the movie and not hear the song.

    It's too late. I know it exists. Even if I stop before the credits, I'll know why.

  • Totally correct. Also, realistically, how the hell did some slaves manage to best military robots in combat?
    Supposedly, the Autobots were the first to develop the ability to transform. Using their abilities to disguise themselves, they waged an effective guerrilla campaign. By the time the Decepticons had developed transforming ability themselves, the Autobots had reached a point where they were militarily on an even level.
    Huh, now that you mention it that does ring a few bells. I think a lot of the Decepticons' arrogance and in-fighting helped out too.
  • Why is Michael Bay so successful despite taking licenses and stomping and pissing all over established canon? Is it not geeks who go and see his films? Are frat bros really turning out by the hundreds of thousands to go see Transformers? Why is he being allowed to ruin TMNT? I don't get it.
  • edited October 2012
    Since I'm the unrepentant Turtle fan in this forum maybe I should say a word on the new animated series that started on Nickelodeon last Saturday: It's pretty good. Well, at least from the first episode, which is basically the Turtles' first encounter with the surface world, with some background origin exposition sprinkled in between.

    It is definitely aimed at kids with some crude humor, but the Turtles do get to use their weapons. It is also has its fair share of funny moments and the visual aesthetic sets it apart from other properties based on the Turtles. The series is animated in 3D, though there are certain 2D scenes (in flashbacks) and it makes use of 2D effects and "additions", such as for example manga-like mood indicators or overlying teary, pleading eyes in one scene. The 3D in itself is also good enough, though maybe it needs a little time to get used to and could be better in some places. The very rectangular body shapes for some characters remind more of the 2003 animated series than for example the 2007 animated feature film, and not just for budget reasons.

    The characterization of the Turtles in their character design also takes a step in the right direction in my opinion. In addition to the different colored masks and the difference in skin tones of the main characters, mainstays of the property by now, they also get some little traits that showcase their personality. For example, Raphael has a little, lightning shaped piece missing from his breast and back plates, making him look more reckless, while Michelangelo has freckles and a much shorter "tails" on his mask knot making him look more immature. The Turtles also regain pupils to their eyes (as distinguished from the 2003 animated series) and the four of them all have distinct eye colors.

    I also like the design of the other characters, such as Splinters regal appearance, though I think the human characters could use a little work. I also find it weird that April O'Neill is a teenager in this series, and that the antagonists for the first episode are the Utrom, or at least a subgroup of them called "Krang". Would not have guessed we would see alien brains in robot bodies to start out with. I also think they turned up the stupidity on Michelangelo a bit too much. On the other hand, I do like that they made Donatello much more active and purpose driven, rather than being the passive guy who overthinks everything.

    In summary, the episode was pretty good and the show appears to be headed in a good direction.
    Post edited by chaosof99 on
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