Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Movie Franchise

[The Joker]

Watched it. Didn't hate it, but it didn't captivate me the way I was hoping it would either. From what I can see, Michael Bay did not direct this, but it's quite evident, and not surprisingly so, that his fingerprints are indeed all over this. That can be seen as a positive or negative depending on one's point of view. But yeah, the trailer didn't perk my interest any further, nor did it make me want to boycott it either. Which seems to be the most popular reaction to anything Bay is associated with since he's such a polarizing Hollywood mainstay. I don't think the film made any secrets that the '80's Fred Wolf toon was going to have some influence (which I personally don't see as a big detriment since many many 30-somethings are familiar with that version), along with liberties being taken with the property as well. Right now, the dial hasn't moved for me on this, but a trailer that's slightly over a minute, and that's scheduled to come out in Aug, is incredibly brief, and I want to see more. Alot more. It just sincerely needs to get out of that Dredd trailer marketing if this wants to get the older crowd interested....

[Catwoman]

i know fichtner is signed on for 2 sequels (or i was sleepwalking one night and dreamed it). wonder if megan and any other major players are.

the part with mikey and april at the end sort of looked to me just like the old turtles humor that we love, idk why everyone is saying "omg they went nolan gritty with it" and sh*t. i mean yes a lot of the trailer was but it looks like it will have the same funny stuff we love about the turtles too.

[riddler]

i know fichtner is signed on for 2 sequels (or i was sleepwalking one night and dreamed it). wonder if megan and any other major players are.

the part with mikey and april at the end sort of looked to me just like the old turtles humor that we love, idk why everyone is saying "omg they went nolan gritty with it" and sh*t. i mean yes a lot of the trailer was but it looks like it will have the same funny stuff we love about the turtles too.

There was some humour to the trailer, I can't imagine they can Nolanize a film with mutant turtles. Gritty doesn't always suck as long as they keep the fun aspect intact. I have hope they wont be emulating the goofiness of the 3rd film and cartoon.

[Cobblepot4Mayor]

i know fichtner is signed on for 2 sequels (or i was sleepwalking one night and dreamed it). wonder if megan and any other major players are.

the part with mikey and april at the end sort of looked to me just like the old turtles humor that we love, idk why everyone is saying "omg they went nolan gritty with it" and sh*t. i mean yes a lot of the trailer was but it looks like it will have the same funny stuff we love about the turtles too.

There was some humour to the trailer, I can't imagine they can Nolanize a film with mutant turtles. Gritty doesn't always suck as long as they keep the fun aspect intact. I have hope they wont be emulating the goofiness of the 3rd film and cartoon.

Fans often ask for a super violent and adult version of the Turtles just like the comics. I don't think it would ever work because you just can't ask an adult audience to take talking Turtles seriously frankly. Giving them a sense of humour with a slight edge (as in the 1990 movie) is always the best answer.

As for that goofy cartoon I absolutely love it. It was that show that made the Turtles after all. Without it I think they would be destined to remain as an obscure indie comic and ultimately fade away. I'm pleased that the new film has brought to the screen many characters in the cartoon that had to be left out of previous films such as the Channel 6 News staff and Baxter Stockman. Vernon Fenwick is in it but I presume he won't be as camp or cowardly as his animated counterpart. This would be a shame as this is why fans love him. Hopefully he won't be too unrecognisable.

[Cobblepot4Mayor]

i know fichtner is signed on for 2 sequels (or i was sleepwalking one night and dreamed it). wonder if megan and any other major players are.

the part with mikey and april at the end sort of looked to me just like the old turtles humor that we love, idk why everyone is saying "omg they went nolan gritty with it" and sh*t. i mean yes a lot of the trailer was but it looks like it will have the same funny stuff we love about the turtles too.

People keep telling me how dynamic it is that Fichtner is the Shredder but I'm just not convinced. Look at the original movie Shredder. Not a star actor and he shared the part with a rather brilliant vocal artist. But no problems there nevertheless. He just had a superb screen presence and that's really all he needed to be cool and a great villain. His entrance in the first movie is a fantastically shot piece of cinema and was extremely exciting to me as a kid. It also helped he looked a hell of a lot like his animated series self. For me Fichtner hasn't a chance of competing with that first flesh and blood recreation. 

[The Joker]

Fans often ask for a super violent and adult version of the Turtles just like the comics. I don't think it would ever work because you just can't ask an adult audience to take talking Turtles seriously frankly. Giving them a sense of humour with a slight edge (as in the 1990 movie) is always the best answer.

As for that goofy cartoon I absolutely love it. It was that show that made the Turtles after all. Without it I think they would be destined to remain as an obscure indie comic and ultimately fade away. I'm pleased that the new film has brought to the screen many characters in the cartoon that had to be left out of previous films such as the Channel 6 News staff and Baxter Stockman. Vernon Fenwick is in it but I presume he won't be as camp or cowardly as his animated counterpart. This would be a shame as this is why fans love him. Hopefully he won't be too unrecognisable.

I agree. The original B&W Mirage comic book is great and all, but the number of people more familiar with the 1980's Fred Wolf toon FAR EXCEEDS any sort of number the Mirage comic book version can come up with, and having said that, I can completely understand why that particular toon continues to influence the TMNT franchise, along with this film as well. The franchise was arguably in it's apex in popularity at the time, why wouldn't that fact continue to hold weight? In alot of ways, it's why I enjoy the IDW comics of TMNT so much. As it's a good blend of giving fans a mature version of TMNT, while also acknowledging the popularity of the Fred Wolf toon by actually having characters like Krang and Bebop/Rockteady appear. Something of which was sorely missing from the 2003 animated series. But yeah, I have some concerns about Vernon with the upcoming film, but hopefully he will retain that personality we know of him to some degree.

[riddler]

i know fichtner is signed on for 2 sequels (or i was sleepwalking one night and dreamed it). wonder if megan and any other major players are.

the part with mikey and april at the end sort of looked to me just like the old turtles humor that we love, idk why everyone is saying "omg they went nolan gritty with it" and sh*t. i mean yes a lot of the trailer was but it looks like it will have the same funny stuff we love about the turtles too.

There was some humour to the trailer, I can't imagine they can Nolanize a film with mutant turtles. Gritty doesn't always suck as long as they keep the fun aspect intact. I have hope they wont be emulating the goofiness of the 3rd film and cartoon.

Fans often ask for a super violent and adult version of the Turtles just like the comics. I don't think it would ever work because you just can't ask an adult audience to take talking Turtles seriously frankly. Giving them a sense of humour with a slight edge (as in the 1990 movie) is always the best answer.

As for that goofy cartoon I absolutely love it. It was that show that made the Turtles after all. Without it I think they would be destined to remain as an obscure indie comic and ultimately fade away. I'm pleased that the new film has brought to the screen many characters in the cartoon that had to be left out of previous films such as the Channel 6 News staff and Baxter Stockman. Vernon Fenwick is in it but I presume he won't be as camp or cowardly as his animated counterpart. This would be a shame as this is why fans love him. Hopefully he won't be too unrecognisable.

It cant be super adult oriented. Like batman they could never shun the child market.

I liked the cartoon too. Without it none of the movies would have happened. Though worthy to note that the original movies made a point not to overlap with the cartoon and feature with any characters introduced in the cartoon.


Vernon Fenwick is played by Will Arnett, he's by far the most comedic actor signed on, expect him to be goofy and campty.

[Cobblepot4Mayor]

i know fichtner is signed on for 2 sequels (or i was sleepwalking one night and dreamed it). wonder if megan and any other major players are.

the part with mikey and april at the end sort of looked to me just like the old turtles humor that we love, idk why everyone is saying "omg they went nolan gritty with it" and sh*t. i mean yes a lot of the trailer was but it looks like it will have the same funny stuff we love about the turtles too.

There was some humour to the trailer, I can't imagine they can Nolanize a film with mutant turtles. Gritty doesn't always suck as long as they keep the fun aspect intact. I have hope they wont be emulating the goofiness of the 3rd film and cartoon.

Fans often ask for a super violent and adult version of the Turtles just like the comics. I don't think it would ever work because you just can't ask an adult audience to take talking Turtles seriously frankly. Giving them a sense of humour with a slight edge (as in the 1990 movie) is always the best answer.

As for that goofy cartoon I absolutely love it. It was that show that made the Turtles after all. Without it I think they would be destined to remain as an obscure indie comic and ultimately fade away. I'm pleased that the new film has brought to the screen many characters in the cartoon that had to be left out of previous films such as the Channel 6 News staff and Baxter Stockman. Vernon Fenwick is in it but I presume he won't be as camp or cowardly as his animated counterpart. This would be a shame as this is why fans love him. Hopefully he won't be too unrecognisable.

It cant be super adult oriented. Like batman they could never shun the child market.

I liked the cartoon too. Without it none of the movies would have happened. Though worthy to note that the original movies made a point not to overlap with the cartoon and feature with any characters introduced in the cartoon.


Vernon Fenwick is played by Will Arnett, he's by far the most comedic actor signed on, expect him to be goofy and campty.

Ah excellent. Hopefully he'll just like his cartoon self then. And I just read that Irma might be in it too. Not confirmed yet but fingers crossed we'll see her too. I can see the potential in these new movies of bringing things to the screen the previous movies didn't have. Things like Krang and the Technodrome. It never bothered me the old movies lacked this stuff (I just imagined they were all out there somewhere in the movie universe) but today it's possible and brand new to finally introduce them in live action. I'm excited about that concept than a 26 year old should probably admit to lol

It always bothers me to some extent when fans say the movies (more the first one really) had nothing to do with the cartoon and culled from the comics and hence why it's so great. And of course it did honour the comics excellently and rightfully so. However the filmmakers clearly knew they were adapting an extremely successful and popular cartoon series. There are lots of references there to enjoy if you loved the show, they were not ashamed to toss those in too. I like to think both universes, comic book and cartoon world, could co-exist in this film universe. You look at the way the Turtles, Shredder, Splinter (even April) are introduced on screen and it's all very much a "sit up and take notice" moment. They were all thrilling moments for me as a kid. That was the fun for us kids back then, seeing them as real people in a real New York city. Remember the great tagline?: "Hey dudes, this aint no cartoon!" Imagining that vast and crazy animated world coming to life. It was certainly not just strictly another comic book movie adaptation and was never promoted as such.

Just read an amazing bit of trivia about one proposed ending idea for Turtles II (which has sadly ruined the Prof Perry character for me forever lol). Why in "Krang's sake" (pun intended!) didn't the filmmakers do this! Check this out: "In the original script, the film was to end on a cliffhanger, with Prof. Perry (played by the great David Warner) being revealed to be a robotic shell for an utrom, aliens from the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comics who created the ooze to power their technology. This was dropped due to the fear of kids mistaking it for Krang, a villain of the cartoon series who was based on the utroms".

[riddler]

i know fichtner is signed on for 2 sequels (or i was sleepwalking one night and dreamed it). wonder if megan and any other major players are.

the part with mikey and april at the end sort of looked to me just like the old turtles humor that we love, idk why everyone is saying "omg they went nolan gritty with it" and sh*t. i mean yes a lot of the trailer was but it looks like it will have the same funny stuff we love about the turtles too.

There was some humour to the trailer, I can't imagine they can Nolanize a film with mutant turtles. Gritty doesn't always suck as long as they keep the fun aspect intact. I have hope they wont be emulating the goofiness of the 3rd film and cartoon.

Fans often ask for a super violent and adult version of the Turtles just like the comics. I don't think it would ever work because you just can't ask an adult audience to take talking Turtles seriously frankly. Giving them a sense of humour with a slight edge (as in the 1990 movie) is always the best answer.

As for that goofy cartoon I absolutely love it. It was that show that made the Turtles after all. Without it I think they would be destined to remain as an obscure indie comic and ultimately fade away. I'm pleased that the new film has brought to the screen many characters in the cartoon that had to be left out of previous films such as the Channel 6 News staff and Baxter Stockman. Vernon Fenwick is in it but I presume he won't be as camp or cowardly as his animated counterpart. This would be a shame as this is why fans love him. Hopefully he won't be too unrecognisable.

It cant be super adult oriented. Like batman they could never shun the child market.

I liked the cartoon too. Without it none of the movies would have happened. Though worthy to note that the original movies made a point not to overlap with the cartoon and feature with any characters introduced in the cartoon.


Vernon Fenwick is played by Will Arnett, he's by far the most comedic actor signed on, expect him to be goofy and campty.

Ah excellent. Hopefully he'll just like his cartoon self then. And I just read that Irma might be in it too. Not confirmed yet but fingers crossed we'll see her too. I can see the potential in these new movies of bringing things to the screen the previous movies didn't have. Things like Krang and the Technodrome. It never bothered me the old movies lacked this stuff (I just imagined they were all out there somewhere in the movie universe) but today it's possible and brand new to finally introduce them in live action. I'm excited about that concept than a 26 year old should probably admit to lol

It always bothers me to some extent when fans say the movies (more the first one really) had nothing to do with the cartoon and culled from the comics and hence why it's so great. And of course it did honour the comics excellently and rightfully so. However the filmmakers clearly knew they were adapting an extremely successful and popular cartoon series. There are lots of references there to enjoy if you loved the show, they were not ashamed to toss those in too. I like to think both universes, comic book and cartoon world, could co-exist in this film universe. You look at the way the Turtles, Shredder, Splinter (even April) are introduced on screen and it's all very much a "sit up and take notice" moment. They were all thrilling moments for me as a kid. That was the fun for us kids back then, seeing them as real people in a real New York city. Remember the great tagline?: "Hey dudes, this aint no cartoon!" Imagining that vast and crazy animated world coming to life. It was certainly not just strictly another comic book movie adaptation and was never promoted as such.

Just read an amazing bit of trivia about one proposed ending idea for Turtles II (which has sadly ruined the Prof Perry character for me forever lol). Why in "Krang's sake" (pun intended!) didn't the filmmakers do this! Check this out: "In the original script, the film was to end on a cliffhanger, with Prof. Perry (played by the great David Warner) being revealed to be a robotic shell for an utrom, aliens from the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comics who created the ooze to power their technology. This was dropped due to the fear of kids mistaking it for Krang, a villain of the cartoon series who was based on the utroms".

Eastman and Laird (the brains behind the movie series) did not like the cartoon hence why they didn't have Krang. Also the idea was for the mutants in the 2nd film razzor and tokkah to instead be bebob and Rocksteady but such was shot down. And as we all know there was virtually no overlap on the 3rd film and cartoon (as opposed to ideas to use characters from the cartoon).

I did like how the video games seemed to share continuity with both the cartoon and films.

[Cobblepot4Mayor]

It seems then the trend of creators who resent outside projects, that made their inventions classic characters, continue with Eastman and Laird. As I say I don't think their characters would have amounted to much besides quirky unknown indie comic stars without the show. Playmates in fact refused their toyline ideas until the characters had taken off as a tv show. Which they of course did in bucket loads. Someone even refused their movie idea until they saw the cartoon. They really shouldn't be such grumps about it. I didn't like that 2003 animated series because it stunk of disrespecting the past show. Although I did like it's animation. I knew it was going to be against the old show because I remembered reading about it before it aired. Basically I was like "no thanks". But I'm pleased the new 2012 show is more in-sync with honouring the past and uses a great many recognisable characters.

What is so stupid about Eastman and Laird's request about using Tokka and Rahzar instead of Bebop and Rocksteady is that they basically were just big, dumb, henchmen anyway. In fact perhaps dumber. You have to ask what was the point anyway? And I like the Turtles II henchmen regardless, it just strikes me as pointless the change had to be made.

I gotta say I have no major problems with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III lol (well, besides the disappointing animatronics which never bothered me as a little kid). And I'm fully aware how lambasted it is these days. In 1993 I remember kids were renting it out like crazy. It's defintely my least favorite of the films but there is some good stuff to be enjoyed in it. I love it's vastly different period setting. With a sharper script and characters it might have been the most interesting movie. I mean the Turtles visiting their "homeland" ("Godfather" style") since it's where Splinter's from.   In fact there was an episode of the show where the Turtles travel back to the days of the formation of the Foot Clan.  John Du Prez's music score is top notch. I thought Stuart Wilson, who plays the lacklustre villain Walker, did a fantastic job nonetheless. It's just he could never compete with Shredder as a threat. I still can't believe he's actually the bad guy from "Mask of Zorro" too.