Batman vs. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

[Silver Nemesis]

Following their 2015 comic book crossover, Batman and the Ninja Turtles are teaming once again. This time in an animated movie produced by Warner Bros Animation and Nickelodeon: https://www.syfy.com/syfywire/exclusive-batman-and-the-teenage-mutant-ninja-turtles-meet-in-first-animated-movie

The first official image has already been released.

I like the left side of the picture and I'm digging Batman's classic Neal Adams look. But why is Donatello's head so narrow, and why are Batgirl and Robin wearing their New 52 costumes when Batman's sporting his classic look?

Those quibbles aside, this could be a lot of fun. There's no release date yet, but I think it's coming out this year.

[thecolorsblend]

But why is Donatello's head so narrow,

It looks like the turtle designs are intended to make each character distinguishable from the others without having to rely on their mask colors or weapons of choice. All the turtles seem to have different head shapes from one another. That picture even shows a progression of Leonard having the roundest head and then slowly transitioning to Donatello's more upright oval-shaped head. As design choices go, that's rather clever.

why are Batgirl and Robin wearing their New 52 costumes when Batman's sporting his classic look?

If I had to guess, I'd say it's because they want Robin to be recognizable as Damien (groan). As for Batgirl, that outfit was featured in a Batgirl comic that was really soaring in popularity when I figure this movie would've entered production. As for the Adams Batman, it's hard to argue against that.

Haven't been a big Turtles fan since I was about 11 or so. So this isn't a must-watch thing for me. But I like how somebody at WB is willing to pair Batman up with all these different characters. These are fun novelties for the fans, I think.

[The Dark Knight]

I largely prefer Batman contained to his own universe, but this Ninja Turdles crossover stuff really rubs me the wrong way. Whenever I see these four dorks eating pizza, swinging sticks and making lame jokes my eyes glaze over. They can f*** off and leach off some other property, because they sure as hell can't stand on their own two feet anymore.

The Turdles are peculiar in the sense they are both a mismanaged property and a grossly overrated property. I don't know how many reboots they've done to force this brand to be a thing again, but it just doesn't work. The brand mostly appeals to toddlers (who grow up to lose interest) and doesn't have a reason to exist anymore. WHO KEEPS IGNORING THE DO NOT RESSUCITATE SIGN?

The only Turdles crossover I'd read would include the Joker destroying the sewers and taking his sweet time to ritualistically murder each one with a crowbar, split their shells, chainsaw the limbs and dump their battered carcasses in cauldrons of boiling wax.

[Silver Nemesis]

[Silver Nemesis]

I saw this a couple of weeks back, but it's been out for so long now that it feels a bit late to write a site review. So I'll just post a mini review here instead.

I thought the movie was decent, but not quite as good as the advanced reviews had led me to expect. The animation is better than in most recent DC films and the voice acting is solid. It's loosely based on the first volume of the 2015-16 miniseries by James Tynion IV and Freddie Williams II, but there are lots of little Easter egg references to other TMNT and Batman comics thrown into the mix as well. The funniest part of the movie, for me at least, was the end credits which roll against a montage of classic comic book covers that have been altered to insert the Ninja Turtles (or in the case of the TMNT comics, altered to insert Batman). That part made me chuckle. The portrayal of Baxter Stockman as a confused collaborator who isn't quite sure if he's an ally of Shredder's or merely a hostage was also funny.

My biggest criticism of the film is the tone. The depiction of the Turtles is as goofy as you might expect, but the portrayal of the Batman side of things remains relatively serious. This leads to some surprisingly dark and violent scenes that aren't really suitable for children, and because of this the blending of the two universes is not altogether harmonious. I think it would have been better if the film had contained a darker depiction of the Turtles, more in line with the original Mirage Comics versions or those from the 2003 animated series. Alternatively they could have kept the Turtles as they are but opted for a lighter depiction of Batman (The Brave & the Bold incarnation would have been perfect). As it stands, it's an odd mishmash of family-friendly Turtle action and family-unfriendly ninja gore. Tonally, it just didn't quite work for me.

As far as animated Ninja Turtles movies go, I'd certainly rank this one below Turtles Forever (2003), which I thought was a lot funnier and made more creative use of the licence. But Batman vs. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is still a decent flick and it's certainly better than most of the other recent animated Batman films. If nothing else, it's worth seeing for the fight scenes between Batman and Shredder. That's one match-up I've always wanted to see and the animation doesn't disappoint. There's also a cool fight scene between Leonardo and Ra's al Ghul, and all these action sequences are tied together with a solid plot that keeps things from getting too repetitive. The middle act of the film, where Batman and his allies have to fight their way through an Arkham Asylum in which the inmates have been mutated by ooze, is particularly exciting.

That's pretty much all I have to say about it. Decent, but not great. If you like Batman and the Ninja Turtles, or if you're just a fan of animated Batman films in general, then it's worth seeing at least once.

[thecolorsblend]

It's been forever since I read those original Mirage comics. But the Miller-era Daredevil influence was more prominent. As you say, that's probably a better match for a serious animated Batman film with actual violence in it.

This was never a priority to watch for me. But now, I doubt I'll bother even with a rental.

[Silver Nemesis]

I don't know why they've never published a Daredevil vs. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comic using the original Mirage incarnations. The very first issue of TMNT was essentially an unlicensed crossover anyway. They could use that as a starting point: treat the origin story from the first issue as canon, merge the Hand and the Foot into a single clan, and have it so that Splinter's master was a member of the Chaste and an ally of Stick. It's a no-brainer and would work much better than a Batman crossover.

[thecolorsblend]

I don't know why they've never published a Daredevil vs. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comic using the original Mirage incarnations. The very first issue of TMNT was essentially an unlicensed crossover anyway. They could use that as a starting point: treat the origin story from the first issue as canon, merge the Hand and the Foot into a single clan, and have it so that Splinter's master was a member of the Chaste and an ally of Stick. It's a no-brainer and would work much better than a Batman crossover.

You're not the first to ask about that. My understanding is that Eastman & Laird were keen to do it back in the 80's but TPTB at Marvel were iffy on crossing over with some obscure comic like TMNT was in the 80's. Now, yes, the Mirage series was very successful but it was still peanuts compared to Marvel's circulation.

Going forward into the early 90's, the versions of TMNT that were getting all the media exposure were the cartoon show and the movie series. Neither of them were very close tonally-speaking to the original TMNT comics. And let's face it, the original TMNT comics are the best candidates for a crossover. Marvel might've been willing to do a crossover by then but it probably wouldn't have been good "synergy" for TMNT at that time, or so the thinking went.

I've never figured out why it didn't happen in the late 90's though. That might've been a good time to do it for both Marvel and TMNT. Neither property had much to lose circa 1997-1999. It's a serious missed opportunity, if you ask me.

[Silver Nemesis]

I've never figured out why it didn't happen in the late 90's though. That might've been a good time to do it for both Marvel and TMNT. Neither property had much to lose circa 1997-1999. It's a serious missed opportunity, if you ask me.

With Daredevil on the brink of cancellation in the late nineties, it might have been a good way of attracting wider interest. Marvel has already published some pretty lame crossovers between Daredevil and lesser known non-Marvel characters...

...so I don't see why the Turtles should be off limits. Maybe it'll happen one day.