TMNT 25th Anniversary Movie

[Sam Fisher]

The actual trailer hasn't been uploaded yet, but I suspect it soon will bet:

 

[Dread]

Very interesting!

I heard that on one of the TMNT fan-sites, the original voice cast of the first Turtle cartoon got together for a reunion. When I read that, I was curious if they all happened to be in town for some voice work for this aforementioned special.

The gist, as given from Laird and company at cons and their own website seems to imply that this special is to basically have various incarnations of the TMNT meet, and the easy example would be the 80's cartoon Turtles with the 21st century era Turtles. I mean, why not? Most of the voice cast of the original Turtles cartoon are still in the biz. Sounds fun.

I am curious if CW 4KIDS will air this before a DVD release, or after.

 

[WolfCypher]

Interesting.

I'm on a computer without speakers, but I think the gist of it is that this will use the classic old-school animation?

 

[Dread]

From the screen-caps it looks like they are using or re-adapting the 80's style character models, for at least Rocksteady and Mickey, with the newer models from the BACK TO THE SEWERS era of 21st century cartoon. One screencap around 25 seconds in seems to show 80's Mikey with 2008 era Raph from BTTS.

It completely works. The TMNT universe is a universe where there are alternate universes and dimensions, across time and back. An arc in Season 3 with The Ultimate Ninja (who was merged with Drago) showed that. Therefore, the 1987-1996 series could exist as one of said alternate realities, and thus a proper crossover makes total sense.

The REAL riddle would be if there would be any mention of TMNT: THE NEXT MUTATION, the live action dross that introduced, briefly, Venus, the she-turtle. I kind of doubt it, but who knows?

It looks like a nostalgic treat. It would also be cool if it was also a great story to boot.

 

[the_ultimate_evil]

this will either work fantastically or be absolute crap

 

[WolfCypher]

The idea of a "crossover" of sorts TMNT special is awesome (don't know if that's what this is, though). Every cartoon series has had its own style and assortment of characters, and the characters shared were still different. It would be a fun trial if this happened to be a crossover between the old-school cartoon and the current one (though I hope it would go the route of TMNT before Fast Forward and Back 2 the Sewers, or even go the route of the CGI movie). Hell, lets add some of the comic's material to the special (the original series and Archie series). All wishful thinking, though.

I'm a little excited.

 

[3dman27]

TMNT on infinite earths cool

 

[Lord Valumart]

this sounds like something wonderful.

i just got done watching the first two series of the 80's toon and am totally up for them dragging the 80's turtles back!

 

[Dread]

I'd prefer the 2K3 TMNT style from before FAST FORWARD myself, the Season 4/5/"Lost Season/Ninja Tribunal" era and before. I doubt it, though; the screen-caps seem to imply the BTTS style, which is simpler and probably less expensive.

I have been curious about this project since a Toonzone article hinted at it. There is the risk that it could rely a bit much on nostalgia. On the other hand, the crew are very much aware that a great deal of the Turtles' current audience are people who were kids in the 80's and are now in their mid-late 20's or so, and thus gearing something strictly towards that audience considering they already exist and likely supplement the new kid audience isn't so bad. The original TV series is out on DVD after all and I am sure some Turtle parents are giving them to their fans in training.

Of course, if it is written as a solid story it will work regardless.

 

[Sam Fisher]

 

[Dread]

"Awesome overload!"

Spoiler

It does appear as if the BTTS era Turtles are teaming up with the original TV show Turtles to take on Bebop, Rocksteady, and robotic Foot Ninja in what may be an underground cavern, perhaps in front of the Technodrome.

It does look cool.

 

[the_ultimate_evil]

ami the only one who wants to see old shredder find out new shredder is an ultrom

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Heh, that would be pretty hilarious.

I'm looking forward to this. I always thought they should reintroduce Bebop and Rocksteady to the current TMNT cartoon, but getting them back in their original form works just as well.

 

[the_ultimate_evil]

I'm looking forward to this. I always thought they should reintroduce Bebop and Rocksteady to the current TMNT cartoon, but getting them back in their original form works just as well.

i think the creators hated bebop and rocksteady which is why they were pulled from the second movie, now don't get me wrong i liked tokka and rahzar and always wanted the 4 bad mutants as a team, but back then it was who the **** are these guys

 

[Dread]

ami the only one who wants to see old shredder find out new shredder is an ultrom

Well, in 2K3 TMNT, Shredder took on three manifestations. One was an Utrom, Ch'rell. One was a Demon from Feudal Japan (that, via "revelation", inspired the Utrom Version). And the most recent was a digital creation made from the downloaded brain patterns of the Utrom version, basically like Ultron was made from Hank Pym's brain patterns.

Personally I think it would be fun for the more dangerous, serious versions of Shredder to see what a whiner that the 80's version was. I mean in that show, he caved TO HIS OWN MOTHER in one episode.

Heh, that would be pretty hilarious.

I'm looking forward to this. I always thought they should reintroduce Bebop and Rocksteady to the current TMNT cartoon, but getting them back in their original form works just as well.

Laird and Eastman reportedly never liked Bebop and Rocksteady, or many of the concessions and creations of the original cartoon show; they were younger and less experienced when they essentially signed over rights to other companies for the gravy train and came to regret some of those decisions creatively.

That said, Bebop and Rocksteady were both mildly referenced in episode 91, "SAMURAI TOURIST" from TMNT's 4th season. In that episode, the ally of Usagi, the rhino Gen, is dressed by Casey Jones in Rocksteady's attire to "pass" in New York, while the villain of the episode is Kojima, a wart-hog warrior from Usagi's dimension; Bebop was of course a human mutated with a warthog.

April's prior career as a news reporter in a yellow suit for Channel 6 was referenced in episode 34 of TMNT's second season, "SECRET ORIGINS PART 3". That episode also named one of the Utroms as "Krang" who was a complainer. Krang of course was always inspired by the Utroms from the Mirage comics. TMNT stuck with April's Mirage origins of being Baxtor Stockman's lab assistant and a brain more than an anchor.

This project does seem nostal-tastic.

 

[the_ultimate_evil]

Well, in 2K3 TMNT, Shredder took on three manifestations. One was an Utrom, Ch'rell. One was a Demon from Feudal Japan (that, via "revelation", inspired the Utrom Version). And the most recent was a digital creation made from the downloaded brain patterns of the Utrom version, basically like Ultron was made from Hank Pym's brain patterns.

Personally I think it would be fun for the more dangerous, serious versions of Shredder to see what a whiner that the 80's version was. I mean in that show, he caved TO HIS OWN MOTHER in one episode.

I agree it will be an interesting dynamic if played right, i always hated the idea of shredder being an utrom i just thought it ruined the character. should be interesting though if they have him interact with both krang and shredder

it wont happen but i would love classic shredder to kick the crap outta all the newer versions

 

[Drakon]

Well, in 2K3 TMNT, Shredder took on three manifestations. One was an Utrom, Ch'rell. One was a Demon from Feudal Japan (that, via "revelation", inspired the Utrom Version). And the most recent was a digital creation made from the downloaded brain patterns of the Utrom version, basically like Ultron was made from Hank Pym's brain patterns.

Personally I think it would be fun for the more dangerous, serious versions of Shredder to see what a whiner that the 80's version was. I mean in that show, he caved TO HIS OWN MOTHER in one episode.

Laird and Eastman reportedly never liked Bebop and Rocksteady, or many of the concessions and creations of the original cartoon show; they were younger and less experienced when they essentially signed over rights to other companies for the gravy train and came to regret some of those decisions creatively.

That said, Bebop and Rocksteady were both mildly referenced in episode 91, "SAMURAI TOURIST" from TMNT's 4th season. In that episode, the ally of Usagi, the rhino Gen, is dressed by Casey Jones in Rocksteady's attire to "pass" in New York, while the villain of the episode is Kojima, a wart-hog warrior from Usagi's dimension; Bebop was of course a human mutated with a warthog.

April's prior career as a news reporter in a yellow suit for Channel 6 was referenced in episode 34 of TMNT's second season, "SECRET ORIGINS PART 3". That episode also named one of the Utroms as "Krang" who was a complainer. Krang of course was always inspired by the Utroms from the Mirage comics. TMNT stuck with April's Mirage origins of being Baxtor Stockman's lab assistant and a brain more than an anchor.

This project does seem nostal-tastic.

You forgot that in the first episode of Fast Forward one of the Turtles [Mike, I believe] lands on a car, and the person driving it looks a LOT like Bebop [down to the purple glasses].

There was also a Seinfeld reference in the episode where they first learn about the Utroms [S01E26]

 

[Dread]

I agree it will be an interesting dynamic if played right, i always hated the idea of shredder being an utrom i just thought it ruined the character. should be interesting though if they have him interact with both krang and shredder

it wont happen but i would love classic shredder to kick the crap outta all the newer versions

To be fair, the "classic" Shredder did have his moments of butt kick for his time. Much as Bebop and Rocksteady at one point in Season One, circa 1986, were a fair challenge before growing weaker/dumber in fights afterward, the Shredder suffered this problem. In Season One, which was only about five episodes, Shredder usually fled rather than be outright beaten. In the second episode of season two, "Incredible Shrinking Turtles", Shredder is able to defeat all four Turtles en masse to claim an alien gem from them. He later defeats Splinter in a fight, too. Two episodes later it led to the "Curse of the Evil Eye" where Shredder is using the alien gems to become a major menace. However, as the seasons and episodes drug on, Shredder, like Bebop & Rocksteady, became more of a schtick than a villain, getting beaten quicker than Skeletor used to. By the 90's he could easily be drop-kicked into a Dimension X portal in most episodes.

The issue, though, was that it was another era for TV cartoons. Comedy was more important than violence. Amazingly, soccer moms decried the violence of TMNT in the 80's, and if you watch the episodes now, even the first five are very, very tame compared to even THE BATMAN of later years. Peter Laird wanted to give the TV Turtles their edge back with the 2k3 version.

80's Shredder likely couldn't beat any of the later era Shredder's in a fight...unless he used his usual tactic of playing dirty, often with a well hidden laser-pistol. The Mirage Shredder was "human" but always dabbled in twisted mystical and sci-fi experiments, from worms to mend his body to clones of himself that became freakish monsters. Therefore I didn't mind the "Demon" version. I know not everyone liked the Utrom reveal, but I thought it did work in it's own way for the show itself. However, I do think Shredder was overrelied upon as time went on. While you could argue the original Turtle show really had no good villains beyond Shredder and Krang, the 2k3 version avoided that trap and had decent ones without Shredder. By the time the digital Shredder arrived (reminding me a tad of Kilokhan from SUPERHUMAN SAMURAI CYBER SQUAD), I was getting a little worn of him, despite him always having a great voice.

It will be interesting to see how the reunion goes. The 80's characters could find themselves "updated" a little, or remain in their goofier styles. To be fair, the original Turtle show did make attempts at growing more serious in tone, slightly, as well as more serial by the mid-90's as it was competing with higher quality fare like X-MEN and SPIDER-MAN on Saturday mornings, but it never quite clicked. Those seasons relied mostly on a warlord named Dregg, who seemed kind of generic.

If the original voice cast has been hired to reprise their roles, the nostalgia value will be very high. C'mon, half the reason many of us geeks rush to see TRANSFORMERS films now is to hear Peter Cullen voice Optimus Prime some more.

You forgot that in the first episode of Fast Forward one of the Turtles [Mike, I believe] lands on a car, and the person driving it looks a LOT like Bebop [down to the purple glasses].

There was also a Seinfeld reference in the episode where they first learn about the Utroms [S01E26]

Right. In my defense, I didn't care for FAST FORWARD so I forgot a lot of details.

The 2k3 era had a lot of references.

 

[Sam Fisher]

http://www.tmnt25.com/road_trip/schedule/52.html

The Turtles come to America’s Finest City ready to party! This Galabunga will entail the world-premiere screening of 4Kids Entertainment and Mirage Studios Inc. Turtles Forever Animation Special.

The event is invitation-only, but attendees (21 and over) will have the opportunity to win tickets by being one of the first 150 people to collect the five TMNT buttons (available at Ubisoft, uclick, Prima Games, Sideshow Collectibles booths and the Party Bus in Horton Plaza). In addition, tickets will be given out at select times and locations in the Convention Center for some lucky fans.

A reception filled with food (including the Turtle's favorite dish, pizza!), drinks, give-aways and special guests will be held from 7:00 -8:15 p.m., followed by the world-premiere screening at 8:15 p.m.

The American Taekwondo Association will also be on hand giving some radical martial arts demonstrations!

 

[Dread]

Hmm, so it's called "Turtles Forever". Interesting.

 

[Sam Fisher]

Guess who will be appearing in this

Spoiler

http://www.4kids.tv/show/tmnt-back-to-the-sewer/blog/tmnt-25th-anniversary-part-5

 

[Dread]

Interesting. The reason those characters were created for TMNT II was because Eastman and Laird supposedly never cared for Bebop and Rocksteady.

 

[Sam Fisher]

That's funny considering they were just dumber versions of Bebop and Rocksteady.

 

[Drakon]

Rahzar looks good, but Tokka looks...I dunno. Maybe it's a bad angle.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Heh, I like those guys.