The Big Picture: Turtle Power - The Older, Better TMNT Movie

[Darth_Payn]

Thanks for the stroll down memory lane, Bob. They made it look like the cartoon came to life to my 6-year-old self! I didn't watch the 2003 version of the toon (except for the Turtles Forever special), despite watching the Transformers: Armada series from around the same time, so I can't comment on how it did. I have been watching the latest CGI cartoon on Nicktoons, and it seems to me to capture a lot of the spirit of the old cartoon and the movies.

 

[Guilen-]

How come nobody ever brings up TMNT Adventures? Just because it was under the headline of Archie Comics? By the time I was 8 I knew all about Buddhism, Japanese Mythology, Islam, Black Holes, Karma and Nirvana and reincarnation, principals of honor, any number of amazing concepts delivered into my young mind in the most entertaining and endearing way possible. And then there was Ninjara, Raph's foxy girlfriend. TMNT Adventures is pretty much the best incarnation of the turtles besides the first film and I always found it criminal how overlooked it was, especially compared to the (loveably) dumbass cartoon.

 

[Sniper Team 4]

Ha ha! I completely forgot about that nunchaku scene between Mikey and the Foot ninja. "Keep practicin'" Made me laugh.

 

[RealRT]

The '03 cartoon was better IMO, for the same reasons.

I don't think the '03 series gets enough love. Maybe it's just because that was the one I grew up watching, myself being 8 years old at the time of the series' start, but aside from the final couple seasons, which were sudden, rushed and jarring changes from the previous established setting and canon due to the network wanting to move more merchandise, I thought it was pretty good. Much like the movie, it had more personality than the comics and more substance than the original animated series. It's a lot less goofy than the movies, but the darker aesthetic and themes made it rather gripping for a children's cartoon of its type. Plus, I think that the visual design of the turtles themselves is pretty good; they all manage to be visually distinct while sticking to the same style.

Maybe it wasn't as good as I'm remembering it, but I never see it brought up in Ninja Turtles discussions and videos.

Having grown up with the original animated series and the classic movies I've got to say while I owned a lot of the toys figures and related VHS tapes (god I feel old) I personally prefer the 2003 series overall and it's movie Turtles Forever and honestly my opinion of the classic series mirrors 2003 Mikey's, love em at first but after awhile they just start to grate on my nerves.

Still now might be the right time to rewatch the first two movies again, maybe there better than I remember.

Thank you kind sirs for being so much right. The 2003 cartoon doesn't get nearly enough love it deserves for good characters, nice overarching plots in which in Rowlingian fashion minor elements from way before can come back as huge plot devices and great artwork.

Oh Bod. Do you really think the old movies was really good?
I don't want to make a comparison with the old and new movie, but a comparison with the movie and the cartoon.
It watchable, but it is not a very good movie.

My biggest disappointment was the Footclan plot of the movie. Seriously? You made the most awesome Robot Ninjas into a group therapy of little kids rejected from other people?
I didn't liked April.
Shredder plan is not suitable to his personality.
Where the f*ck is Krang?
Where the f*ck f*ck are Bebop & Rocksteady?
Why the f*ck the children are stupid morons?
etc,ect,etc

No......Bod I will watch the new TMNT movie and maybe I will like it.

TMNT 1990 movie, 7-10
Good movie, but it is SO Overrated with many mistakes/changes which personalty irritate me.

The movie was closer to the original comics in which there was no Krang, Bebop or Rocksteady and the Foot weren't robots.

 

[V4Viewtiful]

The '03 cartoon was better IMO, for the same reasons.

That's because it was but it didn't suffer the limitations of a live action movie. It still remains a high point.

 

[Draconalis]

I personally feel the movie holds up well when you ignore the spiral corded phones.

I love this movie, and I really... REALLY want to own it. I don't want the 4 pack for 12 dollars... I just want the first one.

 

[The Great JT]

I'm not satisfied, Bob. How about next week taking a look at the Casey Jones fan-film?

 

[Ghadente]

Cowabunga Bob, Cowabunga! 110% agree with this one. the original Live Action TMNT still holds up today, its got action comedy and emotion to tie it all together.
sigh, if only people took what others have done right in the past and improved upon it when doing a reboot/remake or what have you.

 

[Tim Chuma]

I went to a screening of the original live action TMNT that had people dressed up and this intro
https://vimeo.com/85604932

I liked the fact that Kevin Clash (Elmo) was Splinter.

I own the Hong Kong version of the DVD that has famous comic actors from Hong Kong comedies doing the voices, they even do a song at the end.

The soundtrack has to be one of the best ones from that period to capture the exact mood at the time. Nothing can beat the Prince Batman soundtrack though.

 

[Bonecrusher]

Yeah....the first TMNT was brilliant. Especially since it actually had some emotional depth to it (the brotherhood of the turtles, and their relationship to their father figure).

Also, since it was actually mostly about the TURTLES. It seems Michael Bay is hell-bent on taking old franchises and making movies about them, while at the same time not actually having the movie about THEM.

Transformers needed more transformers. A LOT more transformers. And while I havent seen the new TMNT, from what I hear, it leans HEAVILY on April O'neil. Thats not who we're there to see...and neither do we need a human being to have an emotional connection.

I cried at the start of UP. And at the end of Toy Story 3. Nothing about those movies were real, and one of them had living toys as the main characters. Stories and good characters will deliver emotional investment. Tacked on human stories, do not.

The difference between old and new movies

Old Movies: A human being involved in a different world
New Movies: A different world being involved around a human being.

You can see this in many 80s/90s kid movies. There's a premade life out there, and our kid hero discovers it. That life still continues without our hero.
Today, as seen in Transformers and TMNT movies, the hero creates that life, and the life is dependent to our hero.

Today's directors and producers assume that kids need to tacked on human stories to feel emotional connection.

 

[SweetShark]

The movie was closer to the original comics in which there was no Krang, Bebop or Rocksteady and the Foot weren't robots.

I never read the old comics.
But again, I wanted some things to appear from the cartoon, not from the comics.

 

[cevgar]

My FAVORITE version of the series will always be the Random House read-alongs. Well, they are called read-alongs, though being more or less an audiobook version of the archie comic -- with voice actors, music and sound effects -- they work just as well as stand-alone audio dramas. Example: Chapter 1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mrWDboeKurI

Though the best version? ... yeah, the first movie. No question. Despite being painfully 80's, it ultimately holds up. I still go back to it on occasion.

 

[SuperFlik]

Personally, my favourite Turtles media are the current run of the comics and the 2012-present TV series.

I like the first movie, but one of the biggest problems I have with it is that it doesn't seem to develop the character of anyone aside from Raph. They don't go much deeper with the other three than Leo is the leader, Donnie's the smart one and Mikey's the jokester/party guy.

Take the way they characterized the turtles in the 2012 series:
Leo is still the leader, and takes his training the most serious out of the four, but isn't confident that he has what it takes to lead
Raph is still the hot head, and physically the strongest, but has his own pet snapping turtle named Spike that he can open up to (until half-way through the second season)
Donnie is still the smartest, but this time around he has fallen in love with April, which leads to tension between him and Casey
Mikey is still the party guy and like naming each new enemy they come across, but he also has the most talent, if only he would put his skills to use.

 

[Amir Kondori]

I loved the first movie when it came out. My grandma taped it for me and sent me the tape, as we didn't have cable and I didn't get to see it when it was in theaters. I was probably nine or ten when I saw it. I was super into TMNT, had a ton of the toys, the technodrome, blimp, pizza shooter (do not point at people or animals!). I thought this movie was as good as you could want in a TMNT movie.
I saw the second two down the road but disliked both of them. I am not seeing the new one until I can watch it at home.

 

[SnakeoilSage]

So let's just be clear.

TMNT was released in 1990. The Turtles can move, emote and turn their heads well enough to be given proper camera work for an action scene.

The Dark Knight was released in 2008. Batman can't move, emote or turn his head well enough to be given proper camera work for an action scene.

Just so we're clear.

 

[Chester Rabbit]

*rolls eyes* Because Bob was a kid when it came out so of course it's better.I'm not saying the new one is good but, heh, news flash the older movies were just as much junk food as the new one.

 

[KiramidHead]

Yep, for what it is, the 1990 movie is kind of awesome. I'm still more than a little shocked at how well the actors could fight in those suits. I also have some love for Secret of the Ooze. Yeah, it's a lot cornier and sillier, but it was a mainstay of my very early childhood.

But the movies aren't my favorite incarnation of the Turtles. That honor would have to go to the IDW ser-

Really? No one's talking about the awesome current comics run from IDW? It's great. If you haven't read it, give it a shot. It blends elements from a lot of previous incarnations, most notably the '80s cartoon and the original comics (which makes sense, as one of the writers for the series is Kevin Eastman, an original TMNT creator). I love it.

I mention it every chance I get on these boards. You're the first other poster I've seen bring it up.
It's definitely in the same vein and excellent quality of the 1990 film.

Blast! You guys already covered that. I'll have to add that while the movies are what made a Turtles fan as a kid, the IDW comics are what made me truly love them. That new backstory is pretty darn tear jerking.

 

[IrisNetwork]

Its nice to hear that old theme song play.

 

[80sboy]

Yeah, that movie was outstandingly well made, even with the production value. A kids flick, that was funny, had good action, and had an emotional center, something most film makers leave out thinking kids are too dumb to understand. Plus, best brother dynamic ever seen for TMNT.