Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

[KageReneko]

I just have seen it in commercials and I already can see I HATE IT... I mean, I tolerate the japanimation body distortion gags (SD forms, dot eyes, changing sizes, giant drop, etc) in japanimation series... But seeing those in american cartoons makes me cringe, it's unoriginal, out of place and completely offensive to the original work...

Seriously, I never was able to watch Teen Titans because of this (Really? The legendary Warner Brothers ripping off generic japanimation gags) but seeing the turtles doing that kind of stuff is like receiving a kick in the crotch (Don't make me talk about that Spider-Man series who also is using that s***)...

And April as a high schooler? Damn, April is supposed to be a part time scientific assistant and an antique dealer but they turned her into a cliche reporter and now into a flat-chested teenager?? I'm so damn resigned to never see anything about April's cancer (Caused by Baxter Stockman) or the shocking secret of her past... I'm also resigned to never see Casey's daughter Shadow on TV (She is pretty cool)...

Damn you Peter Laird for selling the TMNT franchise to Nickelodeon... DAMN YOU!!!

[KageReneko]

Also, that's the worst looking Splinter ever...

[sans soul]

Yeah, the whole April thing threw me off quite a bit, but I guess I've grown accustomed to the whole anime reaction thing. It's become an international way to illustrate emotions in a humorous way. You can take it or leave it. Personally, I'm over my original negative feelings about it. *shrug*

I recently learned the voice actors for all the Turtles:

Donatello is voiced by Rob Paulsen. If you don't know who HE is then GTFO.
Raphael is voiced by Sean Astin AKA "Mikey" from The Goonies
Leonardo is voiced by Jason Biggs (American Pie, Saving Silverman)
and Michelangelo is Greg Cipes, like I mentioned earlier "Beast Boy" among other notable things.

Just thought it was kinda neat that they gathered an awesome cast of voice actors.

[KageReneko]

I am trying to get money for purchasing the ultimate collection books but the damn government continue leeching my money so this may take a while... Now, these are the real motherfu***ng Turtles...

[ANE]

I saw a few episodes of this a while ago. Just looking at it as a new show, it's not that bad, but not something I'll rush out and grab the DVDs for. But yes, if you have been watching from the originals, then it is a very large shift.

Oh and I was brought up on "Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles". 100% nunchuks free and I still can not work out why they did that.

[KageReneko]

It was censorship, apparently nunchakus are more dangerous than swords... Anyway, I noticed Mike doesn't use nunchakus in the new series... Why the hell!! Nunchakus are cool!!

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=osHfzv5pRBo" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=osHfzv5pRBo</a>

[cuchulain]

Kage, as someone who grew up on the original TMNT and the comics, do you think this series is worth checking out?  I'm really busy with work right now and on the fence about it; I want to give it a shot, but I really didn't like the recent TMNT series or the movie all that much.

[KageReneko]

I'm honest, I'm judging the series just for its looks; since I haven't seen any episode so I can't give you any real opinion... Anyway, I don't think it can  get dumber than the 80's cartoons... (At least this one seems to have real combat)

The 2003 series was really good and the only almost faithful depiction that we will get from the real Turtles, I really don't think the Nick series will reach that point of quality...

[cuchulain]

Sorry, when I said recent "series" I meant the movie.  Stupid typos...  The 2003 series was fun, I've just got such a huge queue of stuff to watch right now that I don't know whether to bump it up or not. 

The 80's cartoon will always be number 1 in my book, though!  How can you not love the cheesiness?!  Also, it used to air before SPC in my market.

[KageReneko]

The 80's cartoon is the equivalent of Adam West' Batman; it helped to spread the popularity of the franchise worldwide and we always will remember it like an important part of the TMNT history... Anyway, taking off the nostalgia googles you must admit that the series is pretty bad; all the characters were dumbed down in at the end the Turtles doidn't even used their weapons; the series became stupid and boring even when other rip offs were around and had superior quality (Biker Mice from Mars or SWAT Kats)

Anyway, the original intro of the 80's series continues getting me all excited; the Turtles look so badass there and the song is just awesome!!

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nNa2Fr6CA0E" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nNa2Fr6CA0E</a>

[cuchulain]

Kage, if you really want to put my feet to the fire, I will admit the newer series is better, but the old one still brings back nostalgic memories.  Not to mention the action figures.  BUT, I just read the TMNT wikipedia page, and I had no idea that Chuck Lorre (creator/producer of Two and a Half Men and The Big Bang Theory) wrote and sang the original show's theme song!  Not only that, he says he has never been paid any royalties he is owed from the series.  Maybe Charlie Sheen secretly owns Mirage and this was his payback?

[sans soul]

I am trying to get money for purchasing the ultimate collection books but the damn government continue leeching my money so this may take a while... Now, these are the real motherfu***ng Turtles...

That looks pretty awesome.

I grew up with the original cartoon and it's awesome line of action figures. Good times.

[D-Mac]

So, I think some kind of golden trophy should be awarded to whoever pitched the idea of casting ROSEANNE as the head Krang in the new TMNT.
GENIUS. Sheer genius.

http://www.tvguide.com/News/Exclusive-Teenage-Mutant-1059297.aspx

[cuchulain]

Roseanne as Krang makes sense in a very bizarre, sort of way.  It did make me laugh uncontrollably when I realized it.  Maybe Tom Arnold will able to do some VA work as well?

[Mechadon]

Might go a bit off topic. I still haven't checked this new TMNT out.  But I know it has some of my favourite VA's on it. Rob Paulsen talks about it all the time on his Talking Toons podcast. VA's have become a side interest of mine and I'd like to share the history of this interest.

I guess it starts with Tara Strong; I always say I've been a fan of Tara Strong before I even properly knew her name. I love shows like Teen Titans and Powerpuff Girls, and it's always been a neat tid-bit of trivia to know she has been the voice behind my favourite characters in those shows and many others. It was odd having admiration for her while also never being able to call her name to mind. Then along comes Gabbya into this very message board saying "Hey you gotta give this new MLP show a try".
And I did. First Episode, without needing to see the credits; Twilight Sparkle, THAT's HER! That's Raven! That's Bubbles. Awesome, she's the main character of this show. A Slight digression: You see, I would assume that a show like MLP would be where all the lesser talented people get put on, while all the realy talented get to work on shows like Transformers, Ninja Tyrtles, G.I. Joe. But Tara Strong was a somebody, and I was currious to know if there were any other somebodies assigned to this show. Turns out  a major somebody created the whole darn thing, Lauren Faust along with writers, Amy Keating Rogers, Megan McCarthy, M.A Larson, Cindy Morrow, Rob Renzetti. If you look into what all these people have done in the past; turns out they've been making the shows I love for about a decade. I figured, no more, these people deserve to remain in my memory. I quickley became a fan of everyone who work on the show. Going back to VA's, I came to know a lot of them.

I remember rambling on about them with a friend of mine, he figured since I know so much about these VA's I should look into Rob Paulsen's Podcast. And he was abosulutley right. Talking Toons has had so many iconic guests on the show, talking about their history and how VA's work. I have been able to recognize so many of my favourites from other shows.

From the VA angle alone I can have quite detailed conversations about cartoons while appearing to be completely knowledgable on the subject. Instead of saying "the guy who voiced this and that". I can drop names like, John DiMaggio, Maurice LaMarch, Kevin Conroy, Billy West, Gary Chalk, Grey DeLisle, Jim Cummings, Frank Welker, Dee Bradley Baker, Lee Tockar. List goes on

[Mechadon]

I know I'm Double Posting here, but I didn't get around to fully completing my thoughts.

The sad thing about SPC is I never have seen the names of its VA's pop up anywhere else. Not for anything else I watch. I know Sonja Ball is Arthur's mom, but I never watched Arthur.

[cuchulain]

Might go a bit off topic. I still haven't checked this new TMNT out.  But I know it has some of my favourite VA's on it. Rob Paulsen talks about it all the time on his Talking Toons podcast. VA's have become a side interest of mine and I'd like to share the history of this interest.

I guess it starts with Tara Strong; I always say I've been a fan of Tara Strong before I even properly knew her name. I love shows like Teen Titans and Powerpuff Girls, and it's always been a neat tid-bit of trivia to know she has been the voice behind my favourite characters in those shows and many others. It was odd having admiration for her while also never being able to call her name to mind. Then along comes Gabbya into this very message board saying "Hey you gotta give this new MLP show a try".
And I did. First Episode, without needing to see the credits; Twilight Sparkle, THAT's HER! That's Raven! That's Bubbles. Awesome, she's the main character of this show. A Slight digression: You see, I would assume that a show like MLP would be where all the lesser talented people get put on, while all the realy talented get to work on shows like Transformers, Ninja Tyrtles, G.I. Joe. But Tara Strong was a somebody, and I was currious to know if there were any other somebodies assigned to this show. Turns out  a major somebody created the whole darn thing, Lauren Faust along with writers, Amy Keating Rogers, Megan McCarthy, M.A Larson, Cindy Morrow, Rob Renzetti. If you look into what all these people have done in the past; turns out they've been making the shows I love for about a decade. I figured, no more, these people deserve to remain in my memory. I quickley became a fan of everyone who work on the show. Going back to VA's, I came to know a lot of them.

I remember rambling on about them with a friend of mine, he figured since I know so much about these VA's I should look into Rob Paulsen's Podcast. And he was abosulutley right. Talking Toons has had so many iconic guests on the show, talking about their history and how VA's work. I have been able to recognize so many of my favourites from other shows.

From the VA angle alone I can have quite detailed conversations about cartoons while appearing to be completely knowledgable on the subject. Instead of saying "the guy who voiced this and that". I can drop names like, John DiMaggio, Maurice LaMarch, Kevin Conroy, Billy West, Gary Chalk, Grey DeLisle, Jim Cummings, Frank Welker, Dee Bradley Baker, Lee Tockar. List goes on

Mechadon, I'm also a huge fan of Billy West, but I just wondered if you were aware that he got his start doing voice work and writing on The Howard Stern Show?  A lot of it isn't really appropriate for this forum, but hit up Youtube and put in "Billy West Howard Stern" and you'll be entertained for quite awhile.  Billy and Howard aren't on good terms anymore because he left over money, but as a Reds fan I'll always love his Marge Schott impression from The Howard Stern Show.