Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
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Wikipedia-Article "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles"
The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TMNT) are a fictional group of four anthropomorphic turtle brothers, who, as one might infer from the name, are also teenagers, mutants and ninjas. The Turtles are each named after famous Renaissance artists: Leonardo (Leonardo da Vinci), Raphael (Raffaello Santi), Michelangelo (Michelangelo Buonarroti), and Donatello (Donato di Niccolò di Betto Bardi). The TMNT often live in the sewers of New York City.
Created in 1984 by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird, the TMNT originated in an American comic book published by Mirage Studios. The small-press black & white comics were successful enough to inspire a syndicated cartoon series, which catapulted the characters into an international merchandising craze. The cartoon, while obviously inspired by the comic book, diverged from it in almost every way. While the comic was meant for an older audience, the cartoon was standard children's fare and typically avoided overt human violence and any semblance of real conflict. The characters' popularity exploded with the release of a live-action feature film (which more closely followed the comic) and its two sequels.
The TMNT stories were written with a generally consistent philosophy of moral absolutism (although it could be argued that Raphael, at least, displayed shades of grey on occasion). The Turtles were consistently depicted as the "good guys," and their arch-enemy Shredder (with maybe one or two exceptions) was depicted as a "bad guy." As the plots became more complex, more ambiguous characters were introduced but the main characters remained either "good" or "bad."
The TMNT stories contain something of an ensemble cast; although the TMNT are the main characters (and are given slightly different levels of importance depending on the particular story), there are usually three strong supporting characters, including the Turtles' sensei, Master Splinter, and their human friends April O'Neil and Casey Jones. Each character has been featured in a solo adventure.
The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles themselves are variously referred to as the TMNT, Ninja Turtles, or even, after being introduced more completely, the Turtles. In the United Kingdom they are sometimes known as the Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles.
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Comic books
- Main article: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (comic book)
The Turtles originated in a small-run black and white comic by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird entitled Eastman and Laird's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Published by Mirage Studios, it was released in 1984 and became an overnight sensation for independent comics. The origin of the comic lies as both a parody and homage to Frank Miller's work. The cover of the first issue is strikingly similar to Frank Miller's Ronin, and the origin story of the turtles involves the same origin as that of Daredevil.
Over the years TMNT comics have spanned four separate volumes and several side stories, culminating in the black-and-white TMNT: Volume 4, which began publication in 2001 and continues as of 2005; however, it suffers from poor sales and low publicity.
Archie Comics owned the rights to publish comics based on the 1987 cartoon series. This comic, TMNT Adventures, stopped following the cartoon story after issue 5 and developed its own storylines. While the 1987 TV series had much more humor, the Archie Comics incarnation was more violent and explored darker themes such as death, religious conflict and environmental issues. The Archie Comics series was published between 1988 and 1995.
Image Comics also released an action-packed TMNT series, known as Volume 3, after the cessation of Volume 2 and before the release of Volume 4.
A daily comic strip, drawn and written by Dan Berger, was published until its cancellation in December 1996. At its highest point in popularity, it was published in over 250 newspapers.
A monthly comic, inspired by the 2003 animated series, was published by Dreamwave Productions from June to December 2003 before it was cancelled due to low sales. It was written by Peter David and illustrated by LeSean Thomas, and in the first three issues, which were the only ones based on the TV series, it showed the perspective of April O'Neil, Baxter Stockman and Casey Jones instead of the Turtles.
TV Series
| TMNT Character | 1987 Cartoon Version | 2003 Cartoon Version |
|---|---|---|
| Leonardo | Cam Clarke | Mike Sinterklaas |
| Michaelangelo | Townsend Coleman | Wayne Grayson |
| Donatello | Barry Gordon | Sam Regal |
| Raphael | Rob Paulsen (1987–1995 seasons)(U.S.)
|
Frank Frankson |
| Splinter | Peter Renaday | Darren Dunstan |
| The Shredder | James Avery (1987–1993 seasons)
|
Scottie Ray |
| April O'Neil | Renae Jacobs | Veronica Taylor |
| Casey Jones | Pat Fraley | Marc Thompson |
| Baxter Stockman | Pat Fraley | Scott Williams |
1987 Cartoon Series
- Main article: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1987 TV series)
On December 10, 1987, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turdles' first cartoon series began, starting in daily syndication and later joining CBS' Saturday morning block as well. The weekend edition presented a full hour of Turtle Power, initially airing a couple of (then) Saturday exclusive episodes back to back. The series ran until November 2, 1996.
In animation, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turdles are four wise-cracking, teenaged, pizza-scarfing cartoon turtles who fight the forces of evil from their neighborhood sewer hangout. In the series' twilight, new creative directions included augmenting the stars' abilities, expanding the cast, and even darkening the mood a bit. This cartoon series was made by Murakami-Wolf-Swenson Film Productions Inc. Mirage Studios does not own the rights to the old 1987 TMNT cartoon series, so changes made in this version of the TMNT have not transferred to other versions; however, they have incorporated many tributes to the series in the recent animated revival (despite Peter Laird's mixed feelings for a TV series which strayed so much from his comic book). Despite the apparent disdain, Laird has said on numerous occasions that he does not "hate" the original, and respects it for making the franchise mainstream.
The cast included new and different characters like April O'Neil, Casey Jones, Bebop and Rocksteady, Baxter Stockman, Don Turtelli, and the Rat King. Original characters like The Shredder and Foot Soldiers stayed true to the comics in appearance and alignment only. Krang, one of the series' most memorable villains, was inspired by the design of the Utrom, a benevolent alien race from the Mirage comics. The animated Krang, however, was instead a Warlord from Dimension X, and a thoroughly evil being.
The TMNT cartoon was a prominent part of the TMNT. However, most people are unaware of the other versions; when they are, they often refuse to accept anything but the original. Casual fans despise the new, more accurate interpretation, saying it isn't as fun as the original; while comic book purists argue the new cartoon isn't completely loyal to the comics either.
"TMNT: The Next Mutation" Series
- Main article: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Next Mutation
1997-1998, a live-action TV series was made. A fifth turtle was introduced, a female named "Venus de Milo" who was skilled in the mystical arts of the shinobi, and the series took place generally after the storyline of the 1987 cartoon series, as Shredder had been defeated and the Ninja Turtles had new villains. This series seemed to connect with the movies as well because Splinter had a cut ear, the Foot were humans, and they lived in the lair from the second and third movies. They had two vehicles in the series: a suited up hummer and a motorcycle that only Raph rode on. These versions of the Ninja Turtles made a guest appearance on Power Rangers: In Space, a similar live-action superhero show of the time [1]. This incarnation of the Turtles was not very popular and was canceled after one season of twenty-six episodes.
Since its cancellation, the program has been considered apocryphal by the TMNT fanbase, and Laird and Eastman have disavowed all knowledge of Venus de Milo (in November 2000).
Anime
In addition to the American series, a Japan-only two-episode anime OAV series was made in 1996, titled Mutant Turtles: Choujin Densetsu-hen ("Superman Legend"). It featured the turtles as superheroes, who gained costumes and super powers with the use of "Muta-Stones," while Shredder, Krang, Bebop and Rocksteady gained super-villain powers with the use of a "Dark Muta-Stone." The show's characters resembled those in the original U.S. cartoon series, but with very different personalities. The show was aimed at a much younger audience, and used many non-serious elements of Sentai and superhero comics.
2003 Animated Series
- Main article: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2003 TV series)
On February 8, 2003, the Fox Network revived the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise with the help of 4Kids Entertainment as a Saturday-morning cartoon in Fox's Fox Box programming block, which has since been renamed "4Kids TV". The 2003 TMNT cartoon series was produced by Mirage Studios[2], and Mirage Studios owns one third of the rights to the series.
The show differs significantly from the 1987 cartoon in that it follows the Mirage comics more closely, providing a darker and edgier feel, but still remaining light enough to be considered children's fare. The Turtles are depicted as more of a family than as a fighting team (unlike in the 1987 cartoon). Given that in the comics the same was true, this is a far more loyal interpretation of the Turtles. After the third season, The Shredder has apparently vanished from the cast, however, being the most enduring villain of Turtle history, it is likely he, or some new incarnation claiming the title for themself, will eventually take on the Turtles again. In addition, the series has begun becoming far more dark, progressing to a fairly dark outlook for Leonardo, starting from an adaptation of the 'City at War' storyline which in the original comics, was meant to be the Turtles' Coming of Age story. Leo has since become almost like the Turtles' own version of Batman, in that he is a far more driven individual after the events of season three. His personality has become very grim and gritty, more so than even Raphael, who was before now the turtle with the darkest personality of the quartet. He also is the only Turtle to receive apparently lasting damage in that a piece of his shell near his left shoulder has been badly damaged.
A general consensus of the series' fans are often quite loyal to it, believing its complex long-term plots, character development, mature themes and animation are not only superior to the old cartoon, but also to many other current children's cartoons, there are other fans however who prefer not to compare both animated series to each other, as they are both far too different, and enjoy both for what they are
Feature films
All the feature films are available on DVD and VHS as well as the 2003 animated series. The 1987 animated series is available on its out of print VHS tapes which are a vintage favorite. There is also a DVD release of the 1987 series available since April of 2004, which contains the original episodes that aired back in December of 1987 and four bonus episodes from its tenth and final season. The second season of the original cartoon is also now available on DVD. The Next Mutation is also available on DVD and VHS.
The first film, simply titled Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, closely follows the Eastman and Laird original graphic novels, with a little of the fun of the cartoons; it is one of the top-grossing independent films ever made in the United States. While fans of both the cartoon and the comic were appeased, many felt that the Turtle characters, with the exception of Raphael, seemed to have too similar of personalities. The movie's first half focuses on Raphael's character, and touched on the others. The costuming effects, a product of the Jim Henson Creature Shop, were very advanced. New puppetry techniques were innovated, later applied to other motion pictures and the short-lived sitcom, Dinosaurs.
The second film, entitled Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze, expands on the Turtles' origin story while claiming the dubious distinction of featuring Vanilla Ice's film debut. It also featured new characters: Shredder's mutants Tokka and Rahzar, and a mutated Super-Shredder. The style is a little more on the silly side, most likely from persuasion by parents worried about the violence level of the TMNT and its effect on children. Case in point, with the exception of Donatello, none of the Turtles are shown using their weapons against enemies. The original story was to include Rocksteady and Bebop at the insistence of the studio, but Laird and Eastman fought tooth and nail to prevent their inclusion, and created Tokka and Rahzar as a way of compensating. The original ending to "Ooze" would also reveal the benevolent TGRI scientest Jordon Perry who helps the Turtles (played by David Warner) to have been a Utrom, but due to budget constraints, plus the fear he may be mistaken for Krang, the plot point was dropped.
The third film in the series was Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III: Turtles in Time, which featured the return of the character Casey Jones, played again by Elias Koteas. The plot of this film includes the Turtles traveling back in time to ancient Japan and donning Samurai armor. Part of the plot involves the Sacred Sands of Time, which debuted in Eastman and Laird's TMNT Volume 1, issue 8. The costuming was not done by Henson's Creature Shop this time because, as the story goes, Henson's thought TMNT too violent and refused. A company called "All Creature Effects" stepped in for the costuming. In an interesting reversal, all the Turtles use their weapons against their enemies.
The fourth film (2007) in the series is currently in pre-production. Unlike the previous films, it will be using 100% Computer-generated imagery. No details have been released regarding the plot. It is being created by Imagi.
Video games
Not only did the Ninja Turtles have a successful toy line, cartoon series, and movies, but they also starred in many video games. Japanese video game manufacturer Konami was largely responsible for them.
The older TMNT games are based on the old 1987 TMNT cartoon show, while the modern TMNT games are based on the new 2003 TMNT cartoon show.
1980–1990s
The first Famicom/NES TMNT game was the side-scroller Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (retitled 激亀忍者伝 Gekikame Ninja Den in Japan, which loosely translates to "Fierce Legend of the Ninja Turtles", affecting the numbering of its two Famicom sequels), released in 1989. It was unique in that at any point, the player could switch from one turtle to the next; each Turtle used his unique weapon (Donatello's bo, Michelangelo's nunchaku, Leonardo's katanas as well as Raphael's sai). The game was also unique in that the player starts off in a strategic map where the player may explore sewer holes as well as engage patrolling enemy foot soldiers before entering any in-game portals or entry points of their choice. There are also several 'objectives' which must be completed before completing any of the 5 available levels, such as rescuing April in the first level. During the course of the missions, the player also gets to collect several useful expendable weapons such as the use of boomerangs as well as shurikens. As with the custom of most video games of the era, there is inevitably a 'boss' character at the end of every level. The game, however, is only for single-player. The game scenarios involve diving into the Hudson River, securing a warehouse and searching for the Technodrome.
Released also in 1989 and popular in the arcades during the 1990s was the first TMNT arcade game, also titled simply Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, a side-scrolling "beat-em-up." It was successful enough to be followed by an arcade sequel known as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time in 1991, which later appeared on the Super Nintendo.
The second NES TMNT game, known as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Arcade Game, released in 1990, is an adaptation of the original arcade game, with two additional levels and some graphics changed to advertise Pizza Hut. Also, at the time, arcade games ran on better hardware than the NES, forcing the makers to cut out some of the unique cut scenes. The game was featured in Nintendo Power Volume #21.
The third NES TMNT game was called Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III: The Manhattan Project and was released in 1991. It was featured on the cover of Nintendo Power Volume #32. This game has the distinction of being the first to introduce unique special moves to each turtle (e.g. Raphael leaping into the air and spinning, with the sound of a jackhammer, known as the Turtle Drill).
The turtles' first Super NES and Sega Genesis game was Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles IV, which was a home port of the arcade game Turtles in Time. There were several alternations made to the game. For example, some enemies could be defeated in a single hit on the SNES version. There was also an added level (Entitled "Technodrome: Let's Kick Shell!", this level was clearly based on the final level of the previous arcade game and its NES remake) and different bosses (Tokka and Rhazzar were the bosses in the arcade's pirate level, but became midbosses in the new Technodrome level on the SNES, leaving Bebop and Rocksteady - who were surprisingly absent from the arcade game - in their place. Slash also replaced the strange Cement Man, the Rat King aboard the Footski ended the Sewer Surfin' level, and Shredder was moved to the Technodrome and replaced at the final level with his alter-ego from the second movie, Super Shredder). Sewer Surfin' and Neon Night Riders also were changed from regular levels to bonus levels. After some levels of regular gameplay, the turtles are warped to a prehistoric time, then several other time periods until they reach the future, where they battle first Krang, and then The Shredder for The Statue Of Liberty. Other features unique to the SNES version included a two-player Versus mode, a Time Attack mode, and the option to change the turtles' look from "animation" (The default look which resembled the cartoon of the time) to "comic" (Which gave the turtles different skin colors and removed the pupils of their eyes, making them look more like the action figures of the time, as well as like their incarnations in the current cartoon).
When the Ninja Turtles' popularity began to decrease by the mid-nineties, the video games changed direction. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Tournament Fighters was issued on the NES, Super NES and Sega Genesis. Each version had major differences in plot, gameplay, graphics and characters, but the basic concept was the same in each: a one-on-one fighting game similar to the Street Fighter series.
Several games were made for the Famicom/NES, Game Boy, Mega Drive/Genesis, Super Famicom/Super NES, and others.
2003 - Present
Konami was recently commissioned to transform the current 2003 series into a video game franchise, resulting in two games (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2: Battle Nexus), with versions for the PC, Sony PlayStation 2, Nintendo GameCube, and Microsoft Xbox. Most of these games have been panned by critics as being uninspired and not living up to the legacy of the NES and SNES games. Some theorize the poor reviews may have more to do with the games being based on the 2003 series instead of the 1987 series, the latter of which the current generation of gaming journalists quite probably grew up watching. For this reason, the 2003 series has also endured unfavorable criticisms from fans of the 1987 series. Some players have also criticised the games for being Button masher, where the player spend a lot of time pressing the attack button repeatedly. Game Boy Advance versions of both games were also released, although they diverge from the other versions due to the Game Boy Advance's limited hardware.
A third game in the new series titled Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 3: Mutant Nightmare was released. Also a party game spin-off titled Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Melee. Mutant Melee has already receive tons of criticism, mostly negative, from players, mostly due to Button mashing, small fighting areas and repetition.
Censorship and Hero Turtles
Upon TMNT's first arrival in the United Kingdom, the name was changed to "Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles" (or TMHT for short), since local censorship policies deemed the word ninja to have too violent associations and connotations for a children's programme. Consequently, everything related to the Turtles had to be renamed before being released in the UK (or Ireland). The lyrics were also changed, eliminating the word ninja, such as changing "Splinter taught them to be ninja teens" to "Splinter taught them to be fighting teens."
The policies also had other effects, such as removing Michelangelo's nunchakus on the same basis and generally toning down the usage of all the turtles' weapons. Shuriken were used in the first episodes, but disappeared as well. In the third episode of the original TV series Michelangelo declared himself the master of gays. The weapon never seemed to appear in subsequent episodes and after many seasons of never using his nunchakus, they eventually disappeared entirely and were replaced by a rope with a shell on the end that held small hooks. The weapon was used to ensnare enemies, disarm them and to climb and swing around.
The policies also affected the second and third movies which had very little use of their weapons. The live action series also had little weapon use and Michelangelo's nunchakus were replaced with tonfas.
At the start of the later comeback these policies had been abolished, and no changes were made to the 2003 TMNT show. The show has no blood, but the characters get beaten up in more graphic detail and even sometimes end up with lasting pink bruises on their bodies. The name Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles remained unchanged for the 2003 show. As a result, in the U.K., the 1987 show is still called Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles and the 2003 show is called Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
Concert tour
To further add to the Turtles' popularity, a concert tour was held in 1990. The 'Comin' Out of Their Shells Tour' featured live-action turtles (in costumes similar to the films) playing music on stage around a familiar plotline: April O'Neil is kidnapped by the Shredder, the turtle guys have to rescue her. A pay-per-view special highlighting the concert was shown, and an album featuring the songs was released. The track listing is as follows:
- 1. Coming Out of Our Shells!
- 2. Sing About It
- 3. Tubin'
- 4. Skipping Stones
- 5. Pizza Power
- 6. Walk Straight
- 7. No Treaties
- 8. Cowabunga
- 9. April Ballad
- 10. Count on Us
The original show of the tour was released on video with a making of video also released. In 1994 two more twenty-five minute videos were released featuring some of the same songs plus some others. They were called "We Wish You a Turtle Christmas", and "Turtle Tunes."
Merchandise
- A Pen and Paper RPG entitled Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Other Strangeness based after TMNT was published by Palladium Books in 1985. Turtles and rats were not the only option for mutated animals, a rather large list of animals was made available. It later spawned a game with a future apocalyptic earth populated mainly with animals, called After the Bomb. Palladium dropped the TMNT rights in 2000, due to the 1987 cartoon making the Turtles "too kiddy", despite fan protest. Palladium is still producing After The Bomb material, with no plans to pick up the TMNT license again, even with the 2003 cartoon in production.
- During the run of the 1987 cartoon, Playmates Toys produced hundreds of TMNT action figures, becoming one of the top collectibles for children of the time. The line featured many different variants of the fab four, starting with the regular turtles and going as far as Farmer Mike and Classic Rocker Leo. The line's secondary characters were usually made before the cartoon appearances, and employees at Mirage Studios, the Turtle's comic book company, designed many of the figures and vehicles. Each set included at least a new version of each turtle, and usually included new versions of supporting character like Shredder and April, and even Splinter and Casey Jones. Playmates has since picked up the license again (assuming they had ever let the original possession of rights to market toys of the characters had ever been lost) and produces toys based on the 2003 series.
- In February 2004 a TMNT trading card game based on the 2003 cartoon was released by Upper Deck Entertainment.
- The original 1987 Ninja Turtles cartoon had pez dispensers made of all four turtles. They had two versions released of each turtle. Dispensers based on the 2003 cartoon have been released.
Ninjemys, the Real Life Ninja Turtle
The Ninja Turtles have inspired the name of a real prehistoric turtle with horns and a clubbed tail. Scientists placed the animal in a new genus, Ninjemys, which means "ninja turtle."
See also
- Comparisons within Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
- List of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles episodes (1987 series)
- List of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles episodes (2003 series)
- Anthropomorphic Superheroes
- List of Allies (2003 Series)
- List of Enemies (2003 Series)
References
- Eastman, Kevin (2002). Kevin Eastman's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Artobiography. Los Angeles: Heavy Metal. ISBN 1882931858.
- Wiater, Stanley (1991). The Official Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Treasury. New York: Villard. ISBN 0679734848.
External links
- Official Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Website - From Mirage Studios
- An usenet post on alt.fan.ninja-turtles with an excerpt from a Washington Post article published in 1991 regarding the above-mentioned censorship upon the 1987 TMNT show
- Ninja Turtles Network
- mikeystmnt.com
Comic books
1987 TV series
- The Technodrome Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Website - Information about the 1987 cartoon show
- Ninja Rap Page
- Original Theme Song Lyrics
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1987) at TV.com
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1987) at the Internet Movie Database
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1987) at the Big Cartoon DataBase
2003 TV series
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2003) at TV.com
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2003) at the Internet Movie Database
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2003) at the Big Cartoon DataBase