From TMNT Front Lines...

[Kevin Munroe]

Hey there!

Okay, so Murph convinced me to swing by and say “hi” here at the Technodrome... Love the forum dedicated to the new movie. Awesome!

I know that things have been mum on a lot of fronts of TMNT as of late – it's just the nature of making a big movie, and having so many parties involved. (and there are a lot) And that kind of sucks for fans.

But as a small morsel, things are moving along nicely on the film. There are around 400 people working their tails off 24/7 to get this in theaters for March 23rd. We're in the middle of the last sprint to the finish line, and my days seem to be divided between everything from animation tweaks, lighting dailies, and music, to overseeing last minute shots and starting post on the film.

So there might be gaps occasionally in my visiting (okay, I can almost guarantee it), but it's just because, y'know, we're still making the movie. I'm amazed at how fast a 14 hour day blows by these days...

And I'll be completely up front in saying that there are probably a few (or a lot) of things that I can't answer or have to be coy about. (casting for example, but only for a short while longer). But I can promise that if I can answer any questions that come up, I will.

There. Caveats done. So... hi. Thanks for the patience and enthusiasm, we're hoping the wait is going to be well worth it. And you'll see the first hint when the real trailer hits in a couple of days. (we just color timed it a couple of weeks ago, and it looks phenomenal on the big screen!)

Speak soon,

Kevin
(a.k.a. Director Boy)

[gobo]

:o :o :o HOLY CRAP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Umm... have a mango, sir. :mango: I believe being a 'welcome gift' is the only purpose for this emoticon.

EDIT #1:
The only thing I have in mind to ask is how static the prewuel comics will be. When (not 'if') the sequel comes around, will the prequel stories be honored? I'm also anxious to know anything about the soundtrack. If there will be a CD, that's another 15 to 20 bucks you can get from me, and I will be very upset if there isn't one.

EDIT #2:
Also, what is "Donner" and where can I see it? And, who is Jimmy Kimmel?? The name sounds familliar...

[Roseangelo]

Wow! Hello, Kevin!

I was at Comic-Con in July and was very impressed with the presentation you gave during the WB animation panel. You certainly gave me confidence that the TMNT are in good hands. :)

And I don't know if you ever saw or heard, but my friends and I wore TMNT costumes in the Masquerade and won for best movie character costumes (here (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v36/roseangelo/2006comiccon034.jpg) is a pic). It was a great TMNT con for us! :)

I'm really looking forward to seeing the new trailer!

[Raven]

Hang on while I pinch my self.

Nice to see you joined the board Kevin, cant wait for your great insight on the film as we get closer to its release.

I was wondering my self if there was any plans on releasing a book with just concept art from the movie? I think that would be really cool to have.

[Raph's Girl]

Wowsers!! Welcome to the Technodrome Kevin!! :o

[Kevin Munroe]

Gobo – Murph and Mirage have been working on the prequels. I kicked around ideas with them before they really got into it, a lot based off of sequences and ideas that we had that couldn't make it into the film. But I don't really know much more about it than that. If anything makes sense to carry forward into any sequels (if or when), then sure. I love the idea of multi-media storytelling like that.

As for soundtrack, we've actually been working on that quite a bit lately. Listening to a ton of tracks with our Music Supervisor. If all goes well, yes, there will be a soundtrack. There are certainly enough appropriate slots in the movie for music cues. (as opposed to ones just jammed in there for soundtrack's sake – I hate that)

Rose – Hey! Yeah, Con was amazing. That response was just insane, and thanks for the nice words. While we had a lot of faith in what we were doing, that really confirmed a lot for us. (and let me sleep a little easier) And yeah, someone forwarded me a You Tube video of your performance. At first, the heading was “TMNT Comicon Footage” and I thought “great, someone's already video taped the 5 minute sneak peek we showed”. But then it was you guys dancing around winning first place. TMNT ruled Con.

Raven – Nothing would make me happier than releasing a book like that. Those artists are just too great not to get that recognition. Not sure if it's in the works for the initial release, tho.

Kevin

[xChri5x]

Please don't put any fart jokes in the movie

[iris]

Thanks for coming by, Kevin! Welcome! Several fans around here have posted links to your interviews about "TMNT," which I thought were great... you can really talk, dude! Not to mention that it was a relief to find that you "get" the subtleties of the Ninja Turtles world. Get yourself some TV interviews! :D

Also, please let the fans help with the buzz-making. They want this thing to succeed! It can be something as simple (and easy on the budget) as posting a movie-related interview/ad publishing schedule. A little advance notice can go a long way.

I liked the whole look of the teaser trailer, but I have to say that the lighting, in particular, is beyond fantastic. I heard comments that watching the trailer was like watching a moving comic book. Congratulations, my good sir. If you were here, I'd shake your hand. Please say the whole movie is like that!

[Masked Ninja]

Raven – Nothing would make me happier than releasing a book like that. Those artists are just too great not to get that recognition. Not sure if it's in the works for the initial release, tho.I too would love to see an "Art of" book for this film. Being something of an animation geek (and looking to eventually get into the biz myself in some way, if all goes well), just the scans that showed up on the Internet of that artbook they had at the Con... I was in heaven. Regardless of what I end up liking/not liking about the film when it comes out, I'm very pleased to see the amount of thought and care that's going into this.

And I suppose I should offer my own :mango: of welcome. Heh.

Thanks for coming around - I'm on the edge of my seat waiting for the trailer to hit. :thyper:

[VaughnMichael]

And I suppose I should offer my own :mango: of welcome. Heh.
oi sorry to go off topic and I'm sure I'll have a question soon but we better be carefull how many :mango: 's we give Kevin we do want him to finish the movie lol:lol:

[Katie]

welllll...hello Kevin! what an honor to have you post here. I'm Katie, and I got a PM this morning that my welcome services were needed. I have been a bit of a slacker in this lately but *knocks the rust off* just for you ;)

Let me also offer you a mango of welcome!! *hands over the :mango:* my special twist on this tradition is to make a welcome smoothie ;) I carry on this tradition that I didn't start, but have carried on with pride.

I must say I am very excited about this movie. I came to know the turtles through the comics way back in the day so anything that keeps in that spirit piques my interest. I know I am absolutely fascinated at Murph's thread and I bet this one will be just as good :D

Again, I welcome you and don't let our lovable crazies get to ya ;)

[Sewer Bull]

OMG, Kevin Munroe himself is aboard! Welcome!

*faints*


As for soundtrack, we've actually been working on that quite a bit lately. Listening to a ton of tracks with our Music Supervisor. If all goes well, yes, there will be a soundtrack. There are certainly enough appropriate slots in the movie for music cues. (as opposed to ones just jammed in there for soundtrack's sake – I hate that)

What type of music is going to be included in the soundtrack? Hip-hop, numetal, classical instrumental? Or maybe some another genre? I'm very curious.

And when are we going to know the whole voice acting cast?

[Kunoichi_Haruko]

Am I dreaming?
::blinks away the sleep in her eyes::
Kevin Munroe? Here? Ah! ::faints::

Hi there! Welcome to the 'Drome, sir. We fans eagerly await this film! I can't think of anything else to say right now, I'm a bit speechless... Just know that you've got plenty of support around here. Just give us the green light and we'll promote the heck out of this thing (if we haven't been doing it already)!

Wow. It's really him... ::wanders off::

[Jester]

Wow....this is awesome. Nice name by the way (is proud to share a name with 2 people who have much to do with the TMNT, less proud to share it with the ex-Mr. Spears) It's good that the 'Drome seems so inviting...enjoy your stay, and thanks for the info.

[raphroehler2003]

First off to Mr. Kevin Munroe big greetings. Thanks for taking the time to chat here what with the hugely busy schedule you're on. At first I was unsure of the whole project but your enthusiasm and the teaser definately made me smile. I do have a question but i hope it isn't considered stupid lol...maybe it will be.

As we all know, there will never be an R-rated, or quote hardcore, Ninja Turtles movie (with I guess hardcore meaning an ultra serious storyline about family/honor or life/death...Sonny Chiba in the Street Fighter type violence (or at least Leo, Raph, and the baddies would be that violent)...I mean they are ninjas lol...or swearing...I mean they are teens in NYC lol or at least Raph would).
Don't get me wrong I fully understand it was a Kids cartoon and Kid-friendly movies...and I love them to death. And I understand fully why it will never cease to be and I accept that, it makes total logical and business sense. And I'm confidant the new film will do it justice.

But I was wondering on your thoughts on the subject...not on how likely it would get made (which is slim and none, and slim left town) but if you or anybody you know in the company have a personal wish of one day seeing something like this done (whether you or another company making the movie, live action tv series on HBO, etc.)? Since whoever saw the first film in 1990 would be in their twenties, even thirties...thus age appropriate?

Again I hope this isn't a stupid question on my part...since it doesn't have much to do with the new movie in question, but I was just curious on Mr. Munroe's thoughts on the matter. Thank you :) and welcome to the Drome.

[Leonardo_Warrior_Turtle]

Freakin' awesome that you stopped by, Kevin. You are just the kind of directors that I like! Those who really want to please the fans. Communication with fans is important and you really nailed that. Thanks! Can't wait to see the trailer on Friday. We all should be blown away. Keep up the good work! We'll do our best to make this movie a success so we can get sequels!

[gobo]

[marketing geek stuff]
Wow... iris wouldn't spend the time to figger out Japanese keyboards for just anyone, Mr. Munroe. ;) Consider yourself just that important. Or, wait... Um... Are you back home or did you finally figure out the Japanese keyboard? :sweatdro:

I'd like to help out with the promoting of the film as well. I plan to get the CD (assuming one exists), the novelization, the prequel comics, the videogame, and the DVD (with probably a few to give as gifts). I'll go to see it a minimum of four times in the theater. I'll be forcing my neice and nephews to see it a bare minimum of once, but I'll suggest encore viewings. I'll go check it out with each one of my friends. Shoot, I may even take dates to see it. But, all this I plan to do to ensure the movie's success, it all seems so... subjective. Is there anything more objective we fans can do to help?

[Duke Igthorn]

First of all : Here you must have two "Welcome Mangos" for beeing that cool to show up at a fan forum.

Tadaa : :mango::mango:

I'm a TMNT "lover" since I was a little child in Germany... which was ... well ... some years ago (I'm 27 now)

I really appreciate that you take your time to hear (or more "read") what fans and friends of the franchise have to say.

I have one question which buggs me since I heard the new movie is announced. And "Sewer Bull" asked it allready.
Who will the voice cast be? It's just because I absolutely LOVED the voice cast of the TMNT2003 cartoon and if I'm not mistaken the teaser trailer utilized at least the cartoon's Mikey's voice, didn't it? :)
And I guess having the "right" voices is a pretty important thing to feel happy with the characters. (The german translation of the cartoon was ... awfull... to put it nicely :roll:)

Oh and as I guess you are at least by now a TMNT fan yourself, you should definately check this fan made TMNT comic out... cause I guess everybody just loves it for it's brilliant character development. (should go to print!)
Of course only if your schedule allows you to do so (addiction warning added ;) )

http://www.obscurezodiac.com/

Soo best wishes that everything goes well with the movie!
We're all eager to see our childhood heroes revived on the big screen again.


Greets,
Duke Igthorn

[Aztec General]

Yowzas! First LeSean, the Rick Remender, then Andres P., then Murph, and now Munroe! This is awesome indeed. Thank you so much for joining our little online community.

My question (obviously without getting into too many spoilers): What made you decide to take the story in the "monster" direction that you chose? Also, since Aztec Generals will play a role in the film, are you a fan/afficionado of Aztec culture?

Thanks again for stopping by.

[Spitfire]

Oh no Mirage has found our secret hideout O_O

But seriously this flow of people who work on TMNT coming here is great! I'm more then happy to see you guys connecting with fans and getting feedback. It's something I wish more people would do for their fan bases.

[discordiatookie]

holy crap how did i miss this thread earlier ?!?!?!:o

sticky it dear admin! please!

welcome, tis great to have you on board, and please try and drag some more officials in! we cant get enough!

as for soundtracks, stick in some kasabian and some libertines, cant go wrong with them! ;) (Murph can vouch for the 'tines!)

oh, and is it true that the UK will be getting the movie released at the same time as the US? please say so (or even a week earlier, i know i would'nt complain :D )

[TerranigmaFreak]

Wow, this is sooooo freaking awesome!!! It's THE director of the movie!!! It really is a nice change of pace to see a cool director doing justice to one of my all time favorite franchise instead of listening to Michael Bay telling me how I'll love the way he's going to rape my childhood.

I don't really have any questions on my mind, so I just want to say a few words of encouragement and thanks for the hard work. I know, I'm only judging it based on the teaser but I'm confident you and the hard working men and women on this project will deliver the goods! Compared to the Transformers (yeah, another big part of my life growing up in the 80s), this movie is getting nothing but positive reaction. From what I've read in the interviews and what I saw, it shows that you really know what you're doing and truely understand the fans.

[iris]

Um... Are you back home or did you finally figure out the Japanese keyboard?
I'm home, at my own keyboard. Thank the gods for my 26-letter language! I love it and hug it and call it George. *kisses keyboard*

Wow, that is way off topic.

Ummmmmmm... I didn't find any ninja turtles in Japan. Maybe I should have tried a South American country??? ;)

[Chris]

Welcome to the boards!

I must say it's fantastic that more TMNT celebrities have starting appearing here in the last month or so! That you're willing to interact with the fans like this shows just how cool you guys are!

I just want to say that I loved the teaser trailer and I can't wait to see the main trailer in a few days time! I don't know much about the plot as I've avoided most of the spoilers so it should be a real treat for me!

Thanks for coming by and giving us an update, I'm really looking forward to seeing what kind of movie you've made (judging from the teaser trailer it looks to be the best yet)

Keep up the good work!

[Raph'N'Roll]

Hey Kevin, I just have a couple of questions.
What sort of running time are you aiming for with the film?
Is the soundtrack if released going to feature Marco Beltrami's score from the whole movie?(that would be cool if it did)
Will the guy's at Imagi be designing the official poster for the movie or will that be Warner Bros?
Not sure if you can answer this, but how many celebrity voices in total are in the movie?

Thanks in advance!

[ThemanthatwouldbeRaphael]

Wow, Kevin Munroe is here. First Steve Murphy, now this. Now if we could just get Peter Laird to swing by we'd be all set.

But seriously, it's great that your taking the time out to come and chat with us fans, and answering our questions. I have to say, I've seenand heard you in all the different interviews, and I'm really impressed by you're level of enthusiasm. I can tell you're really treating this movie seriously, and I know that it's gonna reflect well in the finish product. TMNT is in good hands.

Quick questions...

1. When the cast was doing the voice records, were they all in the same room, or were they seperate?

2. What type of music can we expect out of the movie?

Thanks.

[Toonami Tom]

Welcome Kevin!:) It's really awesome that you are here!:) I want to thank you for keeping the TMNT alive.:) This movie is going to be great!:)

As for questions, I would also like to know how long the movie will be. I hope it's long.:) I wish I could think of more to say and ask.

Add Edit: I was wondering if maybe you knew when the movie action figures will be in stores? That's probably a question I should ask Playmates Toys.

[Kevin Munroe]

Thanks for the warm welcome(s) and all the mangoes. I like mangoes.

Gobo - “Donner” was a xmas special I created for disney/abc family a few years ago. It was made for an insanely low budget, but was really fun to do. It airs occasionally in Canada, UK and a couple of other territories. Jimmy Kimmel voiced the elf Skeezer... before Jimmy became a popular late night talk show host.

Sewer bull - The music in the movie is sort of all over place. It's just a big fun movie, and the music reflects it. Sort of a mix of rock, some hip hop, techno, etc. All pretty appropriate music for each scene, which is kind of what is so cool about the TMNT franchise. Allows you to go in a lot of directions. Marco's score is sounding awesome too – a mix of big orchestral and a few other surprises. He's temping that score now.

Raphroehller - As far as an R-rated TMNT goes... I dunno. I see the fun it would be. But it's sort of like making Spiderman hardcore to me. Maybe it's just because we're in the middle of doing this version, but it's hard for me to see these guys violently killing bad guys and then go home to brotherly/family bickering and then also be obedient of their Father. Hey, it's like “Kids” meets “The Punisher”. Awesome. All that said, it would be great as it would just start western audiences thinking about mass market animation as something other than more talking cute animals. TMNT is a good small first step in that direction – be cool to see where it goes from here.

Iris – Thanks for the nice words. I tend to talk a lot when I get excited. And yeah, I think that there are definitely some nice word-of-mouth things that can be done as release nears. People have this assumption as to what the movie will be like, but it's always fun to see how shocked they are after seeing a clip or trailer. I think the new trailer will help a lot with that cause – a lot of different locations, tons of characters, action and a few bits of comedy.

Duke – nope, that wasn't the TV Mikey in the trailer.

And as for casting, I can still tell you that there is no “stunt casting” for the Turtles. We've all fought really hard for that one, and it's seemed to work so far. You just hear “Leo” when he speaks, etc. The VA's are incredibly talented. We are “casting” a couple of the other parts, but again, I can't say anything as contracts still have to be finalized, etc. But there are definitely some cool genre choices in there that we're all excited about.

Aztek – I've always been a fan of monster movies. Anything creature based is fun. Then after meeting Peter, turns out he loved them too. So it just seemed like a natural progression for us. It was important to Peter that people knew that this fantasy element is a big part of the TMNT universe. I also hate explanations of curses that are too obtuse or hard to visualize. Seeing the effects of the curse in Pirates of the Caribbean is cool. We needed that for TMNT... so we added a bunch of hairy, toothy, nasty creatures, and it did the trick.

Tookie – From what I know, it'll be released very close, if not exactly on, the date of the US release. I think the goal was to have Turtles' day worldwide wherever possible.

RaphnRoll – We're going to be sort of standard running time. Still tweaking edit. As far as “celebrity” voices, there will be a few. A cameo or two. Sorry for being vague. And no, Imagi is not designing the official poster – that's all Warner's marketing. We had our crack with the Comicon posters, which I think are just so cool and really get across the vibe of the movie. And, not sure what the plans are with Marco's score in terms of releasing on CD. It'd be cool, tho.

TMTWBR - The Turtles' voices initially were recorded all in the same room. It really led to an air of authenticity for the whole thing. There is a great scene where Leo and Raph just let each other have it and are screaming at one another. You just can't get the same intensity when the guys aren't in the same room, I feel.

Master Chief – I'm not sure when the toys are out. I've seen a few of them in person, and they're really great.

Wow – those stockpiled pretty fast.

Speak soon,

Kevin

[Raven]

Again I cant say how very cool it is that your taking the time to speak with the fans, it means a lot that you are doing this. I feel personally that it will make the movie just that much better knowing we had a chance to speak with you.

I have another little question. Why did you choice to do this project? And what you can share with us what has been the hardest thing while making the film?

Again thanks so much for doing this! :D

[gobo]

From the video interviews I've seen, I knew you were a well-spoken guy. But, I must commend you for having such a mastery of language and grammar in print as well. It's almost unbelievable, Mr. Munroe. Are you sure you're working on a multi-million dollar picture? :lol:

[VaughnMichael]

Hey Kevin I was at comicon and got a bunch of stuff and you and tmnt where the only reason I went..was sad there wasnt much to buy tmnt was in this anime flodded world. Anyways the clips you showed us made the trip from la very much worth it and what you talked about made me realize this movies gonna be great because you care just as much as the fans or peter laird himself would and to me that's A+.
I've been thinking long and hard for a question to ask you but it was rather hard.
But I've finally come up with one and I'm not sure if you can answere it all but how does Karai fit into all of this will it sort of be a city at war type of deal? will she be the shredders daughter in this like in the last toon, or will she be her own person not even having anything to do with the shredder and be some one the foot sends over from japan like in the comics.
Oh and you did say shredder will not be in the film at comicon does this still stand up today? Because some fans reguardless of what I told them you said still want to believe he is..I mean I could see a flash back or something but other than that I think it really would be silly.
Oh well I'm glad your in charge and I think you're doing a kick ass job!:D

[Kevin Munroe]

Raven – Why did I pick this project? I was a fan of the franchise, but also really wanted to make my first film something that was just different than other animated comedy stuff. Nothing against the others, I just knew it wasn't my style as much. So I begged Peter, and here I am. As far as the hardest thing in production? There is just so damn much, to be honest. But that's sort of the business. If it was easy, it would probably be a recipe for disaster. I would say one of the hardest things was that, early on, we hit this incredible look with our production designer Simon Murton. You see a bit of it in the teaser, but you'll see a lot in the trailer. But we hit this look with rim lighting, texturing, wetdown on surfaces, specularity, etc. that was just phenomenal. And then once we made a whole sequence look like that, it was like a drug. We just needed more. And then there was no turning back – every sequence had to look like this unique production design, or else we'd look like hacks. It was a lot of work, and continues to be, just to make the whole movie hold up to that standard. The team in LA, plus the hundreds in HK are really hitting a homerun with it.

Putrescent – Good question, and one that I can't really answer. I'll say this – Karai's involvement is only just beginning with this story. We just wanted to introduce the idea of her in this movie. The notion that she's running the Foot Clan now that Shredder is gone. But if/when there is a sequel, we'll see her real motivations for coming to New York. As for Shredder in TMNT, yeah, I saw a lot of people saying he'll be making a cameo. We have nods to him in the film, but there isn't a scene with him or anything. But again, I wouldn't say he's gone from the franchise...

[VaughnMichael]

Putrescent – Good question, and one that I can't really answer. I'll say this – Karai's involvement is only just beginning with this story. We just wanted to introduce the idea of her in this movie. The notion that she's running the Foot Clan now that Shredder is gone. But if/when there is a sequel, we'll see her real motivations for coming to New York. As for Shredder in TMNT, yeah, I saw a lot of people saying he'll be making a cameo. We have nods to him in the film, but there isn't a scene with him or anything. But again, I wouldn't say he's gone from the franchise...
Thanks so much and I really do apricate the answere it's good enough for me without giving anything away...gotta admit what you had shown at comicon got me a bit choked up in a good way mind you.
You heard everyone clapping I hope just know you, you're team, and peter are doing an amazing job.
I really don't think anyone else really could do a better job.
And thank you for clearing that up I really got tired of sounding like a broken record.:lol:

[PizzaPower]

So Karai is in the movie?? Will this be a seqal to the last 3 movies or what??? About how long is it?? And and do you have a favorite scene in the movie?

[Duke Igthorn]

Duke – nope, that wasn't the TV Mikey in the trailer.

And as for casting, I can still tell you that there is no “stunt casting” for the Turtles. We've all fought really hard for that one, and it's seemed to work so far. You just hear “Leo” when he speaks, etc. The VA's are incredibly talented. We are “casting” a couple of the other parts, but again, I can't say anything as contracts still have to be finalized, etc. But there are definitely some cool genre choices in there that we're all excited about.

Wow, maybe then wish was the father of my thought. I would've sworn it was him. But you'll never stop learning :lol:
I'm pretty sure the voices will be awsome!
It's allways to be seen, if people do something with passion, this feeling is transported to the audience.
They feel that this is done with the heart, not just another "job".
And you give us this feeling!

Two other questions roamed my mind:

- Due to the certain "Ninja Action", how many martial arts specialists do you have to guide you through believable, effective, yet esthetical moves, in the fights?

- And as it was mentioned earlier, a big part of the fandom seems to be, lets say adult by now :).
I assume there will be some people getting injured, including the "guys".
Will there be just hints, like bruises or a later bandage, or will there be (a small amount of) blood?
I'm not talking about gory, split open chest blood. Just some "plot element" blood as it's by time even used in some cartoons to tighten the tense of getting hurt and to make things more believable.

Again thanks for your time!

Greets and take care,
Duke Igthorn

[Leonardo_Warrior_Turtle]

Hey Kevin! I have a question. Have you been involved at all with the development of the video game for the movie? Their is some buzz for the game as well. After all the games that Konami tried to give us based on the new cartoon, I hope that Ubisoft can produce something grand from the new movie. So how much involvement do you/have you had with the video game?

[Buslady]

Oh goodie Kevin's on board.
I would like to simply say:

THANK YOU FOR GIVING US A NEW TMNT MOVIE.

I'm gonna be honest, I'm not a huge fan of CGI after falling in love with the animatronics of the first movie, I love Raph in that, nothing can beat it. But I can accept CGI. It's better than nothing and I do appreciate your crew's hard work to give us old timer fans and the newbie fans something NICE to see. Not to mention some cool looking toys to collect :D Yeah I'm hearing this big Leo/ Raph fight scene, I already know I'm gonna dig that. I think it's great you had the VA's together, your so right about it being performed a whole lot better that way. I'm dying for some really GREAT Raph stuff...and this Cowabunga Carl thing's got me curious, I can see Mikey decking out being a kiddie party clown. Goofball!
Anyways, My first impression of the teaser was a little iffy, I wasn't sure what to make of it. The look is nice, the city looked real. I gotta get used to their comic book look with the lean bodies and large wrists and ankles but that's the way turtles are built - I'd know I got alot of turtles here. (And yes, I have a Raph, Mike and Don, the latter is a daddy too. I'm incubating a Leonardo :D , weird that Donnie is his daddy though; and my first baby, Steve (after Irwin) just hatched out and this is all because of my love for TMNT extended to the real thing) Okay I rambled..sorry, anyways I'm REALLY looking forward to this. A bunch of us here in SoCal are getting together, it sounds like the plan is to make the first showing on opening day in Hollyweird and then a Japanese restaurant for lunch. One of my friends is talking of renting a limo!! See what you've caused, a whole lotta fun! :lol::D

So thank you Kevin and crew, you all rock!

oh here have a Mango...:mango:
I don't care for them but my wood turtles LOVE them.

[johnnyblaze]

I have a question-Will someone say "God I love being a turtle!"

The line was in every turtle movie (and even spoken by Mikey during one of the Lost Episodes) and I just see it as a kind of Ninja Turtles movie, trademark line. Kind of like how in the Terminator movies someone always says "Get out" and "I'll be back" or how in Star Wars someone always says "I have a bad feeling about this"

[iris]

And will they all land in April’s bathtub again???

(kidding)

I’m restraining myself from asking all the annoying technical questions that are now floating around my brain—although if you’ve got the time to give us more detail about your animation and graphics approach, please do!

But I would like to just say thank you, to Kevin and all the crew, for bringing this baby into the world for us. To be honest, I never thought I’d see the day; a big-screen TMNT movie couldn’t be an easy sell. All I’m really looking for is a well-told story; the rest is icing. Based on what you've said, I have a feeling I’m in for a sugar high. :D

[jeff the cheff]

All I have to say is I hope this is as good as the first movie, (which would be very hard to do, but it looks like you guys can pull it off) and I hope this movie is a success for your sake!

I'm looking forward to being impressed by the new trailer!!

[Spitfire]

I got a question for ya Kevin, my favorite TMNT character is Leatherhead. Now that your moving TMNT into this CGI medium the ability to add him into the movie is there and much easier then making a huge mutant gator costume.

So I ask is there any chance of him popping his head in? I'm not sure if your even discussing sequels since this film isn't even done yet but I wonder if the idea of putting him in has even been tossed around the office?

[BigApple3AM]

All I can say is the first Ninja Turtles movie is a masterpiece in my eyes. There is hardly another movie I've watched or quoted more often. I'm a bit worried about the whole monster/fantasy angle though. The reason I love the first movie is because it was different from the comics and the cartoon, a blend really but completely set in reality. I used to yell down sewers (even though I didn't live anywhere close to New York) because I thought the turtles might be real (I was like 4). I admit I'm not the biggest CGI fan ever, it could really work for the turtles and that's not what worries me, it's the fact that CGI has no limitations and therefore we can see some pretty crazy unrealistic stuff. I've never met Mr. Laird but from what he's said in his comics I agree with a lot politically and philosophically. Still I've never liked the SciFi/Fantasy aspect of the Turtles aside from the original cartoon and comics. The new comics and cartoon take themselves too seriously which really bugs me. I'm just worried about the fantasy in this movie. I won't go in expecting the original movie, but please to let it get as wacky as say Ghostbusters (a great movie but now what I expect from Turtles).

From what you've said I trust you guys that it will be an awesome movie, you're a lucky guy considering that everyone on this site, and any turtle fan in general, would jump at the chance to work on the turtles movie, let alone direct it. Even if the movie was an abomination I've already decided that my minimum theather viewing is 3 times, though I'm sure I'll enjoy it immensely every time.


Good luck with the rest of the movie, hopefully you guys will do a bang up job and we'll see a ton of animated action movies in the USA, including TMNT 2 ;)

[gobo]

To start off, I'm a tad concerned with the runtime. I know it has already been discussed, but I want some guarantee that the movie won't be a second less than 100 minutes. Can you make such a promise? If it's less than that, it will be discouraging that the corporations involved think this is just your average, animated, kiddy tripe. I know it's not your choice, but please fight this kind of overgeneralization tooth and nail. Typically, the only live-action films that are limited to 90 minutes are those that aren't planned very well (often improv comedy, especially those involving SNL alumni). So, why limit a well-planned, animated feature that way?

And, I've mentioned it elsewhere often enough, but I'd hate for anything about TMNT to be made inappropriate for any age. So, to be more specific with a previous question of mine, can you say if there will be any songs on the soundtrack with explicit lyrics? I hope not (though I don't know why since I'm not a parent). Even if it's an edited version of a song with explicit lyrics, I'll be upset. I'll get over it, but I'll be upset as well as less likely to recommend the CD to people.

Also, I have a suggestion for the eventual DVD release. I'm sure it's a bit early to be thinking about that, but it can't hurt to prepare yourself for future projects, right? Can I send it to you as a private message? I'd rather not junk up the tread with my slight off-topicness.

[Aztec General]

Kev,

Any word on a TMNT (1990) Special Edition? The fans are clamoring for it and there's so many great scenes that were deleted. It'd be a perfectly complement to the new film.

Here's a link to an online petition for it:

http://www.petitiononline.com/mod_pe...ed.cgi?tmnt1se

[TMNT]

Welcome to the Technodrome Kevin! I've been keeping up with this thread and didn't want to post until I had a good question. I think I have one now. It is this: we have heard numerous times that this film is on the borderline of PG and PG-13. Murphy claimed it was darker than the live action films. I just wanted to hear from you, have you hit that border? By that I mean, are you seriously pushing PG-13? Thanks for talking to us fans, we really appreciate it. I'm sure I'll think of other questions later. Thanks.

[TerranigmaFreak]

To start off, I'm a tad concerned with the runtime. I know it has already been discussed, but I want some guarantee that the movie won't be a second less than 100 minutes. Can you make such a promise? If it's less than that, it will be discouraging that the corporations involved think this is just your average, animated, kiddy tripe. I know it's not your choice, but please fight this kind of overgeneralization tooth and nail. Typically, the only live-action films that are limited to 90 minutes are those that aren't planned very well (often improv comedy, especially those involving SNL alumni). So, why limit a well-planned, animated feature that way?

I completely agree with you. Not only that, but having more time could mean more plot/story and character development, and also more action. Sure, not every long movie uses all of its time wisely, but we're not asking for a 180 minute movie here.

[IveyAngelo]

Hi Kevin!

My name is Michele, I'm a huge TMNT fan and it's an honor to see you talking with us fans. I got one question,

In February there is a convention in New York city, it's held by the same people who do San D con, New York City Comic Con. It's less than a month before the movie comes out, and I was wondering if there was any chance of seeing you as a guest there! I know I emailed the convention asking about seeing if they could get you, and they liked the idea. I was wondering if they have gotten in touch with you or anything. It'd be a real treat for us East Coast fans to get the chance to meet you as well! :)

Thanks again for taking the time to answer questions and chat with everyone. That's really cool.

[sdp]

I only have one future question:

If the movie did good but not a success for a second movie, or if it only did 'alright' but DVD sales were great.

If that were the case and we couldn't get a second movie, what are the chances of at least doing more as DTVs?

[Jo Dawn]

Consider this thread officially 'Stuck'. :)

A huge and grateful Welcome! to you, Kevin. It's great to have you on board. :) I'd give you an official Mango, but, well... methinks you're a tad over loaded at this time, from our very giving greeters!

Just watched the trailer (my official reaction can be seen here (http://forums.thetechnodrome.com/showpost.php?p=446084&postcount=34)).

Long story short, I am officially excited for this movie, like a kid in a candy shop!! My biggest fear were the voices; I've always been a huge VA fan, in anything I watched, and to have voices that were out of character would have demolished me. I was MORE than pleasantly surprised. Don sounded pretty good! Almost like his perfect voice; the 2K3 counterpart. I couldn't ask for more! (Except that Corey Feldman not be his voice. Corey, I love ya, but not as Donnie!!)

My fear now, is that this is going to be another Leo/Raph extravaganza, like, well... most of the other movies were. Now, I love them both (Leo being my second favorite, after, of course, Donatello), but... I felt the other movies were a tad unfair to fans of the other two, Mike and Don (especially Movie 1).

Granted, I will give you... You thrilled me, Kevin, when I watched as Don did more in this trailer than in ALL of the first movie! A huge Huzzah to you, sir!

Seeing him use the computer gave me new hope also. I'd be 'ok' with Leo and Raph getting a tad more face time... IF (and this is a big 'if', I suppose) Don is NOT out of character, like, again, Movie 1. (Liked the movie, but not the characterizations, sorry) I was a tad concerned by the part in the trailer where Mike jumps into Don's arms and they both scream... Amusing, yes... But I certainly hope that Don is not a watered down version of Mike, like he was portrayed in the, um... First movie. Heh.

You've certainly made me feel like a little kid again, good sir. I am excited for this movie, like I haven't been for a movie in a long time!! I only pray that Don is at his geeky best! And not Mike's sidekick. I won't be able to take that, I'm afraid. Don just isn't... MIKE. I am putting faith that the characterizations are true to the characters themselves this time around.

Thanks for taking the time to come and visit us! See you at the midnight showings!!

[Krutch]

Greeting Kevin! Thanks for stopping by at the TD!

I'm sure you're busy so lets skip the salad and get to the turkey.:P

Two quick questions for ya!

1) How involved in the project is Peter Laird? Like, what exactly does he do to aid the movie? Or is he basically just there to give the nod to things?

2) Considering the premise of the script, the turtles will/may have to battle huge monster creatues. One of the concerns i've heard is that it'd basically be like watching four Jackie Chans fighting an elephant. How much "Ninja on Ninja" fighting will there be in the movie? Or, do these creatures also know martial arts?


...

3) K, yeah I snuck another one in here but its simple, lol. Do you have a favorite turtle? (awaits the classic "i love all the turtles equally" respsone :P)

Thank you so much for giving us all the opportunity to ask you questions. Your passion for the franchise and pleasing the fans first really puts everyones minds at ease. Cant wait for the trailer tomorrow! Cheers!

[GreenWillow]

Hi Kevin--
I was also in San Diego for your preview and I came away completely assured that the Turtles were in good hands. I have to tell you that for the past, oh, thirteen years, a cgi TMNT film has been at the top of my wish list. It seemed like the only way to capture both the speed and graceful movement that was lacking in the costumed versions and the dark realism that is missing from cartoon animation. I mean, I love all the other versions, but cgi seemed like it had to be the best of both worlds.

I've watched both the teaser and the trailer now way more times than I want to admit, just soaking up the *feeling* in those images. Very beautiful.

So you've made my wish come true, and thank you!

(BTW, I was the one in the giant rat costume, Ninja-rapping around on stage in that ComicCon video) :lol:

[Kevin Munroe]

Pizza – I have a bunch of favorite scenes. Hard to pick one. But you'll see a few quick shots of them in the trailer today/tomorrow. There are some great action seq's, but there are great family moments with Splinter and his sons. One still gives me a tingle when I watch it, and there are a few that make me unconsciously smile when we're reviewing them. ...and I've seen them all hundreds of times.

Duke - Yeah, the Turtles do get banged up a bit in the movie. We have a TON of destruction in our environments, so we needed to do the same a bit with the Turtles. We had to be careful – no blood is allowed in PG, but it didn't really affect the intensity of the fights. As for martial arts specialists, we talked about getting a choreographer, but it just didn't make sense with how camera-driven we wanted a lot of the shots to be, not to mention schedule. BUT, it turns out that the hundred animators in Hong Kong are insanely well-versed in martial arts (stereotypes aside). But not only have a lot of them trained in it, but they also all grew up with a healthy diet of Hong Kong cinema. It's like how american animators grew up on Chuck Jones and Bob Clampett... only with swords. So we just tried to give them as much “all hell breaks loose” freedom as possible. The fighting is really fun here.

Leonardo – No, I actually haven't been working much with the video game team. I know that Mirage has been quite involved. But they've been using our assets and art direction. What I've seen looks fun, in a Prince of Persia kind of way. There's talk of us doing a commercial for the game, so that'd be fun to work on.

Buslady – Thanks for the thanks. And I understand the cgi vs. live action thing. I think both could work. And it's not a matter of realism to me, but more believability. And not that I prefer one over the other in theory, but to me, the integration of characters, mood and environment in cgi is WAY easier to accomplish than in live action. Your eye just wants to believe more in live action, (and notice the shortcomings) whereas it sort of takes a vacation when you're watching good cgi. Anyway, thanks for giving it a chance. I think you'll see how it just feels different from other cgi stuff – it's only just a medium.

johnnyblaze – You never know... you just never know. :) (tho, you'd be surprised at how hard it is to say “god” in a pg movie these days...)

iris – you have no idea how difficult at times. But credit to WB and TWC for jumping up and seeing what we had here.

Spitfire – Leatherhead isn't in there. I love him too. There are a lot of nods to comic/movie lore scattered around. It'll be fun to see what people catch when they watch.

Ecto – I get the concerns. I think we hit a good classic mix of turtles' character-based comedy.

Gobo – Wow. The tough q's. I can't confirm or deny runtime yet. It's a battle we continue to fight for some of the same reasons you mentioned. (our first over-indulgent cut of storyboards was 120 minutes! We've since pared it down) No explicit lyrics.

Aztek – I have absolutely no clue about the SE of the first movie. Different company. But it would be awesome. Tom (Gray), one of our producers did the first three movies and he's regaled me with a lot of stories over the past couple of years.

TMNT – Yeah, it's darker. More intense action. We haven't gone to the MPAA officially yet.

Michelle – Thanks for the nice words. NYCC sounded like fun and a bit nutty last year. Would be fun.

Sdp - I couldn't tell you. Not my dept.

Jo Dawn - Nice of you to say. And yeah, we're being big sticklers for character-specific dialogue, action, design and all that. There are some fun jokes, but nothing that is breaking any sacrosanct tmnt rules. And Donnie is anything but a watered down Mikey.

Juggalo – Pete's been involved at every step, particularly at the beginning of development of the story and movie. The Turtles fight monsters, sure, but they also fight a lot of foot ninja, not to mention a couple of other bad guys that are well-versed in hand-to-hand combat. As for my favorite turtle? Yeah, I've learned to not cop for the “they're all my favorite” answer. But I'll say that it changes from week to week, dependent upon what we're working on. I'm currently loving Raph's character a lot – I think we really pushed his depth with this movie. Next week it'll be Mikey. I'm fickle like that.

Greenwillow – Wow - Thanks!

Okay, that looked a lot shorter when I started it...

Kevin

[Ra]

:o WHY THE HELL DID I HAVE TO BE AWAY FROM HERE FOR SO LONG?! *gaps* Kevin Munroe....here? Oh god...Just a second while I get this out of my system -

OMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMG!!!!!! *runs around in circles before falling over*

Okay, I'm done now :tlol: 'Tis a bit late, but welcome to the Technodrome! *throws coupons in your general direction* Just for discount dry cleaning and that ;)

Well, anyway, now that I'm all calm and sane, I'd better contribute to some of this Q&A. Most of my questions have been answered here, but this one has been nagging in the back of my mind for some time now...

If the CGI movie is a huge success, do you think another one will be in the works? Or will this be it in terms of the big screen and CGI for now?

[johnnyblaze]

any baby mutant turtle flashbacks? (loved that part of the first flick)

[Jo Dawn]

Jo Dawn - Nice of you to say. And yeah, we're being big sticklers for character-specific dialogue, action, design and all that. There are some fun jokes, but nothing that is breaking any sacrosanct tmnt rules. And Donnie is anything but a watered down Mikey.



*kisses Kevin* Ah, sir, you have made my morning! Thanks for the response; I am truly happy with the trailer (my brother and I watched it a good many times last night). And to hear that you and I are on the same page (ie - being sticklers for that kinda thing!) overjoys me. Great job, my friend. I cannot wait for this movie!!

And, as a side note, alot of people are asking some great questions... so I don't have to, heh! Kevin, ya need anything here on the boards, I'm but a PM away! (I'm a supermod here, so I can hook ya up.) ;)

Hehe, dunno what else I can do for you and your kindness!

Thank you again, it's all much appreciated.

[PizzaPower]

Pizza – I have a bunch of favorite scenes. Hard to pick one. But you'll see a few quick shots of them in the trailer today/tomorrow. There are some great action seq's, but there are great family moments with Splinter and his sons. One still gives me a tingle when I watch it, and there are a few that make me unconsciously smile when we're reviewing them. ...and I've seen them all hundreds of times.
sweet, you mentioned the storyboards and stuff was like 120 minutes?? Well how much did you cut down, and are there any deleted scenes or extra's that will be added to the dvd when it comes out?

[IveyAngelo]

Michele – Thanks for the nice words. NYCC sounded like fun and a bit nutty last year. Would be fun.

Yeah it was nutty last year, if you got into the dealer room, you didn't dare leave unless you were done for the day and that was where I wanted to be since both Eastman and Laird, and other friends that I knew were all inside the dealer room. Though I had a TON of fun there, and am planning on going again this upcoming year. It'd be great to have a TMNT movie panel so close to the release of the movie! :)

I think they'd have the place under a lot more control this year. Sad thing is the ticket price went up big time for those who pre-reg though I think it's because of just how big it was last year, and much bigger they're going to be making it this year. I hope you get an offical invite. It'd be really awesome to get the chance to meet you.

I have another question now though, the trailer is up... I love it. I can't count how many times I watched it, and I can't wait to go to the theater just to see the trailer itself on the big screen. I'm kind of hoping that Michelangelo is not just used for the comic relief though... since I love the trailer so much I posted the link up in my forum, on my myspace page and told friends over IRC & AIM... though the problem came when a good chunk of my friends came to me saying "We can't see it, because we're not in the US"... This movie hasn't had nearly as much promotion as a lot of other movies out there right now... and the fans are scraping for it as we can get it. The people in Canada and other countries are just as big fans as those of us in the US and I know this has to be killing them... I guess my question is "why" can't the other fans see it too? As one of them pointed out, she's only 5 minutes from the US boarder.

Keep up the Great work with the movie! And hope I didn't drag out that last question too long, for something so simple to ask...

Best,
Michele

[Leonardo_Warrior_Turtle]

Kevin, I do have one question that I'm surprised no one as asked.

Of course we were all saddened by the death of Mako, the voice of Splinter. We all felt he was the perfect actor to protray our favorite sensi rat. We all have been curious, however, whether or not Mako completed his voicework before his death. Can you confirm this? If not, was he replaced?

[Buslady]

Buslady – Thanks for the thanks. And I understand the cgi vs. live action thing. I think both could work. And it's not a matter of realism to me, but more believability. And not that I prefer one over the other in theory, but to me, the integration of characters, mood and environment in cgi is WAY easier to accomplish than in live action. Your eye just wants to believe more in live action, (and notice the shortcomings) whereas it sort of takes a vacation when you're watching good cgi. Anyway, thanks for giving it a chance. I think you'll see how it just feels different from other cgi stuff – it's only just a medium.


Kevin

Kev, I just saw the new trailer...and I'll just say I am quite confident that this is gonna be one kick ass movie. From the little bit of Raph I got to see and hear, yeah I'm happy. Donnie's being a geek like he should, behind a computer....they all seem to be characterized right. I think the voices fit, Leo sounds very close to the original movie Leo, that's cool-and he's soooo dramatic. Raph sounds like a younger version of the new toon, that's cool; and my biggest thing was he had got to have that attitude and accent...he got it yay! :D Mike's lame insult at the end of the trailer was funny...:lol:
So I think you guys gotta piece of art goin' here...I can't wait to see this masterpiece.

I'm currently loving Raph's character a lot – I think we really pushed his depth with this movie.

YAYY YAYAYAYAYAY I think this Raph-aholic will be very happy then :D :D :D :D

[Vegita-San]

Raphroehller - As far as an R-rated TMNT goes... I dunno. I see the fun it would be. But it's sort of like making Spiderman hardcore to me. Maybe it's just because we're in the middle of doing this version, but it's hard for me to see these guys violently killing bad guys and then go home to brotherly/family bickering and then also be obedient of their Father. Hey, it's like “Kids” meets “The Punisher”. Awesome. All that said, it would be great as it would just start western audiences thinking about mass market animation as something other than more talking cute animals. TMNT is a good small first step in that direction – be cool to see where it goes from here.

Heya heya,

Thanks for replying to my question in the letters page of Volume 4. Nice to know this isn't another CG movie that feels it needs 'celebrity' voice 'talent' to sell itself when there are so many talented folk out there in the feild. Could Marlon Brando have done as many voices as Mel Blanc, and actually acted with them? :)

Speaking of cute talking animals in CG, when will this trend break? I've lost almost all interest in 3D movies because of this trend, and I'm an aspiring 3D artist myself. While I'm still learning to do serious animation techniques, not only with humans but mechanical objects as well, is it just that much more difficult for experienced animators to create a non toony human in CG compared to animals? You'd think animating thousands of particles of fur is ten times tougher on the person and equipment than skin would be.

BTW, I've seen the new trailer, and I'm amazed out how fluid the animation looks and how fast it moves. Was there any motion capture going on with real performers (And embelished a little), or was it all done by hand? Also, how old are April and Casey? Casey looks OK, but April looks like she's about 15 in the one still shot I saw...Maybe it's the hairdoo :).

BTW, shameless self plug... my 3D work in training.. http://www.shreddersdojo.com/Forum/forumdisplay.php?f=2

[mignignack]

I don't know if you guys ever plan on doing a live action movie again but if you do you should hire these guys
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KtdYsd_QRmc

[Sabacooza]

I don't know if you guys ever plan on doing a live action movie again but if you do you should hire these guys

That's cool but you have to realise how limited they'd be in the costumes. It's like haveing a second skin not to mention that the visibility for the actor would be limited as well. But yes, this guy or someone like him would make an awesome ninja turtle.

[gobo]

*kisses Kevin*
:teek: You're a blessed man, Mr. Munroe. If only you knew...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v92/Turtle_Mama/mepartyb.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v480/Gwgtrunks/jodawnapril.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v92/Turtle_Mama/meparty3.jpg

Since I'm not here to ask questions, I guess talking up friends is as good a purpose as any. So, take a look at my buddy, Jester (http://forums.thetechnodrome.com/member.php?u=1012). His Shredder auditions (parts 1 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_KLEiLLE_A), 2 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q2DyP-NtzDo) & 3 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=62xBnaChoEM)) were off da chizzain! If you agree, maybe you could pass the word on to someone whose does work in that department. ^_^

[ThemanthatwouldbeRaphael]

I was wondering if you could aswer this Kevin...

Should this movie warrant sequels, do you think there would possibly be appearences by other TMNT comic characters like Leatherhead, Nobody, Savanti Romero, or the Triceratons? Or 2K3 TMNT characters like Agent Bishop or Traximus?

[CJStyles]

Hello Kevin Munroe


I'm sure you can tell us turtle fans are excited with the new movie to come out, of course I have many questions but I will only ask two

The first one deals with sequels, if/when we do(i have faith in what you guys are doing that we will) could it be highly possible that we get the City At War story arc or something as similiar?


Secondly the soundtrack, please tell me we wont get another Ninja Rap or any other kiddy like song on this sountrack... theres only so many jokes I can take about TMNT with Vanilla Ice being associated LOL!


And just a little praise for your work, you guys have done a fantastoc job with animation, lighting, etc etc. I have alot of faith that this movie with capture me just llike the original has.

[Zelda]

"TMTWBR - The Turtles' voices initially were recorded all in the same room. It really led to an air of authenticity for the whole thing. There is a great scene where Leo and Raph just let each other have it and are screaming at one another. You just can't get the same intensity when the guys aren't in the same room, I feel." <--- Having done theatre (and would kill to do it for a living), I have SO MUCH RESPECT FOR THIS!

" I think we hit a good classic mix of turtles' character-based comedy." ...so much love for this (: that is the heart of the turtles to me, the dynamic between them.

All complaints/wishes I make in threads around here are academic.... I have no doubt that I will adore this movie (:

Vegita-san: "Speaking of cute talking animals in CG, when will this trend break? I've lost almost all interest in 3D movies because of this trend" <- YES. So sick of that. Especially since most of the time it just seems like a vehicle for super famous actors.. 'oh look, matt damon is a dog, oh isn't that funny! oh, will smith is a fish..'..it's funny like..once :P

Sad to hear that Karai's part will be mostly an introduction...although that sure will keep me clamouring for sequals! I LOVE the 2k3 series Karai.

Questions:

What's been the most fun?

Favorite part of the movie, or favorite part that's not still secret? ;p

Can we get a hint at one of these nods to the previous turtles universes? :D

Anything you wish you'd done differently?

Any potential for special features on the DVD? Especially behind the scenes/making of stuff?

Do we have all the trailers we're going to get or will there be more?

Is the lair designed off of any of the previous lair designs or is it entirely new? We've been trying to figure it out from the trailer, a couple people have said it looked like the other series lair and one person said it looked like the lair from the first movie...

[Jo Dawn]

Hehe, gobo!! *playfully swats at him* That red one is kinda awful, heh... ;) :P


But, for my observation... Um... Is that Matthew Broderick as Don? It kinda... sounds like him.


...I dunno what to think of that. Kinda disappointed, but ONLY because I don't equate TMNT with Movie Stars, ya know? (Once bitten, twice shy, I suppose.) I still LOVE the voice, though! If it his him, I approve heartily.

[discordiatookie]

Hello Kevin Munroe


Secondly the soundtrack, please tell me we wont get another Ninja Rap or any other kiddy like song on this sountrack... theres only so many jokes I can take about TMNT with Vanilla Ice being associated LOL!




have you not heard? Eminem's doing a cover of the Ninja Rap just for this movie!!! :lol:


But, for my observation... Um... Is that Matthew Broderick as Don? It kinda... sounds like him.

Don't be silly! its obviously Cory Feldman! ;)

[Shreddar90]

Hi Kevin Munroe. This is really cool of you to be here talking to people. SO how much is this movie going to have to do with the other movies. They are my favorite movies of all time and i just wish this was a direct sequel. What kind of relation does it have with the old movies? Also are any of the same actors from the old movies in this one? Come on we need Elias Koteas!

[Raph's Girl]

have you not heard? Eminem's doing a cover of the Ninja Rap just for this movie!!! :lol:

Don't be silly! its obviously Cory Feldman! ;)

I dunno... Kevin said there'd be some celeb cameos....but I don't think they got knowns to voice the guys.... unless they did manage to get Corey Feldman, Michelan Sisti, and Tim Keleher....cuz Raph kinda sounded like Tim Keleher (movie 3 Raph).... :evilgrin:

As for Eminem...On the one hand that would totally rock but on the other hand Eminem is retired. :P

[TMNT]

None of the voices standed out more than Leo's. I'm sure that it's Ferris Bueller himself. I can't figure out the other voices. Hopefully VA's will be announced shortly.

[Duncan]

Hi Kevin, first of all I want to say that I'm not really a Turtles guy. I saw the show in the 80's, and I've even exchanged words with Cam Clarke a couple of times, even gave Rob Paulsen's son some advice, but outside of that I don't really have much interest.

I'm a voice actor, and I'm a picky one. The casting in CGI movies always bugs me. 25 million bucks for Cameron Diaz? Give me a break, you could get Billy West 25 times over for that, and he'd probably be a more convincing woman. One in a hundred of these people actually have any idea what they're doing in front of a microphone, but to be honest, none of them deserve the kind of money they're getting.

You got the casting right. I have never said this about any general release CGI movie EVER. Of course it's inevitable there's going to be some "names", but if there's any big stars in the trailer, your casting director and your director have done a great job, because I couldn't pick any bad performances out. And I love to do that. It sounds great.

Thanks for using the L.A talent pool, it's very refreshing not to be picking out the big screen hotshots the second a character opens their mouth. I'm probably not going to go see it, but I'm definitely going to buy the DVD, even if it's just out of principle. :)

[Sliced]

Hey! What a shock!

Hi Kevin, this is really awsome that you connect with fans like this. I'm pretty sure that everybody here really appreciate it. Thank You.

I'm not a big fan of mangoes ( I must be the only one ;) ), so let me welcome you my way. Here, please receive this katana.

http://img461.imageshack.us/img461/1292/keviniu7.gif (http://imageshack.us)

Its the katana of friendship. You now have a permanent bond with the Technodrome. :D

Since I'm a bit late on this, all of my questions were already asked and answered. But I shall return for the interrogation session later on :evilgrin:

For now, I'll only say that I wish you good luck for this project, and a big thank you again for this gift given to us. I really hope that this is the start of an epic green adventure.

[IveyAngelo]

Hehe I got another question...

This one is something I've been thinking since I saw the trailer. In the 4Kids TMNT series, of course Mikey is a burper and has let out some big burps. Though while the character lets them fly, it's really someone other than the normal VA who is doing the burp. (The VA for Leonardo is Michelangelo's stunt burper).

So my question, does the VA for Michelangelo in the new movie do his own burps or does he have a stunt burper too? :lol:

[iris]

Hehe I got another question...

This one is something I've been thinking since I saw the trailer. In the 4Kids TMNT series, of course Mikey is a burper and has let out some big burps. Though while the character lets them fly, it's really someone other than the normal VA who is doing the burp. (The VA for Leonardo is Michelangelo's stunt burper).

So my question, does the VA for Michelangelo in the new movie do his own burps or does he have a stunt burper too? :lol:

Now that is a great question! :lol:

[xChri5x]

I'm assuming it's just a sound file they have

[johnnyblaze]

somethign else I was wondering:will we see Splinter letting loose on some bad guys? I always wanted to see live action Splinter fight because as a kid I always thought--man he taught the turtles how to do all those tricks I wonder if he still has the moves. Ofcourse I know with the limitations in technology the turtles alone were extra hard to do back then, let alone trying to make it work for Splinter and that's why I like it and appreciate it whenever Splinter gets in on the action in the cartoons.

[Vegita-San]

I'm a voice actor, and I'm a picky one. The casting in CGI movies always bugs me. 25 million bucks for Cameron Diaz? Give me a break, you could get Billy West 25 times over for that, and he'd probably be a more convincing woman. One in a hundred of these people actually have any idea what they're doing in front of a microphone, but to be honest, none of them deserve the kind of money they're getting.



Heya, work on anything we might recognize? :)

Another thing that g ets me about stunt casting. All these 'celebrities' (And it's getting to be a looser and looser term now adays with idiots like Kevin Federline being called one now) where unknowns at one point. How are they ever going to discover the next Jack Nicholson if they only keep on hiring Jack himself, know what I mean?

They could also keep the cost of these movies down oh so much more if they just got a really talented voice actor, who by the way deserve so much more than what they probably get now...

I was recenetly at a convention where one of the older Star Trek extras described the casting policy in Hollywood these days, with all of these high tech young directors and agents who don't really have a clue on what they are doing or how to discover/nuture talent. If that keeps up, Hollywood will implode on itself sooner or later :lol: :D

[Jo Dawn]

Don't be silly! its obviously Cory Feldman! ;)

Don't even joke like that. ;) :P


I dunno... Kevin said there'd be some celeb cameos....but I don't think they got knowns to voice the guys.... unless they did manage to get Corey Feldman, Michelan Sisti, and Tim Keleher....cuz Raph kinda sounded like Tim Keleher (movie 3 Raph)....

I didn't think they'd get 'known' actors to do the guys, either... but whomever they got, they're good. Er, and I liked the Movie voices (except Feldman. They only got him for the 'star' name. I'm glad in this movie, 'star' names are being used the right way: with discretion and the right use)... but I'm rather happy with the ones they have. I'm not so sure that they'd fit.

[ThemanthatwouldbeRaphael]

Hi Kevin, first of all I want to say that I'm not really a Turtles guy. I saw the show in the 80's, and I've even exchanged words with Cam Clarke a couple of times, even gave Rob Paulsen's son some advice, but outside of that I don't really have much interest.

I'm a voice actor, and I'm a picky one. The casting in CGI movies always bugs me. 25 million bucks for Cameron Diaz? Give me a break, you could get Billy West 25 times over for that, and he'd probably be a more convincing woman. One in a hundred of these people actually have any idea what they're doing in front of a microphone, but to be honest, none of them deserve the kind of money they're getting.

You got the casting right. I have never said this about any general release CGI movie EVER. Of course it's inevitable there's going to be some "names", but if there's any big stars in the trailer, your casting director and your director have done a great job, because I couldn't pick any bad performances out. And I love to do that. It sounds great.

Thanks for using the L.A talent pool, it's very refreshing not to be picking out the big screen hotshots the second a character opens their mouth. I'm probably not going to go see it, but I'm definitely going to buy the DVD, even if it's just out of principle. :)

Your a vocie actor, sweet. Would I recognize any of your work(I'm kind of a VA buff).

Also, I totally agree with you. These studios need to stop giving these hack celebrities all the roles in animated movies. Phil LaMarr would have been a 10x better Donkey in Shrek than Eddie Murphy.

[discordiatookie]

All these 'celebrities' (And it's getting to be a looser and looser term now adays with idiots like Kevin Federline being called one now)

But have you not heard? Paris and Nicole have a cameo on the movie! honest! true celebs!

:lol: :lol: :lol:

okay okay, i've took it too far, i'm just a rumourmonger! mwahaha! (or is it bwahaha?!)

i'll stop now. (or will I?)

[Roseangelo]

Er, and I liked the Movie voices (except Feldman. They only got him for the 'star' name.)

Hmmm, I dunno. I never thought of Feldman as being stunt casting. Firstly, I thought he was a good voice for Don and was glad that he returned for movie 3. But if they had casted him solely for his name, they would have used his name in the previews and trailers and advertising, and they certainly didn't do that. Heck, as I believe has been pointed out here recently, the trailer for the first movie didn't even have the final voices. They gave him a little distinction in the end credits, but that was it.

Even though I was 10 when TMNT 1 came out and probably should have known the name Corey Feldman and had seen movies like Goonies, I didn't make the connection for YEARS (same with Robbie Rist, although I never watched enough Brady Bunch to even know there was a Cousin Oliver).

[Jo Dawn]

Hmm, and now I remember it as being he was the 'star' for it. I mean, he was HUGE in the 80's and early 90's. And I just remember them saying he was the, you kow, big name for it.

Anyhow, whether or not he was supposed to be the big draw for it or not... He was a poor choice for the character. I was always disappointed with that.

But that's neither here nor there. This new movie has it all right!

[Dr. Doom]

-=There is a brilliant green flash of light and thick smoke fills the air all around the forum goers. Doom majestically emerges from this cloud, followed by Robert, his loving minion, groveling and cowering as usual. Doom sweeps his cloak out from in front of him and lets it fall across his back as he folds his arms in front of his chest=-

Mr. Munroe. Doom has come here to praise you on your efforts thus far on the upcoming film. Doom has watched its development closely and he is pleased. Quite pleased indeed. So pleased in fact that you have been granted permission (in other words, are being forced by armed Doombots) to depict the all-powerful Dr. Doom himself in a film that displays his glory and might, as well as the blissful destruction of that infernal Reed Richards!!!

-=Holds his fist to the sky, shaking it with rage=-

This film will also earn Doom several Academy Awards for his brilliance (you can keep one or two, Doom will have plenty for himself). The movie must make at least three hundred billion dollars on the opening weekend or it will be deemed a complete failure, resulting in you being banished to the slave mines of Latveria for all of your natural days (Despite the name, the slave mines are actually quite accommodating).

Now, on to Doom's question; In what way will this film contribute to the eventual destruction of The Fantastic Four (sans Jessica Alba, she will belong to Doom), and in what many ways does it pay tribute to Doom's omnipotence, without taking away from the breathtaking theatrical experience that will be "Dr. Doom: A Kevin Munroe & Dr. Victor Von Doom film"?

Doom's questions presented, he must return to his ingenious concoctions and brilliant schemes. There are rubbery fools to be destroyed.

-=Doom spins around, billowing his cape, an disappears into the shadows from which he emerged=-

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v233/TobiasFenrir/doomleaves9ls.gif

[CJStyles]

the fook?... dude are you high?

[Jo Dawn]

the fook?... dude are you high?

No... He's the Almighty DOOM.

[Anarky]

All praise Doom for he is our Lord and Commander. And Mr. Munroe should be very honored to be chosen for this task.

[Raph's Girl]

Me thinks Doom has had a weee bit too much Jesus juice.... :lol:

[Aignatius]

Coming in way late on this thread... but wanted to say, March 23rd can't come soon enough. I got the same feeling from watching the trailer the other day, that I used to have every time a new Mirage book came in the mail, back in the beginning of the 90s. It's like, excitement, anticipation, a rekindling of that mind mode from where comes the creative drive. I don't have a world for that feeling. I wish I did, but I suspect it lodges deep in the collective subconsciousness. Like there are many marvellous things out there in the otherworld, and we get to see some more of it. :tlove:

[jeff the cheff]

I keep thinking about the "celebrity voices." I read in the other thread speculation that leonardo was matthew broderick, and it did sound like him but I don't think it is. A cameo is good though because then we don't depend on them coming back for another movie, if there is one.

[Jo Dawn]

Don. Don being Matthew Broderick.

[jeff the cheff]

Isn't Leo the one that said "Within hours we'll lose the city but within weeks....the world?"

Thats what I thought sounded like Matthew Broderick.

"That would make her your mom too, doofus" didn't sound like him to me.

[ThemanthatwouldbeRaphael]

Isn't Leo the one that said "Within hours we'll lose the city but within weeks....the world?"
Thats what I thought sounded like Matthew Broderick.

"That would make her your mom too, doofus" didn't sound like him to me.

Leo said it

Don said it

[Roseangelo]

Neither one sounds like Matthew Broderick to me.

[Leonardo_Warrior_Turtle]

I really hope we get a new DVD release of the first film in March to help promote this new movie. Bring it New Line!

[Warhorse]

Maybe they should have a special showing of TMNT 1 and 2 on broadcast television, and show the trailer in the commercials.

[Buslady]

Hey! What a shock!

Hi Kevin, this is really awsome that you connect with fans like this. I'm pretty sure that everybody here really appreciate it. Thank You.

I'm not a big fan of mangoes ( I must be the only one ;) ), so let me welcome you my way. Here, please receive this katana.

http://img461.imageshack.us/img461/1292/keviniu7.gif (http://imageshack.us)

Its the katana of friendship. You now have a permanent bond with the Technodrome. :D

Since I'm a bit late on this, all of my questions were already asked and answered. But I shall return for the interrogation session later on :evilgrin:

For now, I'll only say that I wish you good luck for this project, and a big thank you again for this gift given to us. I really hope that this is the start of an epic green adventure.

:cry: Where's mine?

[AquaParade]

Maybe they should have a special showing of TMNT 1 and 2 on broadcast television, and show the trailer in the commercials.

That sounds like a good idea. It'd be strange watching that movie on cable, but Its kinda something I wanna experience. I'm sure that would catch the upcoming movie a good amount of attention.

[Roseangelo]

Maybe they should have a special showing of TMNT 1 and 2 on broadcast television, and show the trailer in the commercials.

Unfortunately, I'd say there's a 0% chance of this happening. New Line isn't going to have any interest in promoting a Warner Brothers movie. It would be nice to see the movies on TV again, though.

[Raph's Girl]

Unfortunately, I'd say there's a 0% chance of this happening. New Line isn't going to have any interest in promoting a Warner Brothers movie. It would be nice to see the movies on TV again, though.

The movies are ALWAYS on tv... generally at like 3am on Sci-fi channel at least once a month.

[Jo Dawn]

Yeah, they're on the USA channel alot, too. Especially during the holidays.

[Roseangelo]

Really? I didn't realize that. Guess I don't watch enough cable (and even so, I don't think I get those channels...). Good to hear, though!

[gobo]

But, Rose still had a good point about "why the shell would New Line wanna promote a WB project". Only DVDs could gain from the situation. The televising rights have already been distributed. It's up to the networks as to when they want to air them.

[Spitfire]

I love TMNT and all but I see no point in watching a movie I have on DVD on TV. But it would be a good promotion for the flick for those who don't have the movie. Maybe a marathon where they have someone working on the movie host it and they show all 3 movies and in between on breaks they show clips from the movie and air the trailer alot.

A better one would be re-releasing the movies on HD-DVD or Blu-ray, and DVD's with HD capability. Maybe toss in a few extra features but a high quality movie would be better. Or a re-cut even.

I know someone already mentioned it but yeah I felt like adding my two cents to that idea.

[AquaParade]

Wow I didnt know that either. I dont have Sci-fi channel but I have USA and Havent seen it on there yet. Guess I'll have to keep an eye out.

[Roseangelo]

I love TMNT and all but I see no point in watching a movie I have on DVD on TV.

This statement makes perfect sense, but I know I'm always a sucker for watching movies when they're on TV even though I own the DVDs. Just a couple weekends ago I watched the first three Harry Potter movies on TV and anytime a Star Wars movie is on I'll end up watching it.

A better one would be re-releasing the movies on HD-DVD or Blu-ray, and DVD's with HD capability. Maybe toss in a few extra features but a high quality movie would be better. Or a re-cut even.

New Line DOES need to release a special edition DVD, but I could care less about HD-DVD or Blu-ray. Honestly, I hope both of them end up failing. I'm content with the current DVD format and I don't even have the space (not to mention the money) for the kind of TV you need to do justice to either of the new formats.

[xChri5x]

Honestly, I hope both of them end up failing. I'm content with the current DVD format and I don't even have the space (not to mention the money) for the kind of TV you need to do justice to either of the new formats.


I totally agree

[jeff the cheff]

Well all that new technology will be successful when they make it cheap.

I also do the same thing with movies that I own. I always like watching it on dvd better, i dont know why.

If they showed the old tmnt movies and a lot of people saw them again it might bring in some old fans to the new movie. Thats how I got back into the turtles, I came across them one day and I looked into them more.

[Kevin Munroe]

Sequels (enough people were asking) – It's really not up to me. I'm totally up for it in some capacity or another if there is one going. But I'm sure it's largely box office and studio-based.

Johnnyblaze – No moving reference, but there might be one in the bg somewhere.

Jo Dawn – Nice to make your morning. As for Donnie... nope, it's not Ferris Bueller playing him. Sounds like him, tho, I'll give you that. And as soon as I find out what perks there are to be attained on a forum, I'll give you a shout immediately... when I figure out how to PM.

Pizza – How much did we cut down? A lot, then beefed up, then took away. Yeah, it'd be great to have some of that footage (boards, animatics, animation) on the dvd.

Ivey – Yeah, the mtv thing kind of stinks for that reason. I wish people's first view of the trailer was in better resolution too. I'm sure apple.com is around the corner. We took a break from work on friday to see the trailer in the theater in our building, and it just doesn't compare in the least. Looked awesome. Theater banner posters are starting to go up too.

Vegita – Absolutely not a single frame of mo cap. All hand done. I can see why some people like mo cap, but for me, if you're doing animation, make it animated. Mocap always seems to need so much clean up and hand-holding, that you may as well have hand done it from the beginning. Just my opinion.

TMTWBR – As far as those characters go, legal issues aside, I suppose anything would go. Again, just whatever makes for a compelling story first and foremost.

Cjstyles – Soundtrack isn't really Ninja Rap. It'll hopefully have stand out songs, but nothing so timely (not timeless) as Ninja Rap. City at War is probably my favorite run of the comics. It'd be awesome to work with that set up. You never know...

Zelda – Holy questions, dude. Most fun has been just making a movie with old friends and all the new ones I've made. It's a great crew. Favorite part changes daily, but I love Mikey skateboarding, a big sequence with Leo and Raph, and anything with Mako's voice. Hint at a nod? Um, there is some cool memorabilia they've collected over the years. Done differently? Not yet, ask me again after release so I can back-pedal. DVD isn't my dept, but if I had any influence, there would be. I love stuff like that. More trailers is really WB marketing's call. But I've heard they're starting tv ads sometime in the new year. We built the sewer lair from scratch, never consciously referring to anything already done. We wanted to make it feel lived in, and not just a dingy hole in the sewer. There is also room to legitimately expand in the sequel.

Shreddar90 – There are mentions and souvenirs from past adventures. As far as any cast from the originals, nope. And I love Elias too. He'll always be the Casey to live up to in my book.

Duncan – Thanks. We have some great VA talent. I'm really proud of them.

Sliced – Thanks for the katana. Now I can cut my mangoes.

Ivey – Contractual agreements prohibit me from commenting on the use of stunt burping. It's like how no one was allowed to talk about Julia Roberts' body double in Pretty Woman.

Johnnyblaze – It WOULD be fun to see Splinter fighting bad guys, wouldn't it? If I were a fan, I know I'd love to put that in.

Doom – Hands down the best question I've ever been asked... and I don't have an answer. But if I made a Doom movie, I'd have to make him too skinny, do bad burp jokes and make him jump like a frog. I'm really a one trick pony.

[Jo Dawn]

Jo Dawn – Nice to make your morning. As for Donnie... nope, it's not Ferris Bueller playing him. Sounds like him, tho, I'll give you that. And as soon as I find out what perks there are to be attained on a forum, I'll give you a shout immediately... when I figure out how to PM.



Ah, heh. It was kinda on the verge of sounding like him, but then not again. Thanks.

And as for the PMing... Just click on the name of the person you want to PM (like, when it says who made the post; upper left hand corner of the post) and a drop down box comes up with an option to PM that person! :)

That's the easiest way. That, or you can go to the top of the forums and do it the long way. Anyhow! I'll let you get back to answering all your questions here... (And I'm sure all the real life work you have going on right now!)

[xChri5x]

I cannot wait for a High Quality version of the trailer. Hopefully Apple will get a movie on!

[Masked Ninja]

Vegita – Absolutely not a single frame of mo cap. All hand done. I can see why some people like mo cap, but for me, if you're doing animation, make it animated. Mocap always seems to need so much clean up and hand-holding, that you may as well have hand done it from the beginning. Just my opinion.This makes me ever so happy. :D I like my animated movies to be... well. animated. None of that floaty creepy mo-cap stuff.
Doom – Hands down the best question I've ever been asked... and I don't have an answer. But if I made a Doom movie, I'd have to make him too skinny, do bad burp jokes and make him jump like a frog. I'm really a one trick pony.:lol: :lol: :lol:

You know, every time I watch the new trailer it gets better. Can't wait for the QT version, let alone the movie itself. And the mere mention of DVD features... :thyper:

I've got some trailer-pimping to do amongst my friends and fellow animation majors. :evilgrin:

[johnnyblaze]

Sorry to keep asking questions but I completly forgot to ask before--Why was the decision made to give Mikey blue eyes?

[Buslady]

Sorry to keep asking questions but I completly forgot to ask before--Why was the decision made to give Mikey blue eyes?

Why not? Some turtles have silvery blue eyes.

[Jo Dawn]

Hasn't Mike had blue eyes in other things? Or... am I just totally sleepy and confusing canon with fan art?

[Vegita-San]

Kevin -

Heh, that really is amazing. As I said, I've tried animation myself, and unless there is some shortcuts that you pro guys take that we can't do at home yet, it really is not as fun as the modeling portion. You have to move EVERY single object in a character, and hope that it sticks when the animation plays back. Heh, any of your artists efficient in a program called XSI Soft Image? I'd love to chat with them about technique :).

Oh, BTW.. It's a little too late on this movie since I'm assuming everything is done. But if there is a sequal, could I go along and document the process and interview the people involved for a webdocumentary? Sure, i probably couldn't post most of the stuff until after the movie is out, but it sure would be a geat opportunity...Especially since I've dabbled in stuff from video editing, 3D work, camera work, etc myself..

Later!

[Raph]

Dear Kevin-

I've sent you a personal message on this forum, but I'll post here to. I'm from Holland and I truly hope the movie will also show here. Im a huge TMNT fan, and for some time I've been collecting autographs from the TMNT universe (actors, voice actors, artists etc.)
Here is my collection so far: http://www.xs4all.nl/~rgret/turtles.html

Ofcourse when all the voice actors in the new movie are anounced I will try and ask them for an autograph. But my question is if I could send you a TMNT photo for an autograph. That would be great..

[johnnyblaze]

Why not? Some turtles have silvery blue eyes.
yeah but Mikey typically does'nt. i'm just asking why they made the decision. that's all

[Leonardo_Warrior_Turtle]

Hey Kevin. My question before hand didn't get answered. I was wondering how much of Mako's work got done before he passed on. We all felt he was the perfect man to voice our beloved sensi rat. How much was he able to complete before his passing?

[IveyAngelo]

I'm glad to say that they found out why MTV wasn't working for the people in Canada, they have to go to MTV.ca instead of .com :) It's good to know that it's not just limited to the US. I agree though about how it looks on the site could be better. I was going to go see it in theater this week, but the people I was going with came down sick so I'm going to wait for Eragon to see the trailer on the big screen, but I can't wait!

I've heard you mention that you were a fan as well of TMNT, do you feel working on Turtles has changed that at all? Or are you still a fan? I'm also curious of which medias you were into before working on this movie.

Hehehe I'm one of those people who love the behind the scenes stuff. Though I don't want to pry too much since there's still a lot I'm sure is not being released yet. Still waiting to hear the VA list.

Another group I'm on has brought up another VA voice that they think they hear in the trailer, so we're curious is Kevin Michael Richardson one of the VAs? :)

One more question, one that comes up a lot... the VAs for the TV series is really good actors. Though they were not even looked at for the new movie, is there legal reasons why they were not come to or just creative choices? I know some of them are really disappointed about this, though I realize the same thing happened back with the original Toon and movies.

[ThemanthatwouldbeRaphael]

I just have one last question....for now.

I heard a while back that both Grey DeLisle and Billy West had recorded voices for this movie. Is that true?

I don't need to know who they voiced, just if the reports were true.

[Shreddar90]

hey its me again. thanks for answering my question, although it is a little dissappointing that none of the actors from the originals are gonna be in it. I kinda wanted to connect this movie with the old ones. well anyway, are there going to be any characters in the movie that are from the comics besides, the foot, turtles, casey, karai, splinter, april and the cameo of shreddar?

[Vincent]

Welcome, Kev. I feel it is rude to force fruit upon people, but feel free to ask if you'd like another mango. I think I might have one lying around somewhere. No idea where it came from, though, as I don't remember anybody ever giving me one. *Hums the Twilight Zone tune.*

Love the look of what we've seen so far. Totally looking forward to the movie coming out. Seems there's lots of things to look forward to in March. You're coming out with the "TMNT" movie, Joss Whedon's coming out with the new "Buffy: Season Eight" comic, et cetera. It's just gonna be a great month, basically.

Working on the soundtrack, eh? Maybe you should listen to this (http://www.speedyshare.com/562364933.html), just for laughs. It's a short song I made about the TMNT some time ago, just for the shell of it. Not suggesting you should use it or anything - that would be an extremely bad idea, for lots of reasons - but have a listen and a chuckle if you feel like it. Dan Berger liked it.

Good luck with the final stages of production and the release!
Eleganta tinuso al vi!

[Spitfire]

hey its me again. thanks for answering my question, although it is a little dissappointing that none of the actors from the originals are gonna be in it. I kinda wanted to connect this movie with the old ones. well anyway, are there going to be any characters in the movie that are from the comics besides, the foot, turtles, casey, karai, splinter, april and the cameo of shreddar?

Shredder isn't in the movie

[johnnyblaze]

Another group I'm on has brought up another VA voice that they think they hear in the trailer, so we're curious is Kevin Michael Richardson one of the VAs? :)

i'm not Munroe I know buy that definatly is Kevin Michael Richardson. He has the type of voice that I can just instantly recognize

[ThemanthatwouldbeRaphael]

i'm not Munroe I know buy that definatly is Kevin Michael Richardson. He has the type of voice that I can just instantly recognize

I have a feeling if Grey DeLisle really did record a voice, it was most likely April. Which could explain why there were no clips of April speaking in the trailer. Grey's voice is recognizable, especially to cartoon fanatics like me.

But then again, Karai and Serpentie didn't speak either so...

[IveyAngelo]

I have a feeling if Grey DeLisle really did record a voice, it was most likely April. Which could explain why there were no clips of April speaking in the trailer. Grey's voice is recognizable, especially to cartoon fanatics like me.

But then again, Karai and Serpentie didn't speak either so...

I heard that Grey DeLisle is in the movie, though didn't do a major role. Not sure if that was a cover up for not saying who she was, or not. *shrug*

[Raph's Girl]

I heard that Grey DeLisle is in the movie, though didn't do a major role. Not sure if that was a cover up for not saying who she was, or not. *shrug*

I certainly hope Grey is in it. She's one of my fave actresses. She's also a pretty good singer...so if she DOES do like April or Karai then they also instantly have somebody to sing on the soundtrack. :lol:

[gobo]

Undah Da Sewer? Wait, no... that's a guy's song.

[IveyAngelo]

Kevin

I just got done watching the trailer on http://www.tmnt.com/ and I can't believe how much BETTER it looks over all!!!!! This movie looks amazing!!! MTV did not do it justice at all! Everything looks better, and it's got me even more excited about this movie!

I can not WAIT to see it!!!!!!!!!!! Just had to let ya know the difference in the trailer did make an impact. I thought I was excited before, but I now I can see all the detail, it's so much clearer! This exciting!!!!

[Raph's Girl]

Ya know... if they were worried about us recognizing voices I don't think they hid the "celeb" voices at all. It would be nice if Grey was in it yes....but....the aztec warrior that said "destroy them" sounds a heck of alot like Clancy Brown.

[Roseangelo]

I don't think it's an issue of them being afraid that we'll recognize the voices; it seems to simply be an issue of not being allowed to give out the names (yet).

About four months ago a radio station I listen to had a BIG announcement that they could not make before a specific date for legal reasons, but it really was no secret what the announcement was and I had it figured out before the official announcement.

[Kevin Munroe]

Johnny - Why blue? I liked it because it unconsciously made him feel a tad younger and innocent. There are a lot of subtle design differences between these Turtles, once you start analyzing them.

Vegita – Thanks for the offer. Yeah, too late for this one. I always think that fans would give a cool perspective to something like bts video.

Leonardo – All of Mako's lines were done before animation began. I agree, I think he's the most soulful and earnest Splinter I've heard. Luckily, we got to show him some of the grayscale animation on our last adr session. He was a nice man.

Ivey – Yeah, that does sound like Kevin Michael, doesn't it? That'd be cool if he was in the movie. As for the tv VA's, it was really nothing personal. This movie had to be a reboot theatrically, and I wanted it to feel unique and it's own thing. It's really nothing different than the 2003 series guys being used over Cam Clarke, Rob, etc. (who defined the turtles in their own right) And yeah , the new QT version of the trailer is a lot better. Still a bit washed out, but nice that everyone can start seeing the detail.

TMTWBR – Grey is awesome. And Billy is, well, Billy. He's an icon in the VA community. That would be great if they were in the movie. We'd have, like, the coolest cast ever.

Shreddar90 – I think you covered them all. At this point, Triceratons seemed like overkill.

[ThemanthatwouldbeRaphael]

Shreddar90 – I think you covered them all. At this point, Triceratons seemed like overkill.

Aw, I can just picture it. Full scale, CGI, Triceraton Invasion. *drools like Homer Simpson*

[gobo]

Shoot... I just missed THE director. Good thing my question is only a minor curiosity. Will Splinter's spinach-chin* be serving any practical purpose or was it entirely a stylization call? On the one hand, it's a stereotype for old Asian men to have beards like that. So, that's interesting to realize that no Splinter before this one ever had that. But, on the other hand, it would be 100 kinds of awesome to see him whipping at the bad guys with it. :lol:

* "Spinach-chin" is an unregistered trademark of "Army of Darkness". In other words, it is a reference. All rights are reserved.

[johnnyblaze]

Johnny - Why blue? I liked it because it unconsciously made him feel a tad younger and innocent. There are a lot of subtle design differences between these Turtles, once you start analyzing them.


sweet, can't wait to get better images so we can notice the differences. it definatly does make him seem a bit innocent, kind of like how Superman's eyes make him seem very pleasant (when he wants to be pleasant that is). It also makes him stand out from the others, which is good for someone as flashy as Mikey.

[Vegita-San]

It SOUNDS great. I'm listening to it on a Creative Labs THX Certified 5.1 surround sound system.....and at the lowest setting, the floorboards reverberate and you feel like the sound is shaking your head it's coming out so booming loud :).

Tell the sound mixer he did a great job, and I hope the actual movie sounds even better :).

[Warhorse]

Johnny - Why blue? I liked it because it unconsciously made him feel a tad younger and innocent. There are a lot of subtle design differences between these Turtles, once you start analyzing them.


Can you give us a little hint on the subtle differences in the other Turtles?

[johnnyblaze]

Mike seems a bit wide eyed compared to the rest. That could be one. I wonder if there are size differences

[jeff the cheff]

I also noticed that they all have different color headbands

[Roseangelo]

Hi Kevin -

I know talk on the music has been somewhat touched on, but I'm really curious about the score in particular. First, is what we hear in the trailer a hint of what we can expect for the movie? Short as it is, I REALLY love it. Which leads me to the second part of my question, which is more of a plea: Please, please, PLEASE use whatever influence you have to convince the necessary people to release an actual Score CD in addition to a Soundtrack CD! I'll order it from an obscure shop no one's heard of before if I have to, just so long as it's obtainable!

[ThemanthatwouldbeRaphael]

I also noticed that they all have different color headbands

Wow, thats new.

[xChri5x]

I know it's kind of early, but I'm wonder if you can see a director's cut/extended edition for DVD in the future? Are the company "heads giving you alot of problems with wanting stuff cut that isn't suitable or not "kid-friendly enough"?

[Thad]

Talking of DVD features, I don't know if this is something you have any say in, but seeing as the movie was originally animated in black-and-white and the color was added afterward, I'd love to see the black-and-white version as an extra feature.

[ardnealy]

What is Casey Jones roll in this movie?

[Kendamu]

What is Casey Jones roll in this movie?
Generally Casey's roll is cinnamon but in this case his role seems to be a pretty active one. Hell, looking at the trailer even April has a pretty active role!

[Kevin Munroe]

Hey guys and gals,

See? As promised, I drop off the face of the planet for chunks at a time...

Gobo - The spinach chin was just a cool style thing. Felt like a nice touch without going too asian-ish. And no, I wouldn't count on any bladed-spinach-chin action... something tells me Pete might find that a bit silly. But hey, start a petition and we'll consider it for the sequel.

Warhorse – Subtle design differences between the tmnt? Look at their eyes, their overall build, belts, etc. But there was a lot of thought put into their animation, which you probably still can't tell from the trailers. We didn't mess too much on the color differences, but there are ones. Wanted them to be more subtle. Mikey's walk vs. Raph's. Different fighting styles. Different mouth shapes, etc. And yeah, we decided to go crazy and give them different colored headbands... it was either that, or an initial on each of their belts.

Roseangelo – What you hear in the trailer isn't directly lifted from our movie score, but tonally it's very representative of the kind of vibe we're going for. And I agree, I love score CD's. Be awesome to have one of TMNT – there is a ton of it in there.

Chris5 – Director's cut? That would always be nice. But yeah, we'll be pushing to try and get as much cut stuff on the dvd as possible. A branching version (that kicks out and goes to cut scenes) would be neat, but it might feel a little disjointed, as we sort of adjust the bookending sequences to compensate for a cut sequence, usually. But there is a bunch of fun material there. As for the “not kid friendly enough”, sure that's always the blessing and curse of the TMNT. The first impression of non-turtle-heads is that it's a kiddie property. But once people see what we're doing with the movie, they sort of get it. Let's just say that whatever you see in the theaters is the fullest extent to which we could push the property tonally like that. (and we started with a high standard)

Thad – the movie wasn't rendered animated in black and white, rather, we just did black and white stills of the movie. But there are hundreds and hundreds of these stills. Would be an awesome book to combine those light keys with the script. Just my two cents... (and no, I've never heard of it being worked on)

Psycho Raph - Casey's role is a continuation from past films. He's still tonally the same, but now we've progressed his and April's relationship. It's also a great set up with Raph's recent path-of-action, as Casey has sort of lived that vigilante lifestyle. We get to see his and Raph's relationship in a few cool scenes.

.................................................. .

And in hopefully what will stick as a plan, I'm pretty sure USA Today will be running an article tomorrow (thursday) on the TMNT movie. (not sure the size) And in it... if all goes well... we'll be revealing the key cast of the movie. (and yes, I saw the other thread here about Winters - yeah) And yes, I'll be surprised if it stays under wraps until tomorrow...

[johnnyblaze]

its a good time to be a turtles fan :D

[Dr. Doom]

And in hopefully what will stick as a plan, I'm pretty sure USA Today will be running an article tomorrow (thursday) on the TMNT movie. (not sure the size) And in it... if all goes well... we'll be revealing the key cast of the movie. (and yes, I saw the other thread here about Winters - yeah) And yes, I'll be surprised if it stays under wraps until tomorrow...

-=Leans back in his throne and presses the tips of his fingers together=-

...Excellent....Doom has long awaited this revelation....

[Buslady]

With all of this nice stuff from Kev I CANT WAIT TO SEE THIS MOVIE!
I'm gonna take my silly nephew who's right here watching me type this, I'm gonna take him with me. :D

[gobo]

A new curiosity has emerged. How likely is it that Max Winters will be used in future movies? Since he's supposed to be one of the celeb-voices, I can't help but wonder if this will be a recurring role or not. In as much as the character seems like he'll be of little interest when the monsters are defeated, I hope he won't just reprise his role in a cameo to soak up the sequel's budget. But, I'm sure he'll rock in his performance. Sorry to be so negative. I'm a worst-case scenarist. :embarass:

[Buslady]

Hey Kevin - dya think they'll publish an "Art of" type of book of the movie? I would love to see one.

[johnnyblaze]

Hey Kevin - dya think they'll publish an "Art of" type of book of the movie? I would love to see one.

likewise. I love what i'm hearing about the amount of work they did coming up with individual looks and mannerisms for the turtles.

[ardnealy]

Thanks for answering my question. I have two more. How did you come up with the story for the movie? What are your thoughts on the turtles human friends?

[ThemanthatwouldbeRaphael]

Thats great news, I'm really hoping we'll find out who's playing the Turtles.

Question: What is your stance on this whole CGI animated movie trend? Do you think this is the way of the future, or, like me, do you believe that it's just a trend and 2D Traditional style will eventually make a grand return to movie theatres. Also, would you ever consider writting an issue of Tales of the TMNT?

[Kendamu]

Hey Kevin - dya think they'll publish an "Art of" type of book of the movie? I would love to see one.
I was about to ask the same thing.

[Roseangelo]

Oh yeah, I'd love an art book, without doubt.

The Sneak Peak comic book was a great preview of the kind of stuff that'd be in such a book. I could look at just that all day!

[Masked Ninja]

Hey, Kevin - I was doing some TMNT news/rumor surfing, and came upon something interesting. A few sites are claiming that Marco Beltrami has been replaced by Klaus Badelt for the TMNT score. It's even on Badelt's IMDB now (though we know how reliable THAT site can be :roll: ). Is this true? totally false? or are you not able to talk about it? ;)

(sorry if this has been mentioned anywhere before... I did a search and nothing came up, so...)

EDIT: Here's the first site I found that said this... http://www.soundtrack.net/news/article/?id=890

[johnnyblaze]

Kevin while working on the new film were you able to get little known turtle movie info, like story ideas they came up with for the previous live action films but dropped? and speaking of which how much, if any, retooling did your story go through after you first pitched it?

[Raph]

Dear Kevin. I sent you a private message.

[Anarky]

Hello Kevin,

now that we know something more than just "Hey, there's a new movie coming out", I'd like to ask you at least one question. It might not be the nicest thing you've ever heard, but I just have to ask.

Now we've seen most of the key players' designs. We've seen the TMNT of course, then we've seen the Foot, Karai, April and Casey. Now, you've done a terrific job with the Turtles and Splinter and also the Foot look rather good. Very close to the original, too. But, and here's a huge but, why on earth do the humans (Karai, Casey and April so far) look like they're barbie dolls? I mean, we see that you can pull off top-notch CGI with the TMNT, so why make the humans look like they're from a cheap version of "Jimmy Neutron"? I'm not questioning the style of the humans in particular, but I wonder why you deliberately chose to give them no skin texture whatsoever. It looks like the animators just strapped a piece of plastic over a skull, trying to sell it as skin.

So my question is this: Why is there this huge quality gap between the designs of the TMNT and the humans in the film?

Having said that, I feel that I need to add that I'll be seeing this movie anyways, as close to opening day as humanly possible.

[iris]

Mr. Anarky stole my question… in a manner of speaking.

The turtles are very detailed, down to scars on their plastrons. They look fab. The monsters look great, too. But the human characters, as far as they’ve been revealed, seem rather… unfinished. (And very skinny—maybe it’s my imagination, but I think Karai is wearing a battle corset! I fear for her lung capacity!) So my question was, are the human characters finished, or will they eventually match the glory of their reptilian cast-mates?

ETA: Since I posted this, several other points of view have been pointed out, including the sweet irony of having turtle guys who might just possibly "seem more realistic" than the human characters. Am also told to shut my trap and wait 'til I see it in the theatre. Am inclined to agree. But would still like an answer... :)

[Sewer Bull]

I second Anarky and iris. The TMNT look absolutely fabulous; alas the human characters have that incredibly dollish design, which just scares the hell out of some of us.

[Katie]

I just wish they were a little less anorexic looking :(

I hate that society dictates that females must look like they are about to die of starvation to be considered "beautiful"

I'm not fat or anything, but I am not on the verge of starvation either.....but I'll NEVER look as skinny as some actresses and cartoon character girls and women are.

[gobo]

Don't worry, Katie. CGI chicks make lousy girlfriends. ;) :lol:

[Thad]

Yeah, my first thought on Karai was, "Good Lord, that's about a 5-inch waist."

Then again, I suppose "great look for the creatures, not so much for the humans" is in and of itself faithful to the comics, at least vol 4 -- with apologies to Mr. Lawson.

[tOkKa]

-->> ..http://www.terrible2z.com/coleco-wh0rehouse/sewer/tf-karai.gif

..man why they always talkin' smeXX about m'wifee ..:dead: :sick:

[Jo Dawn]

Oh! Kevin! I have a question for you (though it may seem silly).

I've always been a fan of the friendship between April and Don, seeing as they are quite alike. This was present in the comics, old movies, and moreso in the 2K3 cartoon.

Is this dynamic going to be present in this upcoming movie? And, is it going to hint towards the crush harbored by Don for April, or just show their special friendship?

[Raph's Girl]

Hey Kevin,

Now that the voices for Splinter, Max Winters (Yay!! Patrick Stewart!! WOOT!! :evilgrin: ), April, Splinter, Casey, and Karai have been announced when are we gonna learn who's voicing the turtles?? I know they're not what's considered "celebrity" voices but it would still be nice to know who's voicing em. :)

[Barkworm]

Hi Kevin,

I think one of the aspects most people hated about the new show is the lack of emotion between the brothers (we've seen the guys and Splinter giving each other hand shakes, for god's sake. HAND SHAKES!!!). Is this going to be handled more like in the first movie? I want family hugs!

[Sewer Bull]

I want family hugs!

*grouphugs Barkworm* Hush Barky, hush.

Another question - Kevin, do you think that the foreign language versions should be ready by the end of June 2007? Because some of the fans here live in the pretty savage non-English-speaking countries that have to dub every single CGI movie entering the theatres. :|

[Vincent]

The dubbing thing is an important subject to me aswell, but in a different way. I will simply not se this movie in Swedish. I refuse. So if this movie does not show up in English here in Sweden, I will (though I certainly do not want to) have to find another way to see the movie (which would not be beneficial to anybody). I hope this movie will be treated like a few of the latest Disney productions have and shown in two language versions, but I'm not holding my breath, as Weinstein is not always so great with the exporting (I didn't even get a chance to watch Clerks II in the cinema).

So my question:
Is there any information yet about whether or not the movie will be shown with original sound in countries where many childrens' movies are dubbed and Weinstein movies tend to sometimes not show up at all?

I wouldn't want to be forced to be a naughty boy.

[Rooish]

Then again, I suppose "great look for the creatures, not so much for the humans" is in and of itself faithful to the comics, at least vol 4 -- with apologies to Mr. Lawson.


LOL, that's so true. And it was the same in the original comics, frankly. The humans have always looked kinda weird. :o

[ThemanthatwouldbeRaphael]

Hi Kevin,

I think one of the aspects most people hated about the new show is the lack of emotion between the brothers (we've seen the guys and Splinter giving each other hand shakes, for god's sake. HAND SHAKES!!!). Is this going to be handled more like in the first movie? I want family hugs!

Since this movie is supposed to be about being a family, I would assume they hug at least once. But even one hug would have more emotion than both cartoons combined.

[aabxx]

Hi Kevin, a bunch of questions for you:

1. Now that the animated series has moved into a weird, desperate direction and toy sales are not that good, do you feel the further survival of TMNT as a big franchise is largely dependant on your movie succeeding?
2. Which animated TMNT series do you like the most?
3. How big was the budget and were you satisfied with it?
4. Do you wish you had more time to complete the movie or is it just the right amount of time needed?

Merry Christmas and looking forward to your movie... it will be the movie highlight of 2007 for me... I'll love it no matter how good or bad it is (dedication is strange like that :evilgrin: ). Also, brilliant of you to take the time to visit this forum.. you're only a human being, but you're also a TMNT-legend in the making so having you here is B-I-G! :o

[raphaelprime]

Hi Kevin, first wanted to say movie looks awsome so far, from the teaser and the trailer, deffinately can't wait.

But my question is this, and i can't remember if its been announced or not, but will the movie be showing in IMAX?

[ThemanthatwouldbeRaphael]

Kevin, how are you doing?

(figured you could use a break after that barrage)

[gobo]

Oh yeah! Happy holidays, Mr. Munroe. Which one do you celebrate? Kwanza? :D Whatever the answer, I hope you got enough time off to celebrate it with your family.

[Thad]

LOL, that's so true. And it was the same in the original comics, frankly. The humans have always looked kinda weird. :o

Well, this is a bit of a tangent, and again, I mean no disrespect to Jim Lawson, as he's done some truly excellent work and I consider Return to New York to be easily the high-water mark of the series. But I think something's changed in his style since, at least on the humans; I think he draws them with bigger eyes, more protruding noses, and slacker mouths than he used to -- and, as others have noted, his women in particular (April, Shadow, Karai) are virtually indistinguishable from one another.

Again, I really do like Lawson's work, but something about the way he draws humans (at least in vol 4) just doesn't quite work for me.

[Kevin Munroe]

Buslady – I hope there is an art of book someday. Not sure who has the publishing rights to that. But it would be awesome. Those guys busted their butts to come up with some great stuff.

Gobo – Max Winters in sequels? I don't know yet. But if we do a sequel, it will be a continuation of the Turtles' story as we see tell it in TMNT. Hey, that's nice and vague.

Ardnealy – How did we come up with the story? It was mostly myself, Peter and my assistant director Tom bouncing around ideas that we liked. Then we'd bring in producers from all sides, discuss, tear apart, rebuild, and then eventually arrive at the nuts and bolts of the treatment. Treatment to script was a pretty linear path from there.

TMTWBR - My stance on 2D/3D? I think the trend of the future should be just to make good movies. That's all that should matter. I'm sure there'll be a glut of cgi films to come and some might suck. The dummies in the world will attribute those shortcomings to the medium of cgi, and then at some point, someone will do a 2D movie with an insane amount of heart and a great story, and it'll kill at the B.O. Then the whole thing will start over again. It's not about the medium, but the story it's telling.

Masked Ninja – Yeah, the Klaus thing is true. The early stuff I've heard sounds really fun. That's all I got for now.

Johnny – Yeah, I've been told quite a few stories of those movies. More politics than things that you guys would be interested in. Tom Gray (producer) could write a book. As for the story, what we pitched to Warner Bros and what they were really excited about still stayed until now. The core of it is the same. As for the first initial pitch to Peter, it's always remained a story about family and rebuilding the team. We were always very clear with that arc. We went through a few villain plots tho.

Anarky et al – Oooh, the tough questions. I don't know where you get the Jimmy Neutron analogy (“cheap version of”?), but I can assure you that when you get these things on a big screen, you'll see the difference. Sometimes with the crappy compression (where is the apple encode trailer?!), images-in-progress, etc. it's hard to see the detail. But there is a lot to our humans, and they're far from barbie dolls... especially when you see them acting with believable emotion. Not to mention that Turtles have no real reference point for detail-reality, and humans do. We are afforded a lot more caricature in the TMNT surfacing – wrinkles, creases, spots, etc. With “normal” humans, you can't be so broad-stroked or else it looks really bad. There has to be more subtlety with them. So, in my view, there is absolutely no chasm of difference in level of detail between the two – you can ask the surfacing team in Hong Kong who worked months and months putting blemishes, whiskers, refractive properties of skin, blushing, veins, etc. in the human characters. Stylistically they're like that because, I feel, animation is about caricature and not replicating reality. Otherwise we would have done live action. And also, having them stylized fits our goal of wanting the TMNT to not be freaks – but normal teenage brothers who just happen to fight monsters and are ninjas... and turtles. To me, going (stylistically) toward Shrek humans or FF humans just showcases a big disconnect between those two worlds, and also serves to make the humans a little more creepy. But hey, cool, you're welcome to think otherwise. (I'm far from the Uwe Boll type who will box anyone who disagrees with him)

Raph's Girl – I agree that it would be great to release who the Turtles are voiced by. These guys are great, and I'm sure you all have heard their voices in some place or another before. I still have to see when we're releasing that...

Bookworm - I am a big believer in the family hug, so yeah, we definitely see emotion between these guys. They feel like brothers – they fight, laugh and then make up believably.

Jo Dawn - There isn't a specific call-out to the previous relationship between Donnie and April, but they both have special skills in this movie that force them to work together. So if you squint and think about them being good friends prior, then yeah, it sort of fits. It's hard to prioritize sometimes what characters to bring to the forefront, along with their individual relationships. So we at least try not to negate the ones that matter like that.

Sewer Bull/Vincent - As far as dubs go, it's not my department, but I know there are a lot of dubs happening, and the release dates are as soon as they can be. Day-and-date around the world is a big goal, tho I know it's harder in some territories. As far as an english dub in a non-english country... I dunno.

Aabxx – I don't know how much pressure is on the movie in that respect. That's really a Mirage/4kids question, but yeah, there is always pressure for the movie to perform. We try not to think about it too much. I love the action in the original series, for some strange reason. There is a crazy feel to the original that I really dig. The new one is technically really well executed, and I like the bigger feel to the storylines. At the risk of being a question dodger, I'd say that the first series to me still rings as “the” TV Turtles... but that's probably just where I was when I was watching both series (teenager without a job vs. older with a career and family) The budget was... big, but not nearly as big as other movies of the same ilk. And yeah, I was very satisfied with it. Do I wish we had more time? Of course! But we got most of what we wanted in. It's very hard letting go, tho.

Raphprime – Imax? I'm not sure yet. I wouldn't rule it out, but we've been swamped making the movie as of late. Would definitely be cool.

TMTWBR – Thanks for asking. I'm doing great. We screened a good 40 minutes of our movie in full render on friday at work to our crew. (new high-rez projector, theater-sized screen) It looked phenomenal – especially the rain sequence that is teased in the trailer/movie still. Otherwise, today, I saw a giant TMNT one-sheet hanging outside of the WB lot – was a good feeling to see it.

In other news, I think the movie one-sheets should be in theaters very soon, if not this weekend. Awesome.

Might be out of touch for a while with the holidays and all. Not that anyone here is taking any time off – most of the crew is back working on the 26th... and in Hong Kong, I think they're working through Christmas. See how hard these people are working for you? Send 'em a card, or fruitcake or something!

Happy Holidays everyone – looking forward to the year of the Turtle!

Kevin

[ThemanthatwouldbeRaphael]

As always, a pleasure Mr. Munroe.

Happy Holidays Kev.

[Chris]

Love that pic you posted!

Have a great Christmas and New Year.

[aabxx]

Merry Christmas Kevin, whether you celebrate it or not. And again, it's been so brilliant seeing your answers here!

About the humans, I think Kevin made very good points. Look at finding nemo, the incredibles, monsters inc, ice age, over the hedge etc... humans almost always end up looking like "dolls" in CGI movies!

Humans are extremely difficult to model. They have an even skin tone (lends to the "plastic fantastic" feeling in CGI), they don't have a lot of fur (fur tends to look great in CGI) and even if you succeed with the modeling and skin textures their facial expressions and movements are almost impossible to get just right because basically, we're much more discerning when it comes to humans compared to every other creature. Therefore, it makes a lot of sense for most CGI movies to portray humans as dolls... that is, as caricatures. Trying to make them look realistic is extremely expensive and demanding and something not even the big guns in the business like pixar and dreamworks attempt. And even if you do try, you will end up in the uncanny valley [look it up at wikipedia] (could be the reason why final fantasy: the spirits within failed so miserably).

Also, by making humans look realistic, you're trying to replicate reality, and I feel the same as Kevin in that animation is about caricature and not an attempt to replicate reality. I love animation and if I wanted cartoons to be as close as possible to reality, I would simply watch live action stuff instead.

Personally I have no problems whatsoever with how the humans look in the new movie... they look like CGI-humans in almost every other CGI movie. There are reasons for that, and I've tried to explain some of them.

[raphaelprime]

Thank you for the reply Kevin. Also thank you for the picture of the side of the WB building, I remember when i was out there they had 'Friends' up in that same spot i believe, lets hope theres something about that spot on the wall for promotional posters. Happy Holidays. And thanks again for the response.

[Sewer Bull]

I wouldn't want to be forced to be a naughty boy.

Buy a DVD release. Wouldn't it have both Swedish and English dubs that you could switch between?

[johnnyblaze]

Merry Christmas to you, the family and the cast and crew

[AquaParade]

Happy holidays and thanks for all the info you've been giving us Kevin. I think I speak for everyone when I say this means a lot to us, and I'm sure if a sequel is warranted, you'll come down here right away for feedback and opinions;)
Anyways, there is one answer you gave in your last post that has me just a little confused. You stated that you didnt want the humans to look too realistic, because you want the ninja turtles to appear as regular teenagers and not freaks. The thing is, I always thought one big aspect of the tmnt was that they basically were...well freaks. They dont fit in at all with the human world and it's kinda interesting that way. But I could be confused, because it makes sense that you'd want them to look quite similar to the humans in order to not have such striking differences and feel disconnected from the world the movie is showing us. Also, what is your opinion on the Rat King? It seems like it'd be strange having him carry a whole sequel on his back, but if something was done like this movie where there is two villians, one being the rat king who just kinda myseriously pops up a few times throughout the movie, and one being maybe the return of shredder, I think it could turn out really cool. Thanks for your time Kevin!

[Aztec General]

Merry Christmas Kevin. Thanks for all the presents you've been giving us and the really big one you'll be giving us soon :lol: .

[Krutch]

Thanks for everything Kevin! Hope you have a happy and safe christmas!

[Raph's Girl]

Raph's Girl – I agree that it would be great to release who the Turtles are voiced by. These guys are great, and I'm sure you all have heard their voices in some place or another before. I still have to see when we're releasing that...


Yea.. Im sure that as soon as you guys announce who the voices of the turtles are we'll all be like "Oh! I remember him from..." :lol:

Still tho...good job on all you've done... especially in making all us Trekkies happy with the addition of Patrick Stewart to the cast. :evilgrin:

Happy (insert holiday here)!! :D

[ThemanthatwouldbeRaphael]

Merry Christmas Kevin, whether you celebrate it or not. And again, it's been so brilliant seeing your answers here!

About the humans, I think Kevin made very good points. Look at finding nemo, the incredibles, monsters inc, ice age, over the hedge etc... humans almost always end up looking like "dolls" in CGI movies!

Humans are extremely difficult to model. They have an even skin tone (lends to the "plastic fantastic" feeling in CGI), they don't have a lot of fur (fur tends to look great in CGI) and even if you succeed with the modeling and skin textures their facial expressions and movements are almost impossible to get just right because basically, we're much more discerning when it comes to humans compared to every other creature. Therefore, it makes a lot of sense for most CGI movies to portray humans as dolls... that is, as caricatures. Trying to make them look realistic is extremely expensive and demanding and something not even the big guns in the business like pixar and dreamworks attempt. And even if you do try, you will end up in the uncanny valley [look it up at wikipedia] (could be the reason why final fantasy: the spirits within failed so miserably).

Also, by making humans look realistic, you're trying to replicate reality, and I feel the same as Kevin in that animation is about caricature and not an attempt to replicate reality. I love animation and if I wanted cartoons to be as close as possible to reality, I would simply watch live action stuff instead.

Personally I have no problems whatsoever with how the humans look in the new movie... they look like CGI-humans in almost every other CGI movie. There are reasons for that, and I've tried to explain some of them.

Dude, that made more sense then almost everything I've heard all week.

[Kendamu]

I just wish they were a little less anorexic looking :(

I hate that society dictates that females must look like they are about to die of starvation to be considered "beautiful"

I'm not fat or anything, but I am not on the verge of starvation either.....but I'll NEVER look as skinny as some actresses and cartoon character girls and women are.
It's not just females, y'know. I'm definately not a twig, but I don't match up to the ideal that I have to have the muscles of every American superhero or ultrapowerful fighting anime character (e.g. Superman or Goku) in order to be considered for auditioning to be a heterosexual male.

So, stop taking it so hard. Thy're animated characters not made to look complwetely realistic.

[gobo]

O_o We don't need to meet those requirements? *sighs a sigh of relief*

[Sewer Bull]

O_o We don't need to meet those requirements? *sighs a sigh of relief*

Yeah, quirkyalones don't have to.

*rimshot*

[gobo]

Yey! ^_^

[Warhorse]

Merry Christmas Kevin, whether you celebrate it or not. And again, it's been so brilliant seeing your answers here!

About the humans, I think Kevin made very good points. Look at finding nemo, the incredibles, monsters inc, ice age, over the hedge etc... humans almost always end up looking like "dolls" in CGI movies!

Humans are extremely difficult to model. They have an even skin tone (lends to the "plastic fantastic" feeling in CGI), they don't have a lot of fur (fur tends to look great in CGI) and even if you succeed with the modeling and skin textures their facial expressions and movements are almost impossible to get just right because basically, we're much more discerning when it comes to humans compared to every other creature. Therefore, it makes a lot of sense for most CGI movies to portray humans as dolls... that is, as caricatures. Trying to make them look realistic is extremely expensive and demanding and something not even the big guns in the business like pixar and dreamworks attempt. And even if you do try, you will end up in the uncanny valley [look it up at wikipedia] (could be the reason why final fantasy: the spirits within failed so miserably).

Also, by making humans look realistic, you're trying to replicate reality, and I feel the same as Kevin in that animation is about caricature and not an attempt to replicate reality. I love animation and if I wanted cartoons to be as close as possible to reality, I would simply watch live action stuff instead.

Personally I have no problems whatsoever with how the humans look in the new movie... they look like CGI-humans in almost every other CGI movie. There are reasons for that, and I've tried to explain some of them.

Personally, I am glad they didn't make the humans look like the ones on Final Fantasy or Polar Express. They looked so bizzar and weird, I couldn't finish watching either shows, and this was on public tv. No wonder why it failed at the box office, it looks too weird to the human eye.

[Kendamu]

Merry Christmas Kevin, whether you celebrate it or not. And again, it's been so brilliant seeing your answers here!

About the humans, I think Kevin made very good points. Look at finding nemo, the incredibles, monsters inc, ice age, over the hedge etc... humans almost always end up looking like "dolls" in CGI movies!

Humans are extremely difficult to model. They have an even skin tone (lends to the "plastic fantastic" feeling in CGI), they don't have a lot of fur (fur tends to look great in CGI) and even if you succeed with the modeling and skin textures their facial expressions and movements are almost impossible to get just right because basically, we're much more discerning when it comes to humans compared to every other creature. Therefore, it makes a lot of sense for most CGI movies to portray humans as dolls... that is, as caricatures. Trying to make them look realistic is extremely expensive and demanding and something not even the big guns in the business like pixar and dreamworks attempt. And even if you do try, you will end up in the uncanny valley [look it up at wikipedia] (could be the reason why final fantasy: the spirits within failed so miserably).

Also, by making humans look realistic, you're trying to replicate reality, and I feel the same as Kevin in that animation is about caricature and not an attempt to replicate reality. I love animation and if I wanted cartoons to be as close as possible to reality, I would simply watch live action stuff instead.

Personally I have no problems whatsoever with how the humans look in the new movie... they look like CGI-humans in almost every other CGI movie. There are reasons for that, and I've tried to explain some of them.
Spirits Within sucked because it was supposed to live up to the name "Final Fantasy" and didn't. It didn't have so much to do with making realistic CG as it had to do with the story sucking.

Otherwise, Advent Children would've sucked even more because the humans were even more realistic (their looks, not the physics involved).

[wyze2099]

But, Rose still had a good point about "why the shell would New Line wanna promote a WB project". Only DVDs could gain from the situation. The televising rights have already been distributed. It's up to the networks as to when they want to air them.

I thought New Line Cinema was owned by Time Warner.

[Draconic]

Kevin,

Hey man, allow me to be candid for a moment.

I was born in 1986, and some of the earliest memories that I have include my mother singing a lullaby to me in the dark, me, trying to stand with my dad on the scorching-hot porch on a hot summer day, and pretending to be Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles with my best friend.

I cannot grasp, fully, the impact that the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles have had on my life, though I can say undoubtedly that I would not be the same person that I am today. Some of the first drawings that I did were of the Ninja Turtles. I taught myself to use a sword (stick,) bo (broomhandle,)nunchucks (home-made,) and sai (pawn-shop, $3.00) before grade school. My favorite games included TMNT 2 and 3 for the NES.

I enrolled in Tae Kwon Do with my best friend when we were in first-grade. I think we got up to Green-belt. Early on, some sense of self-discipline was instilled in me through this. I kept drawing, and got "A"s in Art class. These grades inspired me to work even harder on my artwork. In 7th grade, I went back to Tae Kwon Do, started from scratch, and got my black belt, and learned to really use Shaang-Joel-Bahng (Korean Nunchaku).

I am currently going to college for a degree in Videogame Art & Design, and I know that almost everything I've got going for me is in some part inspired by the Ninja Turtles. For a time I was considering going into comic-bookery at CCS, (Center for Cartoon Studies,) a major selling point: Guess who donated a large chunk of change to the school: Mr. Eastman & Mr. Laird.

Kevin, I just want to thank you for resurrecting the Ninja Turtles in a way that I thought would never happen again, and I hope that some day this film might affect someone else to the degree that the original movies affected myself and many others.

Keep up the good work, Kevin. Also, please pass on my thanks to Peter if you can.
-Derek

[ardnealy]

Will there be a cliffhanger ending?

[TMNT Power]

Why were my posts deleted? Because I was critical? Wow, how's your cencorship of differing opinions doing.

[Katie]

you were not censored....your post, and the NUMEROUS posts that followed commenting on it were split off into a new thread.

I'd say you garnished MORE attention that way. You should check the facts before jumping to a conclusion.

[Masked Ninja]

Yes. And it wasn't because you were critical... this thread is for asking Kevin questions. You weren't asking anything, just giving your opinion.

I know you started with the "why is Shredder not in the movie?" or whatever as ground to build your rant on, but as Master Splinter said:

"You ask a question that is not a question." -SSB pt. 1

Movie dissent is fine, but that's not what this thread is for. ;)

[Warhorse]

Kevin, if you guys decide to make a sequel to this new version of the Turtles, will you keep the same production and design team?

I was asking because now I just love the way your team handled the designs of the characters and the all around feeling in this movie. I want more just like it.

[Krang]

Why were my posts deleted? Because I was critical? Wow, how's your cencorship of differing opinions doing.
Like Katie and Masked Ninja said, your posts weren't deleted, they were moved to a new thread right here. The thread is only a few rows down from this one and has your own name right underneath it, so it's not exactly hard to find. Next time, please do some basic searching before making false accusations like that. If you have any further questions or comments about this, PM me or ask in the Questions/Comments/Suggestions section rather than posting them here.

Now, back on topic please.

[mik8la]

Hi, Mr. Munroe:

First off, I’m kind of a born-again Turtles fan—as in, I was crazy about the original cartoon as a kid, then grew up and forgot about it until I saw the teaser in a theater with a couple of friends. We got all excited and nostalgic; when I got home the first thing I did was look up info on the new movie, and well, I got hooked all over again. So there ya go: one lapsed fan back in the fold because of your digitally rendered re-imagining of my old fandom. Really, CGI is really the only logical progression for this franchise.

Anyway, here’s my question: I know Leonardo plays a significant role in the movie’s plot, but it going to do justice to his character? Is he gonna be strong and decisive so it’s clear why he’s the leader, or is he merely going to be the foil for one or more of his brothers? His movie incarnations have always been the weakest versions of him (both character-wise and skill-wise, because this isn’t the same Leo who cut off Shredder’s head...because Shredder was killed by, uh, construction), so what’s his skill level now?

Leo’s been my favorite since I was, like, three (okay, so back then that was mostly because he wore my favorite color, but still), so I’m really hoping for a TMNT movie where he actually acts like himself. He was almost indistinguishable from the other turtles in all of the live-action movies, as far as I’m concerned; except for a few leaderish lines, it was like he was reading everyone else’s script but his own.

I realize that he’s quite possibly the most difficult character type to write: he’s moral and obedient, the straight man, the infallible, hard-to-relate-to authority figure. But—like the other turtles—he’s far more than his personality archetype, and I’m just waiting for the movie franchise to tap into all the issues that undoubtedly has to come with being a teenager who’s essentially responsible for the future of his species. On the other hand, he’s already more quietly badass in the teaser and trailer than he ever was in all of the previous films, which is very, very good. Is he going to have that terse connection with Karai like he’s had in the comics and the new cartoon?

Sorry for talking your ear off, but suddenly March can’t come soon enough. Thanks for reading and please keep up the excellent work!

[Krutch]

I have a question for ya: Were those 160 images leaked or what?

(i looked at 3 or 4 new pics, and waiting til i see the movie to look at the rest)

(cuz spoilers suck)

[gobo]

Since 155 of them were removed from the servers, I'm sure they were.

EDIT: Oops! Sorry. Didn't notice this was the Munroe thread. Your question, sir. :embarass:

[raphroehler2003]

Hi Mr. Munroe i hope you had a Merry Christmas and will be having a Happy New Year.

I just have one simple question. In the turtles universe i always loved the Mikey/Raphael relationship. They rag on each other and yet they care for each other very much so...as if Mikey looks up to Raph and vice versa...or two sides of the same coin. I was wondering if there will be at least a small dynamic just between the two of them...a scene, a moment, whatever....Anyway thank you for yout time and merry Christmas :)

[IveyAngelo]

Hiya Kevin,

I got another question for you. From what I understand about the new movie, it's taking place after the first three movies, though in the back story of the original movies Splinter had half of his ear cut off by the Shredder, in your designs of Splinter I notice that he has two full ears. Was that an over looked piece of history, or did you guys just want a different direction with Splinter's looks over all?

[aabxx]

Mr. Munroe,

I just saw some of the high resolution pictures from the other thread on this forum.

I had a few drops of tears in my eyes when I was viewing those pictures. Tell me Mr. Munro, how did you and your team make a grown man cry?

How did you make them look so exorbitantly, spiritedly, totally utterly brilliantly beautiful? Oh my god they're so beautiful Mr. Munroe! Oh so beautiful. The trailer I've seen don't do them justice.

Thanks for making my brothers come alive once again.

:tthumbsu:

[ThemanthatwouldbeRaphael]

Mr. Munroe, I just want to say...I was watching Attack of the Show on G4, and they were discussing movies of 2007, and the first movie they talked about was TMNT. Now even though I saw it coming, it didn't help any when they knocked it. Some old fart and some ****** with a perm were spewing stuff like, this movie will only be for the kids and no adults would stay and watch and thos movie could be complete suckage, not one positive word. It just makes it more clear that the public's memory of the old TMNT cartoon is keeping them from taking the movie seriously.

Please, please, assure me that this movie with shut the mouths of these nay-sayers.

I don't mean to get worked up over this so damn much, but it gets me pissed off that people think of TMNT as jokes, while they're so busy throwing praise over Transformers, a franchise with an equally goofy premise.

[Jester]

TMTWBR, I feel your pain, but might I add that where Transformers has a goofy premise, it was never played for laughs. If the old TMNT had been more like the 2k3 series (or heck the Red Sky seasons) we wouldn't have this problem. I'm not saying I dislike the OT, I love it, it's what got me into TMNT, but know that people outside the fandom are gonna see TMNT as a goofy cartoon from the 80's and 90's and never even give the comics, new show and the new movie the time of day it may deserve. The only way for these idiots to eat crow is for true TMNT fans to help drum up support and make TMNT 2k7 a freakin' blockbuster!

[Quiet_Guy]

Mr. Murphy, how much of the supernatural will be in this movie? Will it be similar to Buffy or Ghostbusters? Will the Turtles actually fight the devil(someone here posted what the talking Leo toy says and he has a line that says good night dark prince)? Will the devil been seen in the movie? And I don't mean the Jersey devil. Reason I ask is because I haven't really followed the TMNT comics and had no idea they ever dealt with the supernatural.

[Jester]

Mr. "I share my first name with TMNT Co-creator Eastman" Munroe,
I read that Kevin's fave turtle was Raph. My name, ironically enough is also Kevin and I'm also a fan of Raphie. Who is your favorite turtle?

[Cascadia]

Mr. Munroe, is the movie going to be PG or more of a PG-13 movie? I have seen online articles that indicated that it is a borderline PG-13 movie. Either way is fine with me.

[Roseangelo]

I recall Kevin saying something about how there was no blood in the movie, as blood is a no no for a PG film.

[Cascadia]

Thank you Roseangelo for clearing that up for me.

[ThemanthatwouldbeRaphael]

Mr. Murphy, how much of the supernatural will be in this movie? Will it be similar to Buffy or Ghostbusters? Will the Turtles actually fight the devil(someone here posted what the talking Leo toy says and he has a line that says good night dark prince)? Will the devil been seen in the movie? And I don't mean the Jersey devil. Reason I ask is because I haven't really followed the TMNT comics and had no idea they ever dealt with the supernatural.

They've dealt with the supernatural since 1984. Aliens, monsters, sorcerers, mad scientists, super villians, robots. They've teamed up with superheroes, they've traveld through time.

They always fight weird stuff.

[Krutch]

Mr. "I share my first name with TMNT Co-creator Eastman" Munroe,
I read that Kevin's fave turtle was Raph. My name, ironically enough is also Kevin and I'm also a fan of Raphie. Who is your favorite turtle?

I asked him that already lol

Its Raph, but constantly changes...

[Michelangelo-Sama]

Mr. Munroe I could not be happier that you have taken on the task of bringing the Turtles back to the big screen, and to have Peter Laird involved is a huge plus. It's just good to know that a true fan is giving our boys in green the respect that they deserve. I hope that this will be one of many new movies to come. I have been a big fan of Mako for quite some time and was wondering if his voice work will still be used in the film and if there might be a dedication to him in the opening credits or the closing credits. I can't wait to see it. Im sure ill be going back more than once. Thanks Kevin.

[ThemanthatwouldbeRaphael]

Mr. Munroe, I was wondering if you, or Sarah Michelle Gellar, or Patrick Stewart, or any other member of the cast plan on doing some talk shows to promote the movie?

[Jester]

I asked him that already lol

Its Raph, but constantly changes...
I must have missed that part...:P The irony of 3 guys named Kevin liking Raph....:D But sadly only 2 of them are actually involved with the TMNT on a professional level...:(

[Kevin Munroe]

Hey everyone,

So, happy new year! Hope everyone survived the holidays. Everything seemed pretty quiet here... except for, y'know, 160 images being posted on the internet. Hey, now THAT is a great email to get the day after Xmas. Nice. I'm sure all the sites are getting killed as we type, but I hope that you guys got to see them before that. The funny thing is that most of them aren't even final images. So hey, hope you enjoyed your surprise Xmas present.

Underoath – I just meant “freaks” in the sense of design sensibilities. Of course they still have to come off as mutated creatures, but I didn't want that chasm between character designs in the reality of our movie. It was more of a comment on the humans than the Turtles themselves. And Rat King is awesome. He would fit in well with a sequel theory of multiple villains, simply because he doesn't seem to require a huge amount of screen time, yet could still be impactful. I would love to film the scene where Splinter is forced to eat a rat to survive. Ha.

Draconic – Thanks. That's a cool story.

Ardnealy – Cliffhanger ending? Not really – we end TMNT with a satisfying ending and a world that looks like we could easily go back to it. But if it's the only visit (hope not), then it'll be satisfying enough.

Warhorse – Thanks. If I did a sequel, yeah, I'd pretty much have to do it with the same production team. I couldn't imagine it any other way. I'm so proud of those guys.

Mik8la – I understand the concerns. As a writer, heroes are sometimes the most boring characters to write for. Any character that is too strong or too perfect stands the danger of being a little dull on screen. So you have to give them opinions, flaws, etc., and that's what we did with Leo. I can't say whether or not you'll like it, but I know I do. He's not a one-dimensional leader.

Juggalo – Yeah, those pics. I'd love to get p.o'ed about it, but I know there isn't much I can do. They weren't “leaked” (implies deception) as much as they were just incredibly mishandled early promo images. It's a big operation, and a message got messed up with a foreign partner, from what i understand. I'm sure they got the message now.

Raphroeller – I like the mikey/raph dynamic. It's there somewhat in the movie, but also in a special way in the way that Mikey looks up to the Nightwatcher, not knowing who his secret identity is.

Iveyangelo – I knew I'd get this question sooner or later. We actually tried a version of it. It looked okay if you knew the origin of the story. Otherwise, it looked a little strange at first glance. It was a conscious decision to go full-eared. We just added a line about his otoplasty procedure and how it improved his self-esteem, finally enabling him to love again. Aww.

TMTWBR – Yeah, someone sent me a link of the AOTS stuff. Wow – poking fun at goofy TMNT past and pizza jokes. Original... AND smug. I “will” agree that the movie has to be enjoyed more than just by 8 year olds... which it is. As for press junket stuff – not sure yet what the plans are. I'm sure we'll hear soon enough. Sarah Chris and Patrick can get Tonight Show. I'll be doing a call-in on a midnight radio show in Botswana.

Jester – It was Raph last week. Today it's Donatello, but it's just because I'm looking at a cool scene with him in it at the Warner soundstage at the moment.

Leonardo - A mention to Mako in the credits would be great. Up to the producers more than me. But I'd love to see it.

Scientific – It's a PG, but we'll probably barely squeak by.

Quiet – The devil isn't in the movie. But I think I deal with him on a daily basis. Supernatural is in the movie to a smaller extent, but it's not Constantine or anything like that.

Otherwise, we're heading into the last full month of production. Woo. Still on taps – recording the score, sound mixes, sound effects, color timing, and all that fun stuff. We won't sleep much, but it's the home stretch.

Speak soon,

Kevin

[Quiet_Guy]

Thanks for taking the time to answer this question Mr. Munroe. I can't wait to see this movie and I hope you guys make sequels. Glad the supernatural won't be too strong, I've never been a fan of stuff like that.

[ThemanthatwouldbeRaphael]

The devil isn't in the movie

Damn. Well, just keep it in mind for the sequels. TMNT and Jesus vs Satan, starring Mel Gibson.

Thanks for making the time Mr. Munroe

Sarah Chris and Patrick can get Tonight Show. I'll be doing a call-in on a midnight radio show in Botswana.


:lol: Well, if you can get them down, you'll be golden.

[Quiet_Guy]

Damn. Well, just keep it in mind for the sequels. TMNT and Jesus vs Satan, starring Mel Gibson.

Thanks for making the time Mr. Munroe



:lol: Well, if you can get them down, you'll be golden.

LOL, I think Mel Gibson would put make it an R rating.

[ThemanthatwouldbeRaphael]

LOL, I think Mel Gibson would put make it an R rating.

Especially if he calls April "sugertits".

[johnnyblaze]

Mr. Munroe I just want to say that if the talking TMNT figures I found in stores this week feature the actual movie turtle voices than you did an outstanding job with their casting, particularly Raph who has a gruff, tough guy voice yet still sounds incredibly young. Be sure to send the voice actors a thumbs up from me :thumbsup:

Also I saw that Imagi will be at New York Comic Con next month, do you know if they are going to be having any TMNT displays there?

[CJStyles]

One of the elements that played well in the first movie was it had a lot of rain sequences. Are we gonna have that similiar effect in this movie?

[Raph's Girl]

Iveyangelo – I knew I'd get this question sooner or later. We actually tried a version of it. It looked okay if you knew the origin of the story. Otherwise, it looked a little strange at first glance. It was a conscious decision to go full-eared. We just added a line about his otoplasty procedure and how it improved his self-esteem, finally enabling him to love again. Aww.

Splinter got ear surgery?! :lol:

[TMNT]

Hey Kevin, thanks for answering questions. I have one of my own. I posted this in a previous thread, but since this is your thread, it'd be better here. With the passing of Mako and the possible sequel, you'll need a new Splinter voice. I was thinking why not ask Kevin Clash to do it. He was Splinter from the old films. I think it would be great. The rest, is up to you.
(Hell, I'm even ready for Elias to be Casey in the next one but I'm sure Chris Evans is great).

[comet_an_me]

Hello Kevin,
I dont no wether or not some one has asked this question (Yes i have read throught the thread but i have a memory like a fish...:lol: So if its been answerd please somebody tell me...lol) any way something some one else said on another Thread persuaded me to ask this.....'Will Mikey be allowed to use his Nunchukas?'

[discordiatookie]

Hello Kevin,
I dont no wether or not some one has asked this question (Yes i have read throught the thread but i have a memory like a fish...:lol: So if its been answerd please somebody tell me...lol) any way something some one else said on another Thread persuaded me to ask this.....'Will Mikey be allowed to use his Nunchukas?'

course he will, but they'll probably edit it just for us, the UK fans. oh, that and change the title to 'Hero' also. you get what i'm saying! ;) :P

[comet_an_me]

course he will, but they'll probably edit it just for us, the UK fans. oh, that and change the title to 'Hero' also. you get what i'm saying! ;) :P


Yeh we'll have to wait 10 years to them in action lol

[ThemanthatwouldbeRaphael]

Hey Kevin, thanks for answering questions. I have one of my own. I posted this in a previous thread, but since this is your thread, it'd be better here. With the passing of Mako and the possible sequel, you'll need a new Splinter voice. I was thinking why not ask Kevin Clash to do it. He was Splinter from the old films. I think it would be great. The rest, is up to you.
(Hell, I'm even ready for Elias to be Casey in the next one but I'm sure Chris Evans is great).

Actually I heard that they're getting a new guy to voice Uncle Iroh on Avatar the Last Airbender, who studied under Mako. Maybe if he's any good, they can get him to voice Splinter in future sequels.

[ardnealy]

For the next movie, what would you do differently?

[gobo]

Really? I thought they had abolished the rules against chucks at least half a decade ago. But, if they don't rename it TMHT, I'll be surprised.

Anyway, I actually had a different take on the Splinter question. Since Mako is no longer with us (R.I.P.), should Splinter even be used for a sequel? I have full respect for the character, but I think I'll lose an ounce of respect for the film if the talent is replaced. I'm sure most people who regard TMNT as a kiddie property will feel the same. I died a little each time I heard a new voice on established characters in the classic cartoon. This isn't Harry Potter, so you can easily write the character out for the next film. But, since it would actually be adapting themes from Mirage's Volume 4 books, isn't that at least a possibility?

[TMNT]

Gobo, I get what you're saying about Splinter, but to kill him off now wouldn't be justified seeing that the first film has taken its course (meaning that it's pretty much complete). If Splinter were to die, it'd have to be in the sequel and if he does, we'll still need a voice. About the voice you mentioned ThemanthatwouldbeRaphael, I guess we'll just wait and see. I still think if the team was to get Kevin Clash, that would still retain the character of Splinter to be in good hands than to have that awkward feeling of having someone new do it. We're all familiar with Clash's version and we're all looking forward to Mako's. Again, it's the team's call.

[ThemanthatwouldbeRaphael]

Really? I thought they had abolished the rules against chucks at least half a decade ago. But, if they don't rename it TMHT, I'll be surprised.

Anyway, I actually had a different take on the Splinter question. Since Mako is no longer with us (R.I.P.), should Splinter even be used for a sequel? I have full respect for the character, but I think I'll lose an ounce of respect for the film if the talent is replaced. I'm sure most people who regard TMNT as a kiddie property will feel the same. I died a little each time I heard a new voice on established characters in the classic cartoon. This isn't Harry Potter, so you can easily write the character out for the next film. But, since it would actually be adapting themes from Mirage's Volume 4 books, isn't that at least a possibility?

They've got to use master Splinter for a sequel, he's too important to the TMNT mythos to simply be written off without any prior explaination. Mako was an excellent Uncle Iroh, but they can't just remove the character from the show just because Mako died. They just have to find a new one that manages to be on par with Mako's preformance.

[TheShowstoppa]

Well... being as that I haven't thought of anything worthy to type until now, I am going to shoot for the gold on this one. I hate wasting people's time asking redundant questions that people haven't even bothered to go through and look at. So, here goes nothin'!

I'm going to start with something I didn't want to do as I figured you'd heard enough of them to begin with, but thanks entirely for coming to the forum to post. Being a 21 year old fan myself, it's refreshing to see someone who is as big of a fan as I am that got his dream job by making a continuation of his favorite characters. Congrats on that.

Now - Betting on the fact that this movie was made a shorter budget than most other CGI movies, (Which would be what? in between $20 - $30 Mill?) what are the success points for the film. Assuming that the film doesn't live up domestically in the box office as we all hope (which I doubt it won't top the charts its first week), would DVD sales do anything to help push the momentum for a sequel? If you look at some comic movies as of late (Punisher, Fantastic 4) the fanbase was not entirely there for the box office release, but showed up in numbers to push the sales and rentals of the DVD's to warrant sequels. Would this actually play a factor with TMNT just like those movies, or are we just looking for the demographic to push in the box office?

Also, as we have been seeing release for the movie figures, there were some pictures released on the internet a few months ago of a Shredder Figure. Was this always a plan being as that he's a huge part of TMNT lore, or is it some sort of signifigance that you cannot indulge right now? As you have said, he does make an appearance in the movie, but you have also said you would like to use him in a sequel (hopefully minor role).

Thanks for taking the time to read and/or answer these questions. Hopefully I can think of something suitable again, because I absolutely hate to be a bother.

-Show

[Raph's Girl]

'Will Mikey be allowed to use his Nunchukas?'

Actually in the UK nunchucks are ok...but swords are bad now. But Nunchucks are still banned in Norway. However, I've heard that they won't be changing Mikey's weopons (oh like a grappling hook was even better? From a weopon that can bop people on the head to one that can impale? ) for foreign audiences. *shrugs*

[TMNT]

I just had a thought. All this talk about a sequel and Shredder has got me thingking. If Shredder does appear anywhere in this film, and it's supposed to set up a sequel, what happens if (God forbid this actually happens) that the film doesn't do so well at the box office. If there is no sequel and the film just set up for a sequel, that wouldn't work. But Kevin has stated that he has planned it through. Cliffhanger ending? Not really – we end TMNT with a satisfying ending and a world that looks like we could easily go back to it. But if it's the only visit (hope not), then it'll be satisfying enough. I just realized he kind of answered my question already...man, that was a stupid post.

[Buslady]

Hey everyone,

So, happy new year! Hope everyone survived the holidays. Everything seemed pretty quiet here... except for, y'know, 160 images being posted on the internet. Hey, now THAT is a great email to get the day after Xmas. Nice. I'm sure all the sites are getting killed as we type, but I hope that you guys got to see them before that. The funny thing is that most of them aren't even final images. So hey, hope you enjoyed your surprise Xmas present.


Kevin

Hey Kev, If ANYTHING..those pics REALLY got me going, I'm seriously DYING to see the movie now. I figured they weren't finished images cause there were a few off bits here & there...but I'm really even more so looking forward to this. Just looking at a close up of Raph's face and that one shot of Leo in the rain shows how much blood,sweat and tears you guys put into it. The detail is freaking amazing. I can not wait. March is a good month for me. My car will be paid off and TMNT! WOOOO HOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

After the movie expect tons of praise and worship from me. HAHAH! :D

[Cascadia]

March will come here before you know it. :)

[Buslady]

March will come here before you know it. :)


Not quick enough though!!
I'm dying to hold the pink slip to my car 4 years of paying and it's FINALLY MINE!!!!!!! MUAHAHAHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

To celebrate...TMNT! hehe

[Cascadia]

I know that it is coming quick enough but it will be here.

[AquaParade]

Hey again Kevin, I just thought I would tell you something in regards to my last question. It looks like you were completely right about the whole not wanting the humans to look too real when the turtles are actually more like charicatures...anyways I was reading the paper the other day and they had a review for the new cgi movie called Happily N'ever after, and the man writing the review mentioned the fact that there is definitley an odd disconnection, because of the way the animals are so charicatured, while the humans look a little too real for the movie. Looks like you know what your doing :) Just thought I would share that little bit of info with you.

[ThemanthatwouldbeRaphael]

The jig is up Munroe(I can't believe I said jig). Were starting to put the pieces together. So, can you confirm or deny this voice cast...

Leo: James A. Taylor
Raph: Tino Insana
Don: Quinton Flynn
Mikey: Mikey Kelley

[johnnyblaze]

Mikey Kelly is definatly Mike.You can hear it on his website http://www.mikeykelley.com/animation.htm