IGN post on how to make a good TMNT movie

[mcauley]

Here is the link to the IGN article

http://movies.ign.com/articles/121/1219143p1.html

[CyberCubed]

They make good suggestions for supporting villains, such as Baxter and Leatherhead. There is no doubt in my mind Leatherhead was thought of because of The Lizard in the new Spiderman movie. He and Baxter would work great.

CG could render the Mousers nicely as well.

[AcidBurn30]

call me old fashion but i do miss the puppets work like the orginal classic movie. Yes The CGI would be good on the mouse and anything as well. But they need to mix the orginal comic book of Peter And Kevin work and put a little 80's cartoon in.... and also bring back the blades with blood...pull a batman movie and it make it darker....would be nice for bebop and rocksteady for the first time on the big screen and live action.. but please do not put emo music for soundtrack and add rock music in it...make Casey Jones crazy once again, and maybe have human foot and robot foot as well...seeing something blowing up and seeing blood is also good in movies...Make April like the classic comic book (2k3)... Shredder will still be like the comic book (Crazy as hell)... But if they need another bad guy in this movie. Yes bring back Krang and use Pat's orginal voice and add the rock soldiers as well...hmm i might be wishing too much....
Just make it dark and violent just like the classic comic book lmao..

[ToTheNines]

"Reboot or Fresh Start?": Not that I disagree with what he has to say here, but he loses major credibility points by saying that they've already hired that director, and especially for saying that IDW "rehashed" the origin. Even if they did, it's not read by that many movie goers.

"A New Director": Other than him being a bit high on Liebesman, I like what he has to say here.

"The Costume Designs": And there goes his credibility again... that mold was just something a fan made up. Never intended for a movie.

"The villains": Can't really agree or disagree on anything here, I honestly don't know who I want to see be the Big Bad in this movie. However, LH is not really a villain.

"The supporting cast": Yeah, I think everyone can agree on this.

[Logan]

Call me crazy, but I'd like a film based strictly on the original comics. Never going to happen, but it's a pipe dream in a world that I would love to live in.

[TurtleTitan97]

I have heard that the new movie is set to return the turtles back to a more serious tone like the original comics.

[CyberCubed]

Call me crazy, but I'd like a film based strictly on the original comics. Never going to happen, but it's a pipe dream in a world that I would love to live in.

You mean aside from the fact that Movie 1 pretty much did just that?

I cannot possibly imagine a movie solely based on the first issue. Movie 1 took elements of the first few arcs and Return to New York, leaving out the sci-fi stuff, and it worked perfectly.

[Logan]

You mean aside from the fact that Movie 1 pretty much did just that?

I enjoy the first film for that very reason, but there's still some level of compromise there in allowing the toon elements in there (colored masks, pizza). What I'm thinking is something even more closely linked to the comic.

I cannot possibly imagine a movie solely based on the first issue.

I would agree. Not nearly enough material to pad out 90 minutes. My thinking would be to open the film with the Foot and Shredder (as in issue 1) as a pre-credit introduction to the Turtles. Then fast forward a couple months later as the Turtles search for Splinter, discover TCRI, meet Honeycutt and the Triceratons, and so on. Then book-end the film with a scene of the Foot Mystics kneeling before the resurrected Shredder. At least, that's how I would like it.

I actually had my own little script I was working on for fun that adapted the early issues. If I ever finish it, maybe I'll put it up on here for your reading pleasure.

[ToTheNines]

I would agree. Not nearly enough material to pad out 90 minutes. My thinking would be to open the film with the Foot and Shredder (as in issue 1) as a pre-credit introduction to the Turtles. Then fast forward a couple months later as the Turtles search for Splinter, discover TCRI, meet Honeycutt and the Triceratons, and so on. Then book-end the film with a scene of the Foot Mystics kneeling before the resurrected Shredder. At least, that's how I would like it.

Personally, I think it's time the Mousers made their big screen debut.

[Powder]

Personally, I think it's time the Mousers made their big screen debut.

Agreed. I want a Baxter Stockman movie. The sequel can have Shredder.

[CyberCubed]

If Baxter is in a movie I can't see him being the main villain, they'll probably just have him working for Shredder.

[joe-eyeball]

Agreed. I want a Baxter Stockman movie. The sequel can have Shredder.

Absolutely agree! There really is no need to make Shredder the key villian. Baxter and the mousers would be perfect to start with.

[CyberCubed]

Baxter has never been lead material, in any incarnation. He's a secondary villain for a reason. There's also a reason that aside from Mirage, they always have him working for either Shredder or Krang in all the other series.

Baxter deserves a big part in a movie, as do the Mousers, but he can't be the main selling point.

[pannoni1]

Since we can't stay stuck in the past, IDW I feel is good source material for future movie(s) with its relaunch. However, I would add elements from the Nick cartoon if successful since Nickelodeon owns the turtles and it would be easy to do.

I agree with the blending live action and CG elements statement. This would be a great way for Krang, the Technodrome (I wouldn't mind bringing it back if possible), and the Mousers to be used. It will even encourage the younger set to see the movie, and CG can allow for more fluid battle sequences compared to raw live action.

I doubt we'll get the rights for Usagi Yojimbo again at this point. But the problem is you can't cram everything in just 90 minutes-2 hours, so that's why there's always room for sequels. I feel TMNT 2007 was its own universe, and it was only under the radar for a brief period, so it would be great time for a relaunch.

[Plasticplayhouse]

You mean aside from the fact that Movie 1 pretty much did just that?

I cannot possibly imagine a movie solely based on the first issue. Movie 1 took elements of the first few arcs and Return to New York, leaving out the sci-fi stuff, and it worked perfectly.

I loved the first movie and agree that it was strongly comic based while having a fare amount of OT influence. My hope is that they reboot (keeping the same winning formula of the first movie) having the first movie being basically like tmnt 1, followed by a sequel that's based off like comic issues 10 & 11, with a third and final film taken from the pages of return to NY.

[Xav]

"The villains": Can't really agree or disagree on anything here, I honestly don't know who I want to see be the Big Bad in this movie. However, LH is not really a villain. He was in the old toon.

[Powder]

He said "Not really a villain", not "He was never a villain". I'd say being a bad guy in 1 of the 5 or so universes he appeared in justifies that.

[ToTheNines]

Agreed. I want a Baxter Stockman movie. The sequel can have Shredder.

Yup. Look how well it worked out for the recent Batman movies saving The Joker for the sequel.

Main reason I want Stockman is so Donatello can finally get his due screen time and move the plot along in a theatrical film, for once.

Baxter has never been lead material, in any incarnation. He's a secondary villain for a reason. There's also a reason that aside from Mirage, they always have him working for either Shredder or Krang in all the other series.

Baxter deserves a big part in a movie, as do the Mousers, but he can't be the main selling point.

Who says he can't work for Shredder and still be the lead villain of the movie? If you were to edit season one of the 4kids show into a series of movies, their first battle with the Shredder wouldn't be until the second or third "movie".

My idea would be like this: Baxter's working for Shredder, using his Mousers to rob banks and whatever. Mousers serendipitously find the Turtles lair, they fight and the Turtles escape. Baxter, being a scientist, sees the footage and becomes obsessed with finding these mutants, but Shredder thinks he's wasting his time and Shredder's own money.

Of course Baxter ignores him and keeps looking, and the Turtles are on the run for mostly the whole movie. Throw in some Purple Dragon brawls Casey/Raph style, some sweet Mouser battles, an April O'neil rescue, some ominous dialogue from Saki and finally a take down of Stockman's lab, which culminates in a huge battle against some Foot Ninja who show up when Stockman alerts them.

The Turtles win of course, and when they go to tell Splinter that they had battled Foot Ninja, he tells them even though their training is not complete, their confrontation with Oroku Saki is near.

Epilogue scene would have Baxter begging for forgiveness to Shredder (who is offscreen), and then Shredder, in full-armor, tells Baxter "I told you so" the only way he knows how *slice*. Shredder then looks to his Elite guard, letting them know that these freaks must pay for slaying their fellow clan members. Roll credits.

[Filespit]

I like this guy's ideas, but personally I would love to see a movie adaption of the original comic book. There could still be parts of the toon version, but in a more serious tone. It's probably not gonna happen, but you can still wish right? Casey and April should definitely be in the movie, but how big their parts are should be based on the story.

As for the villains, I have troubles deciding who I'd want. I like @ToTheNines idea about having Baxter for this movie and Shredder for an eventual sequel. Personally I'd like to see someone else than Shredder though. Baxter is a great candidate along with his mousers, they deserve a movie and could easily fill one out. Leatherhead is a personal favorite, so I'd love to see him in the movie, even just as a supporting villain like Two-Face in The Dark Knight, who then turns into an ally instead.

I don't know about you guys, but an outsider for me would be the Rat King. For some reason I think he could fit into the grittier version of the story, and you could pair him with another villain, Leatherhead for example. It's probably not gonna happen, but I think he's got potential to be a great villain.

[CyberCubed]

Rat King and Leatherhead should have been in the movies by now, but if they throw in too many villains in the same movie, you have "Spiderman 3 syndrome" where nobody gets any proper screentime.

[Original TMNT Cartoon Fan]

Something like this:

*Channel 6 News reporter, April O'Neil and her assistant and friend Irma Langinstein report on a crime wave in New York City, when they are attacked by the toughest gang on the East Side, the Purple Dragons, with Bebop, Rocksteady and Hun. The TMNT save and befriend April and Irma.

The Purple Dragons work for Shredder (human), who offers Bebop and Rocksteady to chose increased strength if they accepd being mutated. Bebop and Rocksteady wreak havoc in town to distract, and when the TMNT go topside fighting it, a lot of people see them, causing Burne Thompson and Vernon Fenwick reporting for Channel 6 of the TMNT also being bad guys. The TMNT leave town to hide in the forests of Northampton, Massachusetts, where Raphael stumples upon Casey Jones, who uses his sports equipment to strike down all street punks in town. Together, they recover and go back to fight the Purple Dragons in New York City.

Meanwhile Shredder travels to Japan with his alien sidekick Krang (sending Bebop and Rocksteady). The TMNT and Casey Jones discovers this, and Splinter takes them to Japan where Shredder and his Foot Soldiers (human), led by Tatsu and Karai, try to break into a nuclear power station to drain energy from it, allowing Krang to teleport his Technodrome to the Earth from an asteroid in his Krang's home galaxy Dimension X.

The TMNT, Splinter and Casey Jones finally defeat the bad guys, and celebrate with a pizza, while April and Irma can show the world that the TMNT and Splinter aren't bad guys.

I don't know which Splinter origion would be best.

[TurtleTitan97]

I prefer an adaption that sticks closly to the comics. But not too dark and have the turtles make jokes. And as much as it would be cool to see the Technodrome in action in a TMNT movie, I doubt It will happen since this movie is said to return the turtles back too what they they were like in the Mirage comics. Also, they should stick too the shadows and not be publicly revealed since they are ninjas.

[Logan]

It would be kind of interesting if, should they decide to go the "April as reporter" route, they made her a serious journalist who is stuck working for a sensationalist news station. When she finally meets the Turtles she has found herself a truly important story that could legitimize her career, but she can't get a break because it gets swallowed up by all the other nonsense the station reports, like Nostradamus' prophecies, alien abductions and the like.

[Cure]

I prefer an adaption that sticks closly to the comics. But not too dark and have the turtles make jokes. And as much as it would be cool to see the Technodrome in action in a TMNT movie, I doubt It will happen since this movie is said to return the turtles back too what they they were like in the Mirage comics. Also, they should stick too the shadows and not be publicly revealed since they are ninjas.

Huh. What you just described sounds a lot like the first movie...

[CyberCubed]

Virtually every time someone says "they should stick to the comics" I point out that the first movie did just that.

The only thing we should see otherwise is the Baxter/Mouser story. I seriously doubt we will ever see a Turtle movie set in space with Triceratons and all that, the general public would be disinterested and the movie should be grounded in reality.

[BubblyShell22]

I would love to see Baxter be the main villain for once. He can work for Shredder, but still be the main villain until Shredder is revealed later. The Mousers would work also, destroying the Turtles Lair and sending them to the surface like they did in 2K3.

[Jester]

Why do I get the feeling that despite mentioning the Mirage comics, the person who wrote this article's only real frame of reference for the TMNT is the Fred Wolf series and the 4 theatrical movies?

[TurtleTitan97]

I would love to see Baxter be the main villain for once.

I agree. With the technology today i would love to see his mousers in a TMNT film. Shredder could appear at the end of the movie, hinting a sequel, kind of like what Batman Begins did where Joker was referenced at the end.

[Xav]

He said "Not really a villain", not "He was never a villain". I'd say being a bad guy in 1 of the 5 or so universes he appeared in justifies that. The old cartoon, action figures, and video games. That's more than 1 and 5.

[Jester]

Cartoon, action figures, and video games. That's more than 1 and 5.
The action figure and video game were based on the Fred Wolf series. I mean, in the 4kids based games or action figures, he wasn't a villain, was he?
Mirage (and Image) - Ally
FW - Villian
Archie - Ally
4Kids - Ally

[Genesis]

We all know that it's going to be the Shredder again, but I'd be really excited to see Baxter Stockman as their initial foe and again hint at the Shredder's return. And I'll go ahead and agree that CG mousers could be pretty rad.

Call me crazy, but I'd like a film based strictly on the original comics. Never going to happen, but it's a pipe dream in a world that I would love to live in.You and me both. Just once. We can get back to the kids/family stuff any time. A flick like that would have some balls, for sure.

[Jester]

I'm still holding out hope for an animated movie based solely on TMNT 1.1. I think it'd be awesome.

[Powder]

Cartoon, action figures, and video games. That's more than 1 and 5.

The cartoon, action figures and video game are all the same universe.

[Xav]

The only thing we should see otherwise is the Baxter/Mouser story. I seriously doubt we will ever see a Turtle movie set in space with Triceratons and all that, the general public would be disinterested and the movie should be grounded in reality. Why? It's not like Scfi and fantasy films haven't been successful. Look at the highest grossing films they are mostly scfi or fantasy, Star Wars, Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, Transformers, Avatar, Pirates of the Caribbean etc.

Why do I get the feeling that despite mentioning the Mirage comics, the person who wrote this article's only real frame of reference for the TMNT is the Fred Wolf series and the 4 theatrical movies? Yeah but he did show a picture of 4Kids Baxter.

I'm still holding out hope for an animated movie based solely on TMNT 1.1. I think it'd be awesome. What the heck is TMNT 1.1?

[Leonardo87]

What Jester means by 1.1 is that first issue was just a one shot moment and didn't know that they would have a second issue since Eastman and Laird didn't think it would be successful when they first published it.

[Jester]

Exactly TMNT Volume 1, Issue 1. I'd love a ultra styalized, Sin City-esque TMNT #1 movie. Monochromatic all the way. Just black, white, and red for blood and bandanas.

It'll never happen, but I'd buy it.

[Genesis]

I think most of us would.

[Bob]

Long time lurker here, so I thought I may as well finally register with movement on the new movie heating up at last. Anyway, I have a question.

This is just innocent ignorance fuelling this question, but is there any legal reasoning dictating what they can and can’t use in the new film? Or is anything on the table? Could we see Rocksteady and Krang in the new film for example, or are there legal reasons why that can’t happen?

Also, is Peter Liard still involved with the new film in any capacity? Because I seem to recall that he dictates a lot of what they can and can’t use, which in itself is a double edged sword.

[Xav]

Nope I'm pretty sure they can use anything they want, and Peter Laird is not involved with the movie he sold the TMNT rights to Nickelodeon a few years ago.

[Bob]

Nope I'm pretty sure they can use anything they want, and Peter Laird is not involved with the movie he sold the TMNT rights to Nickelodeon a few years ago.

Thanks for that. Shame about Peter Laird, but at the same time it is a bit of a relief, as, as I said earlier, his level of control was a bit of a blessing and a curse.

Just thinking, after having seen Rise of the Planet of the Apes (and loving it), I really think that motion-capture for the Turtles and Splinter should seriously be considered. Anyone else agree?

[Spitfire]

Should be called "Building a better TMNT movie for casual fans". Not horrid ideas but clearly written by someone with a very narrow view of the franchise as a whole. At least they knew there were comics.