Old Or New Setting?
 

Simple & to the point- for the next inevitable film series, would you prefer it to take place in the modern/current world, or be a period piece in the 80's/90's?

The TMNT are very much a product of their era. They stand the test of the time, & have been proven to work in any setting (from feudal Japan to technological utopias of the future), but I think they're at their best amidst the grit & funkyness of their original glory days in the late 80's/early 90's. Heavy metal/punk/hip-hop were integral to the aesthetics of their most notable iterations (Mirage, Fred Wolf, Henson), & the initial boom of those genres are also time capsule-like. They capture a very specific vibe that is unique to their peak, & the coolness the turtles exuded is in part owed to their respective cultures. + back then, NY was a lot different. Filthy, crass, crime-ridden. Adult shops all over, way more drugs/sex/gang violence/etc. It was a city that very much welcomed Purple Dragon types, warranted the creation of a Casey Jones, & needed the help of mutant turtles. It was bursting with personality, graffiti, youth/alternative culture. Nowadays you don't have to worry about that stuff nearly as much, at least not in a post-9/11 Manhattan. There's little more than corporate crap-peddling.

I have no intentions of making this a Platinum Dunes film bashing thread, but a big part of what took me out of that film was applying the "TMNT spew pop culture references" thing to the 2010's. I cringed at the references to newer stuff, it just didn't feel right at all. Did anyone really wanna see the TMNT dancing to Gwen Stefani? I wanted to kill myself in the theater. The Nick series on the other hand kept only 80's/90's stuff in their homage jar, & it worked soooo much better. + I'd rather not see the TMNT or their peers have too many technological advancements, smart phones & all that. Makes things too easy.

Yeah, I've always seen TMNT as being in the mid/late 80's and early 90's era myself.

Even in the cartoons when the 2k3 series took place in the early 2000's, or the Nick show in...well...2012...it feels weird. Like in the Spiderbitez episode as a human he took a picture of Raph with his iphone. Like man, I was expecting him to take out one of those old cameras from the 80's and say, "I have to develop the film" and so forth. Instead Raph had to destroy his phone rather than taking out the film.

Feels very strange. I love in the first movie you see payphones and the characters walking around 80's Manhattan like it's the current year. And Danny takes out his Sony Walkman from the 80's rather than some ipod "new age" millennial stuff he'd use today.

One of the reasons I also like Casey Jones in the first movie is he literally looks like an 80's guy. Just sitting around in his sweatpants and shirt, no computers or tech stuff, just...sitting around. Because that's all they did in the 80's....sit around. Maybe watch a little TV on your old beat-up 80's television. And you had other 80's references like April saying she wanted to dream of Harrison Ford (obviously the 74 year old version today isn't hot stuff, lol), or Raph asking if Oprah was on in the second movie...her show ended years ago. I'm pretty sure we also see the Twin Towers in the first movie.

To me it doesn't matter, I personally don't really see any part of TMNT that says it should've stayed in the 80/90s I mean sure the characters change with each new franchise/iteration but their archetypes are still the same. Look at the IDW version despite being set in the new 10s the story is still pretty good and has the basics of what TMNT is and despite me crapping on the Nick version it does integrate TMNT into the New tens rather well.

Also with Stranger things, Blade Runner, and the new IT movie I'm kinda getting tired of 80s/90s nostalgia.

I'd like to have it take place in the 80s. I grew up during that time so looking back on that is rather nostalgic. Besides, movies during that time had a certain amount of quality to them you don't really see today. Don't get me wrong. You still have some great modern movies but they lack heart with an end product that feels mass produced with a lack of a well thought out story. It's all about the effects and the spectacle. There's also a serious lack of originality and risk taking these days with countless reboots.

I just wish they could capture what they did with the 1990 movie and ramp it up a bit with mild cg effects here and there to enhance things.

I would like seeing stories featuring the TMNT in modern day, but older, no longer teenagers, and then flashback stories to their origins, their fight with the Shredder, when they were teenagers in the early 90s.

Yeah, and I never want to see the Turtles use DVDs or blu-rays. I LOVE it when the Turtles put VHS tapes into VCR's to watch shows. They did it in the Nick show too, almost every show they watched was an old series in VHS form from the 80's or earlier.

I love the original cartoon episodes where the Turtles take a trip to the video store to rent a VHS tape. They sure don't have those anymore. Blockbuster is long gone. :lol:

There's just something nostalgic about the Turtles putting in a VHS tape. It just feel "just right."

Is this basically just another 80s/90s were the golden age of everything topic? I’m 33 and all for nostalgia but this really is a back-in-the-day discussion.

The turtles deserve to move with the rest of the world. Why should smartphones, Blu-rays etc be frowned upon when Donatello is already able to unrealistically craft such devices from other things?

I don’t live in NY but I’m sure it’s still very much filled with crime and filth. When and how would such things be “fixed”? Impossible.

LOL, what? Most of New York is very safe. You can even look up the crime statistics very easily. The police also have the fastest response time in NYC than in most cities in the U.S.

I don't get it, do non-New Yorkers really think NY is filled with criminals, gangsters and drug dealers on every corner? Get your head out of the movies and TV.

No I don’t think it’s filled with crime on every corner but Powder painted a very pretty picture.

A lot of crime must still exist in NY though. Crime is everywhere. There’s reports of violence and drugs where I live and this is a small town.

As a child of the 80s and early 90s, I can get very nostalgic for that time, and I do think a "throwback special" once in a while taking place in that era would be cool (for the same reason a Batman or Superman movie taking place in the 40s would be kind of cool). But, I don't think it would be the right path for the new big theatrical release.

I'm not denying that "80s grit" is a big part of the "classic era's (Mirage, FW, Archie, 1990 movie)" charm, but that kind of grit is hard to recreate and they might not pull it off right. And, the newer sleeker 4kids and Nick TMNT shows proved TMNT can still be done well without that element.

And, more importantly they also proved that TMNT isn't just some "dead fad" from our youth, but an evergreen franchise that can be reborn again and again. To do that, it has to appeal to new generations, and stay relevant. Again, much like how Superman and Batman movies usually aren't set in the 30s/40s.

A made-for-DVD movie aimed at older fans would be a better place for that kind of "period piece". Honestly, I think a line of animated DTV movies set in different continuities would be the answer to a lot of our TMNT wishes.

I agree. Being perpetually stuck in the 80's would not help the franchise. It's barely being taken seriously with being stuck in the 'for kids' ghetto, do we solidify 'can't leave the 80's nostalgia' too?

There is crime, but it depends on where you look. You probably won't find much of it in the gentrified areas, but you still have to be careful. Brooklyn is just not a nice spot in places, and heaven help you if you leave your car in certain parking garages, because you might come back to find it disassembled and the parts toted off and sold. There are still homeless people, and lines of subways that are abandoned and likely closed off.

I've been there recently, and there still is some undercurrent of crime. It is just harder to see underneath that new, shiny exterior.

I prefer the modern times, but would like for it to have the vibe of the 80s/90s series, but with modern day tech.

There is filthy criminal scum in any city on the planet, I don't know why people think of New York. I guess because most comic book superheroes or movies/tv shows are set in New York that people think it's like that in real life, it isn't. Chicago on the other hand has thousands of homicides by shootings every year.

There is also the Italian mob, the Russian mafia, the Asian Yakuza, the black gangstas, the dozens of hispanic gangs, the Mexican drug cartels, and the seedy underbelly of common criminals. You can find the criminal scum anywhere on the planet.

The TMNT work pretty well in a contemporary era, other superheroes not so much but it depends on a case by case basis but in general the less technology that is available the better any superhero operating seems more plausible.


I also cringe when you have some old franchises with modern technology and it doesn't work, first example to come to my head is the Simpsons, now that is a show that I totally base as existing until the early internet so anything that is more advanced than a 16 bit console doesn't mesh well.

Turtles on the other hand had an iphone since the old toon and were always ahead technology wise so making it more umm... ok.

I think the TMNT work best in the era they were most popular in... let's say a 10 year period, 1984 to '94. The mid to late 80's especially had that urban grit, punk rock thing going. I think if TMNT are to work in modern times there should be throwbacks to the 80s and early 90s, perhaps because that is when they originated.

The more serious and urban you can make the TMNT the better. I am one of those fans that think the TMNT only really work well when taken seriously.

I'd be down for a new film that takes place in 1984. I would love to see that "green against brick" look. Speaking of look, I would love to see a TMNT film with a visual kick. Give it a lot of shadows and darkness. Toss in a little "neon in rain." A little bit of Kurosawa, as if he shot a movie like Seven Samurai that took place in the 80s.

It wouldn't necessarily have to take place in any specified time - like Tim Burton's Batman movies that didn't really take place in any real era but a sort of gothic 30's-80's.
You don't have to say when it takes place, and you don't really have to show mobile phones or other time-specific technology, old or new. I think with something like the Turtles it's absolutely permissible to take a "style over realism" route.

A lot of the "80's grit" is how things were shot, lit, edited, styled and so on - and it's a big part of the Turtles identity IMO. Hard shadows, bright lights, all that.

Exactly, modern TMNT needs to be able to stand on it's own without leaning on the "nostalgia crutch". That's what helps establish TMNT as a timeless evergreen franchise instead of a old trend from a bygone era.

Now, this is a neat idea. Instead of actually pinning down that it's set in the 80s, just set it in a retro universe reminiscent of the 80s and 90s, but not glued to it's limitations. I'd be all for that. (Worked for Batman TAS, Scooby Doo: Mystery Inc., etc.)

To be honest it doesn't bother me when it's set, what I'm interested in is how they bring TMNT to life.

80s/90s setting all the way. The grit, the tone, the music, everything about the late 80s screams TMNT to me. Sure, it's about nostalgia a bit, but to me this would make for a very true-to-form new TMNT film.

80s/90s all the waaayyyyyy.

There is just something very special about the 80s setting in turtles which makes it work. Its one of the reason why tmnt (1990) worked so well, it took full advantage of its setting.

I'm down if it's oldie style like Stranger Things.

Can't it be set during the 1970's or something?

I’ve always stood by New York in the 80’s/90’s being the definitive time setting of TMNT. No other era has proven to work better for the turtles than this. Steve Barron’s 1990 portrayal continues to solidify this point to this day. In that film we got to see the turtles live and breathe in an era of New York that most people will unfortunately never fully understand/know about anymore. Just thinking about it reminds me of all the old New York hardcore/punk rock and old school hip hop scenes that were so indicative of that age. I miss it a lot because it’s something I grew up on. Watch all those old NYHC/hip hop documentaries; you’ll know what I’m talking about. It’s really sad to see all that history/culture swept away due to things like gentrification and systemic political issues. It’s even a lot more sad to see rich out of towners and hipsters moving into NY, gentrifying the whole damn block/culture and moving people who were born and raised there that have called it HOME their whole lives out to other places. It’s hard to think of TMNT in a modern gentrified New York without making me sick to my stomach. It just doesn’t feel genuine. I don’t care much for this forum anymore, but this thread was worth finding and posting to.

The reasons to ground the Turtles in the 80s or even 90s aren't compelling enough to do so and would only come at the risk of alienating today's youths. Fun though it might be to see various bits of 80s/90s pop culture stuff for you or I in it.

I'd say **** em. We need at least one more movie that's for the fans, a product of love for the characters like the 90's movies. Maybe some new independent company should step up, if they read the comics as kids or whatever. I don't trust any of these big Hollywood corporate companies anymore for something like this.

I'd so love to see a movie made for US, that would somehow surprise the public at large and end up being the sleeper hit of that year.

But there is nothing intrinsically 80s or 90s about the TMNT, even in Mirage. What is the benefit of making a new movie in either era vs. now? Do we just really not want to see April whip out a cell phone? Or the Turtles having a tube TV in the lair instead of an LED screen? What's the real benefit, beyond "I'm a super old fan and those are the years most important to me"? If anything, the Turtles and Splinter having internet access helps address things that otherwise didn't make sense before. I mean, they're just a few YouTube videos away from learning how to forge their own weapons... but before? Ehh....

Totally unnecessary. If anything, the themes and characters become more relevant, and the conflict deepens as society advances. Taking them back to the 80s serves no purpose other than to pander to fans.

I've always thought about this. I feel TMNT has a strong connection to the 80's/90's era, and not just in a nostalgic sense. A modern setting doesn't necessarily mean that it will have a better connection or be more relatable to the current audience.

It happened a lot during season 4.

Agree with all of this. Why relegate the TMNT to being stuck in the 80s? Is Batman stuck in the 40s? Is Spider-Man stuck in the 60s? No

What about the TMNT is inherently late 80s/early 90s? I don't see anything holding them to that era

Nothing. Zero. Just fanboys and fangirls anchoring it to those eras mentally because it reminds them of their childhoods so why wouldn't the TMNT be stuck in those eras.

The more technology the more difficult it is to believe a vigilante can operate. Granted I don't think that's a huge problem with TMNT but it does affect some heroes like Batman.

They're not vigilantes.

I came here to post about how much I'd love a period piece, but you make some great points about current technology and how it can smooth over a lot of plot holes. I love the idea of the turtles using youtube to learn and acclimate themselves.

I think what attracts me to a period piece is the general aesthetic, the culture and for me, an added element of escapism. Sometimes it's just nice to leave the modern world for a bit, and sometimes you just like the idea of seeing turtles sneak around a 1980's New York City. Since movies are a visual medium, I don't see much else reason needed.

How are they not vigilantes

They don't fight crime. They're not, like, walking around patrolling for burglars to protect mankind. Any why would they?

Casey, there's a vigilante.

Well to be fair in most incarnations they more or less take the law into their own hands.

In the kids stuff they fight a lot of crime, sure. For no reason.

I remember in some eps where they thought shredder was gone for good, splinter was nagging them for staying home and not going out to fight regular crime.

I didn't consider the 80s turtles vigilantes so much as just going out to stop Shredder as their main enemy. But then you have episodes like the ones I just mentioned....