Huge News: Nickelodeon Acquires Global Rights to the TMNT

[Shredder]

Wow, I wasn't expecting news like this...Even though it's too early to say exactly how this buyout will impact the franchise, I'm not all that optimistic from the little information we do have. A CG series? I don't see why TMNT needs yet another animated series, when the original 80's cartoon covered it fine the first time, and the franchise already was recently remade for a new generation with the successful 2K3 series. I guess it just comes down to money. It should be interesting (although probably not in a good way, unfortunately) to see what other plans Nickelodeon has for the TMNT.

Thanks very much for posting this as a news announcement, GK. I've been so busy today that I haven't had a chance to check in until now.

[gobo]

Originally Posted by Lieutenant Granitor

Great Disney buys Marvel, and Nick buys Mirage! What's next!?! And new CG series!?! GRRRRRRRRRRR!!! I hate CG, I only like traditional animation, and live action! And I bet Nick will mess TMNT up! I mean have you seen new iron man show?? It's like school computers project! And I don't want TMNT interact with SpongeBob! I hope they sstill will be aring animated series, and publishing comics!
P.S. rip Marvel and Mirage+4kids+Wolf Company

Originally Posted by Lieutenant Granitor

Come to think about it Nick is #2 kids channel (Disney beign first)! This can rise turtles again! And maybe they will air old and new cartoons! And maybe we get lucky enought to see Next Mutation! This means more toys, comics, movies, cartoon!
COWABANGA!

180 much? O_o

[Dragon Turtle]

Originally Posted by Shredder

Wow, I wasn't expecting news like this...Even though it's too early to say exactly how this buyout will impact the franchise, I'm not all that optimistic from the little information we do have. A CG series? I don't see why TMNT needs yet another animated series, when the original 80's cartoon covered it fine the first time, and the franchise already was recently remade for a new generation with the successful 2K3 series. I guess it just comes down to money.

What's wrong with new cartoon series, you don't truly believe a kids property would go on long without a new cartoon to promote it?

[tone-master21]

Originally Posted by Lieutenant Granitor

Come to think about it Nick is #2 kids channel (Disney beign first)! This can rise turtles again! And maybe they will air old and new cartoons! And maybe we get lucky enought to see Next Mutation! This means more toys, comics, movies, cartoon!
COWABANGA!

According to the LA Times Nickelodeon has gotten rerun rights for the 2K3 series, but is also looking to get the rights to the 1980s series.

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-f...tory?track=rss

[Shredder]

Originally Posted by Dragon Turtle

What's wrong with new cartoon series, you don't truly believe a kids property would go on long without a new cartoon to promote it?

Well, I'm not saying there never should be another animated TMNT series ever, but I just don't see what the big rush is considering the last of the 2K3 series wrapped up not that long ago. There's other things to do that relate to TMNT to keep the franchise alive, like movies or comics or whatever. I'm not surprised at their choice of a CG series, considering it's Nickelodeon, I'm just not that enthusiastic about the idea. I mean, I could be wrong, but it's just my opinion based on the little we know so far. We'll just have to wait and see.

[ZariusTwo]

Originally Posted by Turo602

This sucks big time.

How the hell does it? Get out of the cocoon, under the guiding eyes of an independent, the anniversary tanked, the comics have been delayed, and the last two seasons were certaingly not reflective of the earlier seasons quality.

Which I dout shows always get more kiddish each year. Like how Batman TAS became The new Batman adventures and how that became The Batman and finally that became The brave and the Bold

The Brave and The Bold is awesome, it harkens back to the silver age of comics. Batman: TAS is NOT the end-all/be-all either. Batman has various incarnations and many of them all have appeal.

Thanks for proving you never watched The Batman by the way. That got progressivly darker when the DCAU team were assigned to produce the final two seasons.

Anyone who thinks every animated series based on a comic needs to be mature and dark all of the time hasnt got a frickin' diverse bone in thier body.

Originally Posted by Cipher Classic

It basically boils down to: If you like the cartoons more, you're in good hands. If you liked the comics, the future is very, very uncertain.

TMNT's place has always been better defined in television and movies. Comics, despitee thier place as the initial source and a further extension of the franchise, are an indulgence. I don't like that any more than you do, but that's me being a realist. TMNT will be fine without that resource for the time being.

[Cipher]

Originally Posted by ZariusTwo

TMNT's place has always been better defined in television and movies. Comics, despitee thier place as the initial source and a further extension of the franchise, are an indulgence. I don't like that any more than you do, but that's me being a realist. TMNT will be fine without that resource for the time being.

Yeah, I acknowledged the fact that the TMNT were a minority. I've also acknowledged that, from a business standpoint, this will be a huge boon to the franchise. It just won't be the same franchise that small comic fanbase enjoyed. 'S'all I'm saying.

Really there are only two ways I see this benefitting the comic fans:

1) Volume 4 finishes, and the deal leads to reprints of the old comics at major retailors, so we can at least pick up the series and leave the new TMNT happily alone (unless it's really, really good).

2) It leads to a continuation of the series or a reboot with a similar tone.

So, yeah. For the fifth or so time: Great news for the cartoon fans, sucky for the comic fans unless it leads to reprints. But c'est la vie. I don't have any delusions about where the Turtles' commercial success lies.

And yes, I'm done re-iterating the same opinions over and over again. I just wanted to make sure I wasn't coming across as whiny or idealistic. I'm just cautiously pessimistic, as a comic book fan.

[Dragon Turtle]

Originally Posted by Shredder

Well, I'm not saying there never should be another animated TMNT series ever, but I just don't see what the big rush is considering the last of the 2K3 series wrapped up not that long ago. There's other things to do that relate to TMNT to keep the franchise alive, like movies or comics or whatever. I'm not surprised at their choice of a CG series, considering it's Nickelodeon, I'm just not that enthusiastic about the idea. I mean, I could be wrong, but it's just my opinion based on the little we know so far. We'll just have to wait and see.

It would be more then three years between the last new episode of BTTS and the new series, so the series are not that close together. And from a strategic standpoint it makes sense to release a cartoon at the same time as the movie, the strategy worked well for Jimmy Neutron. Ideally there would also be an attempt to revive the comics at the same time, but I doubt there will be much of a push on that front.

I'm a fan of CGI, but CG TV shows have never impressed my from a visual standpoint.

[Vegita-San]

I've posted my thoughts on Peter's blog, now that I've had some time to process it.

Some good creative possibilities for the sale, the artists got screwed over with no more creative input into the franchise.

There is no reason why Jim, or Murphy, or even Dooney and Talbot shouldn't have been presented with the opportunity to take over if Pete wanted to retire. My guess for mirage's future? If Peter is anything like me, he will now have fallen into a rut and no amount of free time will get him back into the 'creative vibe'. Now he's left with no franchise, Mirage is technically dead in the water, and the artists got screwed with job stability. Personally, for that alone, I hope they all leave and find better jobs. That just sounds like a screw you deal from Gary knowing his previous 'questionable' business practices in the past.

Or even better, groom someone new to replace him. George Lucas has Rick Macullum handling most of the creative and business dealings, why couldn't Pete have done the same thing? And WHY in the home stretch of the 25th anniversary year no less? Nickelodian could have handled that a bit better to celebrate their new purchase in January than Mirage did at the very least....

[Powder]

I like the fact that nick basically said they wanna use TMNT as a door opener to harder edged programming... makes me comfortable with it being in the hands of nick, they will stay true to it maybe.. i hope. who knows if they aquire the 80s toon as they said they want to, maybe it would be on nick at night. watching fresh prince and turtles in the same hour? **** would be so cash

[Krutch]

Wow... this really bums me out on a personal level.

That being said, I think Batman said it best when Disney bought Marvel.

Spider-man: Heya, Bats, whats gonna happen now that Disney bought out Marvel?
Batman: What do you mean?
Spider-man: Well, some fans are saying it will be a disaster, but the studios are saying it will be the best thing ever. So, which is it?
Batman: Have they ruined any franchises yet?
Spider-man: No.
Batman: Have they saved any franchises yet?
Spider-man: No.
Batman: Can you see the future?
Spider-man: No.
Batman: Can I see the future?
Spider-man: No.
Batman: So there's really no way of knowing.
Spider-man: No.
Batman: So there's really no point in asking.
Spider-man: No.
Batman: So there's really no point in worrying.
Spider-man: No.
Batman: Feel better?
Spider-man: ...Yeah.
Batman: Good, can I get a water?
Spider-man: Yeah, sure.

[Wildcat]

Ok I didnt read this entire thread, just about 5 pages.

Honestly Im very sad about this. Yes the cartoon could be good (but there will never be another 2k3 and so much for the next movie) but Nick has been nothing but pure crap for like the past 10 years. Spongebob was thier last decent cartoon which I watch sometimes but other than that its all teenybobber crap and laugh-tracks.

The rest is NickJr. and Nick@Nite which actually takes up most of thier daily schedule. I used to love Nick growing up and thats all I used to watch everyday back in the 90s. No need to explain myself on that.

The only good I can see at the moment is after Nick is done doing whatever theyre gonna do they can always sell TMNT to someone else...right? I dont know, this is bigger than just a licence agreement, they own the Ninja Turtles now.

Regaurdless of all that though I think a better question is(and I know it may have been asked already) is why sell the TMNT property in the first place?Seems like it was done just for the money. TMNT was thier biggest success and franchise...didnt that mean anything at all. It be like Disney selling Mickey or Nintendo selling Mario.

[Krutch]

Whoa, TurtleGuy... i didn't realize I totally repeated what you wrote lol. Sorry bout that.

[Splinter642]

Honestly, I have been a little worried about there being a future for the TMNT the last couple of years so I think this is great news. Let's not forget that the current series doesn't seem to be doing stellar, you can't buy Turtles toys in Walmart/Target anymore, and recent comics haven't exactly been hot sellers.

As many noted, this might dim the prospects of more mature TMNT projects, but those have never been in many places out of the comics. I'm still hopeful Mirage Studios will have the license to continue making new comics.

If I were to guess I would say this deal is a lot like how Jim Hensen sold "The Muppets" to Disney to ensure its survival. Viacom is a lot more stable than Mirage Studios and has a lot more power to push for large scale projects. Obviously, it would have been nicer if a company with a stronger history of character/franchise management like Disney or Warner Bros took over the TMNT, but this is better than nothing.

[ZariusTwo]

Originally Posted by Wildcat

Spongebob was thier last decent cartoon which I watch

Christ almighty, watch Avatar.

[Ra]

Well, this is certainly an interesting turn of events.

I'm sure everyone who has even LIKED the turtles here would be a little shocked and/or disheartened by this, but it was bound to happen eventually. If not with Nick, than it would be with Disney or Cartoon Network or something of the like. Peter had some great ideas, and was a great driving force for it. I'll defiantely miss him.

I'm also a bit sad that they've got another show in the works so soon. I think what made the 2k3 show so great was that they gave it a bit of space between the 80's cartoon and the Next Mutation Show. I know it isn't even close to 2012 yet, but still, like Shredder said, give the franchise a bit of rest before making another cartoon. Then another generation of kids will be able to get into it instead of saying "oh. Turtles. Seen that before."

However, while I'm sad Peter has handed the rights over, I'm also a bit glad. His love of sci-fi was seeping into the turtle's world a lot, and was trying to do what he loved through that. Now with the changing of hands, he can go back into what he wanted to do and draw what he liked.

Also, it always isn't a bad thing to let new people with fresh eyes and ideas take over. Hopefully it will work well in this case. I'm looking forward to seeing any new stories that steam from this at least...

[Aneras713]

Just a question, didn't KidsWB try to make a CGI Turtles and utterly fail?

Though from the preview I saw it does look like it had a lot of stuff that the 2k3 cartoon would have. Right down to Raph interupting Mikey as he says cowabunga.

[Wildcat]

Originally Posted by ZariusTwo

Christ almighty, watch Avatar.

Ive never watched that because Im not into anime and I know its kinda in that style. Though I dont doubt its a good cartoon since Ive never seen it and I dont like judging something Ive never tryed but does it come out anymore?

I only see it on thier Nicktoons channel and theyre re-runs. If it is done that only furthers the point that Nick has no good shows anymore (except Spongebob which I said I watch sometimes, its not my favorite show or anything.) Its like all of Nicks failed or completed series goto to die on Nicktoons.

I know there is gonna be a live-action Avatar movie, which I assume since I dont follow the cartoon, is the end for that series...at least for the time being, not saying itll fail or anything. There will probably be a sequel and whatnot since its come this far.

[gobo]

Originally Posted by Aneras713

Just a question, didn't KidsWB try to make a CGI Turtles and utterly fail?

No. There were a couple CGI TMNT pilots created circa 2001, but neither were affiliated with KidsWB. What Warner pitched was cel-animation with dwarf Turtles and April and Casey sharing in the 'Teenage' aspect of the title.

[Vivi]

I'm very interested to see what direction Nick takes Tmnt. They did an exceptional job with Avatar. Thankfully Peter confirmed that he may still conclude Tmnt vol4, while legally i don't know that works, i wonder what will be counted as cannon continuity in the future.