10th anniversary of Turtles Forever

[Original TMNT Cartoon Fan]

This month is 10 years since Turtles Forever first debuted over CW 4 Kids in July 2009, even if many didn't catch it until November the samey year. It tells the story of the Fred Wolf turtles and the 4 Kids turtles from two alternate Earths meeting.

http://www.ninjapizza.net/2009/07/

What were your thoughts back then, and what do you think of it now? Or do you want to share any specific memories related to this film? This is the anniversary thread.

[FredWolfLeonardo]

Who are you talking to!

There's no one there!

[neatoman]

I thought it was a relatively good sendoff, in retrospect it might have been better to make a special purely focused on the 4Kids Turtles, for various reasons.

There's nothing really wrong with the special itself, it's a sevicable story and some of the meta references are pretty cool (I really like how it ends with Kevin and Peter putting the final touches on issue 1). The problems I have with it are mainly the impact it had on the fanbase and oddly enough the Nicktoon.

The "it's disrespectful" argument annoys me to no end, I really wish the people who make it would learn to drop the nostalgia goggles and accept there's merit in mocking the FW turtles, or at least understand why a "respectful" version wouldn't really work.

And then there's the fact that it "inspired" four episodes of the Nicktoon, episodes that are in fact little more than two poorly paced rehashes of this special. The first is a condensed remake and the others make up a remake of the parts they had to cut with with new filler between the gap. It was pretty pointless and those four episodes could have been dedicated to literally anything else, yet they chose to make two worse versions of something that had already been done decently well.

I seriously hope the "FW TMNT meets the most recent cartoon version!" idea is never done ever again and the cartoons become solely focused on moving forward.

[CyberCubed]

God I can't believe its been 10 years already. Sometimes it feels like only yesterday when this was announced or the 2k3 series was ending in general. I can't believe an entire decade has passed. I was only in my early 20's when this came out then, it's crazy to think about.

Dear god where does the time go? You can read some of my old posts from 2009 in the 4kids section where I was constantly whining about the old Fred Wolf voice actors not reprising their roles and instead getting sound-a-likes. Back then I had no clue about the whole VA licensing dispute between companies. I guess nowadays Viacom could technically re-dub the old Turtles lines but it's likely not worth the time or money to do.

God we're all so old now, it's ridiculous. 10 YEARS.

[cloud]

It still sucks that this movie didn't get the proper respect. It deserved a proper screening and a special edition DVD treatment.

Really enjoyed the movie and the extended cut.

[Shark_Blade]

I remember exhausting my phone data watching this movie on youtube. It was split in several videos too.

[FredWolfLeonardo]

On its own, the special stands fairly well, with a pretty coherent story, some damn good animation (I especially like the portrayal of the Mirage universe), and some really good references (The Nose, Nose!), all the while not taking itself too seriously, with great jokes complimenting the action scenes.

However, my main and predictable issue with the special is namely that it falls short on the one issue that is arguably one of its biggest selling points, the attempt to bring back the 1987 universe, which ends up feeling like a parody of the show we all know in love, rather than a direct representation of the show itself.

Now, don't get me wrong, there was obviously effort and heart put into bringing back the 1987 universe in the special, but somewhere along the lines, it seems that the writers of Turtles Forever seemed to get their own idea of what the tone of the 1987 show should be like.

What we got in the end was a universe where the supposed 80s turtles are more hive-minded and have behavioral traits more reminiscent of Yakko, Wako and Dot, than their actual personalities from the cartoon.

Is it the worst thing ever though? Absolutely not.

Turtles Forever has a lot of awesome things in it, but it would've been even more awesome if we got the real 1987 turtles in it.

[Powder]

I loved it then, I love it now.

[80gmrp]

Good to know about the date. Never watched it, but I have heard about it. I guess the timing is a good reason to watch it soon, then?

[CyberCubed]

Originally Posted by 80gmrp

Good to know about the date. Never watched it, but I have heard about it. I guess the timing is a good reason to watch it soon, then?

If you watched the 2k3 series, Turtles Forever is basically the series finale.

[Coola Yagami]

That feeling you get where the people at that comic con were the only ones that got to see the full version of the movie. I don't know what they were thinking when they released the DVD. I've never seen a 'TV-edited' version of a movie bring released on home media, it's always meant to be the actual film.

Not much new to say. The 80's Turtles were messed up, and Leo never got to act like the leader, not even of his own team. He was just... there. Of course we know why they couldn't get the original voices but it really hurt the overall special.

[IndigoErth]

It's okay. I enjoy it, but I don't really feel it did either '87 or '03 groups of Turtles proper justice.

The problem with the '87 set and how they're portrayed is obvious. But having watched Turtles Forever before seeing the 2003 series (binge watched several summers ago), I have to be honest, it set me up to think the 2003 Turtles would have jerky personalities and I wasn't sure I was going to like them. I was glad to find that isn't really the case.

That said, I'd love to see another one done. So long as the '03 guys aren't ignored and get to participate again. And do '87 right. I'd love to see all their (various versions of Turtles) reactions to the 'Rise' bunch...

[Wesley]

10 years sounds about right. It’s still a decent enough movie, even though it has flaws. I first watched it (albeit the edited version) on YouTube in 2010. Parts of it were better for me the second time around especially a few scenes when I watched the unedited UK dvd a few years later. Nostalgia for the Fred Wolf toon clouded my judgment the first time, but like IndigoEarth said, I didn’t feel it did both groups of Turtles justice either on my second watch.

[turtle1237]

I didn't like it, I felt the movie was trying to tell every one that OUR version of TMNT is better than the 80's version, I don't recall the 80's Turtles crying and being cowards and giving each other noggies every 5 mins. People may like the film, but outside of the looks, this was NOT the 80's Turtles. It was a insult imo.

[Shark_Blade]

Originally Posted by turtle1237

I didn't like it, I felt the movie was trying to tell every one that OUR version of TMNT is better than the 80's version, I don't recall the 80's Turtles crying and being cowards and giving each other noggies every 5 mins. People may like the film, but outside of the looks, this was NOT the 80's Turtles. It was a insult imo.

Somewhat agree. I watched the OT Season 1 dvd and they’re exceptionally great for its time (I somehow couldn't watch the later seasons due to different tone and drop of animation quality).

So Turtles Forever is not a good representation of OT. But hey, they got plenty of references and appearances in 2012 which 2k3 is sorely missing out on.

[turtle1237]

Originally Posted by Shark_Blade

Somewhat agree. I watched the OT Season 1 dvd and they’re exceptionally great for its time (I somehow couldn't watch the later seasons due to different tone and drop of animation quality).

So Turtles Forever is not a good representation of OT. But hey, they got plenty of references and appearances in 2012 which 2k3 is sorely missing out on.

Tone may of been different in the later seasons, more jokes ete. But they still were serious when they needed to be. I didn't see the 80's Turtle in this movie at all. I cant recall them doing what they were doing in the movie at all. When were they crying if something scary show up?(The Killer Pizzas) Outside of it being part of the battle plan, they never ran from a battle also. The movie was pretty much calling the 80's turtles out right cowards. And don't get me started on the endless nuggies they were giving each other. I really don't see how people were defended this back in the day with the 80's turtles being goofy back in the day. Yeah they had there jokes, but they were not really "Goofy".

[ABrown]

I've hoped for years that the 10th anniversary of the movie would prompt Nickelodeon to give the movie a proper re-release. It would be a great opportunity to put out a blu-ray/dvd/digital combo pack (obviously with the movie in its ENTIRETY). Come on Nickelodeon, make it happen. I mean with Nickelodeon's obsession with the original cartoon, it doesn't seem like a far fetched idea.

[Coola Yagami]

Originally Posted by turtle1237

Tone may of been different in the later seasons, more jokes ete. But they still were serious when they needed to be. I didn't see the 80's Turtle in this movie at all. I cant recall them doing what they were doing in the movie at all. When were they crying if something scary show up?(The Killer Pizzas) Outside of it being part of the battle plan, they never ran from a battle also. The movie was pretty much calling the 80's turtles out right cowards. And don't get me started on the endless nuggies they were giving each other. I really don't see how people were defended this back in the day with the 80's turtles being goofy back in the day. Yeah they had there jokes, but they were not really "Goofy".

Back then the humor relied more on the turtles taking the cartoonish and silly plots so seriously (while Raph would call it out sometimes) not that the turtles themselves were goofy. Sure they messed around on their down time but so did the 2K3 TMNT.

The weirdest thing was the noogie bit. Once was fine, though still odd since I don't recall them ever doing it on their show, but they did it like 3 or so times that it felt like they were trying to say it was a staple of the 80s TMNT just as much as Cowabunga was. That was a very weird addition. Unless the Forever writers thought everyone was giving everyone noogies in the 80s or something.

[Sumac]

10 years?
Crazy how time flies.

I liked it for what it was. It was the best send off to the Mirage era of the TMNT, franchise could possibly had.

[AquaParade]

I appreciate it as a send-off for that era of TMNT. The touch with Kevin and Peter at the end was nice too.

That said, it does next to nothing for me on an entertainment level. I find it quite boring to watch. Glad others appreciate it though.