Laird's vision for Secret of the Ooze

[Logan]

The thing about having the mousers is that I can't seem them being portrayed as anything other than robotic gremlins/critters for that particular time in film.

Still, I liked Laird's ideas and I'm to believe it would've been better than what we ended up getting. Triceratons via Jim Henson would've been boss!

[oldmanwinters]

Originally Posted by Logan

Triceratons via Jim Henson would've been boss!

Walking, talking, alien Dinosaurs? With laser guns? In a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie?

Oh, yeah, what kid in the early 90s would have wanted to see something like that, eh?

[Jester]

Originally Posted by oldmanwinters

Walking, talking, alien Dinosaurs? With laser guns? In a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie?

Oh, yeah, what kid in the early 90s would have wanted to see something like that, eh?

Lil' Cybercubed, I'd guess.

[Killer Moth]

Originally Posted by oldmanwinters

Walking, talking, alien Dinosaurs? With laser guns? In a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie?

Oh, yeah, what kid in the early 90s would have wanted to see something like that, eh?

I'd be cool with it, except for the "In SPACE!" part. (Yes, I'm aware of my logic, which is saying, "I'd love musicals if it wasn't for the songs.") If only Laird waited a few years, as "Dinosaurs," anyone?

http://youtu.be/7NzzzcOWPH0

That's a fun visual to think of -- the Turtles vs. Mr. Richfield.

[TonySiegel]

Ahhhhh! turtle fans been getting relatively snubbed since secret of the ooze. How epic would part 2 have been with henson, laird, and eastman at the helms of the project?

[Matches Malone]

The idea of Utrom Baxter really strikes a chord for me for some reason. He's always been a relatively thin character, so attaching Utrom history instantly makes him so much more interesting. And I really like the idea of utilizing his advanced technology to aid in his quest to return home. It's certainly more interesting than the cliche mad scientist's money-making scheme.

As far as Utroms & Triceratons go, it probably would have been tough to work out, but even when your vision is above your budget or technological abilities, direction, editing, and tone can make all the difference. I'm thinking with the first Alien movie in mind. It looked a little cheesy at times, but it worked. However, I think sending the turtles into space just wouldn't work for a live-action film. It's kind of pulling you into too many directions tonally. But, that can be resolved by simply having all the alien interaction on earth; especially if the triceratons were invading it. I really hope we get another good TMNT movie soon...

[Leo656]

Lotta neat ideas, would'a been cool to see. Would'a cost a fortune, though. And I think a lot of people would have been disappointed if there were NO links to the cartoon, not even Shredder, I think that would have been missing the boat. One of the underrated things Superman Returns, for example, did very well was seamlessly blend things that were established in the earlier films with other things that were unique to the comics, there was a little something from all the different versions, even down to the Noel Neill cameo, or Bibbo and the Ace O'Clubs bar. I still say a potential movie exists that can take the very best of the TMNT cartoons, Mirage, Archie, etc., a little bit of all of it, and make an amazing film. I'm pissed nobody's ever tried it, or doesn't seem to want to try. I think all the versions of TMNT are equally valid, I like film adaptations to be iconic, and I think in a perfect, iconic TMNT movie you would have to work in a little bit of everything, so no fan feels under-represented.

[KROW]

Originally Posted by ToTheNines

Do you think they could have made the Mousers a believable threat in 1992 though?

With Henson's Creature Shop, yes. With Stockman using them as a way to steal money from banks discreetly, while also plundering the city's pocket to use them as rat-catchers, double yes. With perhaps April infiltrating Stockman's factory to uncover the truth and getting hogtied and set up as tenderizer for a fleet of them, triple yes.

[oldmanwinters]

Originally Posted by KROW

With Henson's Creature Shop, yes. With Stockman using them as a way to steal money from banks discreetly, while also plundering the city's pocket to use them as rat-catchers, double yes. With perhaps April infiltrating Stockman's factory to uncover the truth and getting hogtied and set up as tenderizer for a fleet of them, triple yes.

And, of course, there would be the predictable "parent & critical outrage" over how such things were too "dark" for this supposed kid's movie!

[Original TMNT Cartoon Fan]

Originally Posted by oldmanwinters

On his TMNT blog, Peter Laird recently shared his original pitch for the 2nd live-action Turtles movie that he typed up on his Atari ST way back in 1990. It's a very interesting read, but it's clear how far the actual film strayed from Laird's vision. Mostly notably, the film wouldn't include the Shredder (at least not on screen) and the plot would either be a Stockman/Mousers/Rat King thriller or a loose adaptation of the TCRI/Turtles in Space saga from issues #4-7.

http://peterlairdstmntblog.blogspot....on-second.html

The most interesting part to me was that this movie could set up the plot for the 3rd movie, which Laird hoped would be a "Return to New York" adaptation involving the return and ultimate fate of the Shredder, and a mutated Triceraton's team-up with the Turtles to invade the Shredder's domain. I'll admit that a Mirage Film Trilogy probably would have been awesome (in theory, anyway), but the third film might have lacked a little punch on account of many of the themes of RtNY already being present in the first movie.

Other notable details that didn't make it into SotO include a "love triangle" between April, Casey, and Charles Pennington.

Either Danny Pennington or April might accompany the turtles in their raid of the TCRI building only to be captured by the Utroms and placed in a suspended animation tube, ala Splinter from the Mirage comics. If April were to be captured while snooping around the TCRI bilding, then it would have given Casey Jones a reason to assist the Turtles in liberating her.

If the movie went with the Stockman/Mouser plot, then the big reveal could be that Baxter Stockman was really an Utrom, using the Mouser scheme to get money to return the Utroms to their homeworld!

Laird even gives his synopsis for the opening of the 2nd film, which would have introduced Stockman and the Mousers and continued to build upon the themes of Raphael's volatile temper and the strained relationship of April and Casey.

Anyhoo... I really wish Golden Harvest and New Line had let Steve Barron give the Turtles another crack without being sacred to death of making the films "too dark."

Oh, and how cool would it have been to have the Jim Henson puppet shop apply their talents to the Utroms? Admit it, folks, who DIDN'T want to see "Krang" on screen for the second movie? I actually had a dream about how nasty awesome he'd look! Ah, missed opportunities...

I always disliked the "Channel 3" thing. If you want a TMNT universe where April is a reporter, you should use the Channel 6 with Irma, Burne and Vernon becuase I love the conspiracy April and Irma (knowing the "TMNT are good guys") VS Burne and Vernon (believing the "TMNT are bad guys").

And with Super Shredder's clothes? Same problem with "Attack of the 50 Foot Irma", or the TMNT's bandana in the "Incredible Shrinking Turtles".

[KROW]

Originally Posted by Swedenfan 1982

I always disliked the "Channel 3" thing. If you want a TMNT universe where April is a reporter, you should use the Channel 6 with Irma, Burne and Vernon becuase I love the conspiracy April and Irma (knowing the "TMNT are good guys") VS Burne and Vernon (believing the "TMNT are bad guys").

And with Super Shredder's clothes? Same problem with "Attack of the 50 Foot Irma", or the TMNT's bandana in the "Incredible Shrinking Turtles".

That seems like nit-picking, to me. If you're going to rag on every little thing in a science fiction film featuring humanoid turtles who can perform martial arts, you might as well just walk away.

Originally Posted by oldmanwinters

And, of course, there would be the predictable "parent & critical outrage" over how such things were too "dark" for this supposed kid's movie!

In a time where you hear 9-year-olds dropping F-bombs while playing interactive online video games? I doubt it.

[Mr._Mutant_Man]

I think Laird's ideas were great. My only nitpick would be that it would have probably been quite a bit more expensive to have all the mousers and triceratons. However, had they been willing to spend the money, maybe they would have had a better film that would have gotten more attention.

[oldmanwinters]

Originally Posted by oldmanwinters

And, of course, there would be the predictable "parent & critical outrage" over how such things were too "dark" for this supposed kid's movie!

Originally Posted by KROW

That seems like nit-picking, to me. If you're going to rag on every little thing in a science fiction film featuring humanoid turtles who can perform martial arts, you might as well just walk away.



In a time where you hear 9-year-olds dropping F-bombs while playing interactive online video games? I doubt it.

Check that...

I meant to say there "would have been"... a reference to the culture of the early 90s.

Originally Posted by Mr._Mutant_Man

I think Laird's ideas were great. My only nitpick would be that it would have probably been quite a bit more expensive to have all the mousers and triceratons. However, had they been willing to spend the money, maybe they would have had a better film that would have gotten more attention.

In all fairness to the movie that we actually got... it's hard to imagine the film getting "more attention" than it actually received. That film was pretty much the pinnacle of the Turtles' marketing bonanza. It's very possible that people just got tired of the franchise soon after the release of the movie, but I'd blame a number of factors for the Turtle-Bust of the mid-90s. Secret of the Ooze may not have been a great film (some might way not even "good"), but it did make oodles of money for both the studio and for all the marketing and promotional tie-ins. In 1991, the Turtles were EVERYWHERE.

[Toby Barrett]

I wouldn't have minded the second film being about Stockman and his Mousers, but I can't help but groan at Laird wanting to shove the Triceratons into the movie as well.
I honestly don't care how much he loved it, the space issues and the Triceratons were the absolute worst part of the original comics' run in the beginning.
And trying to shoehorn them into a movie in addition to everything else that has nothing to do with Triceratons would've made a horrible movie.

[The Stryker]

Originally Posted by Toby Barrett

I wouldn't have minded the second film being about Stockman and his Mousers, but I can't help but groan at Laird wanting to shove the Triceratons into the movie as well.
I honestly don't care how much he loved it, the space issues and the Triceratons were the absolute worst part of the original comics' run in the beginning.
And trying to shoehorn them into a movie in addition to everything else that has nothing to do with Triceratons would've made a horrible movie.

You're a good man. Triceratons represent the absolute worst of the mirage stuff.

[Samhain]

Originally Posted by Toby Barrett

I wouldn't have minded the second film being about Stockman and his Mousers, but I can't help but groan at Laird wanting to shove the Triceratons into the movie as well.
I honestly don't care how much he loved it, the space issues and the Triceratons were the absolute worst part of the original comics' run in the beginning.
And trying to shoehorn them into a movie in addition to everything else that has nothing to do with Triceratons would've made a horrible movie.

You either like the space/sci-fi stuff or you don't. Me personally, I love it. I think Triceratons in the film would have been interesting. I would love to see what Henson could have done with a Triceraton suit. But having Stockman, mousers and Triceratons is just WAY too much for a single film. A trilogy of that arc would be pretty epic though.

Originally Posted by Stryker

You're a good man. Triceratons represent the absolute worst of the mirage stuff.

I'm interested to read what you think the absolute best of Mirage was?

[shezcrafti]

Originally Posted by KROW

In a time where you hear 9-year-olds dropping F-bombs while playing interactive online video games? I doubt it.

Word. Looking back, it's hilarious to me how up in arms parents & the media used to get over TMNT. Compared to what's out there now & what today's kids are into, TMNT look like the friggin' Care Bears.

[prophecy718]

Originally Posted by CyberCubed

A Turtle theatrical movie should leave out space and aliens.

oh how i love reading this quote right now lol..man!

[ZariusTwo]

Leave out things that the very creators injected into the comics?

And here I thought Cybercube was a "purist"...