If Nickelodeon never bought TMNT

[Original TMNT Cartoon Fan]

Originally Posted by sdp

Video Games? Well we haven't gotten any good ones and I don't think we would've either, maybe some cheap licensed apps.

We at least got a Turtles in Time remake some months before the purchase.

[sdp]

Originally Posted by CyberCubed

Sdp time to go over a few things.

The problem is Mirage would have to take the interest with another party to revive it back in 2009, otherwise they would have sat on the property and let it stay dormant. TMNT isn't like WB, Disney, etc. franchises where they can get revived by company execs out of nowhere...TMNT was basically a niche indie franchise owned by a minor company.

IDW TMNT is literally their best selling book at the moment. It's going to get at least a 10 year run (we're in year 5 now) and 100 issues (we're up to issue #66 now). IDW TMNT will continue long after the cartoon ends.

Mirage had no interest in doing more reprints. They only put out two collections for the 25th anniversary and stopped there. They never intended to continue reprinting old books. Also Volume 4 would stay dead as it is right now, PL just doesn't care to continue it. Tales of the TMNT also ended in 2010 when Mirage still has rights to publish 12 comics a year even while IDW is going, they don't want to do it.

Most likely we'd have no new TMNT cartoon for a decade. TMNT would be a dead franchise. We'd all be sitting here twiddling our thumbs.

Mirage wouldn't have continued the license for toys when they were done. The Playmates toyline was ending in 2010 for the most part. Had Nick not picked up the license we'd get nothing.

NOW TMNT is an evergreen property, but there was no guarantee it would be one before. Remember when the original cartoon ended and nobody believed there would be a "new" TMNT cartoon after? When the 2k3 series was originally announced people were shocked. Nobody expected a new show.

And as said, the only reason the Nick cartoon started so quickly is because they got the licensed and wanted to make a new show as quick as possible. Otherwise TMNT would have had nothing new since 2009.

Having a new animated show by 2017 is rampant speculation from my part but like I mentioned an evergreen property like TMNT wouldn't stay dead too long as long as a small company like Mirage had it since they'd find different companies interested. As far as the licensing we were already seeing a lot of nostalgia merchandise before the purchase so while Viacom kicked it up a notch (or blasted it) it was also the right time I think we'd continue to get those Keychains/plushies/mondo's/SHFiguarts even if the Playmates line didn't exist. TMNT reached that point where most of the fans of the OT are now in their late 20s/early 30s so it's the "merchandising tipping point" that say Transformers and other 80s properties had a few years prior. I think that is pretty much at its tail end now though.

As far as comics I don't really follow that industry too much so I'm only basing that on a few things I read here from time to time and how Mirage handled things but I'm no expert and IDW I remember about a year ago or so how the line was not selling as well but other than that I don't know.

I still have mixed feelings about Nick having the turtles, hopefully they don't shove it to the vault and we can see some stuff sooner rather than later.

[Original TMNT Cartoon Fan]

Originally Posted by sdp

I still have mixed feelings about Nick having the turtles, hopefully they don't shove it to the vault and we can see some stuff sooner rather than later.

Maybe we'll get a third film, but then by the late-2010's and early-2020's there'll probably be seom years of breaks again.

[IndigoErth]

I'd hope if it hadn't been Nick then it would (surely?) still have been someone else sooner or later.

I hope that they would never get set aside forever. Esp not with the fact that the first generations that grew up with them now have people in the businesses capable of seeing to it that they continue to exist and care to give any thought to the level of public interest in the franchise.

Plus new fans that have been made via 2012 so you have a whole new crop of kids that will one day be nostalgic for it. Turtle Power is (hopefully) unstoppable...even if it takes a nap now and then.

I can't fault Peter Laird for wanting to move on after his/their lives being dominated by the Turtles for so many years. It's good of them that they even had the mind to, in a sense, let them leave the nest as a grown franchise and continue without them (save for Eastman playing helicopter parent a tiny bit via IDW lol). Grateful for that.



Were it ever at risk of being put aside for good, I wish the fan base could somehow take a collective ownership of them ("community ownership"?) and posses the ability to give license or rights to whatever companies it/we saw fit via vote.

[TigerClaw]

TMNT would have been different if it was bought by Disney, They probably would've had Marvel do the comics, an animated series for Disney XD and live action movies that would have the Disney flair to them, in other words, they wouldn't be dark, but family friendly movies.

[CyberCubed]

Most likely a Disney cartoon would have been terrible if Marvel's current animation of Ultimate Spiderman, Avengers, and Hulk is any indication.

[TigerClaw]

I'm sure there's an parallel universe in which Disney owns TMNT.

[Coola Yagami]

Either some other company would have bought it with a different show, movie and comic than we got, or Pete would have just let the turtles die. He was just that burnt out.

[Roseangelo]

Originally Posted by sdp

What Rose said is only partially true... snip

Everything you suppose is good in theory. But the problem at the time was that every new thing required Peter's personal approval, and he was pretty done with the whole thing at that point. Getting any new projects off the ground through him, short of anything being an exact adaptation of the original comics, would have been near impossible. And Mirage had completely forgotten how to be a viable comic book company. Everything Playmates might have had in the works got the hault (remember their first go at Mirage Turtles, which never got produced?). There was a movie supposedly in the works (one of the things Viacom inherited), but it was more wishful thinking than a reality.

[CyberCubed]

I think a lot of people have simply forgotten over the years what the franchise was like with Mirage/Peter in control. Granted its literally been over 7 years since 2009 now, so a lot of people either weren't around back then or simply don't remember.

For those of us older fans who have been in the online fandom for 15-20 years, we still remember. Back then people would also complain how few Mirage trades of the comics there were, how little copies were produced and how they sold out so quickly, and how most stuff was so obscure.

PL would have done nothing other than sit on the TMNT franchise had the Nick deal never happened, and it would be just as dead as the Mirage comics are right now. We'd literally be sitting here twiddling our thumbs.

[Sabacooza]

Nick will also most likely sit on it after it becomes non profitable so we only delayed the inevitable. I hope I'm wrong though.

[Coola Yagami]

Originally Posted by Sabacooza

Nick will also most likely sit on it after it becomes non profitable so we only delayed the inevitable. I hope I'm wrong though.

Oh we can always count on a TMNT All Grown Up sequel or a crossover with Jimmy Neutron or whatever to pull then out of the vault every few years.

[Kendamu]

I think some of the unfinished stuff from Tales might've gotten fleshed out a bit better.

I don't think that the movie they were going for would've ever gotten off the ground.

Any subsequent TV appearances would've been extremely limited like 2k3 and the 2k7 movie was.

I would've still enjoyed having my gritty little indie comic Turtles doing their thing in Tales every couple of months, but I'm very glad that things turned out the way they have.

[CyberCubed]

Originally Posted by Kendamu

I would've still enjoyed having my gritty little indie comic Turtles doing their thing in Tales every couple of months, but I'm very glad that things turned out the way they have.

Tales of the TMNT ended because Mirage/Pete didn't want to put out any more issues. It has nothing to do with the sale to Nick.

Mirage still has the rights to publish 12-18 comics a year and has had those rights since the sale. They could have had Mirage comics coming out alongside IDW over these last 5 years, but Peter simply doesn't care to do so.

[DestronMirage22]

I think we'd be better off. A downside would be not having the IDW comics, but at least we wouldn't have to suffer Bayturtles, incompetent writing, or more Playmates crap.
I'm sure that nostalgia would've eventually hit the turtles some way, and we'd have a resurgence of TMNT differently than the one going on now; we would've probably seen more stuff geared towards Mirage, then FW, Archie, and so on.

[Wildcat]

I feel like I mentioned this already and I'm sure it was discussed back then but I don't see why they sold the franchise at all. Could have just taken a break from it if it got overwhelming or tiring.

Anyway someone would have gotten a license to do another cartoon. Probably Nick. I'm just really curious what they want to do long term. Make more shows that are basically a retelling again? This goes for whoever had acquired it.

I would have preferred Disney...because they're Disney. Their movies would have been better and they definitely would have put TMNT in thier theme parks.

[Roseangelo]

Originally Posted by Wildcat

I feel like I mentioned this already and I'm sure it was discussed back then but I don't see why they sold the franchise at all. Could have just taken a break from it if it got overwhelming or tiring.

Anyway someone would have gotten a license to do another cartoon. Probably Nick. I'm just really curious what they want to do long term. Make more shows that are basically a retelling again? This goes for whoever had acquired it.

I would have preferred Disney...because they're Disney. Their movies would have been better and they definitely would have put TMNT in thier theme parks.

$150 million dollars is a pretty good reason to sell. Plus being able to essentially retire and not having to worry about business stuff anymore.

As for another series getting off the ground had Peter not sold, like I said a few posts back, it would have required Peter's oversight on everything and he only has one "creative" vision for the Turtles.

I doubt the franchise was even on Disney's radar. 2009 was the year they spent $4 billion on Marvel. Compare that to Nick paying $150 million for TMNT and TMNT simply isn't big enough for Disney to bother with.

[Wildcat]

Originally Posted by Roseangelo

$150 million dollars is a pretty good reason to sell. Plus being able to essentially retire and not having to worry about business stuff anymore.

As for another series getting off the ground had Peter not sold, like I said a few posts back, it would have required Peter's oversight on everything and he only has one "creative" vision for the Turtles.

I doubt the franchise was even on Disney's radar. 2009 was the year they spent $4 billion on Marvel. Compare that to Nick paying $150 million for TMNT and TMNT simply isn't big enough for Disney to bother with.

Well it's a lot of money but I'm assuming they were rich before anyway. It's fine but if I had created something this popular I would not sell it. That's just me.

What's Peter's one "creative" vision? I really don't follow them individually.

Ya at the time Disney wasn't gonna get it but why do you say it isn't big enough for them to bother with? I'm sure they'd do a great job with it.

[CyberCubed]

Originally Posted by Wildcat

What's Peter's one "creative" vision? I really don't follow them individually.

Basically for the franchise to stick close to Mirage as much as possible. Same reason you didn't see any original cartoon or Archie characters in the 2k3 series.

Ya at the time Disney wasn't gonna get it but why do you say it isn't big enough for them to bother with? I'm sure they'd do a great job with it.

Disney's current superhero cartoons are terrible and I doubt a comic by Marvel would do any good.

[Powder]

As far as big companies go, I think TMNT landed in the right hands. Sure, the movies suck, but everything else is great. If they had gone elsewhere, we'd probably have a pretty good movie & crappy comics/cartoons. I'm good with 2/3.