Michaelangelo's surfer dialect

[Jester]

I was driving home from work today and it dawned on me, as I was doing my worst OT Mikey impression, Michelangelo sounds a lot like Jeff Spicoli, the surfer/slacker played by Sean Penn in Fast Times at Ridgemont High. So I ask you: Did Townsend Coleman channel Sean Penn, or did the two actors just some up with similar stereotypical surfer voices?

[Ninjinister]

Egads, I hope not :x

[Venom]

Whoa, that's like a totally righteously mondo spectacular Q you're posing there, dude!

It was probably the stereotypical thing to do back then; remember Alex Winters and Keanu Reeves in "Bill & Ted"? I don't know though, I was born in '83 so maybe Penn started the whole thing?!

[Mr._Mutant_Man]

I never thought of it that way before, but Michelangelo was very similar to Spicoli.

Now that makes me disappointed that they never did a scene where Vinnie's Pizza was being robbed, and Michelangelo walks out complaining that there's no paper towels, distracting the thief and allowing the pizza chef to throw coffee on him.

Then Michelangelo would say "totally awesome", and it would be the best ending to a TMNT episode ever.

[mattmanw54301]

Methinks it was just the stereotypical 'surfer dude' thing to do at the time. Now that you point it out tho, I'm seeing ALOT of similarities. It would be fun to see an OT redub on Youtube where Mikey talks with Spicoli's voice. Especially the parts with 4-letter words.

[Sage Ninja]

actually something I'm noticing as I rewatch the old series is that michaelangelo surfer-ness seems to get toned down as the series goes on. He still uses the surfer lingo but in season six and on (especially the Red Sky seasons) Michaelangelo seems to lose of that wacky surfer intonations and his voice becomes slighly more subdued and versitle as far as emotion goes.

[Jelly Bean]

In the 80's toon Michaelangelo speaks like a surfer dude and uses all those surfer boy lingo. Through out the series does Michaelangelo ever lose the surfer lingo or does it become less pronounced in later seasons?

I've seen season one and season six, and I have to admit that 80's Michaelangelo did sound like he had an over powering surfer accent in season one. I've been watching season two recently and I'm noticeing Michaelangelo has a hard hitting over the top surfer dude voice with the surfer lingo, but compared to season six I didn't think his surfer accent seemed more toned down and he sounded more normal. And I was wondering in later seasons does Michaelangelo lose the surfer voice completely or does it just become less prominent over time?

[Sage Ninja]

In the 80's toon Michaelangelo speaks like a surfer dude and uses all those surfer boy lingo. Through out the series does Michaelangelo ever lose the surfer lingo or does it become less pronounced in later seasons?

Michaelangelo in the old toon is always featured with the surfer voice, that just part of his character in the old toon. Though it does lessen in RedSky...

[Original TMNT Cartoon Fan]

Michaelangelo is often seen surfing in the sewers in the 1987 TMNT cartoon.

[NameGoesHere1066]

Michaleangelo in the OT had the surfer voice because it was the 80's and the surfer persona was considered hip and trendy back then and because they wanted Mike to be the "cool" turtle they gave him that persona, I guess because they wanted him to appeal to youngsters. I don't know if this was decided on by the Fred Wolf people or if the actor that voiced him just decided to give hive him a surfer voice but they did so it happened. I think in the long run it was a bad idea since to the younger generations he's dated now.

Who does OT Michaelangelo's voice any way?

[Lynn]

Townsend Coleman. He also did the voice of the Rat King.

[Buslady]

and the funniest thing...surfers dont really talk that way...

[Coola Yagami]

If you say so... I met a few people that do speak that way....

[Sage Ninja]

and the funniest thing...surfers dont really talk that way...

you mean surfers now a days?

I don't know if this was decided on by the Fred Wolf people or if the actor that voiced him just decided to give hive him a surfer voice but they did so it happened.

Thats a good question. Does any one here know if Townsend was instructed to have a surfer dialect by the directer or if he just decided on his own to use a surfer voice to portray OT Michaelangelo?

in any event if Michaelangelo's surfer dialect started to fade in later season it could have been just a result of the actor(s) just settling into the role of the character over long course of time and just useing a voice he was more comfertable with, which happens with actors if they do a role long enough. It happened in the New toon with Raph with his in your face New York accent. Go watch some of season one and then some recent seasons and you'll see Raph had much stronger New York accent than he does now.

[Drtooth]

Lemme just say, I HATE when people who are unfamiliar with the TMNT (including various business partners) all blend them in and give them Mikey's Surf Dude talk. I've seen it too many times, even in TMNT projects. I do NOT recall Leo ever saying "dude." Totally out of character.

That said, Mikey was my favorite when I was a kid, and I had a one year phase of thinking I was a surfer dude. Of course, both Mikey and the initial version of Bart Simpson talked like that... and then came Bill and Ted...

[ToTheNines]

I do NOT recall Leo ever saying "dude."

Ahem, read my sig.

[NameGoesHere1066]

Lemme just say, I HATE when people who are unfamiliar with the TMNT (including various business partners) all blend them in and give them Mikey's Surf Dude talk. I've seen it too many times, even in TMNT projects. I do NOT recall Leo ever saying "dude." Totally out of character.

what I hate is when they take other Michaelangelo's from other versions and give him the surfer accent. I don't mind Michaelangelo in the OT having it because at least that was orginal to his depiction in the toon so it's his; but was it necessary to have Mikey in the live action movie with a psudo surfer accent or the next mutation? Why couldn't they make these versions their own Mikey instead of copying OT Michaelangelo? And what worse is that they had Mikey in the new movie--the one in the present day, far, far away from the eightes, with a surfer lingo. WTF!? I not like Mikey or his voice in the new toon but at least he doesn't use dude all the time and use s=dated surfer lingo.

[Jelly Bean]

n any event if Michaelangelo's surfer dialect started to fade in later season it could have been just a result of the actor(s) just settling into the role

so wait a minute, 80's Mikey has more than one actor voicing him? Does the orginal actor leave the show?

I have noticed that other versions of Mikey have the surfer dialect, like in the new movie. I just thought it was apart of his character and he always had it. Since the new movie was supposed to be more like the orginal comics I thought they where making the characters fit the comic roots as well. When Did Mikey as surfer get started? Was it the old mirage comics?

[Buslady]

If you say so... I met a few people that do speak that way....


I have never met a surfer here in SoCal who talked like OT Mike.....I grew up on the beach. It's all stereotype. Most folks even think if yer from SoCal, you talk like a valley girl...they don't talk like that! They talk like little spoiled .....*insert inappropriate words*....

I dunno how surfers talk nowadays but back in the 80s...it was all media, not real life. Yeah we said dude, rad, bitchin'...but we didn't sound like Mikey.

[Drtooth]

In any event if Michaelangelo's surfer dialect started to fade in later season it could have been just a result of the actor(s) just settling into the role



I'm Pretty sure that Mikey, allong with Leo, was the only turtle that didn't have an alternate voice. In fact, didn't Townsend Coleman actually do some of the replacement voices for Krang and Shredder at one point?

I'd say, the fading effects of the surfer dude lingo may have been due to the fading interrest by the writers. In certain episodes, they seem to be accentuating his stupidity instead of his dudeness.

I have never met a surfer here in SoCal who talked like OT Mike.....I grew up on the beach. It's all stereotype. Most folks even think if yer from SoCal, you talk like a valley girl...they don't talk like that! They talk like little spoiled .....*insert inappropriate words*....

I dunno how surfers talk nowadays but back in the 80s...it was all media, not real life. Yeah we said dude, rad, bitchin'...but we didn't sound like Mikey.

We call that a stereotype. A few well publicised surfers may have talked like that, but that doesn't mean they all did.

When Did Mikey as surfer get started? Was it the old mirage comics?

It was definately the cartoon. Same time they decided to make Raph a sacrastic goofball. It was clearly to "spice up" the character. Much like making Donny a technogeek.

[ToTheNines]

so wait a minute, 80's Mikey has more than one actor voicing him? Does the orginal actor leave the show?

I have noticed that other versions of Mikey have the surfer dialect, like in the new movie. I just thought it was apart of his character and he always had it. Since the new movie was supposed to be more like the orginal comics I thought they where making the characters fit the comic roots as well. When Did Mikey as surfer get started? Was it the old mirage comics?

No it was always Coleman, never missed an episode.

[NameGoesHere1066]

I'd say, the fading effects of the surfer dude lingo may have been due to the fading interrest by the writers.

actually...it just may have been the passage of time in the series. Maybe as the years went by and the series entered the early and mid ninties they decided to down play the cliche "sufer dude" in Michaelangelo to keep him from seeming out dated by the little kiddies.

When Did Mikey as surfer get started? Was it the old mirage comics?

Definately it started in the orginal cartoon because they needed some gimick to sell the character to make him stand out. It's not really the cartoons fault they where just trying to give Michaelangelo a personality. In the mirage comics Mikey was pretty obsecure besides being a foil and best buddy to Raphael. Mikey in the orginal comics was kind of just the tocken posetive guy off setting Raphael's angsty "I hate my life" type of guy. Had Fred Wolf not spiced Michaelangelo up in the toon he probably would have fallen in the back ground like in the comics.

[Sage Ninja]

I'd say, the fading effects of the surfer dude lingo may have been due to the fading interrest by the writers. In certain episodes, they seem to be accentuating his stupidity instead of his dudeness..

Actually I felt in later seasons that Michaelangelo became smarter rather than dumber, especially during Red Sky.

Mikey in the orginal comics was kind of just the tocken posetive guy off setting Raphael's angsty "I hate my life" type of guy. Had Fred Wolf not spiced Michaelangelo up in the toon he probably would have fallen in the back ground like in the comics.

Mike in the mirage comics wasn't a surfer but he did had a personality, he was more reflective and creative.

[Jelly Bean]

question! Does any like Mike' surfer accent and that it was made apart of his character that so many other incarnations copied it, or do you think it was the worse thing they could had ever done to Mike's character and take away from his character?

[Buslady]

Mike in Mirage is so much better, so much less annoying and so much more realistic.

So they changed from Surfer dude from old toon, then into screaming whiny coward in 2k3...wonder why the did that?

Mike the wimp...thats what i think of his 2k3 persona

unless it was to give him a storyline of his maturing process from wank to a turtle man with balls

[Jelly Bean]

Mike in Mirage is so much better, so much less annoying and so much more realistic.

unless it was to give him a storyline of his maturing process from wank to a turtle man with balls


Mikey isn't annoying in the mirage comics? DOes that mean he doesn't have that "annoying little brother" persona?

[NameGoesHere1066]

question! Does any like Mike' surfer accent and that it was made apart of his character that so many other incarnations copied it, or do you think it was the worse thing they could had ever done to Mike's character and take away from his character?

I've never liked Michaelangelo's surfer accent but I didn't really mind it eighther. It was just apart of his character and, well, I guess every character has got to have a gimmick. Leonardo the leader, Raphael the smart ass, and Donatello the chronic masterbater, er--I mean inventer 8). in other versions of the franchise I wish they had taken more aspects of his character from the comics instead of making him the pop culture poster child of what ever is popular in that decade.

[General Traag]

I allways liked that surfer voice. Mainly because it has this relaxed, nearly rastafarian touch to it. :J

And it's alot better then the new-toon-hyperactive-whiney-sissy-mikey which i find very annoying. :L

[Jelly Bean]

I agree that Michaelangelo's voice has a relaxed, mellow quality to it. I also think he really makes it work to because he doesn't sound forced while uses it. But what the heck does rastafarian mean?

And it's alot better then the new-toon-hyperactive-whiney-sissy-mikey which i find very annoying

I think Mikey's voice is fine but he can get pretty high pitched sometimes. Mikey's voice is actually kinda deep so I think the reason he comes off whiney is because he tries to bring his voice where it shouldn't go. Other wise I think he has a good voice. Incidently did any one notice that in the first few episodes in the first season of the current that mikey had a bit of a surfer accent too!! :o

and Donatello the chronic masterbater, er--I mean inventer

masterbater?! :o Where did you get that impression from?

[Sage Ninja]

masterbater?! :o Where did you get that impression from?

**singing**

"Donatello, Does Machines"

**chorus**

thats a fact, Jack!!

[Sage Ninja]

But what the heck does rastafarian mean?


have you ever tried Dictionary.com? It comes in handy

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/rastafarian%20

[Jelly Bean]

well, thanks for the link but it doesn't really tell me anything about rastafarian in the context that it's used, just something about African religion? :-?

**singing**

"Donatello, Does Machines"

**chorus**

thats a fact, Jack!!

oh, I get it...that is a weird way of wording it. :ohwell: Couldn't they have had it "Donatello likes machines" or maybe "Donatello works with machines".

[Coola Yagami]

I think he meant the whole things about Kamaiicans always being all laid back and 'ever-ting gonna be awwww-rite!' cause they're stoned... which I guess goes with Mikey's stoner-surfer accent.

[Jelly Bean]

which I guess goes with Mikey's stoner-surfer accent.

why does every one keep saying this? :-? I don't get that "stoners" vibe off of 80's Mikey, and believe me where I live there alot of pot-heads and most of them don't have the "all's right with the world, laid back" way about them. Most of them are pretty agitated or pissy.

[NameGoesHere1066]

frankly I don't eighther. His voice is just lower pitched and mellow rather than "stoner" monotoned. You might be to young to know this but surfers sort of have this "media based" reputation of being stoned because of the sterotypical way they talk is close to how a stoners talk, hence the association.

CGI Mikey and new toon Mikey seem more like their on drugs though. They act like they are on speed or crack! :lol:

[General Traag]

Lmao, i'm waiting for the 'what turtle takes what drugs' thread now. :lol:

And i allways had this stoner-impression because mikey seemed to speak a bit slower to me (not to mention the slower thinking hehe).

[Jester]

Hey, Krang? Can we murge this thread with the current one on Mike's surfer lingo?

[Jelly Bean]

And i allways had this stoner-impression because mikey seemed to speak a bit slower to me (not to mention the slower thinking hehe).

mm, maybe we should steer clear from this and stick to the surfer thing, considering how touchy people can be, this could lead to problems :|

[KROW]

I was driving home from work today and it dawned on me, as I was doing my worst OT Mikey impression, Michelangelo sounds a lot like Jeff Spicoli, the surfer/slacker played by Sean Penn in Fast Times at Ridgemont High. So I ask you: Did Townsend Coleman channel Sean Penn, or did the two actors just some up with similar stereotypical surfer voices?

Haha. Y'know, I would have liked to see Mikey say to Shredder just once, "You DICK!"

[Sage Ninja]

Lmao, i'm waiting for the 'what turtle takes what drugs' thread now. :lol:

And i allways had this stoner-impression because mikey seemed to speak a bit slower to me (not to mention the slower thinking hehe).

Michaelangelo never really talked slowly and he was pretty quick on the up take alot of the time. If any one needs a comparison of Michaelangelo voice change then I'll show you some clips

Michaelangelo season two

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1E9hB-YrNZo

Michaelangelo Red Sky season 9

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sqz2Y7tZXb4

[NameGoesHere1066]

pardon my ignorance, but who is Sean Penn?

[KROW]

pardon my ignorance, but who is Sean Penn?

His IMDB profile. (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000576/)

An film star who had a hankering for punching photographers. Married to Madonna at one time. Good actor.

[Jelly Bean]

Michaelangelo never really talked slowly and he was pretty quick on the up take alot of the time. If any one needs a comparison of Michaelangelo voice change then I'll show you some clips

Michaelangelo season two

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1E9hB-YrNZo

Michaelangelo Red Sky season 9

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sqz2Y7tZXb4

um, thanks for the links Sage Ninja but exactly am I supposed to be looking for here? :-?

[ToTheNines]

Michaelangelo season two

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1E9hB-YrNZo

Sorry to be a nerd, but that's a season 3 episode.

um, thanks for the links Sage Ninja but exactly am I supposed to be looking for here? :-?

She's demonstrating the difference in Mike's voice in particular seasons.

[NameGoesHere1066]

wow I had forgotten how much the show changed in later seasons, and I'd completely forgotten all about Carter :o

About the comparison...I don't really hear much of a diffrence. :-? Does any one else?

[Jester]

wow I had forgotten how much the show changed in later seasons, and I'd completely forgotten all about Carter :o

About the comparison...I don't really hear much of a diffrence. :-? Does any one else?
His voice is a tad deeper, but there isn't an awfully big change.

[Jelly Bean]

I guess you would know wouldn't you Jester because you're a voice actor and probably have a good ear for slight changes in voice performance don't you? Is his voice only just a bit deeper as a change or is there something actually diffrent about the way the actor in the later season performs Mikey, do you think?

I do hear a little diffrence but I can't really tell what. :-? I guess to me his voice sounds less dressed up.

[Hero]

I remember a time when Keanu Reeves had the surfer accent :P

I think people who are not very fluent in TMNT make fun of Mikey's old surfer accent because most of the old catchphrases from the toon were mainly said by him. I can't remember a time when Leonardo ever yelled "Cowabunga" or Donatello ever describing something as "Radical". Yet on old TMNT merch the catchphrases are associated with the team rather than one of them.

The thing I wonder is. Where would Mikey have picked up the accent in the first place? Perhaps Mutagen has an accent giving ability to go with the subjects personality, like with Leatherhead and The Punk Frogs accents.

===HERO

[KROW]

The thing I wonder is. Where would Mikey have picked up the accent in the first place? Perhaps Mutagen has an accent giving ability to go with the subjects personality, like with Leatherhead and The Punk Frogs accents.

Good question. Perhaps he picked it up from watching television. Having an affinity for sewer-surfing, he might have flipped through the channels and caught a rare surfing competition on ESPN. While watching, he began to like the way the surfers talked during interviews and emulated them.

[Jester]

I guess you would know wouldn't you Jester because you're a voice actor and probably have a good ear for slight changes in voice performance don't you? Is his voice only just a bit deeper as a change or is there something actually diffrent about the way the actor in the later season performs Mikey, do you think?

I do hear a little diffrence but I can't really tell what. :-? I guess to me his voice sounds less dressed up.
Can't say. I'm just an amature. But it does seem that Townsend did deepen his Michaelangelo voice probably to match the new tone of the series.

[Sage Ninja]

To me I think there is a serious change in Michaelangelo's voice and the performance given by Townsend Coleman. I think it started in season six or so but Michaelangelo's voice became more serious and mature sounding, almost breathless sounding. I think it was ToTheNines who pointed it out to me in another thread, he made some comment that Michaelangelo's voice reminded him of Beast Boy' voice.

[Jelly Bean]

eh...I don't think 80's Mikey sounds anything like Beast Boy. Beast Boy's voice is very scratchy/gravely, like he was always tired or something.

The thing I wonder is. Where would Mikey have picked up the accent in the first place? Perhaps Mutagen has an accent giving ability to go with the subjects personality, like with Leatherhead and The Punk Frogs accents

Good question. Perhaps he picked it up from watching television. Having an affinity for sewer-surfing, he might have flipped through the channels and caught a rare surfing competition on ESPN. While watching, he began to like the way the surfers talked during interviews and emulated them

I think that is the most likely reason, that he picked it up from tv and copied it, although how exactly a teenager who live is New York learned how to surf and skate board is beyond me, or even pick up a sufer a strong enough surfer lingo to permently change his speaking patterns. Although I guess the surfer dialect makes more sence than if Mikey had a Beatles sounding british accent Wako does on the Warner bothers. :ohwell:

by the way, how come Jester's name is listed as the thread starter? I was the one that orginally started this thread. :-?

[NameGoesHere1066]

ugh what an annoying character that dude with the ponytale and glasses was. How many times did he say "you stinkin' cowards" in that whole skit. What season of Red Sky was this in?

[Sage Ninja]

since Carter is in and April's hair has changed in this one, I would have to say season nine or ten. That McCabe was pretty annoying, but at least he was only in one episode. I thought Carter was more annoying over-all as a character, but Carter alt least gets points for not being a Boondocks gangsta sterotype wannabe of a black guy.