OT has the type of things you don't see in new cartoons

[TurtleFan2012]

The OT has things in it that you don't see in today's cartoons. These are the type of things you see in 80's and 90's cartoons......

1.) The villain travels back in time to kill his foe's ancestor.

2.) The hero and villain switches bodies

3.) The hero shrinks to the size of a bug and spends the majority of the episode finding a way to grow back to normal.

4.) The hero enters an alternate universe where his arch nemesis is supreme ruler of the world.

5.) Characters will fall in love due to a love potion.

6.) All of the hero(s)'s enemies join forces against him/them.

7.) Characters will either grow old or young due to a spell/chemical.

8.) Characters will enter a video game or the video game villain will enter the real world and cause chaos.

I miss the 80's and 90's. The OT is more entertaining to watch than the stuff you see on Nick and disney :(

[CyberCubed]

Many of the OT's plots were taken from old 50's sci-fi and horror movies.

I especially love the wacky stuff as to when the turtles got stuck inside the Polarisoid's camera.

[Zulithe]

I grew up with the OT in the 80s, I understand the nostalgia people can have, but I was watching some of the episodes recently and... it has not aged well... at all. It will always be a classic, but it's by no means great.

Why are you writing off the Nick show without even seeing it? A lot of your bullet points are very, very common tropes seen in boy-oriented cartoons. I wouldn't be surprised if we see 1 or 2 of those plotlines pop up in season 1 alone.

[CyberCubed]

I grew up with the OT in the 80s, I understand the nostalgia people can have, but I was watching some of the episodes recently and... it has not aged well... at all. It will always be a classic, but it's by no means great.

Most of the OT holds up very well for the type of show it is, a fun comedy ramp with various sci-fi plots in every episode.

In fact out of all 193 episodes, I think I only actually hate about 20 episodes out of the entire run of the show, and that says a lot.

[TurtleFan2012]

I grew up with the OT in the 80s, I understand the nostalgia people can have, but I was watching some of the episodes recently and... it has not aged well... at all. It will always be a classic, but it's by no means great.

Why are you writing off the Nick show without even seeing it? A lot of your bullet points are very, very common tropes seen in boy-oriented cartoons. I wouldn't be surprised if we see 1 or 2 of those plotlines pop up in season 1 alone.

Most cartoons nowadays on Nick have bizarre characters and made-up species with no villains to threaten them. All they do is play all day and have fun.
Everything is so cute, cheerful, and kid-friendly.

[pannoni1]

Some additions:

-Hand drawn cels
-Closing credits that actually are shown in full on the TV
-Background music with lush melodies and memorable themes
-More ad-libbing than today's cartoons
-I don't see too many cartoons where characters are trapped inside of animals' bodies.

I agree that this show is still fun to watch with all of the references, fourth wall jokes, and plots that you just don't see much of nowadays.

[Zulithe]

Most cartoons nowadays on Nick have bizarre characters and made-up species with no villains to threaten them. All they do is play all day and have fun.

no villaisn to threaten them... yeah cause shredder was such a threat :P

1osPfORITFI

all talk!

[CyberCubed]

Shredder almost kills the Turtles and/or April in many episodes, so yes he was a threat.

[Zulithe]

I understand there is no point in arguing the flaws of the OT with people here, a lot of fans refuse to see anything but perfection. Have it your way. I'm not going to push that issue.

But it is flat out wrong to call out newer shows for lacking in creativity because I think a lot of the stuff coming out today blows away the storylines seen in 80s shows.

The new Thundercats show was a huge step above the original, for example. It failed to find an audience, but it wasn't due to bad storytelling. At the same time the original wasn't successful BECAUSE of its storytelling. Its legacy has endured mostly because of the animation style, voice acting and having one of the most memorable opening credit scenes from any cartoon in history.

Then you can look at Avatar: The Last Airbender or LoK which have redefined what is possible from an American children's cartoon. Those aren't entertaining either? Again, suit yourself.

Will I be counting the Nick show among the shows I feel have stellar storytelling? We will have to see.

IMO there is nothing creative or interesting about, say, an episode where two characters switch bodies or a character drinks a mind-altering potion... it's been done to death and was already done to death long before TMNT came on the air. But again we are talking cartoons made for kids who have not seen these stories countless times. It still doesn't make it original or special in any way

[AT-Man]

I've never liked any of these plots, except for

6.) All of the hero(s)'s enemies join forces against him/them.

can be really really really great.

[ZariusTwo]

I grew up with the OT in the 80s, I understand the nostalgia people can have, but I was watching some of the episodes recently and... it has not aged well... at all. It will always be a classic, but it's by no means great

You do realize saying "this show hasnt aged well" is a fad on the internet everyone grows out of right?

I've watched the classic show on a routine basis and it holds up just fine. No nostalgia blinding me either. I'll take it over the 4Kids show anyday.

I will, however, agree with you people that people that whine about the quality of today's cartoons really arent objective. Today's cartoons are fine. The problem now is that those complaining have simply outgrown cartoons.

[hi_polymer]

Nothing will beat Leo cutting Shredder's head off in the 4kids version. Even I was surprised at that one. Not even the comic was that gruesome in that regard. The comic version simply had them cut his head off in off screen.

[ZariusTwo]

Everything is so cute, cheerful, and kid-friendly.

...You do realize the 80s was 90% the same thing right?

[Candy Kappa]

Nothing will beat Leo cutting Shredder's head off in the 4kids version. Even I was surprised at that one. Not even the comic was that gruesome in that regard. The comic version simply had them cut his head off in off screen.

orly?

http://grumpycomments.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/tmnt12.jpg

[Original TMNT Cartoon Fan]

Most cartoons nowadays on Nick have bizarre characters and made-up species with no villains to threaten them. All they do is play all day and have fun.
Everything is so cute, cheerful, and kid-friendly.

Aren't they intended for younger kids?

[Jephael]

What I always loved about the original cartoon was how the Turtles actually got along. They didn't get on each other's case nearly as often as they did in the 4Kids series, which is kinda ironic when you think about how the classic toon is the only iteration where they're not considered brothers, but just good friends.

[hi_polymer]

orly?

http://grumpycomments.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/tmnt12.jpg

that's actually what I was referring to. It doesn't really show his head falling off.

[Powder]

that's actually what I was referring to. It doesn't really show his head falling off.

It does however show the clean cut separating it from the body. In the 4kids series he just knocks off a robot dome. Woo.

[Type 97 Chi-ha]

Villains joining forces to defeat the heroes and to fail anyway? That's an old trope too.

I remember an episode of the old Spiderman cartoon where several supervillains join forces to defeat Spiderman, and they could have done so-if it weren't for the fact that they ended up fighting each other over who would get to ultimately dispatch him. :lol:

[Jephael]

In the 4kids series he just knocks off a robot dome. Woo.

Even I have to admit, after that big reveal in "Secret Origins" I felt a little cheated.

[CyberCubed]

The OT did what it did best, it was a series with a obvious repetitive structure, (Shredder/Krang come up with a new scheme to either take over the world or repower the Technodrome in almost every episode), but they did it in a way that it was entertaining.

We didn't care that the Turtles beat Shredder in every episode. What we liked was the funny wacky plotlines that the episodes consisted of, the wonderful humor and the fun character interaction.

[ickzer1]

You must not have a large sampling of todays cartoons. They still do most if not all of that crap. Just look further than Disney and Nick.

[pferreira]

I think cartoons back in the 80s-early 90s had a more creative visual style and colour. They were slightly less self-aware and better for it. For me what I miss most about TV animation is the cel animation. There was a real feeling of craftsmanship in the work. Today animation is anime inspired computer made with too much CGI tacked on. I like my animation also to look a little less wacky with fuller, more rounded faces for characters. These are my problems with today's animation.

[Huree]

I think cartoons back in the 80s-early 90s had a more creative visual style and colour. They were slightly less self-aware and better for it. For me what I miss most about TV animation is the cel animation. There was a real feeling of craftsmanship in the work. Today animation is anime inspired computer made with too much CGI tacked on. I like my animation also to look a little less wacky with fuller, more rounded faces for characters. These are my problems with today's animation.

I'm with ya there. I hated the designs in the 4kids series way too blocky for my taste, the heads were too smal compared with the body too.

[pferreira]

I'm with ya there. I hated the designs in the 4kids series way too blocky for my taste, the heads were too smal compared with the body too.Oh no, actually I would point out the 2003 cartoon to still be one of the more traditional and exciting cartoons from the 2000s. I'm talking more about Samurai Jack, the Clone Wars animated shorts, Spectacular Spider-Man, Ben 10 and Sponge Bob Squarepants. Those kind of cartoons suffered from too much jagged, sharp edges. The 2003 cartoon had it's problems as well. On the whole the cartoon had more polished animation (at least in the early seasons) but facial emoting was just odd. I never remembered Casey's face moving much and when Michelangelo made a funny face or did an impression it looked weird rather than funny.