Voice Reviews from a long-time fan

[Stinger911]

Just my personal opinion. Feel free to disagree.

Leonardo (Jason Biggs): Well done. I think Leonardo has the most vocal continuity of the turtles throughout the various iterations of the shows and movies. He sounds pretty similar no matter which version of the turtles you're watching. It's obvious Biggs is chanelling Cam Clarke here, which is not a bad thing at all. You can feel the do-gooder nature in Leonardo's voice, trying to always be the leader, though he knows he has a lot to learn. I would never guess this was Jason Biggs doing the voice.

9/10

Donatello (Rob Paulsen): Really fantastic. I think he sounds WAY more natural as the voice of Donatello than he did as Raphael back in the original cartoon. He has a naturally nerdy pitch to his voice and his (relatively) older age lends Donatello the introspective wisdom the character demands. No complaints, well-cast, and good to see a member of the original team getting some love.

10/10

Raphael (Sean Asten): Again, if I weren't told this is Sean Astin, I would never know. He does an admirable job, but I feel that the NY Brooklyn accent added in the original TMNT movie fit Raphael to a T! For this reason, Raph will never be a true Raph in my mind unless he has that Brooklyn accent. Astin does a good job or sounding brash and cocky, but Josh Pais set a bar that might never be surpassed.

7/10

Michelangelo (Greg Cipes): IMO terrible. Easily the worst voice actor of the four turtles. Part of what made Michelangelo so funny in the cartoons and movie is that he had an extremely exaggerated surfer-dude accent, and he came off as fun-loving and lovable. I feel the entire incarnation of the Michelangelo character in the Nick series is misguided and flat out bad. Not just fun-loving and lovable, they've turned Michelangelo into a joke. He's a jester, purely for comedy relief, offering try-hard slapstick. In previous incarnations he was funny just because he was kind of an airhead and liked to have fun, but you couldn't help but love him. In this one, he tries so hard to be funny that he becomes repellant, which is compounded by the fact that they've made him STUPID. Not just silly or fun-loving but DUMB and ANNOYING.

Okay, so that was mostly my opinion of the Nick direction of the character. That was a bit of a tangent. Onto Cipes: his voice for the character is childish and smooth. He sounds, well, like a wuss. A pushover... He sounds like a vegan pacifist, the very person Cipes is in real life... not a boisterous party dude who would order everything on his pizza.

My pick for this role? Kel Mitchell! He's already worked with Nickelodeon and his surfer voice is perfect for Michelangelo.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=umIEp9WZI9E

But onto my review for Cipes:

4/10

[Powder]

So this is a somewhat cleverly masked Greg Cipes bashing thread? I'll have none of this.

[Roseangelo]

Cipes is easily the best in his role (and they're all great IMO). Thread over.

[Jester]

What's with two? Cipes sucks. He's the worst Michelangelo. He's so easy going and care free yet sweet and loveable. I HATE HIM!!!

[Stinger911]

Cipes is easily the best in his role (and they're all great IMO). Thread over.

Nah, not thread over. They've transformed Michelangelo into a hyper, annoying dummy when he used to be laid back and unintentionally hilarious. Cipes sounds totally non-threatening and remarkably annoying. He sounds almost nothing like his vocal forebearers and is the closest thing to a Jar Jar Binks there has ever been in the TMNT.

You can have your opinion, but that doesn't give you the right to quash threads that offer ones contrary to yours.

[Powder]

Ooooh you're one of those kinds of fans who can't accept anything that deviates from the past.

[Jester]

I find your negative connotation of the word "jester" offensive!

More to the point, you find Cipes voice to be too childish and stupid, yet you propose Kel Mitchell as a replacement, using his Ed voice, which is even more stupid and goofy. To replace Cipes who feels a legitimate connection to the character and seems to be putting his soul into it and really fits the character, with Kel Mitchell who is affecting a complete idiot sensibility for the character of Ed to Mikey it's no contest. I'd rather have the zen, wacky, slightly slow younger brother Mikey to a stereotypical buffoon that would be even more of "a jester, purely for comedy relief, offering try(-too)-hard slapstick."

[Candy Kappa]

My pick for this role? Kel Mitchell! He's already worked with Nickelodeon and his surfer voice is perfect for Michelangelo.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=umIEp9WZI9E4/10

Dear lords, NO.

He sounds like someone doing Mikey for a parody show, and being badly at it. Terrible example, if you are trying to sell someone else that opinion.

I find Cipes to be a great fit for Mikey, and the character is done great in the show.

[Roseangelo]

He sounds almost nothing like his vocal forebearers and is the closest thing to a Jar Jar Binks there has ever been in the TMNT.

Paulsen's Donatello is the exact same voice as his Raphael, and you gave that a 10/10. 4Kids Mikey was WRITTEN a million times worse than this Mikey. Just because you have issues with how this Mikey is WRITTEN isn't a reason to blame Cipes for it.

[zodiac brave]

my disagreement with your opinion on Cipes aside, the whole "review" of mikey doesn't seem to be about his voice (save for the first sentence or two), but about his character in general. the thread title is "voice review".

but, yeah, i disagree. Cipes is awesome.

EDIT: and you say cipes sounds "non-threatening" as mikey. when is mikey supposed to sound "threatening"?

[TheBlueTurtle1]

I think all the voice acting is excellent. That includes Mikey!

[Cowabunga Carl]

Cipes take on Mikey fits the writing of the show and character. He is perfect and probably one of the best Mikey's to date.

[Moe]

I just want to point out that Greg Cipes is actually a professional surfer or at least, used to be. So the whole "laid back surfer attitude" should probably come pretty naturally to him, stereotypical accent or no.

I like all the turtles voices, I do miss Raphs accent a little, but I think its far more logical for only splinter to have an accent. I never did understand where or how the turtles would pick up accents like that. All the turtles sound young and it matches very well with the look and the feel of the show.

[CyberCubed]

Paulsen's Donatello is the exact same voice as his Raphael, and you gave that a 10/10.

Well to be fair, his Don voice IS a little different. I've been rewatching the old cartoon recently and his Raph voice is more distinct.

Paulsen's Don talks with a little more high-pitched and nervous tone to his voice, something old toon Raph didn't do unless something was happening in the episode.

[Vivi]

I actually find Jason Biggs to be the weakest link - but not by much. That is to say, they're all relatively quite good.

I think Cipes is a great voice actor, but your opinions are your own and so are mine.

Although I kind of understand what kind of casting you would prefer, I actually like the modern take on Mikey being the 'annoying' younger brother, as seen in both the Nick and 2K3 version. I dunno... I guess I find it funny or something. Don't ask me why, I never understood the hate. I don't think sounding like you're hitting the bong on the couch all day would fit into the group dynamics quite the same, though.

[Bauer536]

If you ask me, they all get a 10/10!

While Jason Biggs doesn't have enough range, I think he's better than Michael Sinterniklaas, but he sure isn't James Arnold Taylor. Still, he's very good as Leo, and I like his voice (even though I don't like Biggs). Besides sounding like the leading type, he sounds more mature with that voice. It fits for my favorite turtle.:tcool:

Rob Paulsen is very good. My favorite version of Donnie at this time! I mean, this guy is a professional voice actor that is legendary. His voice fits. While he did play Raph in the OT, he's the best as a socially awkward geek.:tsmile:

Sean Astin is a very good Raphael. He sounds like a tough guy, but he also sounds younger. That's what I love about him. Still, Astin's best performance will always be Samwise from the Lord of the Rings.:twink:

And to anyone who thinks Mikey is stupid in this show, I disagree. Yeah, he's not the sharpest, but he's funny and extremely likeable. He's just immature and has ADD, so I wouldn't be surprised if he couldn't grasp certain concepts. Still, Greg Cipes is very good. I thought he was going to sound like Beast Boy, but that's far from what I've expected. I like his performance.:trazz:

[Kevin G]

I actually love Greg Cipes as Michelangelo, and thought it was a wise and excellent choice on the casting department or whoever did the casting for the show.

I had no problem with Cipes doing Mikey, ever since I learned he was going to voice him. So he doesn't talk like a surfer, understand that this a new incarnation of the show and want to while be faithfully to past Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles characteristics, they also want to try to give them some new personalities or give some new characteristics.

Leo being a huge fan of a Filmation Sc-fi animated series Space Heroes and looking up to the show's main protagonist Captain Ryan.

Ralp owning a pet turtle who he confines in.

Donnie having a huge crush on April.


Change is not always a bad thing.

[zodiac brave]

Well to be fair, his Don voice IS a little different. I've been rewatching the old cartoon recently and his Raph voice is more distinct.

Paulsen's Don talks with a little more high-pitched and nervous tone to his voice, something old toon Raph didn't do unless something was happening in the episode.

i also like the little whistle we hear from the missing tooth. dunno if thats actually paulsen or something added in after the fact. but, yeah, i hear two fairly different voices between OT raph and nick donnie.

[TurtleTitan97]

I completly disagree about Cipes being a terrible voice for Mikey. I loved him as Beast Boy, and I think he fits Mikey perfectly. This is my second favorite version of Mikey since the first movie version. :)

[Stinger911]

I find your negative connotation of the word "jester" offensive!

More to the point, you find Cipes voice to be too childish and stupid, yet you propose Kel Mitchell as a replacement, using his Ed voice, which is even more stupid and goofy. To replace Cipes who feels a legitimate connection to the character and seems to be putting his soul into it and really fits the character, with Kel Mitchell who is affecting a complete idiot sensibility for the character of Ed to Mikey it's no contest. I'd rather have the zen, wacky, slightly slow younger brother Mikey to a stereotypical buffoon that would be even more of "a jester, purely for comedy relief, offering try(-too)-hard slapstick."

Well, not necessarily his Ed voice verbatim. But I posted that clip to sort of show that a modern-day voice actor (he's done voice acting in Clifford the Big Red Dog, Motorcity, and Wild Grinders) has all the tools to bring classic Mikey back to life. He'd obviously need to make some tweaks to turn the Ed voice into the Mikey voice, but his Ed voice is close. Much closer than what Cipes offers.

But I appreciate that you put forward a good counter-argument.

I actually find Jason Biggs to be the weakest link - but not by much. That is to say, they're all relatively quite good.

I think Cipes is a great voice actor, but your opinions are your own and so are mine.

Although I kind of understand what kind of casting you would prefer, I actually like the modern take on Mikey being the 'annoying' younger brother, as seen in both the Nick and 2K3 version. I dunno... I guess I find it funny or something. Don't ask me why, I never understood the hate. I don't think sounding like you're hitting the bong on the couch all day would fit into the group dynamics quite the same, though.

ComicsAlliance did an interview with Cipes about playing Michelangelo and this was one of their questions:

"CA: Whereas Michelangelo has been portrayed as a super laid back character in previous series, the new show bills him as "the wild one." How do you think this more energetic version of the character compares to previous versions? Do you think his new energy level is a reflection of how our culture currently perceives young creative types?"

So yeah I vastly prefer the "super laid back" version of the character. This incarnation is just an ADD child off his ritalin prescription.

Some of you have said my main issue is more with the new direction of the character as opposed to Cipes' effort. And I suppose that's true. It's just that as a viewer, my first (and ongoing) reactions to hearing Mikey talk were "Ewwwwwww....."

So I'm hearing Cipes' voice WHILE already disliking the character and therefore internally shifting some of the blame to him. He does nail "annoying, energetic, and dumb" , which are evidently the traits of the 2012 Michelangelo, so props to him for fulfilling what the producers wanted.

But, again, all this is my opinion.

Good to see that some of you can disagree with me without shouting obnoxious things like "thread over".

Also it's very cool to see some of you offering your own reviews of the rest of the cast (not only focusing on my grievance with Cipes). On the whole I do think the cast is very good. Leonardo and Donatello are close to perfect.

What inspired me to make this thread is that somebody made a thread about how he disliked the new Shredder's voice. I actually really like the new Shredder's voice. It's not THAT much different than the 80s cartoon version. But I do dislike Cipes' rendition of the turtle I loved most as a child, and I didn't see anyone talking about that.

[Stinger911]

I completly disagree about Cipes being a terrible voice for Mikey. I loved him as Beast Boy, and I think he fits Mikey perfectly. This is my second favorite version of Mikey since the first movie version. :)

The 1st movie version was spot-on perfect. That's also my favorite version.

[Powder]

Stop comparing the new series to the 1980's one. Move with the times, nimrod. Things change. That show got cancelled for a reason. My imaginary money says that you never even watched the 2003 series because it was too different.

[Stinger911]

Stop comparing the new series to the 1980's one. Move with the times, nimrod. Things change. That show got cancelled for a reason. My imaginary money says that you never even watched the 2003 series because it was too different.

Really worth name-calling over a difference in opinion?

Nevertheless, I imagine you insulting me in Krang's voice, so it's pretty funny nonetheless!

[Coola Yagami]

Mike's voice is fine, but the characterization is horrible. It's not the VA's fault of course. Everyone seems to have a team role, while being 'the wild one' feels like they didn't have a role for him to play and just threw that in there. He's becoming a waste of space.

[BubblyShell22]

I love all of the VAs for the Turtles. They're all doing a shelltastic job bringing the characters to life, and I couldn't ask for a better cast than that. I admit, I had some misgivings about Jason Biggs at first, but he's awesome in the role of Leonardo and is probably one of my favorite Leos ever up there with Mike S. and James Arnold Taylor.

[CyberCubed]

We will never have "laid-back" Michaelangelo again. That was for the original cartoon as it made sense because it took place in the late 80's.

Mike was supposed to be a laid-back, go with the flow, surfer dude who had an addiction to pizza.

That wouldn't work in a modern kids cartoon. They want Mikey to be silly, fun, and somewhat stupid. Why do you think the 2007 movie went that route as well?

[zodiac brave]

But I posted that clip to sort of show that a modern-day voice actor...has all the tools to bring classic Mikey back to life.

we don't need "classic" mikey. this is a new show.

[Matches Malone]

Really worth name-calling over a difference in opinion?

Nevertheless, I imagine you insulting me in Krang's voice, so it's pretty funny nonetheless!

Not that I condone name-calling, but it wasn't because of a difference of opinion, but for illogically comparing a new series with an old one. If you prefer "classic" Mikey, that's fine, but you can't say he's doing a bad job for not living up to your preference and someone else's performance. There are better, more objective ways to evaluate voice-acting.

[Coola Yagami]

I'd like to know how somehow surfer dude Mikey got typecast to be silly and stupid?

Leo remained more or less the same. Don is kinda the same, cept now he has a crush on April. Raph lost his sarcastic wit and became closer to the Mirage version.

Mikey somehow got typecast as the dumbass?

[The Stryker]

Decades of being the goofball comic relief in EVERYTHING will do that.

[CyberCubed]

Decades of being the goofball comic relief in EVERYTHING will do that.

But Mikey was never viewed as, "the stupid turtle" in the old stuff.

In the original cartoon, the first 3 movies, the Archie comics and Mirage, Mikey was never shown to be an idiot or inferior to his brothers. Was he a goofball? Yes, but he was never an idiot or a fool.

I believe this started with the 4kids series, then found its way to the 2007 movie, and then continued into the Nick cartoon.

[Jester]

In the original cartoon Mikey was never shown to be an idiot or inferior to his brothers. Was he a goofball? Yes, but he was never an idiot or a fool.
Yeah....go rewatch the FW series. Mikey is often the butt of the more sardonic Raphael's jokes. Mikey WAS the dumb(est) one of the four.

[CyberCubed]

Yeah....go rewatch the FW series, Mikey is often the butt of the more sardonic Raphael's jokes. Mikey WAS the dumb(est) one of the four.

Raph made fun of everyone in the old cartoon.

[Jester]

Raph made fun of everyone in the old cartoon.
To a point, but Mikey takes the brunt of it.

[CyberCubed]

But the show itself never signaled out Mikey for being stupid. Although that is the series that popularized his love for comics, (the Bugman episodes), and videogames, (the ep in Season 6 where he controls Krang's Android body with his handheld game).

[Jester]

Right....ok...you're always right. No use debating with the king of all TMNT knowledge...:roll:

[Coola Yagami]

Mike wasn't the dumb one in the movies either. I guess Mikey is just trapped to be 'the one that goes with the times'. Years from now when we have a 5th or 6th version of the Turtles, Leo will still be the leader, Don will be the tech-head, Raph will be pissy and tough, and Mike will be the funny 'whatever is cool at the time' guy. Dumb people are funny nowadays (Homer, Peter) so Mike is the dumb one in this one, just like back in the day (for whatever reason) the surfer stuff was in so Mike was the surfer.

It's a bit of the Mirage comics fault since of the 4 the real Mike didn't have much of a personality to go for. And even then... Tales of the TMNT Vol.2 kinda re-conned having Mike act like he does in modern media. I still remember that 'day in the life' comic where Mikey said 'chillaxing' even though it was meant to take place before TMNT # 1.

[Coola Yagami]

Right....ok...you're always right. No use debating with the king of all TMNT knowledge...:roll:

Cybercubed is right. The only 2 eps Mike ever actually do something dumb was the one where they had the bad guys tied up with a squid, and Mikey fiddled with the controls and let them go.... and that one ep of Red Sky where suddenly everyone started berating Mikey for not taking things seriously. Any other ep Mike never really did anything stupid despite Raph constantly picking on him over it. And Don that one time that made me go wtf. I guess the writers were trying to go with 'surfer dudes are airheads' thing, but forgot to show more examples of him actually being dumb. Pizza-addiction aside he was probably smarter than 2K3 Mikey.

[Ninjawolf]

Personally I love this version of Mickey he isn't 'stupid' just doesn't pay attention to ANYTHING... I always get a laugh out of his antics and I'm sure the kids (who the show is aimed at) adore him...

Greg Cipes is doing a great job heck he doesn't sound anything like Beast Boy all things considered... and Jason Briggs is doing a great job as Leo... heck all the voice-cast is doing great if you ask me

[Powder]

Mickey & Jason Briggs. What show is this? :trazz:

[Jester]

Looks like I get to rewatch the FW series to plot out episodes where Mikey isn't, in keeping with the season, the brightest bulb on the Christmas Tree.

[Route77]

I think Cipes does a terrific job as Mikey. He's genuinely funny even if his character does occasionally come across a little dumb. Actually I think the entire voice cast has been stellar so far, including the villains and guest mutants. Nick did a great job casting this show.

[Coola Yagami]

Personally I love this version of Mickey he isn't 'stupid' just doesn't pay attention to ANYTHING... I always get a laugh out of his antics and I'm sure the kids (who the show is aimed at) adore him...

Greg Cipes is doing a great job heck he doesn't sound anything like Beast Boy all things considered... and Jason Briggs is doing a great job as Leo... heck all the voice-cast is doing great if you ask me

I don't know... playing with the psychic light thing in the store window was cute and naive. Forgetting about the decoy van was stupid. Throwing water balloons during serious time and in the middle of battle where Splinter's life was in the line is stupid. Sadly this is another instance where even the 2K3 Mikey would yell out 'DON'T YOU EVER TAKE ANYTHING SERIOUSLY????' like he did to the OT cast.

[Ninjawolf]

I don't know... playing with the psychic light thing in the store window was cute and naive. Forgetting about the decoy van was stupid. Throwing water balloons during serious time and in the middle of battle where Splinter's life was in the line is stupid. Sadly this is another instance where even the 2K3 Mikey would yell out 'DON'T YOU EVER TAKE ANYTHING SERIOUSLY????' like he did to the OT cast.

He doesn't pay attention to anything that's the entire point... as for the van I doubt he was paying attention or he probably didn't understand... honestly yeah he's a doofus that's the point of his character... as I said I love the Mickey he's hilarious and he's the kid-appeal character

[Jester]

as I said I love the Mickey he's hilarious and he's the kid-appeal character
The leader of the club that's made for you and me?

[BubblyShell22]

Oh, hell no. Everyone knows Donald Duck is where it's at. :)

[Matches Malone]

I don't think it's too hard to draw a line between "silly goofball" to "silly idiot." When you're someone who doesn't do anything right, sometimes it'll be because you don't take it seriously or you can't because you're too dumb or oblivious. Makes sense if some complain that Mikey is a little too dumb or goofy sometimes in the series, but to not understand that overall this is still in line with how he's been portrayed for 25 years is a little silly.

[pannoni1]

My take on the 2012 Cast:

Jason Biggs (Leonardo): Very well cast with a nice voice to stimulate a patriarch to his brothers that sounds not too harsh like James Arnold Taylor, not too raspy like Michael Sinterniklaas, and not too forced like Cam Clarke. His take seems to be somewhere in between Brian Tochi and Sinterniklaas. Grade: A

Rob Paulsen (Donatello): Despite what others say, I can still hear "Original Raphael" as I watch, though despite that, it still suits his character fine. It didn't bother me when I first watched that error on Turtle Tracks from way back in 1987. It may not be my favorite Donnie due to the wittiness and hot temper (He could have softened it a bit to sound like Sam Riegal's from 2003), but still a decent cast.
Grade: B

Sean Astin (Raphael): While not having the traditional Brooklyn accent, he can still give Raph an edge and insults well. He's much more serious than Rob Paulsen's original Raph in tone and the loud voice suits Raph well generating attention more than any other Turtle.
Grade: A-

Greg Cipes (Michelangelo): While not quite sounding like a Gerbil, Cipes voice has Mikey sounding more like a 10-year old at times. It also lacks the charisma and cheerfulness of most other Michelangelos. But given the writing that Michelangelo tends to be dumber than other incarnations, Cipes does a good job making Mike go through his emotions. But give me Townsend or Robbie's upbeat optimist attitude anyday.
Grade: B-

Hoon Lee (Splinter): With this Splinter taller than the others, his rich, forced at times voice provides Splinter's imposing feel. It may not be as gentle as Mako's or as raspy as Kevin Clash's, but playing off of Peter Renaday's Splinter and adjusting it to sound bigger and a bit younger is well done.
Grade: A-

Mae Whitman (April): As she and her character age, expect a tone somewhere between Sarah Michelle Gellar's and Veronica Taylor's to develop. The higher tone compared to earlier versions suits it well, and is nicely controlled unlike the rigid tone of Renae Jacob's. She also screams well when in trouble. If you don't like this new April, blame it on the writers/animation, not the voice.
Grade: A-

Kevin Michael Richardson (Shredder): With a sinister tone, KMR delivers the Shredder's evilness making him a threat on the good guys. However, his delivery falls a bit flat compared to Scottie Ray's and isn't as three-dimensional.
Grade: B-

[Donatello_ftw]

Michelangelo has really grown on me over the last two or three episodes. Donnie, Raph, and Leo have all been spectacular in my opinion. One of my favorite aspects of the show is their spectacular voice acting, especially Biggs as Leo I've never been a big Leo fan, but this incarnation and Biggs' acting has me sold so far.

[Stinger911]

My take on the 2012 Cast:

Jason Biggs (Leonardo): Very well cast with a nice voice to stimulate a patriarch to his brothers that sounds not too harsh like James Arnold Taylor, not too raspy like Michael Sinterniklaas, and not too forced like Cam Clarke. His take seems to be somewhere in between Brian Tochi and Sinterniklaas. Grade: A

Rob Paulsen (Donatello): Despite what others say, I can still hear "Original Raphael" as I watch, though despite that, it still suits his character fine. It didn't bother me when I first watched that error on Turtle Tracks from way back in 1987. It may not be my favorite Donnie due to the wittiness and hot temper (He could have softened it a bit to sound like Sam Riegal's from 2003), but still a decent cast.
Grade: B

Sean Astin (Raphael): While not having the traditional Brooklyn accent, he can still give Raph an edge and insults well. He's much more serious than Rob Paulsen's original Raph in tone and the loud voice suits Raph well generating attention more than any other Turtle.
Grade: A-

Greg Cipes (Michelangelo): While not quite sounding like a Gerbil, Cipes voice has Mikey sounding more like a 10-year old at times. It also lacks the charisma and cheerfulness of most other Michelangelos. But given the writing that Michelangelo tends to be dumber than other incarnations, Cipes does a good job making Mike go through his emotions. But give me Townsend or Robbie's upbeat optimist attitude anyday.
Grade: B-

Hoon Lee (Splinter): With this Splinter taller than the others, his rich, forced at times voice provides Splinter's imposing feel. It may not be as gentle as Mako's or as raspy as Kevin Clash's, but playing off of Peter Renaday's Splinter and adjusting it to sound bigger and a bit younger is well done.
Grade: A-

Mae Whitman (April): As she and her character age, expect a tone somewhere between Sarah Michelle Gellar's and Veronica Taylor's to develop. The higher tone compared to earlier versions suits it well, and is nicely controlled unlike the rigid tone of Renae Jacob's. She also screams well when in trouble. If you don't like this new April, blame it on the writers/animation, not the voice.
Grade: A-

Kevin Michael Richardson (Shredder): With a sinister tone, KMR delivers the Shredder's evilness making him a threat on the good guys. However, his delivery falls a bit flat compared to Scottie Ray's and isn't as three-dimensional.
Grade: B-

Nice review. You're one of the few people who seem to understand my niggles with Cipes. I said earlier that Mikey sounds too immature, and someone replied with something to the effect of, "It's a children's show. You want him to sound mature?"

But you nailed what I meant. At times he sounds like he's 10, or at least way below his actual age. And he does also lack the charisma and optimism of previous Michelangelo's, which is exactly what endeared me to the character when I was growing up. Now he is written and voiced in an annoying Jar-Jar Binks way. He has ADD and he's off his Ritalin. This may be funny to some, but it's annoying to me and I believe it would have been annoying to me even when I was 5 or 6 years old. Mikey of old was much more chill, and even if he was annoying, he was still lovable. This new Mikey is mostly repellent.

I will say that I enjoyed the Leatherhead episode. I don't know if you guys have taken note, but just about every episode is written by different people. The writer for this episode I think understood a lot of what made Mikey charming in his old incarnations.

I also agree with you on Biggs. He's a great Leo. He does sound like a slightly less forced Cam Clarke to me.

[Stinger911]

I'd like to know how somehow surfer dude Mikey got typecast to be silly and stupid?

Leo remained more or less the same. Don is kinda the same, cept now he has a crush on April. Raph lost his sarcastic wit and became closer to the Mirage version.

Mikey somehow got typecast as the dumbass?

Yeah this is what I picked up on right away. The characterization and voices for those 3 turtles wasn't radically different. But Mikey's humor, as you said, was molded to "go with the times" and fit the spastic, stupid humor that has been popularized these days by Family Guy and its ilk. That's what got me. He's not MIKEY in this version of TMNT. He's just a typecast dummy.

Original Mikey traits: Light-hearted, funny, relaxed, empathetic, optimistic, enthusiastic, fun-loving, easygoing, gregarious

Nickelodeon Mikey traits: Dumb, annoying, hyper, absent-minded, obnoxious, bungling, panicky

That's about as clear as I can make it to the people in this thread who didn't agree or understand my problems with "new Mikey".

[Powder]

Surfer Mikey is easily more 'typecast' than the current one, who is like a much more tolerable version the 2k3 series' Mikey. & he is still light-hearted, funny, empathetic, enthusiastic, and all of that other sh*t. He was never exactly 'smart', short of in the Mirage comics. He was hyper in the last incarnation, almost virtually always absent-minded, obnoxious is an opinion, panicky was also in the past incarnation (though in either case I don't think it's a defining trait but rather an occasional thing) & he's been a bit bungling since day one, even in the comics. Again, you're letting nostalgia blind you. I get the impression that the only Michelangelo you're even familiar with is that of the original cartoon, who while lovable, is a hardcore bastardization of the source materials character. Your qualms with the voice acting itself are arguably fair enough, but what your claims of a radical change in personality are preposterous.

[Stinger911]

Surfer Mikey is easily more 'typecast' than the current one, who is like a much more tolerable version the 2k3 series' Mikey. & he is still light-hearted, funny, empathetic, enthusiastic, and all of that other sh*t. He was never exactly 'smart', short of in the Mirage comics. He was hyper in the last incarnation, almost virtually always absent-minded, obnoxious is an opinion, panicky was also in the past incarnation (though in either case I don't think it's a defining trait but rather an occasional thing) & he's been a bit bungling since day one, even in the comics. Again, you're letting nostalgia blind you. I get the impression that the only Michelangelo you're even familiar with is that of the original cartoon, who while lovable, is a hardcore bastardization of the source materials character. Your qualms with the voice acting itself are arguably fair enough, but what your claims of a radical change in personality are preposterous.

I'm familiar with the original cartoon version, watched about 12-16 episodes of the 2K3 series, seen all the movies, and I've recently started reading the Mirage comics, now on #4 (since I didn't have access to them growing up and I'm fascinated with the TMNT mythos. It's also amazing to see the character development flowing from the two original creators and what their original vision of the turtles was).

Yes some of the traits of old Mikey bleed into this incarnation (the empathy being most apparent in the Leatherhead episode), but it IS a radical change in personality, in my opinion. Mikey was never a hyper, ADD, childish, buffoon. He was a cool, chill, optimistic, and a playful jokester. Not an idiot.

And being panicky is a core trait of Nickelodeon Mikey. Damn near every episode he screams and freaks out over whatever villain they're encountering.

So far I'm not seeing any bastardization from what I've read of the Mirage comics. He's still playful and calm, even though the overall tone of the comic is much darker and more violent than the cartoons.

And I'm not alone here, Powder. At the very least pannoni1 and Coola Yagami understand my issues with this version of Michelangelo and how he is very different from his older incarnations. It bothers me because I feel the true essence of Michelangelo has been lost in favor of some guy in a boardroom saying "Okay, make this turtle the whacky jokester. Make him hyper and stupid. The kids will love that." And so they shoehorned in a popular style of spastic humor at the expense of preserving the laid-back nature of the character.

You and I are probably not going to agree on this, but that's okay.

[zodiac brave]

I'm familiar with the original cartoon version, watched about 12-16 episodes of the 2K3 series, seen all the movies, and I've recently started reading the Mirage comics, now on #4 (since I didn't have access to them growing up and I'm fascinated with the TMNT mythos. It's also amazing to see the character development flowing from the two original creators and what their original vision of the turtles was).

Yes some of the traits of old Mikey bleed into this incarnation (the empathy being most apparent in the Leatherhead episode), but it IS a radical change in personality, in my opinion. Mikey was never a hyper, ADD, childish, buffoon. He was a cool, chill, optimistic, and a playful jokester. Not an idiot.

And being panicky is a core trait of Nickelodeon Mikey. Damn near every episode he screams and freaks out over whatever villain they're encountering.

So far I'm not seeing any bastardization from what I've read of the Mirage comics. He's still playful and calm, even though the overall tone of the comic is much darker and more violent than the cartoons.

And I'm not alone here, Powder. At the very least pannoni1 and Coola Yagami understand my issues with this version of Michelangelo and how he is very different from his older incarnations. It bothers me because I feel the true essence of Michelangelo has been lost in favor of some guy in a boardroom saying "Okay, make this turtle the whacky jokester. Make him hyper and stupid. The kids will love that." And so they shoehorned in a popular style of spastic humor at the expense of preserving the laid-back nature of the character.

You and I are probably not going to agree on this, but that's okay.

while obviously thought out and well-explained, it still sounds like you're simply stuck on OT/movie mike. i get that you may not like this incarnation of mikey compared to those, but to continually claim that the nick version is wrong, simply because it isn't the same as past versions, is just kinda...silly. again, this is a new show. if those past mikey's are your thing, well, they exist in those past versions of the story.

[RiseAbove873]

I hate how Michelangelo is portrayed in this new series. How much Cipes contributes to that? I don't know. I don't know how he would sound as a more serious Michelangelo. It took me a while to get used to Rob Paulsen as Donatello, so used to him as the voice of Raphael, but I think he does a good job. I think Biggs and Astin do a really good job as Leonardo and Raphael. Except for Shredder's voice, I feel he should sound Asian, I think the cast is voiced very well. However, I think the TMNT movie totally nailed it!

[Jephael]

I'm glad more people are voicing their qualms with this depiction of Mikey, though at the same time I don't blame Greg Cipes. I blame the writers who decided to make him act like such an absent-minded doofus.

[CyberCubed]

There is nothing wrong with the way Mike acts. It's called being a kid.

[Heather Breckel]

I've loved all the incarnations of Mikey and this one is no different. I can definitely understand why people would dislike this version, but I think he's fun and adorable.

I enjoy quite a few shonen manga and well, it's pretty typical for the lead character to pretty much be dumb. So for me I'm used to this sort of thing and don't mind it.

[Green Machine]

I think Mikey is done very well by Cipes. The whole gnarly surfer dude voice and lingo is dead. It would not work with todays kids (this is a kid show after all). I wish people would stop trying to compare these characters to the OT or 2k3 turtles. Times have changed and the turtles had to change with them. If they filled the show with nothing but fanwank material it would flop.

With that being said, I always hated Raph's brooklyn accent. I'm glad they dropped it in this show. :lol:

[Sage Ninja]

Looks like I get to rewatch the FW series to plot out episodes where Mikey isn't, in keeping with the season, the brightest bulb on the Christmas Tree.

how sweet of you.



ok, here is the thing I agree with the people that say that OT Michelangelo wasn't potrayed as stupid or a doofus in the old series and did not screw up (as far as I'm concerned) as much as the the other animated Mikes out there. However, he was portrayed as being not the smartest in the group. He wasn't stupid, but he wasn't the smartest either. It wasn't just Raphael who made fun of him, Donatello and Leonardo did this on occassion as well. I strongly feel that OT Michelangelo was mostly told that he was stupid more than he actually was. The thing about OT Mike vs. the other Mikes is that he was not the sole object of humor which is what all the turtles were, so he didn't seem out of place. He was allowed to be part of a team as a whole instead of just the one that screws up or gets exsesperated looks from everyone. He was portrayed as the turtle that got kidnapped the most and he seemed to be the one turtle Bebop and Rocksteady was not afraid and was targeted by them the most, however I feel the OT Mike was shown to be activily trying most of the time so his kidnappings were a result of him being genuanly over powered rather than him being stupid or fooling around when he shouldn't have been. Which kind of makes him seem more sympathatic than annoying. Alot of his screw ups seemed to be centered on OT Mike not being as aggressive as the his opponent rather him being a butt monkey.

Also, I feel the OT gave Mike plenty of instances where he showed he was capable and serious and valid memeber of the team the turtles could rely on. The turtles never thought of mike as a pain in the ass except on the rare occassions where the plot demanded he had to be (Pirate Radio), and constantly showed sign of ingenuity, the times he was dumb seems more centered around him being a overlly chilled out surfer dude stereotype than some retarded dumb little brother stereotype. Frankly I just feel the OT universe utlilised Mike more and he wasn't shown as being as stupid as he has consistenetly has been made out to be in recent years. Maybe I'm biased and I am probably missing or over looking instances where he was flat out a screw up, but I honestly see OT Mike as one of the smarter, surprisingly serious, of the animated Mikes with a down to earth intelligence.

I find Nick Mike more tolerable than 2k3 Mike because it seems as pay off for him being kinda stupid the writers made him genuanly lovable and sweet. I don't see the cocky behavior in him that 2k3 had, which was a real turn off in his characterazation.

[Jephael]

There is nothing wrong with the way Mike acts. It's called being a kid.

It'd be understandable if they were 10 year-olds, but not freaking TEENAGERS!!!

[The Stryker]

Early teenagers ARE dumb. Don't act like just because they're teenagers they should be smart and mature.

Get real guy.

[BubblyShell22]

I agree with Stryker here. Teenagers aren't usually the smartest people in the bunch when it comes to things. And if Mikey has ADD, then that's easily explained because kids with ADD have a short attention span and can't focus properly at times. Heck, there are some adults who aren't overly intelligent when it comes to certain things either. I love this Mikey a lot. He's lovable and compassionate and a good fighter, and that's what matters.

[TheAnvil]

I love all the voices on the new show. They're all perfect. The only voice I didn't like for a Turtle in one of these shows was in the 2003 show (Raph).

[TheBlueTurtle1]

I love all the voices on the new show. They're all perfect. The only voice I didn't like for a Turtle in one of these shows was in the 2003 show (Raph).

I liked Raphs voice in the 2k version, but I also really like Samwise voice in the new nick show.

I don't get why you always had a problem with it, if anything is more true to the original Raph than any other voice done to date.

BTW The Anvils is my real life brother.

[Konchadunga]

Nick's Michelangelo is easily my least favorite of the new turtles, and his in-your-face antics are the rare bits of the show's humor that don't always work for me. For what it's worth, though, Cipes's voice fits that character very well.