Fred Wolf Cartoon turns 25 today! [Archive]

DrSpengler

12-28-2012, 02:48 PM

Huh, I've been inadvertently celebrating the anniversary today, then.

I found a motherload of Japanese dubbed episodes of the Fred Wolf series on Nico Nico Video today and was reading all the comments from the users (they stream by on the screen as the video plays which is annoying unless you actively want to see the reactions of Japanese people to American media).

Also found Turtles Forever with Japanese subs. Been watching through that; the Japanese fans seem to have really enjoyed it though they had to have a lot of stuff explained to them since they never dubbed season 3-7 of the 4Kids series.

Powder

12-28-2012, 02:54 PM

Any chance you could link us to one?

Darth Knuckles

12-28-2012, 03:00 PM

It's very cool to know that this awesome cartoon that was a major part of my childhood turns twenty five today. Especially because the future looks to be in good hands so more kids can have the series as a major part of their childhoods as well. It will always be my favorite cartoon and I was glad I was around when the turtle phenomenon was happening too. Cowabunga! :tcool:

CyberCubed

12-28-2012, 03:07 PM

After 25 years, I still think this show is one of the greatest of all time. I don't think I'll ever stop watching it.

The OT is one of those shows that had a very repetitive and formulatic structure yet it still managed to remain entertaining. Most other shows like this I get bored of and stop watching.

Honestly I think the OT could have made 300 episodes if it continued in the same style as Season 7 or 8.

DrSpengler

12-28-2012, 03:07 PM

Any chance you could link us to one?

Sure, but you have to have an account on Nico Nico in order to view the videos.

Here's a link for all videos tagged "Mutant Turtles" which should make browsing easier:

http://www.nicovideo.jp/tag/%E3%83%9F%E3%83%A5%E3%83%BC%E3%82%BF%E3%83%B3%E3%8 3%88%E3%82%BF%E3%83%BC%E3%83%88%E3%83%AB%E3%82%BA

I was trying to find videos of the satellite dub of the series, but can only find the TV Tokyo dub and a few for the home video dub.

A lot of the 4Kids episodes that never made it to Japan are on there, though only Turtles Forever is subbed (and really well, too; with color-coded text and everything, though the syncing is off now and again).

EDIT:

Woohoo! There's one episode of the BS2 satellite dub on Nico Nico!

Holy cow, Krang's voice is deep. Like the polar opposite of his TV Tokyo voice.

plasticturtle

12-28-2012, 03:14 PM

Wow, has it really been that long? Some of my happiest memories revolve around this show, the movies and the merchandise they spawned. I remember discovering the arcade game. I had my Raphael figure in my pocket at the time. I remember stopping at Kay Bee Toys and getting my Bebop figure right before going to see The Land Before Time. I remember drinking ice cold coke out of a Michelangelo water bottle. I remember when I saw the show for the first time. I bought a video of the first mini series with a gift certificate I got for Christmas. That video hooked me and I spent the next few years totally engrossed in Turtle mania.

Oculus Orbus

12-28-2012, 04:02 PM

Oh man, this makes me feel old. I've been meaning to re-watch the whole thing for a while now, so I think today could be a good start.

dragonside

12-28-2012, 04:06 PM

haha watched the Turtles Forever Movie on a whim today, and didn't even realize it until IDW Limited posted on facebook. Now i'm watching the first episode :) Today's a good day.

Happy 25th FW TMNT! 1987!

"Here's lookin' at you kid" - Raphael

pannoni1

12-28-2012, 05:13 PM

I've watched the first twelve episodes today for the special occassion; in February we'll be at 10 years since the 4kids premiere! While it definitely has moments that date it, its still fun to watch today with all of the references, humor, and even mistakes! If it weren't for this series, TMNT would have never been the juggernaut that it became and still lives on today. Remember, life is shorter than you think, so make every moment of it by sharing the classics with new people and discovering and making new stuff based on the old (what IDW and Nick are doing currently). Cowabunga!

Dirty Blond

12-28-2012, 05:18 PM

I wonder what Andrew got Fred Wolf to mark the occasion.

:tlol:

PizzaFan87

12-28-2012, 05:41 PM

In honor of the 25th anniversary, I watched the so-called 1st season this afternoon. It's only 5 episodes but they tell one long story of sorts. Some episodes hold-up and others do not.

NinjaMan

12-28-2012, 06:34 PM

Been watching the The Turtle Van set since I got it on Christmas. My 3 year old loves it and the Nick version. And she tries to sing the original theme song of the FW series every time it starts lol.

909 Turtle Fan

12-28-2012, 07:32 PM

I'm gonna watch it! Just waiting for a pizza delivery so I can celebrate proper! :tgrin:

Powder

12-28-2012, 07:53 PM

Just watched the first three episodes with a pepperoni pizza. Life as it was intended to be lived.

ZariusTwo

12-29-2012, 06:02 AM

Good thing I finished up the first of my fan audio scripts a while back (http://zt4.deviantart.com/art/TMNT-OT-So-Long-No-Thanks-For-All-The-Fish-340651256). Nothing better than giving the classic 'toon some kind of prescense again with a fresh story, even if it aint official.

Happy 25th Fred.:P

zodiac brave

12-29-2012, 07:36 AM

wow! quarter of a century! there have obviously been other franchises and characters that have some crazy longevity out there, but none as relatively recently as the ninja turtles. as cliche as it might sound, many of us would not be who we are today had this show not been around. turtlemania might've been the result of a giant corporate juggernaut of advertising and merchandising, but we children of the 80's who grew up with it, know that beyond all that were a group of characters that had substance deeper than many might have cared, and who could inspire more than anyone might have believed.

might be a day late, but as soon as im home from work, its season 1 watchin time!

cowabunga! :tgrin:

BubblyShell22

12-29-2012, 08:11 AM

Wow. I can't believe it's been that long. I grew up with this series and if it wasn't for the FW toon, I might never have been a fan of the Turtles in the first place as I never read the comics. And thankfully, the Turtles are still going strong today. Happy anniversary, FW toon.

ZeoRed

12-29-2012, 08:36 AM

Wow....i feel so old.

marcelangelo

12-29-2012, 01:37 PM

[QUOTE=Darth Knuckles;1036148]It's very cool to know that this awesome cartoon that was a major part of my childhood turns twenty five today. Especially because the future looks to be in good hands so more kids can have the series as a major part of their childhoods as well. It will always be my favorite cartoon and I was glad I was around when the turtle phenomenon was happening too. Cowabunga! :tcool:[/QUOTE

you really speak from my heart, too, dude!
I am so glad o have been there and lived it, still be doing it and knowing Ill be down with them tomorrow too;)...cowabunga compadres!!!!;)
it is so wonderful to be remembering and relinving while experiencing this whole world completely anew with the new show, comics, movies(in the future) etc. and knowing others have a blast just finding out about this magical world in the sewers and atop roofs of new york city!!
booyakashaaaa!!

zkarlette

12-29-2012, 02:14 PM

I've been trying to catch up with the collectors box sets, it's so Amaizing the series lasted so long and still really entertaining.

CyberCubed

12-30-2012, 11:13 AM

I'm doing a complete rewatch in order and am up to Season 5.

Like most shows, the series is actually more enjoyable when you watch it in order rather than just randomly.

sdp

12-30-2012, 12:15 PM

I was 1 year old when the show started, I'm just glad I was lucky that I got to enjoy the OT and turtlemania even though the show probably started production before I was even born. To still have gotten the chance to not miss all of it is awesome. I think my generation is probably one of the last who got to enjoy turtlemania to it's fullness. Sure there's younger people than me who grew up with the OT turtles but not the full on turtlemania.

pferreira

01-03-2013, 09:11 AM

What a great cartoon series to grow up with, one of my favourites of all time. I didn't realize it was the anniversary. At Christmas I saw Take Me To Your Leader which I hadn't seen in years and it was a really lovely episode. I hope the Fred Wolf cartoon continues to be shown to kids so they can see this great example of Ninja Turtles.

CyberCubed

01-03-2013, 09:30 AM

Honestly if it wasn't for this show I'd probably be more of a Batman or Star Wars fan. It filled the gap for me especially since I never liked Power Rangers despite watching the very first season.

Jester

01-03-2013, 09:43 AM

Honestly if it wasn't for this show I'd probably be more of a Batman or Star Wars fan. It filled the gap for me especially since I never liked Power Rangers despite watching the very first season.
I now hate the Fred Wolf series with the fire of a thousand Andrews!

CyberCubed

01-03-2013, 12:10 PM

It's funny how the show came at the right time. All of us 80's children were just at the right age to be swept up by Turtlemania as well as Nintendo and the 1989 Batman movie.

Funny how we all wound up liking the same things as kids.

shreddinghead

01-03-2013, 12:27 PM

Congratulation! And I'll be watching the show for another 25 years.

Jephael

01-03-2013, 07:37 PM

To celebrate the release of the final season I watched the entire classic series from start to finish this past fall. I started my marathon a week before the Nickelodeon series premiered back in September and didn't get around to season 10 until just before my birthday last month. I gotta say it was quite a ride, and I enjoyed every minute of it!!! I even got in all four films as a bonus.

Redeemer

01-03-2013, 08:13 PM

CyberCubed

01-04-2013, 10:50 AM

I wonder if we'll ever get another cartoon that lasts as long as the OT did. It's quite possible the Nick cartoon could go on as long, but now it's too early to tell.

Jephael

01-04-2013, 06:23 PM

I wonder if we'll ever get another cartoon that lasts as long as the OT did. It's quite possible the Nick cartoon could go on as long, but now it's too early to tell.

Are you talking a children's animated series or any genre? Because The Simpsons has already gone on for over 20 seasons.

CyberCubed

01-04-2013, 06:39 PM

I was talking about action/superhero cartoons.

Jephael

01-04-2013, 06:58 PM

Ah ok. Thank you for clarifying that.

TheCanadiandrome

01-04-2013, 09:45 PM

Wow....i feel so old.

Lol, I think we all do :lol:

Refractive Reflections

01-07-2013, 01:06 AM

It's hard to sometimes grasp the OT's longevity of lasting for nearly a decade. When it first premiered in Dec. 1987 to ending its airing in Spring of 1997 (yes, the series finale was in Nov. 1996) but CBS still continued to show reruns though into the the Spring of 1997.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1996%E2%80%931997_United_States_network_television _schedule_%28Saturday_morning%29

So if you try to mentally figure that out today, it would be like sticking with a show since Dec. 2003 and we would be watching the final reruns of that show in the Spring of 2013. What a long ride...
Mirage is the foundation of TMNT, but the Fred Wolf/OT series shaped it's framework for mainstream appeal that made the TMNT prosper in the public and solidify its pop culture status. As we all know not all cartoons have this unique iconic status and such unfathomable longevity, and its a testimony to every one behind the scenes who made it possible from Eastman and Laird in the beginning, to Bill Wolf and David Wise & the scriptwriters, the animators, and of course the irreplaceable voice actors.

Naturally cynics will easily dismiss this all as well-executed business practices, but even the best executed business plans don't always lead to such phenomenal success much less a pop culture icon. There's something definitely more here that seems to have struck a chord with its fans and even the casual public if the OT is still remembered fondly after 25 years... As to what that chord is, well everybody has different reasons for it, but if a cartoon show is able to do all this...you have to admit that there was at least some genuine hard work and effort put into it, in creating a show and characters that people could relate to and enjoy so deeply.

A toast and a thank you for the great memories OT...

In my humble opinion....and this is from a moderate TMNT fan... :lol:

cartoonistaaron

01-07-2013, 10:07 AM

Those first five episodes I can watch over and over again. The series became super formulaic and suffered from weak animation and not-great writing later on, but those first five episodes were all it took to hook me for life.

There was a time in the late 1980s, I was 9 or 10 years old, and a local station would run The Real Ghostbusters at 4:30 and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles at 5:00. I think if I had to summarize my childhood, that hour of television would be it. Toys strewn all over the place, homework sitting - neglected - off to the side, drinking Ecto Cooler and shoveling handfuls of Ninja Turtles cereal into my mouth...

What a time to be a kid!

CyberCubed

01-07-2013, 04:13 PM

Jephael

01-07-2013, 07:13 PM

My only gripes with the show were the replacement VA's, mainly for Raphael. Although the Season 10 voice I had no problems with.

Shredder's alternate voices were OK for the most part, but he just couldn't pull off the humorous side to the character that James Avery did so well.

Yea, I agree. Speaking of which, while I was watching the final season last month I couldn't help but think how funny and ironic it would've been if they had been able to get Mr. Avery back to reprise the role of Shredder for those 3 episodes, then Raphael would've been the only character with a replacement actor.

CyberCubed

01-17-2013, 08:40 PM

I wonder if David Wise was given the opportunity to give the show a 5-episode miniseries ending what he would have done.

Probably one last final Technodrome comes to Earth story with a final battle against Shredder/Krang.

Pterobat

01-17-2013, 09:47 PM

25 years? I feel ooollllld.

I hadn't seen the series in ages until Teletoon Retro started re-airing it and sent me, eventually, to this board. I had forgotten how huge a part of my childhood this show was.

Today, sometimes, it's hard for me to watch the series because I'm not ironic or nostalgic enough to take the really silly stuff straight up.

It's enjoyable, but either in small doses, or with the episodes that centre around my favourite characters. As a child it was Splinter and it still is, but on re-watching the series I also started to like Baxter. Since he's in so few episodes, all of his are enjoyable.

That being said, I love that the OT tries to be an action-comedy, and though it has flaws, I don't wish it was anything but that silly thing.

I have seen some of the Red Sky episodes, and I'll get to all of them eventually, but it's such a painfully shallow makeover that seems both desperate and lazy. When you've gone for seven seasons already, you might as well let the series die as it lived, not jam in a new art style and a Cool New Villain to pretend you're relevant.

And at the same time, the Red Sky seasons didn't seem all that much darker at all. They have a lot of the same OT flaws, just with nothing quite so strange in premise.

01-19-2013, 08:47 PM

I can't believe I didn't notice this thread earlier! Well.. Happy 25th anniversary Fred Wolf Turtles! :tparty:

ZariusTwo

01-20-2013, 03:52 AM

Today, sometimes, it's hard for me to watch the series because I'm not ironic or nostalgic enough to take the really silly stuff straight up.

You don't have to be either of those two things to enjoy the old show. It ages pretty well. People who say old shows from their childhood are "tough to watch" are in fact just going through a cynical phase of adulthood which they eventually grow out of in time and go back to looking on those said shows favourably again.

Pterobat

01-20-2013, 10:12 AM

You don't have to be either of those two things to enjoy the old show. It ages pretty well. People who say old shows from their childhood are "tough to watch" are in fact just going through a cynical phase of adulthood which they eventually grow out of in time and go back to looking on those said shows favourably again.

Oh believe me, I don't want to be cynical. It just depends on the individual episode. Some I enjoy as you do, some I just can't stand. And I haven't finished watching all of them yet. I suppose it just depends on what mood I'm in.

Matches Malone

01-20-2013, 10:32 AM

You don't have to be either of those two things to enjoy the old show. It ages pretty well. People who say old shows from their childhood are "tough to watch" are in fact just going through a cynical phase of adulthood which they eventually grow out of in time and go back to looking on those said shows favourably again.

While I'm certain that's true for many folks, I wouldn't say it is for everyone, because we're all different. Some may be going through a phase as you say, and others' tastes may have legitimately changed. As you grow older, there are always times when you understand things better or in a different light than before which results in you liking things you used to dislike or vice versa, and TMNT can be one of those things.

CyberCubed

01-20-2013, 10:43 AM

While I'm certain that's true for many folks, I wouldn't say it is for everyone, because we're all different. Some may be going through a phase as you say, and others' tastes may have legitimately changed. As you grow older, there are always times when you understand things better or in a different light than before which results in you liking things you used to dislike or vice versa, and TMNT can be one of those things.

But we know the OT was silly and it's plots were meant to be fun more than complex.

I have a blast rewatching the old toon and I think it's flaws oddly make it even more enjoyable. I even enjoy the animation errors like the wrong color masks!

Matches Malone

01-20-2013, 10:57 AM

But we know the OT was silly and it's plots were meant to be fun more than complex.

I have a blast rewatching the old toon and I think it's flaws oddly make it even more enjoyable. I even enjoy the animation errors like the wrong color masks!

That's awesome and I'm not trying to take anyone's enjoyment away. I was just adding to the comment that was made that there are others whose perspectives may have changed legitimately, and not just as a phase. Hell, even those who still like it probably enjoy it in a slightly different way than as kids. Appreciating things like color errors might be one of those things you may have not even noticed as a kid.

While I knew the show was supposed to be silly, silly things didn't seem as silly to me as a kid than now. I thought so many dumb things were funny back then. I still enjoy and appreciate the old show now, but definitely differently from my less discerning younger self. I'm just saying that I can understand there are those who may have just "grown out of turtles" and that's ok too. I'm sure there are even those who grew up not liking them but now like them as adults! Everyone's different tastes are valid is all, and saying or implying that any adult who dislikes the turtles just "doesn't get that it's supposed to be silly implies their tastes and reasons are invalid. It's totally possible to dislike something knowing that full well.

Pterobat

01-20-2013, 11:31 AM

While I knew the show was supposed to be silly, silly things didn't seem as silly to me as a kid than now. I thought so many dumb things were funny back then. I still enjoy and appreciate the old show now, but definitely differently from my less discerning younger self. I'm just saying that I can understand there are those who may have just "grown out of turtles" and that's ok too. I'm sure there are even those who grew up not liking them but now like them as adults! Everyone's different tastes are valid is all, and saying or implying that any adult who dislikes the turtles just "doesn't get that it's supposed to be silly implies their tastes and reasons are invalid. It's totally possible to dislike something knowing that full well.

This.

It sounds like anybody who has any problem with the OT is being called as stick-in-the-mud over here, and that's just not true. People change, people grow up, and you know, we don't react the same way each time.

I love some goofy parts of the OT even now, while others are just a little too much. It depends. There's no "right" way to enjoy something, and to say otherwise goes dangerously into "true fan" territory.