Has anyone ever told you you're too old to like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles?

[fridaynightdestination]

TMNT is generally considered a kid's franchise, even with original dark comic books, the 2K3 which which a darker, especially with Same As It Never Was, and the new film which looks like it'll be PG-13. The original show was cheesy and made for kids, and the new Nick show is aimed towards all ages. I wouldn't really call TMNT a kids franchise, more like an all ages franchise. However, on the last day of school, I wore my new TMNT 1987 shirt to school and a teacher looked at me in disgust and said, "Ugh, your too old to like Ninja Turtles." And a month eariler I mentioned to a kid in my class in a group project that I liked TMNT, and an Asian girl (not to be racist just saying) rolled her eyes and said "That is so childish."

So my question to you all is this: Has anyone told you are too old to be a fan of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles?

[RaphAndDonnie]

Nope but I've heard it about other things that I like, MLP and Monster High being notable examples.

[Shark_Blade]

Nope.

Turtles is a lifestyle and I guess they respect that. :tcool:

[Prowler]

Nope. And I wouldn't care even if they did.

[Bossa Nova]

Not really from adults. They just think it's fun (and maybe a little dorky) since they generally remember TMNT from their own childhoods. It's actually from children that I seem to get the most flak. I have a lot of cousins under the age of 12, and all of them seem mildly perturbed when they notice my collection of turtles (and MLP).

[Whatswiththeheadbands?]

Nope. But if anyone did, I'd tell them to get lost.

[snake]

Never, and I really wouldn't care if I was told.

[Le Glorieux Tortue]

And a month eariler I mentioned to a kid in my class in a group project that I liked TMNT, and an Asian girl (not to be racist just saying) rolled her eyes and said "That is so childish."

I do not see reason to say her race as it had absolutely nothing to do with the anecdote. Perhaps people say the things you like are childish because you yourself have a reputation being as such?

[turtlefanforever]

[QUOTE=fridaynightdestination;1292642] The original show was cheesy and made for kids, and the new Nick show is aimed towards all ages.[QUOTE]

Ha, This is the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard! Nick is for the lowest common denominator. It's solely for kids.

Now onto your actual question, yeah I've heard it before as I'm sure many others have but the people that actually matter to me are supportive probably much like most people on this site also so who cares. Just be you.

[Lou 500]

No. Because I haven't told anyone.

[fridaynightdestination]

[QUOTE=fridaynightdestination;1292642] The original show was cheesy and made for kids, and the new Nick show is aimed towards all ages.[QUOTE]

Ha, This is the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard! Nick is for the lowest common denominator. It's solely for kids.

Now onto your actual question, yeah I've heard it before as I'm sure many others have but the people that actually matter to me are supportive probably much like most people on this site also so who cares. Just be you.

Really? The 1987 show is honestly really cheesy and kiddish to me, and the Nick show looks like its aimed towards all ages. And I did remember hearing once that a producer of the show, I don't remember who, said he hopes that all fans, new and old, like the show. And the back of volume 1 of the New Animated Adventures comic series based off of the Nick series says "Its an all-ages book perfect for fans both old and new!" And I think Nick is a lot less aimed for kids than Disney Channel is. I think the Nick target audience is for kids 7-10 years old, and some of the shows on Disney Channel look like their aimed for 4-6 year old's. So while the new Nick show's main target audience is kids, I wouldn't say it SOLELY aimed for kids, because they have said they want old fans to watch it.

[Le Glorieux Tortue]

Well they are not going to say they do not want older fans to watch it as that sounds bad but it definitely is a show for kids up to 12 I would say.

[Ninturtle]

[QUOTE=fridaynightdestination;1292642] The original show was cheesy and made for kids, and the new Nick show is aimed towards all ages.[QUOTE]

Ha, This is the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard! Nick is for the lowest common denominator. It's solely for kids.

Now onto your actual question, yeah I've heard it before as I'm sure many others have but the people that actually matter to me are supportive probably much like most people on this site also so who cares. Just be you.

No the Nick show is for turtles fans of all ages theres a ton of adults who enjoy this cartoon , for one it respects its old charecters , has good action and comedy , really cool charecter designs , ect. . The old cartoon was solely made for a toy line , literally they just wanted to sell toys thats why the cartoon was created . While the first season of that cartoon was good at the time , it was super goofy and only made mutants to sell toys . Also how many adults have you ever heard watched the tmnt cartoon at thetime .

[Le Glorieux Tortue]

No the Nick show is for turtles fans of all ages theres a ton of adults who enjoy this cartoon , for one it respects its old charecters , has good action and comedy , really cool charecter designs , ect. . The old cartoon was solely made for a toy line , literally they just wanted to sell toys thats why the cartoon was created . While the first season of that cartoon was good at the time , it was super goofy and only made mutants to sell toys . Also how many adults have you ever heard watched the tmnt cartoon at thetime .

Back then adults would not have reason to watch old cartoon as they did not have it as a child but adults today watch because they did and that it is good but it is naive to not admit it is still a children's show. There is no need to be so defensive

[Ninturtle]

Well they are not going to say they do not want older fans to watch it as that sounds bad but it definitely is a show for kids up to 12 I would say.

But also keep in mind a ton of adults a fan of this new show just look here in the forum . Alot of people here are adults and a majority love the nick show .

[Leo656]

Nobody's ever given me a hard time about it for a long time, probably since like 1998 when the franchise was completely dormant. The most recent version of TMNT at the time was Next Mutation, so yeah, I can see why admitting you were still into TMNT at that point was about as far from "hip" as it possibly gets. But it was really rare, if ever.

Nowadays nobody seems to care. Literally every single time I wear my TMNT shirt to work out at the gym - which is often, as it's extremely light, breezy material - someone will make a positive comment. Once you're out of school, hobbies and personal tastes don't really matter anymore, socially.

[Ninturtle]

Back then adults would not have reason to watch old cartoon as they did not have it as a child but adults today watch because they did and that it is good but it is naive to not admit it is still a children's show. There is no need to be so defensive

What TMNT cartoon hasn't been a childens show all of them . How is that a reason to bash the Nick show. And just because people get nostalgic over a old show doesn't make it good , many people have admitted that the show kind of sucked watching it as an adult . And you didn't adress that the whole 1987 show was a plot the sell toys . I like 1987 but i can admit its a toy milking show .

[arkangel]

Living in a small town in Alberta, Canada (maybe 5,000 people), there is really no one I know here that shares my love for TMNT, comics, pen and paper RPGs like when I lived in Calgary (1.2 million people). I still wear a lot of geek culture and TMNT t-shirts in my small town and the only comments I've received were positive. Some women smile and don't say anything, but I just pretend they think my love for the franchise is not immature, but "hot". :lol:

Added: In all fairness to the OP, I'm also 42 and care much less about being judged by others about what I like, then when I was in high school and even in my 20s. I wish I had this attitude back then. Like others have said, be yourself and enjoy what you like. Life is short. I see a lot of couples in their 30s and 40s at cons doing the cosplay thing and embracing their passion for the same franchises they loved as kids.

[Discogod]

Nope, quite the opposite. I have a lot of TMNT stuff at work - a few toys, and lots of drawings - and just about everyone thinks it's cool. A lot of the youngsters there grew up on the 2k3 show (one guy even has a tattoo of 2k3 Don on his calf!), and quite a few of the parents have kids that love the new show, plus everyone's excited for the new movie (despite my protestations). All in all, there's probably some kind of TMNT discussion every day in my department, definately one of the best parts of my job...

[pannoni1]

Never specifically, but whenever I would try to watch anything TMNT-related while in high school/college or even to the point of just a couple years ago, I would try to hide from the grown-ups to the point it was a hardcore "guilty pleasure" for the fear of being offended. Now that more mature incarnations are provided, that thought is out the back door. Its just that the kid-related stuff never targeted the mainstream fans towards the Mirage comics but instead whatever Playmates or Konami had to offer. If a show like The Next Mutation not only fixed the problems mentioned but added the suggestions we've provided came out in the past several years or even in 2003, it would have lasted much longer due to more acceptance of mature themes.

[plastroncafe]

I'm sure it'd come up more if I were a dude, but since I'm not the fact that I'm a chick who likes the turtles is far more bizarre than my age at the time.

[CyberCubed]

TMNT is currently in a nostalgic mood in the casual land.

Anything nostalgic is automatically cool. If you said this back in the late 90's it probably would have been different.

[Ninturtle]

TMNT is currently in a nostalgic mood in the casual land.

Anything nostalgic is automatically cool. If you said this back in the late 90's it probably would have been different.

But it doesn't make it good , i'm not saying you can't enjoy it but the old cartoon isn't a amazing show past season 1 but the show was made in the 80s and expectations were lower .

[snake]

But it doesn't make it good , i'm not saying you can't enjoy it but the old cartoon isn't a amazing show past season 1 but the show was made in the 80s and expectations were lower .

Exactly, but most people don't rewatch the OT turtles.

[plastroncafe]

I've tried, but...years of reading fanfic have given my "Ship Sense" a hair trigger.
And that show goes down hill so quickly with those goggles on....

[rickwj324]

I'm 44 and everyone that knows me knows that I'm a comics/cartoon/toy fanatic. Never been ashamed/embarrassed about it. :D

[Refractive Reflections]

But it doesn't make it good , i'm not saying you can't enjoy it but the old cartoon isn't a amazing show past season 1 but the show was made in the 80s and expectations were lower .

Ah, the quintessential "it was older so it has to be worse/lower than what we have now" logic. :lol: By that logic, I guess today's pop music and reality television are far better than that older, archaic nonsense they call television programming and music back then.


No the Nick show is for turtles fans of all ages theres a ton of adults who enjoy this cartoon , for one it respects its old charecters , has good action and comedy , really cool charecter designs , ect. . The old cartoon was solely made for a toy line , literally they just wanted to sell toys thats why the cartoon was created . While the first season of that cartoon was good at the time , it was super goofy and only made mutants to sell toys . Also how many adults have you ever heard watched the tmnt cartoon at thetime .

And you don't think the numerous mutant of the week plots in the Nick show, don't imply they got many toy figures to sell either? In fact, it seems to imply Nick is inserting more of them into the show beyond what the OT did:

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/london-expo-nickelodeon-touts-475-649396
Johnson highlighted that the line of figures offers a breadth of characters. More than 65 Turtles action figures will be launched by the end of 2015, with all first being introduced in the TV show, something other franchises don't always do, he said.


Besides are we really going to argue which series is more "childish"? I think "Pizza Face" from the Nick series has proven to be a fierce contender for that title, not even the OT used that level of gross-out humor or used food-derived mutants.

[Ninjinister]

The last person that told me this was a 34-year old male who watches Cartoon Network all day.

[Donatello19]

Yeah, actually. People used to pick on me throughout middle and high school for still liking it, along with cartoons/animation in general. Did I let it affect me though? Not at all. I couldn't care less what people think about me. If they have a problem with me liking something, then that's their problem, not mine. Why should we let people tell us what we can and can't like, anyway? We'll all be gone one day, anyway...shouldn't we just do/like the things that make us happy while we're still here? Am I hurting myself or anyone else by liking TMNT, or anything else that's animated or considered "kid stuff" by stereotypical idiots? No. You should like what YOU like, do what makes YOU happy...and don't let anyone tell you different.

[Mzx10484]

Nobody told me that. It is also a passion for collecting. I have rewatched the OT twenty years later again ... ok, the claim of entertainment has changed somewhat, but some episodes were still entertaining, mixed with more or less conscious memories.

[slingtheory]

[QUOTE=fridaynightdestination;1292642] The original show was cheesy and made for kids, and the new Nick show is aimed towards all ages.[QUOTE]

Ha, This is the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard! Nick is for the lowest common denominator. It's solely for kids.then I wonder what the deal is with all the homages to older versions that you'd need to be at least in your 20s to get. not to mention how it comes closer to the dark tone of the source material.

on to the original question yeah every once in a while. I was that kid always doodling turtles back in elementary school so if I run into anybody I knew back then while wearing or reading something turtle related I might usually get a "oh still into that huh" .mostly though I get it from family, my two little sisters specifically. I remember we were at my moms house the Saturday morning when I first saw the commercial for turtles forever and when they saw my reaction to that it was all "seriously, you're a grown man get over it." they still give me crap when they catch me watching the nick show which I dvr because im usually at work when the new ones air. speaking of my mom every once in awhile I get a comment from her something like 'you're gonna be in your thirties still watching turtles. just a big old kid with a kid of your own.' but that's more like good natured teasing I think. then there's my girlfriends family who don't really say anything but I get the feeling they find it a little funny.

[Ninturtle]

Ah, the quintessential "it was older so it has to be worse/lower than what we have now" logic. :lol: By that logic, I guess today's pop music and reality television are far better than that older, archaic nonsense they call television programming and music back then.



And you don't think the numerous mutant of the week plots in the Nick show, don't imply they got many toy figures to sell either? In fact, it seems to imply Nick is inserting more of them into the show beyond what the OT did:



Besides are we really going to argue which series is more "childish"? I think "Pizza Face" from the Nick series has proven to be a fierce contender for that title, not even the OT used that level of gross-out humor or used food-derived mutants.

1) It's not that stuff has gotten better it's just the cartoons in the 80s were meant to sell toys
2) the new show has alot of mutants that have toys but it at least uses the mutants more than once and they don't feel like they were made for the sake of a toy .
3) The show has had alot of serious episodes too . Just because one episode was childish doesn't mean the series is . a mojoriy of episodes from the old show were very childish due to how goofy it was .

[Refractive Reflections]

1) It's not that stuff has gotten better it's just the cartoons in the 80s were meant to sell toys

...And so are the cartoons of today as well, have you seen the current Nick TMNT merchandising?

2) the new show has alot of mutants that have toys but it at least uses the mutants more than once and they don't feel like they were made for the sake of a toy.

So you genuinely think that season 2 with the mutagen spilling out throughout the city (and the random mutants created from that) wasn't somewhat of an implicit plot device for fulfilling the number of action figure toys? I mean we have some really "out there" mutants like Ice Cream Kitty, Pizza Face, the mushroom in "Fungus Humungous", the squirrelanoids, Sir Malachi... shall I go on? In fact, a substantial amount of the viewers have been complaining there are too many of them, or at the very least they are being introduced too quickly to develop them properly.

3) The show has had alot of serious episodes too . Just because one episode was childish doesn't mean the series is . a mojoriy of episodes from the old show were very childish due to how goofy it was.

The OT was noted for its slapstick humor because the censorship was different at the time (in fact some parents at the time thought even that was too violent, after reading these two articles: here (http://articles.latimes.com/1990-08-27/news/vw-116_1_teenage-mutant-ninja-turtles) and here (http://www.nytimes.com/1990/08/16/movies/ninja-influence-on-australian-youth.html?src=pm)). So the middle seasons do have their lighter tones, but seasons 6/7 and afterward are much more action-based. ...But I guess I could see why some would see that as "childish" (the slapstick), but in terms of immature humor (laughing at deliberate flatulence and burping) and gross-out humor (Nick Mikey's habits), Nick would be the winner in my opinion.

[Jester]

I once wrote a literary analysis of TMNT for a college class. I wanna say there were eye rolls and the like when I gave my oral report...but it may be because I waited until the very end to mention that what I was describing was TMNT.

[alliance]

isn't the geek 80's nostalgia sh*t whats more in now then ever before???

30yr olds from the 80's today would laugh at us today lmao but that's how things are EVERYONE it seems are in the same age bracket no matter what age you are..

[Icebot]

One time I thought about bringing ninja turtle stuff to school but my mother discouraged me cause I was growing up. I was disappointed but she just didn't want my friends in school to make fun of me. She said I should get into what teens like such as sports. My love for TMNT didn't go away.

In my later teenage years, I felt I needed to make sure no one knows I like ninja turtles. In fact, I never told anyone outside this website about the red sky episodes, I did a little of season 8 but not the last 2 seasons. To this day, nobody I know outside this website even knows about Dregg or the last 2 seasons. This all started when I thought I was too far away from my child years to let anyone know I like ninja turtles.

[Refractive Reflections]

I once wrote a literary analysis of TMNT for a college class. I wanna say there were eye rolls and the like when I gave my oral report...but it may be because I waited until the very end to mention that what I was describing was TMNT.

I wonder if you eloquently started out the report, to give the impression as if it was based on a classic epic story from American or European literature, that was mysteriously unknown to the audience. :P

...So how did you cleverly conceal this bit of information throughout your oral report Jester? ;)

EDIT: Maybe something like: "Four brothers in the struggle of their lives must face the daunting tasks of survival that strains themselves and their bonds, who are orphans, but finds a sympathetic and nurturing individual to care for them when everyone is repulsed by them..." :lol:

[HotNunchuckFury]

Nobody has commented on my age in relation to the turtles, but they have about other things I'm into (e.g. collecting/customising/photographing dolls/vinyl toys/figures, getting lego for my 32nd birthday, reading comics etc.). It doesn't bother me. I'm happier being myself and seeing their bemused (and sometimes disappointed) faces, rather than denying myself what I love to gain their approval. Some of the conversations my hobbies have initiated with complete strangers have been quite interesting.

[Mona_Lisa]

TMNT is generally considered a kid's franchise, even with original dark comic books, the 2K3 which which a darker, especially with Same As It Never Was, and the new film which looks like it'll be PG-13. The original show was cheesy and made for kids, and the new Nick show is aimed towards all ages. I wouldn't really call TMNT a kids franchise, more like an all ages franchise. However, on the last day of school, I wore my new TMNT 1987 shirt to school and a teacher looked at me in disgust and said, "Ugh, your too old to like Ninja Turtles." And a month eariler I mentioned to a kid in my class in a group project that I liked TMNT, and an Asian girl (not to be racist just saying) rolled her eyes and said "That is so childish."

So my question to you all is this: Has anyone told you are too old to be a fan of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles?


School sucks ok? That is the most judging group you will ever have to be forced into hopefully. I was made fun of for liking Ninja turtles.... So I didn't where my shirts or anything....
Then I graduated and Heaven shined down and all those jerks had to get a life and butt out of mine. Its a truly wonderful experience!:twink:
Now no one judges me, I think most see me as strange but cutie!!! and I can totally live with it. My Ninja turtle shirts make people smile, I actually think there cool now because there vintage! Lol!


My too old to like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles? Is that like being told your fortune?

& there's no need to tell us what race the person judging you is...

Well, Powder is right but I can tell you are young so its ok. Live and learn!:tgrin:

Nobody's ever given me a hard time about it for a long time, probably since like 1998 when the franchise was completely dormant. The most recent version of TMNT at the time was Next Mutation, so yeah, I can see why admitting you were still into TMNT at that point was about as far from "hip" as it possibly gets. But it was really rare, if ever.

Nowadays nobody seems to care. Literally every single time I wear my TMNT shirt to work out at the gym - which is often, as it's extremely light, breezy material - someone will make a positive comment. Once you're out of school, hobbies and personal tastes don't really matter anymore, socially.

Yeah, agreed everyone likes my ot shirts. people even stop me and ask me where I got them. I am not sure if people like my "nick turtle" shirts though... That probably isn't cool:tsad:

TMNT is currently in a nostalgic mood in the casual land.

Anything nostalgic is automatically cool. If you said this back in the late 90's it probably would have been different.

[Jester]

I wonder if you eloquently started out the report, to give the impression as if it was based on a classic epic story from American or European literature, that was mysteriously unknown to the audience. :P

...So how did you cleverly conceal this bit of information throughout your oral report Jester? ;)

EDIT: Maybe something like: "Four brothers in the struggle of their lives must face the daunting tasks of survival that strains themselves and their bonds, who are orphans, but finds a sympathetic and nurturing individual to care for them when everyone is repulsed by them..." :lol:
I remember talking about the creation of the franchise, rather than the franchise itself...but outside of that, it's been 8 years (EDIT: Found the thread, sans paper...from 2004. !....maybe...I've 10 years ago...I feel old) so I've forgotten. I may still have the actual paper somewhere...actually I wanna say I posted it here at one point.

[IndigoErth]

So my question to you all is this: Has anyone told you are too old to be a fan of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles?
If you're still young then I'm not too terribly surprised really, as unfortunate as their attitudes may be. Young people try too hard to try to be what they think the picture of maturity is. Sometimes it takes further maturity for some to realize that keeping some of these things makes life all the better.


As for me, sadly, yeah. And it removed me from the fanbase for about 19 years.

I was totally in love with the series as a kid, and then of course the moves (yes, all three). At 15 (1994 or early 95) I was still completely into it, and being a rather depressed teen they were also my one escape. My mother unfortunately felt it was appropriate to try to shame me out of my fandom for it.


[Extended edition:]

Unlike now, this was back before there was much internet around and no easy online confirmation that I was OK to still be into them. That along with the franchise only being about 10-years-old at the time, I guess it was decidedly weird for a 15-year-old girl still be into it.

So... I reluctantly and very sadly put it away. And then being the passive aggressive witch my mother is capable of being, for the last 20 years she has found it cute to once in a while continue to make me feel embarrassed for having been a fan. (And honestly, WTactualF, I'm 35, she's done this crap for more than half my life, well longer than the period of time I was an active fan back then, and yet she won't drop it.)

So, I spent many years embarrassed and would brush off any hint of the subject.

Then early last year I ran across the 2012 series that had started a number of months prior, gave it a chance and that hooked me and brought me back.

I'm still currently in the closet lair about this, and with the new movie pending I've been waiting a while for that hammer to drop when the commercials are on frequently enough for my mother to come across it. I know she won't be able to keep from saying something. I'm honestly a bit grateful that marketing has taken it's time and it's not one of those we've been seeing ads for the last six or eight months.

But that all said though... I'm sure it's probably clear by now via other threads that I'm a big Leo fan. He was my fave as a kid and after returning to the fanbase, catching up on things, and reacquainting myself with his character I'm glad to find he is still my fave turtle guy and realize even more-so now what an admirable character he is.

In the back of my mind I've got this exclusive little group of my most fave fictional guys. For a while there has been only two, and at my age I'm only comfortable including adults in this... So as much as I adore Nick's little Leo I did not include him in this. And then this movie gave us a look, and in particular someone created that edited version (à la my avatar) which for me felt like a glimpse of a childhood fave many years later having grown into an adult. So, very gladly, I can say that Leo is back in that group where he belongs, when really long ago he was the first and only before I thought if it in those terms.

So in short... I was there, lost it.. not by my own choice... and I'm back, grateful to be and working out an eloquent way I can eventually tell my mother to stuff it.

Every generation has those super heroes or other things that came about in their time and are a big part of their generations. With TMNT hitting their 30th year, being as awesome as they are and becoming what they are despite originally being a joke, I'm rather proud that my group lucked out the way we did to get these guys as a big one for us.

[Raphtastic]

No one ever said anything to me about TMNT specifically, really, but that may have been because I didn't talk much about it after about 7th grade or so. And, because, if it came up, it was usually in the context of my drawings and people were more impressed by the drawings than they were concerned about the subject matter. (Most of my art at that time was X Men, Ninja Turtles, other comic book stuff, Nightmare Before Christmas, animals and fantasy related, with only a few portraits of friends, so my geekdom was out in the open if you went through my art. I grew up hearing friends, teachers, parents, etc, tell everyone else I was going to go work for Disney or something when I grew up, so I think they just expected me to draw comic book/cartoon/fantastical stuff. I should note that I never thought I'd work for Disney/be a great artiste. There are 800 million people way better than me.) Usually I'd get: "Hey, I used to love the cartoon! Those are awesome!" That was it.

I was somewhat self conscious about my fandom, anyway, though, so I was busy policing myself out of fear of looking immature or having to explain what the Mirage comics were and why I loved them as a defense of my fandom. Going into comic shops still felt intimidating, but mostly because I'm female and occasionally got smack for existing in that kind of space. Overall, though, it seemed like guys were much more accepting of my geekdom in general than girls, who were more likely to think I was weird or couldn't relate to my love of prog rock/art rock/music collecting (didn't collect vinyl, because I didn't have a record player, but I was the CD collecting equivalent of the stereotypical record collector), Sci fi, and comic books. Guys were more likely to think it was cool that I was hunting down Mirage comics and liked TMNT.

Then, at some point in college I stopped caring what anyone thought about anything. I didn't (and still don't) talk a lot about TMNT to my friends, but I put my comics collection out on my shelf and admitted to being a fan. It worked out well enough. My best friend bought me action figures in the 2K3 era for my birthday, another friend alerted me to the 2007 movie's existence and we saw it in the theater together, and people would let me know if they saw something cool and related while they were out and about. I live in a college town with a fairly healthy geek population, so no one says anything if I'm wearing a Ninja Turtles shirt and, if they did, I'd probably laugh. The only people in real life who know how extensive my fandom is are my husband, my best friend of over 20 years, and another friend. They'd never say I'm too old for it. My husband is a huge Marvel fan (and, also, we got together due to a game over email about the coming zombie apocalypse and how my then - landlords were really necromancers trying to raise the cemetery across the street from me-- that went on for months and turned into collecting evidence about an alien invasion plot to replace everyone at my work with Megans and Davids, before he lent me all of his Hellboy trades and I never returned them; he would have less than zero room to talk, because our entire history together in years of friendship and, later, romance would be frowned on by people who are concerned with appearing sophisticated and grown up), my best friend and I were huge Harry Potter fans together (and liked to do highly questionable impromptu theater at Wal Mart in the middle of the night), and my other friend who kinda knows geeks out about a lot of franchises. So, if someone tells you you're too old for Ninja Turtles, tell them you never outgrow the need to have fun. There's enough ugliness and seriousness in life; no need to cling to it 24-7.

[HotNunchuckFury]

So in short... I was there, lost it.. not by my own choice... and I'm back, grateful to be and working out an eloquent way I can eventually tell my mother to stuff it.

Good for you. It can be so hard standing up to people who try to persuade you to change something about yourself to meet their approval. I experienced something similar from my mum regards my appearance, but she's mostly gotten over it now (or just given up!) and our relationship is great again. Hope your mum decides to let it go and give you a break.

I'm lucky in the fact that my husband shares similarly childish hobbies. He's quite happy watching cartoons, building lego, painting movie characters, collecting toys/figures etc. and it makes it so much easier to not care about what everybody else thinks when someone you love is the same. He's not a TMNT fan though, but I get to share that with my son instead :D

[tmntpower1988]

No I don't think anyone ever made fun of me for liking TMNT. My father is a turtles fan himself, he loves the OT, he said the show reminds him of me growing up that it brings back good happy memories. He never knew the 2k3 series existed until I told him about it recently. My mother doesn't mind me being into the turtles either she says as long as I am happy that's all that matters. My brothers like the turtles as well. I bought a few turtles t shirts off ebay the other day, I was thinking about wearing one of the t shirts to the gym next week, not sure what people's reactions will be lol

[Slade]

If it gets brought up no. Most people I know liked the show as a kid too.

[Ninturtle]

...And so are the cartoons of today as well, have you seen the current Nick TMNT merchandising?



So you genuinely think that season 2 with the mutagen spilling out throughout the city (and the random mutants created from that) wasn't somewhat of an implicit plot device for fulfilling the number of action figure toys? I mean we have some really "out there" mutants like Ice Cream Kitty, Pizza Face, the mushroom in "Fungus Humungous", the squirrelanoids, Sir Malachi... shall I go on? In fact, a substantial amount of the viewers have been complaining there are too many of them, or at the very least they are being introduced too quickly to develop them properly.



The OT was noted for its slapstick humor because the censorship was different at the time (in fact some parents at the time thought even that was too violent, after reading these two articles: here (http://articles.latimes.com/1990-08-27/news/vw-116_1_teenage-mutant-ninja-turtles) and here (http://www.nytimes.com/1990/08/16/movies/ninja-influence-on-australian-youth.html?src=pm)). So the middle seasons do have their lighter tones, but seasons 6/7 and afterward are much more action-based. ...But I guess I could see why some would see that as "childish" (the slapstick), but in terms of immature humor (laughing at deliberate flatulence and burping) and gross-out humor (Nick Mikey's habits), Nick would be the winner in my opinion.

Maybe it's not that the nick show is less juvenile but just better and made for the fans . The OT totally disrespected the comics . I liked season 1 and season 8 ( the red sky episodes that featured shredder and the gang ) but every thing else is meh . Also the mutants in the show feel more than just reasons to buy toys because i genuinely like the charecters . I have a hard time remembering the traits of older mutants .

[alpaca witch]

Don't think I've ever gotten any flack for liking turtles. As a wee lass I always had to be April when we were playing Ninja Turtles on the playground or in the woods or something but I actually wanted to be April so I didn't mind. I think it helped that I hit a random growth spurt in grade school (pretty much the last one in my life) so being a lanky, weird ginger who towered over pretty much everyone was a definite benefit. I've always been a really quiet type who just sketched all day and had a decent sized group of friends who were all into the same kinda stuff I was so it was never a problem.

Really I think it mostly depends on how you present yourself and your attitude in general. If you're coming in to class wearing full TMNT gear from head to toe with a homemade Leo mask and all that you're going to get SOME sort of attention, be it positive or negative. And unfortunately unless you're the class clown type who frequently pulls all sorts of silly shenanigans, you're more liable to get negative attention. Not because people see TMNT as childish, but because going overboard on anything is somewhat of a warning sign to most people. Doesn't matter if it's Game of Thrones or even basketball, you're going to get the same reactions regardless. We all know or have known that one person who lived and breathed for a specific series and made it so that was all they could ever talk about. Even if you like the series they're obsessed with it's still just an overload and you can only talk about one thing so much until it becomes somewhat tiring and even annoying.

Sadly I think being female is a double-edged sword in this case, since there's the annoying sexist notion that all females are inherently childish and immature so of course I'd like TMNT right? But little do they know I'm not just buying the shirts to take selfies in or something, rather I've been riding this crazy train for nearly two decades, collecting the toys and merch along the way to decorate my turtle shrine.

[shuriken]

Probably. I just can't seem to remember...

[SithLuke]

I probably did in school, I don't really remember(but I got made fun of/picked on for a lot of things so it wouldn't surprise me if liking the turtles was a reason). now, being 30, I don't. of course there's some people that won't say it, but you can tell from their reaction they're thinking "aren't you a little old to like them?". but for the most part either everyone already knows I like them and they like them too or they don't care. sometimes my brother will try to embarrass me by bringing up how I liked them so much that I wanted to live in the sewers when I was younger, but I know I wasn't the only one lol

[pennydreadful]

Nobody's ever ragged on me for liking TMNT, but if they did, I wouldn't care anyway. Like Arkangel and Donatello19 have said, you should do what makes you happy. Sure, you can go through your life second-guessing yourself and worrying about the opinions of others over every little thing, but it's not really the key to a happy life.

People who judge others based on their hobbies are obviously pretty insecure, and probably are constantly worried about what others think of what they do in their lives - who cares what someone that weak-minded thinks anyway? If it makes you happy and you're not hurting anyone else, do what you like. It's called being an individual - you just keep on rockin' and being you.

There are times to care about other people's opinions and times not to - I think when it comes to your taste in tv shows, that definitely falls into the "who cares" category.

The next time someone razzes you about your hobby, tell 'em to jog on:

http://media.tumblr.com/832f83e009720f4cffbbc67a2687ac1b/tumblr_inline_mk1qxzpwIV1qz4rgp.gif

[Roseangelo]

I've been "too old" to like Ninja Turtles since I was 10. In 1989.

[TheJ-manTurtleMan]

Sadly, Yes. Every day of my life in fact, But I have come to embrace it. TMNT is part of who I am, not that I let shape or control my life, rather I shape my life around it. For me TMNT is an escape from the reality of life. Now I'm not saying that I run and hide into my closet and watch Ninja Turtles for hours to avoid adult responsibilities, but as I face the challenges of everyday life: work, bills, family, etc... I know that at the end of it there will always be the Turtles. After a long day of work, and worrying about if I can afford this months rent, at night I can just sit, relax, and for 30 minutes watch Leonardo defeat a giant mushroom, Donatello trash Slash, Raphael save April from Foot Ninjas, or Michealangelo save Christmas!

Everyone is different, we all have our different escapes. Some people have sports, some people have music, some people even have scuba diving, but we have The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

It is unfortunate that some people don't recognize this. My Father belittles me whenever he sees me wear a TMNT shirt, (which is pretty much everyday) I have several very large Turtles stickers on my truck that my co-workers see and pester me about driving around in it. That's what I Have faced my whole life, but now, I don't care! I love TMNT and I always will!

It has also helped that I have someone in my life that not only loves that I love TMNT but encourages me to embrace it more. My wife is the total opposite of me and my fandom, but like I said above, she sees that It is important to me and because she loves me, lets have my escape. She has her own, by the way; Knitting, so much yarn! For every Turtle product I have, she has a least 3 balls of yarn :tgrin:

So anyway, I didn't mean to get all gushy and sappy, but just do things, and have things in your life that make you happy, no matter what anyone says!:tgrin: :tgrin:

[arkangel]

I wonder if you eloquently started out the report, to give the impression as if it was based on a classic epic story from American or European literature, that was mysteriously unknown to the audience. :P

...So how did you cleverly conceal this bit of information throughout your oral report Jester? ;)

EDIT: Maybe something like: "Four brothers in the struggle of their lives must face the daunting tasks of survival that strains themselves and their bonds, who are orphans, but finds a sympathetic and nurturing individual to care for them when everyone is repulsed by them..." :lol:

omg... I just peed my pants. :lol::lol:

[IndigoErth]

One thing I have pointed out to a few in the past, espcailly when I've seen young people ask if they are too old for a cartoon (Spongebob most commonly), is you know... who are the people who make these cartoons? Adults who like cartoons! Adults who are spending much of their working hours, and maybe more, focused on - and hopefully enjoying - these characters that are the center of their work.

I'm sure similar could probably be said for a wider franchise like the Turtles. If anyone was too old to be allowed to like it then there would, franchise speaking, be no heirs to pick them up and keep them going. If in another 30 years from now these guys are STILL going (yes, please), I'd be willing to bet that many or even most of the people behind them will be people who are there because they love TMNT. (And are a bunch of lucky buggers to get into that work.)

[Leo656]

It's amazing to me that some people catch heck on a regular basis over something like TMNT. I guess in some ways school etc. hasn't changed much since I was there. Even then, though, nobody really gave me a hard time because I was already so open about liking things that weren't "hip" - TMNT, 80s rock, wrestling, etc. - that it would be pointless.

Plus, not for nothin', I used to have a pretty short fuse and get in a lot of scraps in grade school. Not because of anything as trivial as all that - frankly I don't even remember what I used to get in fights over - but the good news is, one or two public blood-lettings and pretty much nobody ever picked on me again. I wouldn't recommend it, obviously... but, not gonna lie, it's much easier to "be yourself" when people are a little bit afraid of you. :lol: By the time I got to high school, word spread that picking on me wasn't worth it. Most people who pick on people don't really want confrontation.

Beyond that, the only thing people ever really DID hassle me over was being into wrestling. Being into TMNT doesn't seem anywhere near as mock-worthy as being a wrestling fan, believe me. You kids got it eeeeeeasy. :lol: But again, once you're out of high school, nobody cares what you're into on your own time - except parents, who will be judgmental and stupid for your entire life, so just ignore 'em. Once you're 18, people stop judging you based on toys and cartoons. Instead , they judge you based on how much money you earn. But at least they're polite enough to do it quietly and usually not to your face. :P

[MsMarvelDuckie]

My answer to the OP would have to be yes and no. Even when I was into it growing up- I got started in 1990 with the movie, in middle school when most kids are "growing out of it"- my dad and even some of my friends considered it weird that I was watching a "kids' cartoon". But I also liked X-Men, Spider-Man, and other super-heroic cartoons and movies (Batman came out in 89, and it was one of my favorite movies at the time) as well as sci-fi in general, but when I was a teen, those things were considered "nerdy" and childish.

Fast forward to now (See what I did there?) when most people who know me are aware that I love comic books, TMNT, Spider-Man, and all things sci-fi and geeky in general. Most of them are okay with it, or even think it's cool that I read and even write comic stories. I have occasionally heard from my dad and a few others that it's weird or that it's for kids. But I don't let it bother me. In the case of my dad, he has never understood or respected much of anything I'm into, and we don't get along anyway, so I ignore him.

[Netkeeper]

Well, let's consider what other kind of merchandise litters my room...

http://i.imgur.com/VzrMGUq.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/TjCzolp.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/SV9IXaY.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/4zKwM7K.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/cRTJiBO.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/lzLVZM2.jpg
Well ****, TMNT looks like it's right at home here! Nothing my family and friends don't expect.

Nah, the ones I get the most **** for are Pokémon and Yu-Gi-Oh. As if people can't catch the hint that "Netkeeper really likes animals".

[Zulithe]

Never happened to me, but I guess I don't mention it that often or wear TMNT shirts in public *too* often either.

Anyway screw the opinions of those people! Especially the teacher who should know better than to say that to a student.

I live in the bay area, home of some of the most educated and successful people in the nation. Yet I see way, way more people wearing 'geek' references on their clothing/accessories/backpacks than when I lived in the midwest. Constantly seeing marvel & dc heroes, tmnt, star wars, Nintendo & other video game stuff etc.

Geeks rule the world! And geek interests are a part of our culture. Don't be ashamed and don't care when someone disapproves :tlol:

let them have their Real Housewives, we'll take our TMNT thank you very much!

[Prowler]

It's amazing to me that some people catch heck on a regular basis over something like TMNT. I guess in some ways school etc. hasn't changed much since I was there. Even then, though, nobody really gave me a hard time because I was already so open about liking things that weren't "hip" - TMNT, 80s rock, wrestling, etc. - that it would be pointless.

Plus, not for nothin', I used to have a pretty short fuse and get in a lot of scraps in grade school. Not because of anything as trivial as all that - frankly I don't even remember what I used to get in fights over - but the good news is, one or two public blood-lettings and pretty much nobody ever picked on me again. I wouldn't recommend it, obviously... but, not gonna lie, it's much easier to "be yourself" when people are a little bit afraid of you. :lol: By the time I got to high school, word spread that picking on me wasn't worth it. Most people who pick on people don't really want confrontation.

Beyond that, the only thing people ever really DID hassle me over was being into wrestling. Being into TMNT doesn't seem anywhere near as mock-worthy as being a wrestling fan, believe me. You kids got it eeeeeeasy. :lol: But again, once you're out of high school, nobody cares what you're into on your own time - except parents, who will be judgmental and stupid for your entire life, so just ignore 'em. Once you're 18, people stop judging you based on toys and cartoons. Instead , they judge you based on how much money you earn. But at least they're polite enough to do it quietly and usually not to your face. :P
Oh I know how being a wrestling fan is. Not that I get flack for it or anything, but I certainly know that most people look down on adults who like wrestling. It's always funny when someone tells you the classic "You know it's all fake, right?". :P The funny this is, it's socially acceptable to watch reality shows, soap operas and other brainless entertainment but wrestling is a no-no.

[Zulithe]

If someone says Wrestling isn't real tell them to go watch The Wrestler for some insight. Sure it's a film, not a documentary, but it gives a good perspective on the topic.

I can't stand wrestling, as a viewing experience nor as a fandom, but I try not to begrudge others cause I know what it feels like :lol:

When you're a fan of anything you have to be prepared for those who are going to look down on your for it, doesn't matter what it is. Just keep on being you as long as you're not bothering anyone.

You know how irritating it is when random people, or even co-workers, try to talk sports with me and I have NO interest in the topic? They should feel lucky that I don't push my interests onto them as well, doubt they'd like it so much!

[HotNunchuckFury]

You know how irritating it is when random people, or even co-workers, try to talk sports with me and I have NO interest in the topic? They should feel lucky that I don't push my interests onto them as well, doubt they'd like it so much!

Yes, I know what you mean. My co-workers talk about sports and soap operas and cookery shows, etc. They look at me sometimes like I live on a different planet when I don't have a clue who/what they're on about. They think I'm dead quiet, but it's only because I know they'd be just as clueless and disinterested if I struck up a conversation about what I'm in to. Don't get me wrong, they're lovely people, but it would be so great to work with others who have similar interests.

[Refractive Reflections]

Maybe it's not that the nick show is less juvenile but just better and made for the fans .
That's... subjective taste... and us "older fans" may enjoy it more, but it's certainly not being received as well by the kid demographic as we may be led to assume, considering that this Nick TMNT show hasn't been topping the ratings within the Nick roster or against the Disney competition after 40+ episodes (http://forums.thetechnodrome.com/showthread.php?p=1285887#post1285887) (unlike the meteoric success of the OT after 18 episodes), but if you're enjoying the storywriting content, then obviously my opinion and argument won't mean diddly squat.

The OT totally disrespected the comics .
The OT was more of a total deviation rather than disrespect, considering the censorship of the 80s and this was for children, what else was to be expected for a children's show deriving content from an adult comic? Even the slapstick was considered too much for some parents according to the the articles I linked to earlier; plus are we forgetting Michelangelo's nunchucks had to be taken away? Or that the word "Ninja" was considered too extreme in Europe for kids to watch or hear? In hindsight, it's easy to disregard the OT as trivial, but back then it was completely experimental and novel in selling this idea to the mainstream.

Also the mutants in the show feel more than just reasons to buy toys because i genuinely like the charecters . I have a hard time remembering the traits of older mutants .
Hey if you like the characters, by all means enjoy them, but for the mutagen spill premise of Season 2, it seems a bit too obvious and convenient just to have a plethora of mutants in my opinion.

[arkangel]

I think there is generally more acceptance for a lot of these franchises, for the simple fact that they've shown their longevity. Transformers, G.I Joe, TMNT, Strawberry Shortcake, Marvel/DC, My Little Pony, and a lot of video game franchises have been around so long that there's not a lot of people unfamiliar with them anymore.
Just don't wear a Cabbage Patch shirt. That s#its out.. :lol:

[Eiko]

My dad thinks I'm to old for ninja turtles, at one point I said to myself maybe he is right, but I then soon realized that it is who I am if he don't like it then so what. when I meet my husband, he loves the fact I'm a tmnt fan.Then the kids came, and they love it even more, they say im a cool mum same with there friends. I say to my kids if any of your friends make fun of you for something, they think is to old for you then the are not really your friend, a friend should accept you for you. don't change who you are to please someone else.

[Midnight Mutant]

Ugh, all the time when I was younger. It's like you pass the age of 12 and you're suddenly too old for TMNT.

I remember when my mom gave my baby nephew my ninja turtles blanket because she said I was too old and it was just a phase.
(Don't worry I got it back once he turned 18. I'm still not over it. )

But as an adult, not really so much. I think back in the day there were the rarely heard from comic book fans and the mass majority of the show fans were kids so older generations at that time saw it as just that; a show just for kids.

I think now that it's got more of a following, and more of it's darker (Not so much for kids) roots are showing and it became a huge phenomenon, people see it more as a timeless or ageless thing. Kind of like Star Trek and Star Wars. You're never really surprised that adults are part of the fandom and it's so expected that it's not really something people bat an eye at. It's more of a hobby/collector/lifestyle kind of thing.

I also think that this generation of young adults has a reputation for loving nostalgia and cartoons and video games so much so that it's almost weird if someone that age doesn't.

[Warhorse]

No. In fact, people think it's cute.

[ZariusTwo]

Are you too old to enjoy NT? No. The franchise has a unique stance for every age. If you outgrow say, the Nick 'toon, you move on to the IDW comics etc, just as some older fans started with the 80s 'toon and moved on to Mirage.

Are you too old to act the way one does regarding developments of the movie or the new series that you don't agree with? Probably.

[Donatello19]

No. In fact, people think it's cute.

People don't seem to mind as much if it's a girl who likes the "kid stuff".

[Kanon]

Never cause I kept it a bit of a secret, but thanks to the big bang theory it is now no problem to wear fan-clothes anymore :D
It´s very popular here.

[blindturtle02]

Some older person laughed at my better half and I when we were looking at the figs a few days ago and they stopped all of a sudden. I thought they were laughing at something else but she confirmed that they were laughing at us. I asked her what stopped them and she said she flipped them off. haha I try to get a handle on that these days, but good for her. Yeah some folks laugh but it's pretty easy to ignore all that.

[snake]

Some older person laughed at my better half and I when we were looking at the figs a few days ago and they stopped all of a sudden. I thought they were laughing at something else but she confirmed that they were laughing at us. I asked her what stopped them and she said she flipped them off. haha I try to get a handle on that these days, but good for her. Yeah some folks laugh but it's pretty easy to ignore all that.

Ha. That was pretty awesome of her.

[blindturtle02]

Ha. That was pretty awesome of her.

Well, she was one of those kids who wanted to talk about the Star Wars Trilogy Special Edition when all the other girls her age wanted to talk Titanic back in the day so she's had her share of laughs at others' expenses. Yeah we watch each others' backs like that. She goes all Raven from Teen Titans when she gets mad. She doesn't have to say anything. lol

[goodfellaray]

TMNT is generally considered a kid's franchise, even with original dark comic books, the 2K3 which which a darker, especially with Same As It Never Was, and the new film which looks like it'll be PG-13. The original show was cheesy and made for kids, and the new Nick show is aimed towards all ages. I wouldn't really call TMNT a kids franchise, more like an all ages franchise. However, on the last day of school, I wore my new TMNT 1987 shirt to school and a teacher looked at me in disgust and said, "Ugh, your too old to like Ninja Turtles." And a month eariler I mentioned to a kid in my class in a group project that I liked TMNT, and an Asian girl (not to be racist just saying) rolled her eyes and said "That is so childish."

So my question to you all is this: Has anyone told you are too old to be a fan of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles?

Never. I'm 29, going on 30, and proudly wear my Turtles t-shirts, along with my Metallica and horror movie shirts. What the **** is it to them what I wear or enjoy/support? They can go **** themselves.

In fact, I've gotten more compliments than anything else because of the shirts I wear.

[pennydreadful]

Never. I'm 29, going on 30, and proudly wear my Turtles t-shirts, along with my Metallica and horror movie shirts. What the **** is it to them what I wear or enjoy/support? They can go **** themselves.


Amen, brother. I swear, it's like people think that you're not supposed to have fun anymore once you're not a kid. Everything must be sirius biznuss. :ohwell:

[MsMarvelDuckie]

Yup. My mom rolls her eyes a little at my love of comics, but doesn't say anything. Then again, I think she understands that any geekyness I have, I inherited from her. She was the one who introduced me to sci-fi, fantasy, and Disney animation- which is one of the reasons she doesn't mind that I still watch cartoons, because so does she!! I know that TMNT and say, Sleeping Beauty or Aladdin are a bit different, but the concept is the same- if you're too old for one, then you're too old for the other, and she'd never admit to being too old for Disney.... :trazz:

My dad, on the other hand, has NEVER been into any kind of animation, as far as I can tell- except for Loony Tunes. And even that, rarely. He's like the Anti-Geek. No sense of fun and whimsy or imagination at all. :tgrumble::trolleye::tcry:

[Storm Eagle]

I was at my mother's house, and the first Ninja Turtles movie was on, and I watched it.

Mom: What movie is this?
Me: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Mom: You still haven't grown out of Ninja Turtles yet?
Me: Not many people have.

[goodfellaray]

Amen, brother. I swear, it's like people think that you're not supposed to have fun anymore once you're not a kid. Everything must be sirius biznuss. :ohwell:

Word.

Yup. My mom rolls her eyes a little at my love of comics, but doesn't say anything. Then again, I think she understands that any geekyness I have, I inherited from her. She was the one who introduced me to sci-fi, fantasy, and Disney animation- which is one of the reasons she doesn't mind that I still watch cartoons, because so does she!! I know that TMNT and say, Sleeping Beauty or Aladdin are a bit different, but the concept is the same- if you're too old for one, then you're too old for the other, and she'd never admit to being too old for Disney.... :trazz:

My dad, on the other hand, has NEVER been into any kind of animation, as far as I can tell- except for Loony Tunes. And even that, rarely. He's like the Anti-Geek. No sense of fun and whimsy or imagination at all. :tgrumble::trolleye::tcry:

I was at my mother's house, and the first Ninja Turtles movie was on, and I watched it.

Mom: What movie is this?
Me: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Mom: You still haven't grown out of Ninja Turtles yet?
Me: Not many people have.

My parents get a kick out of my collection and always smile/giggle when they see me wear a Turtles shirt. It reminds them of all the **** they bought for me as a kid, though they have no answer for me when I ask what happened to it all. Good times.

[fridaynightdestination]

Well guys, I just want to say reading all of this has no longer made me afraid of being a TMNT fan. My friends know, but I'm a little shy about it I guess. I did ask my friend if he watched it, he said "Sometimes, not that much anymore." and I said "I don't really watch TMNT that much anymore either." Because I was afraid he would think I'm weird that I honestly watch it all the time, but next time I see him I'm gonna straight up say, "I watch an episode of TMNT everyday."

Also, the thing about me is every year I go through a phase of being obsessed with something. This year it's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, last year it was Godzilla (I still am obsessed with Godzilla, I still buy a ton of toys, posters, wear T-shirts, and watch the movies. I saw the new movie twice and I might go see it again tomorrow :lol:), in 2012 it was the Alien movies, in 2011 it was Final Destination, in 2010 it was Friday the 13th, etc. I'm still into all these things, just not obsessed with them anymore. I'm sure at some point down the road something will come along that I'll get obsessed with and make my TMNT obsession die down, but as of right now Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is the current thing I am obsessed with (and Godzilla).

[IndigoErth]

This year it's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, last year it was Godzilla (I still am obsessed with Godzilla
Why do I have a feeling they made this poster with you in mind... :D

http://downloads.paramount.com/mp/tmnt/assets/posters/small_michelangelo_orange_CnSrevXB3u5xunV.jpg

__________

Well so far since my main post my mother has been in this computer room twice... I suppose it's good that she tends to be a bit oblivious and has yet to notice these pics I printed and taped up by the computer. Still mentally rehearsing my reply for when she suddenly does notice. Just hope she's not in any kind of mood to take an attitude over it. Doubt she'll even get it at first... think I'll just let her be confused by just stating that it's just an old friend.

[billbot85]

TMNT is generally considered a kid's franchise, even with original dark comic books, the 2K3 which which a darker, especially with Same As It Never Was, and the new film which looks like it'll be PG-13. The original show was cheesy and made for kids, and the new Nick show is aimed towards all ages. I wouldn't really call TMNT a kids franchise, more like an all ages franchise. However, on the last day of school, I wore my new TMNT 1987 shirt to school and a teacher looked at me in disgust and said, "Ugh, your too old to like Ninja Turtles." And a month eariler I mentioned to a kid in my class in a group project that I liked TMNT, and an Asian girl (not to be racist just saying) rolled her eyes and said "That is so childish."

So my question to you all is this: Has anyone told you are too old to be a fan of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles?

What grade are you in, if you don't mind me asking? I'll be 29 soon, and I still wear my TMNT shirts and display my collection in my room with pride.

I'm a substitute teacher for a few school districts in my area, and have seen MANY students wearing retro/nostalgic-themed t-shirts. Never ONCE have I ever insulted a student for what they love/support (especially since it would be just plain hypocritical of me). Instead, I make it a point to compliment them on wearing/representing something awesome. I guess older teachers may find our fandoms childish, but that's only because they are from a different generation. As far as classmates calling it childish, they just haven't matured enough yet to let out the inner child within them, and probably envy the fact that you have.

Bottom line: Don't let anyone make you feel ashamed or immature for loving awesome things like TMNT. Haters gonna hate, and you just gotta ignore them. You're never too old for our heroes in a half shell. :tgrin:

[pennydreadful]

Well guys, I just want to say reading all of this has no longer made me afraid of being a TMNT fan. My friends know, but I'm a little shy about it I guess. I did ask my friend if he watched it, he said "Sometimes, not that much anymore." and I said "I don't really watch TMNT that much anymore either." Because I was afraid he would think I'm weird that I honestly watch it all the time, but next time I see him I'm gonna straight up say, "I watch an episode of TMNT everyday."

Also, the thing about me is every year I go through a phase of being obsessed with something. This year it's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, last year it was Godzilla (I still am obsessed with Godzilla, I still buy a ton of toys, posters, wear T-shirts, and watch the movies. I saw the new movie twice and I might go see it again tomorrow :lol:), in 2012 it was the Alien movies, in 2011 it was Final Destination, in 2010 it was Friday the 13th, etc. I'm still into all these things, just not obsessed with them anymore. I'm sure at some point down the road something will come along that I'll get obsessed with and make my TMNT obsession die down, but as of right now Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is the current thing I am obsessed with (and Godzilla).

Just hang in there dude - confidence doesn't come all at once; it builds up little by little, day by day. :twink:

[Warhorse]

People don't seem to mind as much if it's a girl who likes the "kid stuff".

It's hilarious, the attention I get from the guys when they realize I am more into TMNT, Avengers and Transformers than I am into shopping, clothes and hair.

[IndigoErth]

It's hilarious, the attention I get from the guys when they realize I am more into TMNT, Avengers and Transformers than I am into shopping, clothes and hair.
:D I'll take a TMNT fetish over a shoe fetish any day. Shoes are boring.. :P

(No offense meant to any actual shoe addicts. :) )

[Hannurdock]

Someone only needs to step into my lair (flat) and they'll discover just how nuts I am about TMNT. I do care what people think, but I'm proud of being a fan. TMNT got me through a lot of rough stuff when I was younger.

I find it interesting when I'm in a store and I'm pointing out the latest Raphael toy to whichever poor soul is accompanying me, random kids just eyeball me like I'm an alien. A thirty-six year old woman talking about turtles? What the? I especially get mad if Leo toys are sidelined for the others. I stamp around and get the staff involved sometimes too. I had them ordering missing toys in a few months ago. The woman was talking about how her kids loved the turtles, and I said --- oh its not for kids. its for me --- I got a bit of a blank look and there was an awkward moment, like she didn't know what to say.

I was going along to a weight watchers meeting and our team leader was gone for a couple of weeks holiday. The temporary team leader had "Turtle Power" playing as I walked in through the door and I immediately scampered over to her to ask if she was a fan of the turtles. Nope, she was a fan of the nineties. Nineties music, specifically. Damn!

People don't get my Turtle addiction generally and tend to change the subject before I become too animated and start talking turtles for hours. People have asked me "Why the turtles?" like I have some magic answer as to why I've been a lifelong fan.

My response "Dunno. Just like the turtles."

My best friend thinks that me liking TMNT is weird and rarely even brings the subject up, my boyfriend feeds my turtle addiction because he thinks its cute and geeky and my mum reads all the turtle fanfiction I write, whether she wants to or not. LOL!

If someone doesn't get why I like turtles that's fine. I like them and that's enough.

[IndigoErth]

the kids just eyeball me like I'm an alien. A thirty-six year old woman talking about turtles? What the?
Oh good, I'm not alone out there being that I'm a 35-year-old woman. :)

I figure the kids could be easily won over though just by chatting them up about it. Reminds me of a couple I worked for back when the first Transformers movie hit and the wife of the pair took their young son to see it one afternoon and he came back to their little shop with her with his Transformer in his hands. Was fun chatting with him about how we had Transformers when I was a kid and there are a couple old original toys up my attic somewhere. He seemed to think it was pretty cool.

Someday these kids will understand how old these guys really are at this point (30 years... makes ME feel old now lol). Call me a little territorial, but it bugs me that people are going to act like it's weird for us to still be into it as if this is some new concept. I'm sorry... I'm glad and happy to share 'the guys' with the younger generations who will help keep the Turtles going, but these guys themselves were born into my generation, in that sense are members of it, and we kind of have a birthright to still love them just the same as older generations who grew up with the early days of Superman and other heroes are still free to be into those characters.

[rickwj324]

I've been "too old" to like Ninja Turtles since I was 10. In 1989.

Haha... well I was 19 in 1989 so don't feel bad!! :lol::lol:

[zodiac brave]

i honestly can't ever remember a time i got flack for my fandom. (at least not tmnt...back in the pre-firefly days, my joss whedon fandom got a lot of flack from people who are now totally on the whedon bandwagon, heh)

growing up, it was so ubiquitous...every kid LOVED the turtles. and i dunno, i always hear about people getting picked on for being geeky n stuff or having nerdy interests, but growing up, everyone around me kinda stayed "nerdy". san antonio is a BIG wrestling city, as well as a BIG rock/metal city, so all the other stuff that goes with having some niche interests(comics, horror, sci-fi, anime...)was kinda the stuff everyone was into. i was picked on cuz i was a fat kid. in high school i was almost 400 lbs (luckily i've lost half that since and, diabetes aside [go fig], i'm pretty healthy and have it under control) and it was the weight thing that was the big point of contention that other kids had with me. Thing is, for the most part, and in varying degrees, everyone liked the geeky sh!t.

nowadays, i'm just one of many tmnt fans down here. now, of course, i dont speak for the entire city, but it's pretty geek friendly down here. in fact, we have lots of local cosplayers that do tmnt stuff. turtle power entertainment is local and they hire themselves out for kids birthday parties and stuff like that. as a matter of fact, i went to firewok last thursday before submitting my gf and myself to transformers 4, to find a GIANT (larger than a movie one-sheet) poster advertising the alamo city comic-con, featuring amazing tmnt and splinter art by a local artist. these are posted ALL OVER the city.

so, yeah, its safe to say that in terms of my interests and tmnt especially, i've never felt like an outcast or ashamed.

:D

[PizzaPower1985]

From the time I was 14 to now (28 years old) I am still harassed both online and in real life by all manner of people (even some comic book fans/superhero fans).

Apparently Batman, Superman, Spider-man and the like are cool well into your 30's and 40's, but TMNT is for little kids and lame teenagers... or so I'm told.

I get laughed at and called names and am insulted with... "Oh, is the little turtle fan gonna go eat pizza with mommy and daddy?"

Whatever that means... I'm not offended by it though... I love my TMNT

[zodiac brave]

I get laughed at and called names and am insulted with... "Oh, is the little turtle fan gonna go eat pizza with mommy and daddy?"

Whatever that means... I'm not offended by it though... I love my TMNT

wtf?

i'd laugh my a$$ off if someone tried to "make fun" of me LIKE THAT.

lol, like they're any "cooler" with remarks like that...

[Midnight Mutant]

From the time I was 14 to now (28 years old) I am still harassed both online and in real life by all manner of people (even some comic book fans/superhero fans).

Apparently Batman, Superman, Spider-man and the like are cool well into your 30's and 40's, but TMNT is for little kids and lame teenagers... or so I'm told.

I get laughed at and called names and am insulted with... "Oh, is the little turtle fan gonna go eat pizza with mommy and daddy?"

Whatever that means... I'm not offended by it though... I love my TMNTWow, what a lame attempt at an insult.

Batman, superman, and spiderman are about the same level of nerdiness as tmnt. xD

They have clearly only heard of the old cartoon.

[alpaca witch]

From the time I was 14 to now (28 years old) I am still harassed both online and in real life by all manner of people (even some comic book fans/superhero fans).

Apparently Batman, Superman, Spider-man and the like are cool well into your 30's and 40's, but TMNT is for little kids and lame teenagers... or so I'm told.

I get laughed at and called names and am insulted with... "Oh, is the little turtle fan gonna go eat pizza with mommy and daddy?"

Whatever that means... I'm not offended by it though... I love my TMNT

Wow, that's like... literally the lamest attempt at an insult I've heard in a while. It sounds like something a cartoon bully would say or something lmao
But seriously though if people are so insecure that they have to lash out at you for enjoying something, then they're human garbage. Especially if they're a grown ass adult who thinks parents are somehow something to be embarrassed about. That's like 9 year old logic quite frankly.
Next time some dork says something like that to you just be like "Yeah actually, you want to join us later for a slice?"
Nobody can resist the allure of a nice slice, nobody.

[TheBlueTurtle1]

I don't care if it's considered childish, just go tell them to read the original comics, or better yet tell them to mind their own business:lol:

[FoxBoxKid]

Yes. On a related note, I've noticed in junior high/middle school all the kids seem to think they're too old for cartoons, but in high school they start to get nostalgic. I turn 18 in less than three months and I'm a bigger TMNT fan than I was ten years ago.

[Coola Yagami]

Obviously in school. Kids in grade school were already 'too cool for cartoons' and the ones that did like cartoons liked the more serious action packed ones like hi Joe and transformers. Though I don't really remember any tmnt shirts back then, at least not ones that were in stores. High school was all about videogames and getting laid so I knew better than to show off my fandoms.

Nowadays tmnt and other nostalgia stuff is cool. I can wear either a 80s tmnt shirt or a nick tmnt shirt and people will still tell me 'cool shirt bro'.

[Coola Yagami]

From the time I was 14 to now (28 years old) I am still harassed both online and in real life by all manner of people (even some comic book fans/superhero fans).

Apparently Batman, Superman, Spider-man and the like are cool well into your 30's and 40's, but TMNT is for little kids and lame teenagers... or so I'm told.

I get laughed at and called names and am insulted with... "Oh, is the little turtle fan gonna go eat pizza with mommy and daddy?"

Whatever that means... I'm not offended by it though... I love my TMNT

I woulda been like 'sure. Are you gonna slip on your batman underoos and little superman cape and join me?

[billbot85]

From the time I was 14 to now (28 years old) I am still harassed both online and in real life by all manner of people (even some comic book fans/superhero fans).

Apparently Batman, Superman, Spider-man and the like are cool well into your 30's and 40's, but TMNT is for little kids and lame teenagers... or so I'm told.

I get laughed at and called names and am insulted with... "Oh, is the little turtle fan gonna go eat pizza with mommy and daddy?"

Whatever that means... I'm not offended by it though... I love my TMNT

Wow, unbelievable. My friends are more into Marvel and DC superheroes whereas I'm more into TMNT, and we're all in our mid to late 20's. But they don't go around insulting/harassing me like that, we respect each other's fandoms and generally like them all. Heck, one of my best friends is still a proud die-hard fan of Power Rangers/Super Sentai.

Like others here have said, as adults it usually gets easier to be open about being a geek and proudly repping your fandoms. Anyone who still gives you crap about it is not worth your time. :trolleye:

[PizzaPower1985]

Yes. The fact that adults can be open about fandom is much more a sign of maturity than someone insulting you like they were in middle school or something.

I have, shall we say, relatives who are senior citizens who are hardcore into L. Frank Baum's Wizard of Oz. Their house and car are completely decorated with posters, multiple book collections, toys and other memorabilia.

I guess the point of this thread is to represent whatever you are into with pride. One should not be afraid or ashamed to put it out there.

[IndigoErth]

I woulda been like 'sure. Are you gonna slip on your batman underoos and little superman cape and join me?
ROFL!! The look on someone's face would be priceless.

I have, shall we say, relatives who are senior citizens who are hardcore into L. Frank Baum's Wizard of Oz. Their house and car are completely decorated with posters, multiple book collections, toys and other memorabilia.
Good point on that one... An old friend of my mother's, who's around 60ish or not far off, is a huge Wizard of Oz fan. Birthday cards sent to her and whatnot from my mother are frequently Oz themed.

We're such a ridiculously stupid society/societies/species in how we like to "shame" people for being fans of various things that are completely harmless - and even enjoyable - to be fans of.

Everyone needs their interests, else life is dull. And everyone needs their hero(es), be they a living person, an admired historical figure, or fictional people.. including awesome turtle people.

[pennydreadful]

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yqpZAHnSC90/UTureFF7usI/AAAAAAAABbY/fZP2Lzqz_nI/s320/dont+let+the+haters+stop+you+from+doing+your+thang .gif

... cuz I mean seriously, what's the alternative - just liking what everyone else likes? That's boring. Your hobbies don't require anyone else's approval.

Simply write off anyone who mocks you for your hobbies with the scorn they deserve:

http://media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/2b/c9/db/2bc9db29493a9cbeb6e8617f976d7a34.jpg

http://www.stupidon.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/tumblr_m7vfj71MoB1rxy94eo1_500.jpg

http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m8m4vnaXrc1qdipbw.gif

[Asha]

Since I got into Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles almost 2 years ago I haven't had anyone tell me I'm too old for it.

[IndigoErth]

Has anyone ever told you you're too old to like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles?
http://www.stupidon.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/tumblr_m7vfj71MoB1rxy94eo1_500.jpg

Had to...

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y13/Taurus01979/TempOther/271b16a0-8cc7-4a13-8bb8-3f1d5a53ec52_zpsa5381b37.jpg

http://37.media.tumblr.com/18b6a8577785738a6ba73d73258fd742/tumblr_mq1cv7SZyl1r7hwpmo1_500.gif

[The Boston Ninja Turtle]

my ex...but she pretty much just wanted to change who i was

[Puddinpop]

my ex...but she pretty much just wanted to change who i was

Yep.. I've had that problem in the past as well.. she's looong gone now lol. My current GF tells me that I am obsessed and that she thinks that I blow her off to watch/read TMNT stuff online lol.. Of course.. it's not true... for the most part lol.

[pennydreadful]

:lol: Good one, Indigo.

Hey Puddin, haven't seen you around in a couple of weeks - glad you're back! Love your new profile pic. :D

[Puddinpop]

:lol: Good one, Indigo.

Hey Puddin, haven't seen you around in a couple of weeks - glad you're back! Love your new profile pic. :D

Thanks :D I tried to find a fun cartoony one of Raph. Almost like the yours. I love your Avatar it's my fave.

[Lou 500]

No, because I've never told anyone I like Ninja Turtles. One time I was buying the remaining trading cards from my local store, a staff member came up to help me at the self-checkout and asked who they were for. I said that they were for my nephew (who doesn't exist)

[Midnight Mutant]

I changed my avatar pictures so all 4 turtles were on this page. (There be no Mikey)
#lame? #I think not!


Had to...

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y13/Taurus01979/TempOther/271b16a0-8cc7-4a13-8bb8-3f1d5a53ec52_zpsa5381b37.jpg

http://37.media.tumblr.com/18b6a8577785738a6ba73d73258fd742/tumblr_mq1cv7SZyl1r7hwpmo1_500.gif
I love you for mixing two of my favorite shows! *Keeps picture forever*

[UGHShellshocked]

Its not like I let my freak flag fly when it comes to liking the Ninja Turtles and plus all the people around me are fans themselves.

I think its crap that a new generation can start to like the Turtles and think that they have a right to try and oust or alienate older fans. Same goes for other franchises like I have the Power Ranger communicator beep on my phone as its ringtone and I've had people who are in their teens ask why I have Kim Possible as my ringtone.

**** KIM POSSIBLE!

[This_is_my_username]

No, pleasantly. I love our local comic store. It's run by people who love fandoms. Lots of accepting communities there, except occasionally some looks by one or two territorial teenagers, which clearly hasn't affected me going. Outside the comic store, most people I know are fans of something, so I feel okay dabbling in lots of stuff and seeing what surprise connections I find. It makes meeting the odd TMNT fan a gem of a moment.

[IndigoErth]

I think its crap that a new generation can start to like the Turtles and think that they have a right to try and oust or alienate older fans.
Yeah, I suppress it but that kind of mentality makes me feel a little territorial over them. I can understand that young kids don't know that these guys are frigging 30, but look...

I am perfectly happy to share them with younger age groups, including today's kids who's fanship serve to help keep it all going. But these guys were born into my generation of kids and for it are in a sense a part of this generation.

People may age may have likewise been able to enjoy the heroes that came about in previous generations, just as the new young TMNT fans today, but because of their era I don't feel those characters belong to my group, they were defining characters that came about in prior generations. The Turtles however were the new guys we got in ours... we shouldn't have to feel weird about likeing them no more than older people have to for still liking Superman or whatever.

[Leo656]

I feel ya on that one, bro. For example, lots of people come up to me knowing I'm a Superman fan, and a lot of the younger ones are like, "I got into Superman with Smallville, I really love it!" And I'm like, "Well, frankly, that's not even close to the same thing." The character was so poorly handled on that show that it's impossible to think of him as the "real" Clark/Superman, and I get more than a little sad knowing that, to a younger generation of fans, this whiny, mopey D-bag who more often than not does the exact wrong thing in any given situation is "Superman". If only I could give each and every one of them a stack of John Byrne comics and be like, "Here, this is the RIGHT way to do it," but I can't. But whatever, let 'em have their fun.

Same with Turtles, now. Every generation has "Their" version of it, and sometimes there's more of a disconnect between the groups. It's partly why I sort of wish all the different TMNT versions weren't SO different from each other, because it would make it easier for the fanbase as a whole to find common ground.

[billbot85]

Same with Turtles, now. Every generation has "Their" version of it, and sometimes there's more of a disconnect between the groups. It's partly why I sort of wish all the different TMNT versions weren't SO different from each other, because it would make it easier for the fanbase as a whole to find common ground.

Totally agree with you on that. It seems the TMNT fandom can be so easily divided among fans depending on what version got them into it. I know from personal experience because I was such a big fan of the OT since it came out when I was little, and was what first got me into the turtles. I was aware of the 2k3 series when I was in high school, but just wasn't into it at the time.

Although I think being an adult helps a bit in being able to explore the different versions and appreciating them all.

[chrisdude]

It happens. I have about five t-shirts (including one with Nick designs), so the occasional condescending remark is pretty unavoidable. But obviously, I'm not ashamed if I'm showing it off.

I just remind myself that lots of people still love the stuff they did growing up, but they purposely deny themselves that indulgence because they don't think it's "grown up." They'll call a cartoon or a comic a childish waste of time, but they'll be in the theaters come August, chasing those warm fuzzy feelings they remember.

[OrangeNinja1987]

Some people have told me I'm too old for TMNT, but I try to ignore that. I enjoy pretty much anything TMNT (even the OT. It's funny and creative even if it has tons of animation mistakes and is made purely for toys) and I don't care if people think it childish. The OT as the most popular iteration just gave the franchise a childish look, but a lot of it is for older fans (comic books, 2003 for older kids).
I'd much rather like TMNT than all the boring dramas and other stuff everyone else drones on about. It is a unique franchise that has been extremely successful. Star Wars was sort of a childish movie when it came out but no one disrespects an adult Star Wars fan. Why? Because they grew up on it and it still appeals to them, and it is crazy popular so it's not rare and unusual to see adult fans. I think since TMNT has stayed so popular over 30 years and showed its longevity, people are starting to respect it.

[IndigoErth]

http://comicsalliance.com/barnes-and-nobles-get-pop-cultured-celebration-batman-marvel-ninja-turtles/

July 23 will be Batman Day at Barnes and Noble stores, which means people who swing by will get a free special edition of Detective Comics #27 (likely the Free Comic Book day version), and there will be a draw for a mini Bat-signal. From July 23 through July 27, the chain will have a “special offer” on DC graphic novels, but the Get Pop Cultured site doesn’t offer many details in that regard.

From July 24 through July 27 — the same time as Comic-Con in San Diego — B&N stores will have what it’s calling “comic convention exclusives” from toy company Funko. Again, not many details on the site.

August 2 will be Marvel Day, and August 4 through August 9 will offer six full days of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles activities for kids ages 5 through 10.

This thread topic, B&N you're not helping. If I were to facepalm any harder people might think I was a victim of domestic abuse.

I mean if you have kids I'm sure it might be fun to take them, but I love, sarcastically speaking, how the mentions of the other franchises sound adult/collector inclusive - or dare I say possibly even directed at - but the Turtles?

There has got to be a way to teach society how to do Turtles stuff while being inclusive of adults, teens, and older kids. I'd have been a sad 11-year-old... (Let alone 30something. lol)

[Bry]

I did get a bit of this in high school and through my early '20s, but not a ton of it. Even then, though, geeky fandom stuff has always been a big part of who I am, and most people understood, respected, and liked that about me. Those who didn't... well, they weren't my kind of people anyway, so they were easy to ignore. :twink:

And thankfully that kind of judgment got rarer the older I got, and by now (at age 30 - yikes!) it's stopped pretty much entirely. In fact, if I'm wearing a TMNT t-shirt out, or take out my wallet with the classic Turtles logo, all I seem to get is compliments and smiles from people of all ages. In my experience, once you're firmly an "adult," most mature-minded folks don't care what your interests are as long as they're not hurting anyone else. Anyone who judges you based on how you spend your personal time and your money clearly has some growing up to do themselves.

That's kind of the key - you need to respect yourself for who you are, including your interests, and give others the same respect in return. If someone won't give you that respect, especially for such a shallow reason as liking a particular pop-culture fandom, that's their hang-up - and you may find you're better off without them in your life.

Not to get too personal here, but: I was once in a long-term relationship with someone who once said she "didn't know if she respected me" because of my geeky/pop-culture interests and collections. And now I'm married to an amazing woman and partner who watches the Nickelodeon show with me, understands and shares a lot of my "geeky" passions, and who gets me and loves me for who I am completely.

It may take time to get past certain periods in your life, but I really believe that as long as you have respect and confidence for yourself and what you're into, it'll attract positive things.

[ProactiveMan]

No one has ever told me I'm too old for Ninja Turtles. Interestingly, the most hostility I've experienced regarding TMNT was from teachers, when Turtlemania was in full swing. They hated the Turtles, I guess because they were sick of kids constantly talking about them. I distinctly remember being forbidden to draw Turtles for art projects and such.

[IndigoErth]

I couldn't do it... My mom had been in here (my computer room) talking to me, noticed my 11" movie Leo that's standing by the printer on a shelf over my monitor, asked about "what this creature is." Don't have the light on that sits there so it's dim.. I couldn't tell her, just tried to brush if off. She's all, no she thinks it's cool... I was throwing out hints of it being a 30 year old franchise, started from comics, was a cartoon, I'd been a fan years ago... (Because I'm still in the closet lair about being a renewed fan.)

I mentioned there is a movie coming out and that I have a free ticket...because I was hesitant to tell her I thought she said "is it nerdy?" and I'm saying well, it started out as comics and has a lot of adult fans so I suppose so and isn't pretty much any kind of fandom "nerdy" these days...? Turns out she said "is it dirty?" ROFLMAO Dear god I hope not. Bad enough all the questions about loincloths, etc. *dies*

Working on it... Softening the blow. I will die though if she's already figured it out, though the woman isn't very observant. For kirst sake, I have the free ticket paper printed out next to me with the Turtles movie logo right there on it.


Honestly, I think my dream scenario would be for it to turn out she's felt bad about forcing me to give up something I loved years ago... Won't happen, but would be nice.

[IndigoErth]

I'm still currently in the closet lair about this, and with the new movie pending I've been waiting a while for that hammer to drop when the commercials are on frequently enough for my mother to come across it.
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-HtTdlRon6Ys/Uxh7Ps5mf2I/AAAAAAAABuE/lmeeH-vBD0I/w337-h227/thorcap.gif

So Wednesday I was waiting for a procedure that my mother accompanied me to (required general anesthesia so someone else needed to be there) and I was asking her if she had any idea about movie 3D glasses, if she knew if the special ones are sold or only come with a ticket; since she and my father have seen 3D movies and have been to the theater a lot more than I have in the last number of years.

She already knew I had a free ticket... to something. Wednesday she was pretty much already set on the idea that she'd gladly come see this with me, while still not even knowing what it was. (Ohhhkay... I'd been figuring I'd likely end up just going alone.) I guess she just likes seeing movies.

Sooo she comes in here this evening (to my computer room; multi-generational household at the moment) asking if "that movie" I want to see was coming out this Friday...or next Friday. Um.. yeah, next Friday... Apparently she'd just seen a commercial again and it finally clicked.

I could do without the "second childhood" comment and would prefer a slightly different tone when talking about TMNT, but for the most part an emotional impasse averted and she's, to my surprise, still into the idea of seeing it. If anything I hope that maybe this movie might earn the Turtles a different perspective from her and not simply one that sees them as a kid's thing.

[Leo656]

Have fun, hope it works. Regardless of my own feelings on it, if it does get some people into it who weren't before, then terrific.

[CyberCubed]

Its funny even when I was a kid and teen my parents never had a problem with me liking TMNT. Probably because they always thought TMNT was cool, and my father is a big Batman and Star Trek fan...so he probably knows what its like to have a fandom.

My father was of course born in the 60's, so he was exposed to 60's Batman and Star Trek growing up.

[Leo656]

My parents actually got a big kick out of the Turtles. They thought a lot of cartoons were hilarious, actually, and never told me to "grow up". They indulged a lot of my "juvenile" interest way past the point where it was "age-appropriate".

They also smoked a lot of pot, so maybe that's why they weren't very uptight. :lol: They were huge hippies, of the "do whatever makes you happy" variety. I kind of thought everyone's parents were that laid back, until I got a little older and went over friends' houses and their parents would berate them for "liking that baby crap" over whatever cartoons/toys they liked. For whatever my problems with my parents were - and there were a ton - they never gave me a hard time over what I liked, and I was and am grateful for that.

Only downside is, my Mom used to make me recite the theme song at family gatherings because she thought it was hilarious. Awkward and traumatizing.

[IndigoErth]

Only downside is, my Mom used to make me recite the theme song at family gatherings because she thought it was hilarious. Awkward and traumatizing.
Just made me realize that with all the years I was put through piano lessons this never even occurred to me... that would have been pretty awesome.

[Leo656]

:lol: I used to play keyboards. I got to do "Eye of the Tiger" for the in-class recital at the end of the marking period. That was great.

[Prowler]

The only person in my family who's ever been a TMNT fan was my brother. He was a big fan of them when he was a kid. He didn't care about any of the new cartoons or movies, though. He mostly just looks at the FW series as nostalgia from his childhood.

The rest of my family doesn't care. They don't judge me for it and never did, but I doubt they take something like the Turtles seriously.

[joefsas]

My mum and sisters just roll their eyes when they see my collection :lol:

But my mum did admit, just the other day that she used to enjoy watching the cartoons when i had em on in the early 90's! :D

[Blossombrooks]

My lovely mum made me laugh the other day, they've been clearing out the garage and they found some of my tmnt (or rather TMHT) stuff and my original figures. This made my day, I was super excited! See I'd never replaced my original figs because I knew they were in there...somewhere and I've waited patiently to get them back.

Mum says "Why do you want them? Are you selling them as a bulk deal on ebay?"

The horror. I think my left eye went all twitchy. "No Mum," I replied calmly, "I collect them, I'm keeping them. I only buy figures on ebay, I don't sell them."

Bless her, she knows this, she visits my house. I have turtles all over the place, my various figures from over the years are proudly displayed. I think she's still hoping I'll grow out of it, I'm 30 now, it's not looking likely. Sorry mum ;)

[Davetello]

Not really in a conscious way, but I get the feeling people offline and online think it's a little strange that I'm a big fan. I remember on another site myself and another guy were discussing the roof fight sequence from the first film. A girl quoted us and said words to the effect of "are you two grown men really debating fights from a Ninja Turtles film?" I told her about Mirage but I think she thought I was a fvcking weirdo lol.

My brother was like me - a big Turtles fan as a kid. However, these days he's pretty much a passive fan and just thinks of the FW show and first film. I've tried to get him into Mirage, Nick and 4kids but no luck yet. I have done my turtle fan duty of introducing my little cousin to the guys though, and he loves them.

[DarkFell]

No one has given me any guff over liking TMNT since.....
I was even given some verbal praise for wearing a TMNT shirt in a comic convention.
So I doubt that anyone really cares one way about it or the other.

[Storm Eagle]

I'm remembering when I was 14, a freshman in high school, and was watching TMNT on CBS. It was in its seventh season. My interest in the show was diminishing a little, but I was watching it anyway. Bill Nye the Science Guy was on at the same time on another channel, and she had me watch that because it's educational, and she said I'd get more out of it than watching Ninja Turtles or something.

Strangely enough, this was around the time when Power Rangers first started. I'd watch that too, and she never really said anything about it. She only started making sort of a fuss about me watching that when I was in my first year of college. That, and Saved By the Bell: The New Class, since the original SBTB started when I was 10 and in the fifth grade and I've kind of been watching that ever since. I didn't even watch it all that much when the original version was active anyway.

[joefsas]

No one has given me any guff over liking TMNT since.....
I was even given some verbal praise for wearing a TMNT shirt in a comic convention.
So I doubt that anyone really cares one way about it or the other.

I've had so many people say "hey cool t-shirt" whenever i'm out and about. I feel like i'm the only person in the UK to wear tmnt gear :lol:

[Hero]

Not the only one mate.

Been told the "too old" thing a few times; but when I ask to back it up and what law it is based on, those saying it simply can't.

I recall once buying some figures in Toys R Us and the cashier told me "Aren't you too old for all this?". I paused and pointed out that if his opinion was that important I would gladly take my money elsewhere.

[Storm Eagle]

Been told the "too old" thing a few times; but when I ask to back it up and what law it is based on, those saying it simply can't.

I recall once buying some figures in Toys R Us and the cashier told me "Aren't you too old for all this?". I paused and pointed out that if his opinion was that important I would gladly take my money elsewhere.

I'm going to have to remember both of those.

[METALHEAD]

i never get **** for liking turtles. its the opposite. whenever i wear a shirt, hey start commenting that they like my shirt. once i wore one at cici's pizza. and the guy who gave me my order was asking if i liked turtles, i said yes. started talkin about the new movie, askin if i'm gonna see it, that he already has like a free ticket or something, ect ect.

the only time i got questioned was when my brother got annoyed turning on the tv to find it on cartoon network. and while its not tmnt related, he questioned why i keep watching cartoons, and that its the reason 'why my brain never grows' ...i'm 29 for god sakes. but then he's always been an asshole.

the one i can truely talk about my fandon is my girlfriend who, is my best friend 4 years back. which is the best thing in the world. i can talk turtles and she will listen mainly because she's a turtle fan herself. i can talk most anything transformers,starwars, gijoe, dc, marvel.

its great to find a partner who shares the same interests. otherwise anyone else i'd annoye the hell of because, i'll be honest. i can be very obsessive about fandoms.

[Leo656]

People are stupid. The general idea about being an "adult", at least from a guy's perspective is, every second you're not getting wasted or laid is a "waste of time". The implication being, "you can't get p***y if you're watching cartoons/playing video games/reading comic books all the time", thus, all those things are a waste of time and energy. There is some validity to that statement, but it completely ignores the fact that, if you don't find a chick who's into those same things as you, the relationship can't work anyway, because whenever you're together you're going to be putting on an "act" rather than doing what you really enjoy. If you're a guy, is your outspoken affection for cartoons going to help you nail strippers? No, most likely not. But, it's almost a universal fact that those aren't the chicks you want to date anyway.

Just stupid alpha-male "priorities". It's all bullsh*t, easily ignored.

[METALHEAD]

People are stupid. The general idea about being an "adult", at least from a guy's perspective is, every second you're not getting wasted or laid is a "waste of time". The implication being, "you can't get p***y if you're watching cartoons/playing video games/reading comic books all the time", thus, all those things are a waste of time and energy. There is some validity to that statement, but it completely ignores the fact that, if you don't find a chick who's into those same things as you, the relationship can't work anyway, because whenever you're together you're going to be putting on an "act" rather than doing what you really enjoy. If you're a guy, is your outspoken affection for cartoons going to help you nail strippers? No, most likely not. But, it's almost a universal fact that those aren't the chicks you want to date anyway.

Just stupid alpha-male "priorities". It's all bullsh*t, easily ignored.

funny how you said all that. i remember a time my brother coming in my room, telling me that and he points at my toy collection, my monster posters that 'everything is okay to be into' but that chicks wont. and that i would need to hide them if i bring a chick over. and ya know. being the big brother, trying to make me a 'man' and tried time and time again to take me clubbing or a strip joint. to me i think it was demeaning. really. not to mention typical. i wasn't into that because i didn't wanna be like every guy going to sleezy bar looking at sleezy women. eventually i would meet my girl at a furry friend seeking/dating site.

and while she wasn't a furry presay, i noticed two things, she lived in texas as i do, and she was into tmnt. and thats what i was looking for a friend to talk tmnt to. and she was perfect. we hit it off fast. and of course i fell in love with her not too long after. bars and manly **** is for my brother, me? i'm different. i dont go for that macho stuff. i ain't into football, i dont drink beer. i'm a geeky dude who perfers comics, cartoons, and toys and drinks wine.

my brother obviously takes after my dad, i'm more like my mother. all in all as i said before, its good to find someone who shares things you do. and i learned that over the years after failed relationships. ya got chicks trying to change you. try to get you out of as one put it 'childishness of collecting toys' once i found 'that one' i realized i didn't have to change for no woman. i simply just have to find my other half/twin/soulmate who is just like me. and let me tell ya, its uncanny!

[pennydreadful]

Agreed - my partner and I came together because we first started talking about our mutual love of werewolves, nerd stuff and our obsession with Shark Week. Anyone who's going to dismiss you as a romantic interest because of your hobbies obviously isn't the right fit for you.

[Commenter 42]

Yeah, um, the real question is, would I admit to anyone, ever, that I'm into TMNT?
No. I absolutely would not.

This is my thing. I don't want nor care to share it, much less explain or defend it.

[zodiac brave]

i think i've kinda become the "ninja turtles guy" at work. not in a bad way, but i have a lil drawing of raph i did hanging on my cubicle wall and usually sport a tmnt watch, use a tmnt pen and on casual fridays, i usually sport a tmnt shirt.

i just came into work today and a couple of my coworkers asked me my opinion of the movie to help them decide whether or not to see it.

everyone pretty much knows im a big fan, but i also don't impose it on people or excessively talk about it or whatever, so everyone is pretty cool about it. as a matter of fact, i suspect come my birthday, i might get gifted some tmnt goodies.

no one here is a hater, heh.

[Leo656]

Yeah, um, the real question is, would I admit to anyone, ever, that I'm into TMNT?
No. I absolutely would not.

This is my thing. I don't want nor care to share it, much less explain or defend it.

I know what you mean, I mentioned somewhere on here that I really don't talk about TMNT or anything else I'm into unless someone asks me about it. I work out at the gym wearing a TMNT shirt a few times a week, so I'll get some comments from that, or if I wear it when I'm out shopping or something, but it doesn't come up in conversation much otherwise. I have no problem at all with talking about it but I don't go around bringing it up to people.

[Commenter 42]

I know what you mean, I mentioned somewhere on here that I really don't talk about TMNT or anything else I'm into unless someone asks me about it. I work out at the gym wearing a TMNT shirt a few times a week, so I'll get some comments from that, or if I wear it when I'm out shopping or something, but it doesn't come up in conversation much otherwise. I have no problem at all with talking about it but I don't go around bringing it up to people.

Yeah, It's a weird convo to have when it comes up. That's why I joined the board. People here can hate my opinions , but at least they have opinions of their own, and might know more than I.

[Leo656]

They: "Dude, Ninja Turtles! Sweet! I used to watch that!"
Me: "Yeah."
They: "You know they're doin' a movie?"
Me: "Yeah."
They: "It looks weird, but I'unno, I might go."
Me: "Yeah."
They: "Don't they have a new show on like, Nick or something, too?"
Me: "Yeah, like two years I think."
They: "Cool, I should check that out."
Me: "Yeah, it's alright."

...That's pretty much it, when it comes up in real life. I mean, what do you talk about? They don't read comics, most times, and aren't going to, so even bringing that up is weird. And if they didn't know there was another show few years ago, there's really no point in bringing that up, either. It's usually just, "Hey, nice shirt!" and then the above stiff conversation. None of my friends were ever as into it as I was. Only one I talk about it with is my wife. We both think too much about Ninja Turtles, compared to most people.

[Prowler]

Yea there's not much to talk about the Turtles with the people I know since they haven't really watched more than the original cartoon and the first couple of movies. It's just childhood nostalgia for them kinda like shows like Johnny Bravo, Tom & Jerry and such are.

[Ashangelo]

I think the only people I get the 'too old' speech from our my family.

Other than that, everybody I know is pretty cool with it. All my co-workers and the kids I work with know about my ninja turtle love don't have any issues with it. They'll talk to me about them or tell me if they've come across any cool merch that they think I'd like.

[nuno]

Even if it had, I find those people boring and actually old. No real reason to consider their opinions.

[Gorilla Grodd]

The only person that ever says I'm too old for TMNT is myself when I'm just being self deprecating. I've never had a problem with it from other people. But then again it's not like I really wear it on my sleeve and make it clear walking down the street that I'm some big TMNT fan.

I don't really talk about it to anyone other than girls I'm dating. By the time TMNT or any other nerdy comic stuff comes up they are already into me and just think it's sexy/cute hearing me talk about things I'm passionate about.

[Sleepingseeker]

I'm turning forty in two weeks and never have been prouder of my love for this franchise. In fact, I recently let my co-workers at the library where I work that I am unashamedly a HUGE turtle fan...I have been since they appeared in comics and I discovered them when I was 12....but yeah, I had to come clean once the four little sling-shot TMNT guys in the back window of my car gave me away XD

I admit, I was worried about their responses, but you know what? My boss told me that her boys were nuts for the 2k3 show and are in their 20s right now and were planning on seeing the movie and were stoked. My HR lead told me that her kids and she watches the Nick show every week, her boy is 10 and her daughter is 6 and she loves the show, too.

So how about that. Now, I won't tell them I write fanfiction....:tgrin:

[Redeemer]

Not when I show the the original Mirage comics :tool:

[Storm Eagle]

So how about that. Now, I won't tell them I write fanfiction....:tgrin:

Why is that?

[THGhost]

You're never too old for TMNT. :)

My friends know that I love it because it's all over my Twitter feed, one of them is a huge fan too. My girlfriend watched the 2K3 series growing up and she enjoys all of the 3 live action films, but that's about it. She respects my love for the franchise though.

[TheBlueTurtle1]

Even if it had, I find those people boring and actually old. No real reason to consider their opinions.

I 100% agree with this.

[Warhorse]

I think the only people I get the 'too old' speech from our my family.

Other than that, everybody I know is pretty cool with it. All my co-workers and the kids I work with know about my ninja turtle love don't have any issues with it. They'll talk to me about them or tell me if they've come across any cool merch that they think I'd like.

With me, the only time I get flack for it, are the younger girls, like in their 20's/30's. The ones that revolve their whole life and paycheck for their looks. I don't let it bother me though, because those types of people mean nothing to me.

[AnarkyLantern]

Not since fourth grade.

[Necrotique]

I've been told I'm too old for it, and I'm only just two days past 22! I guess some people don't understand the joy of buying, restoring, grading and selling models. Each to their own though. I don't let people's judgements upset me, as doing this makes me really happy.

[Seedkiller]

I'll be 100 years old, still collecting. **** what anybody thinks! Anybody that tells you otherwise doesn't need to be in your life. Whether it's a friend, woman, whomever, I really don't give a ****.
"Oh, your way too old for that immature stuff"
"Really? Am I too old to **** you up?"

[IndigoErth]

With me, the only time I get flack for it, are the younger girls, like in their 20's/30's. The ones that revolve their whole life and paycheck for their looks.
The ones who will someday realize how dull their life is that they've focused so long on only that. They must be baffled by those of us who have more interests than just what's in a mirror.



As for me... I pretty much keep the fandom at home and I don't really talk about it all that much. Though I'd have never imagined for a moment that things would have ever taken the complete 180 here that it has in the last two months. The woman, my mother, who felt is was reasonable to shame me out of being a fan in my mid teens? Saw my Build-a-Bear TMNT the other day... and pretty much let out a squealed "aww" wanting to know where I'd gotten it and hugged it.

No matter it's flaws or my own reservations, I have to give the new movie a lot of the credit. A few months ago I feared the commercials would be ammo for poking fun at me... but, after my mom saw it with me, it really appears to have provided a new perspective on these guys instead.;)

[Seedkiller]

Oh, by the way I have both a turtles and a powerpuff girls blanket on my bed right now, and I challenge anybody to say something about it!

[UsagiYoJimBelushi]

:trolleye::trolleye::trolleye::trolleye::trolleye: :trolleye::trolleye::trolleye::trolleye:

I would sigh exhaustedly and roll my eyes.

[pennydreadful]

As long as you're happy and not hurting anybody else, it's no-one else's business what your hobbies are. I don't care if you're 60 years old and you're still into Pokemon, Digimon, Turtles, My Little Ponies - whatever, if it makes you happy, who the hell cares.

https://33.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m6m0a2JVtU1ru8mjao1_400.gif

You should never be ashamed of still being able to have fun and engage your imagination with things. Being a grownup is enough of a crapfest as it is - there's more to life than just getting older, going to your thankless job each day and paying bills and taxes. If you can take a bit of joy in something, whether it's a tv show or an action figure or a comic book, it's got sod-all to do with anyone else.

[Storm Eagle]

You should never be ashamed of still being able to have fun and engage your imagination with things. Being a grownup is enough of a crapfest as it is - there's more to life than just getting older, going to your thankless job each day and paying bills and taxes. If you can take a bit of joy in something, whether it's a tv show or an action figure or a comic book, it's got sod-all to do with anyone else.

That whole part just nails it. Especially the first two sentences.

[Shiro Kame]

My mom...even in Crash Bandicoot and Sonic.

[IndigoErth]

I know, very old thread is very old, sorry for the bump. But it's some interesting discussion and revisiting it after thinking over the last couple of years, and last 20 years for that matter.


At 15 (1994 or early 95)...my mother unfortunately felt it was appropriate to try to shame me out of my fandom for it.

...for the last 20 years she has found it cute to once in a while continue to make me feel embarrassed for having been a fan. (And honestly, WTactualF, I'm 35, she's done this crap for more than half my life, well longer than the period of time I was an active fan back then, and yet she won't drop it.)

I'm still currently in the closet lair about this, and with the new movie pending I've been waiting a while for that hammer to drop when the commercials are on frequently enough for my mother to come across it. I know she won't be able to keep from saying something.


And now? This same woman...

http://i.imgur.com/Tfy5p4n.jpg?1

...who two days ago was looking again at the pics I put on FB that we got of the standee (I think that's what it's called?) for this year's film and commented:

I am not going to grow up!
Ok, I admit it. My fav. turtle is Mikey.

(I haven't even called him Mikey to her, only confirmed that the one she liked most was named Michelangelo, so she got his nickname and spelling right on her own, I'm impressed. lol)

Moral of the story, kids... things can change, even old attitudes.