Thoughts on 80's Leonardo

[FredWolfLeonardo]

Just wondering what everyone thinks of him. Apparently, there are alot of people who I think don't like him that much but I found him really fun overall, especially sometime during early season 3 when Cam Clarke stopped using the deep voice for Leo which i didn't like that much at all.

I liked Leo's personality, although many people criticised him for saying "Lets go turtles!" or "We have to save April!", he always wanted to do the right thing and I found his execution on-screen to be pretty fun to watch, especially after Clarke adjusted his voice to a lighter tone.

I also like Clarke voiced Leo for all 193 episodes and how there were alot of episodes dedicated to him, which I all found very fun to watch (e.g Snakes Alive, Leonardo Lightens up).

So, what are your full thoughts?

[ssjup81]

I neither liked nor disliked him. I only had "favorites" and "non-favorites". Raph and Mikey were my favorites of the 80s toon as a kid. Leonardo and Donatello were just there to me, but I didn't hate them or anything. They just weren't as entertaining to me as Raph or Mikey. To me, Leo was kind of boring because he was the leader.

[Shark_Blade]

"Turtle Power!"

"Turtles fight with honor!"

"We're amphibians!"

I think that covers all of his personality in one post tbh. Though I don't hate him. :P

[FredWolfLeonardo]

"Turtle Power!"

"Turtles fight with honor!"

"We're amphibians!"

I think that covers all of his personality in one post tbh. Though I don't hate him. :P

This. I find him really fun to watch, even if his dialogue was relatively limited. Not every character needs to be complex, realistic and developing over time in order to be fun.

I found 80s leo to be just as fun as the other turtles, who i think are the most entertaining of all turtle teams, right up there with the Nick turtles.

I like how 80s leo has an innocent heart and wants to do the right thing but is rather inexperienced in many situations so we get alot of entertaining moments in the show as a result of his good hearted but naive personality.

I also like his fascination for things like reading and video games, his closeness with splinter and the fact that there are alot of episodes dedicated to him having a change of personality, possibly more than any of the other turtles. Not to mention he can be a badass when he needs to.

Some people mightve guessed it by now, but my namesake is hands down, my favourite version of leo, closely followed by Nick Leo. I might get bashed on here for blatantly favouring him over 4kids leo (i think hes a excellent character in his own right and i think he is one of the, if not the best character in the 2k3 show) but whether its nostalgia, Clarke's voice talent or something more justifiable, FW leo is without a doubt, my absolute favourite.

[Shark_Blade]

Why would anyone bash you for liking something? :-? We're in a TMNT fan forum. I don't like Next Mutation turtles but you don't see me bashing fans who like them. Report those people if they do.

And yes I like OT Leo voice too. Cam Clarke does an excellent job, his voice is iconic now among the other OT characters. ;) Hearing him again in Transdimensional turtles brings me happiness, I love that Nick gave them another shot at these lovable characters.

[Wesley]

Leo was my favourite when I was a kid. I saw a bit of myself in him at times. I would have liked if there had been more episodes centred around him, but as the first poster said, he got some good episodes such as Snakes Alive and Take Me to Your Leader.

However, rewatching the series as an adult, I find Leo boring and his voice a bit annoying at times, particularly during the mid seasons. I still like him, though. Cam Clarke voiced him well.

One thing that I like about 80s Leo is that he's slightly serious but still has fun. I think he has good chemistry with the other turtles, as he's the Straight Man to others' antics.

[myconius]

aside from Leo being my all time favorite, Cam Clarke is an excellent voice actor!
before i even knew his name i'd recognize his voice in plenty of cartoons,
same also with Michael Bell.

[Powder]

He didn't get a lot of sparkling dialogue, but Cam Clarke sure as hell gave him as much personality as possible. For that alone, he's great.

[IndigoErth]

Still one of my faves. Though to be fair, for me it's pretty much divided between all the liked versions roughly about equal and the other versions that I'm not too big on what they did with him/them.

Between series, I probably couldn't choose between '87, '03, and '12, I like them for their own reasons as well as, and especially, collective Leo-ish reasons that touch all versions.

Mikey may have long been a favorite to many kids everywhere thanks to his goofy, fun nature, but I personally always had an appreciation for the responsible do-gooder. Then and now, he may be the more serious one of the bunch, but then it is that much sweeter and sincere when something does make him laugh or he cracks a small joke or funny comment.

[ranger_scout]

The 80's version of Leonardo is and always will be my favorite version of the character. The episodes where he would save his brothers were some of my all-time favorites. Cam Clarke really put his heart and soul into the character even though he was kind of bummed that Leonardo rarely got to have any funny lines. It really is such a joy for me to voice this character again on some occasions all of these years later. I also learned a valuable lesson from the character as a child that in order to get rid of your fears, you have to face them. That really helped me overcome me fear of movies that terrified me when I was little.

[Leolead]

I'm a bit neutral on him. I liked him the best in Season 1

[TMNTChris1980]

Loved him. I grew up on the cartoon when it first aired, and I thought he was the toughest, and coolest. Still my favorite. Cam Clarke did a perfect job for hos voice as well.

[Ninjinister]

Nobody told me I had to think D:

[GoldMutant]

I really wish some of these polls had a middle option of "neutral" or "I kinda did, but others I didn't." Not a massive gripe, but at least in some cases with Fred Wolf specifically, it's slightly difficult. :ohwell:

My overall issue with Leo in the 80's series is that he really didn't get much to do. I understand though if it's because audiences at the time liked the other Turtles; regardless, there are aspects of the character I liked. Cam Clarke as many have pointed out is a good voice actor and the role remains one of his signatures throughout his career. In addition, he did get moments of being a badass during season 1 and coined several phrases known throughout the franchise.

Although Cam and some of the dialogue make this Leo fun, he's still my least favorite of the three cartoon versions. Would've liked to see more of him taking the spotlight as episodes such as Snakes Alive! I did get a kick out of. Mostly comes down to writing that prevents me from fully enjoying the character. As a result, I'm more neutral but depending on what's being discussed, I either like him due to his personality and voice or dislike him because of a lack of episodes to fully embrace the character outside one-liners.

[Sumac]

I don't think anything of him. He is just bland and most of the time lost in the shadow of other Turtles who had more pronounced characters.
He really shines in his solo episodes though, but they are rarity.

[pferreira]

I liked 80s Leo, he was totally bland but just how a goody leader should be. :lol:

[myconius]

it's such a shame Cam Clarke didn't get more to work with as Leonardo!
he has such an impressive resume of voice acting, and even more impressive range. you'd never even know it was the same guy voicing Rocksteady!

[SwordofTengu]

I love me some Leo. He's really dedicated to his team and always struck me as the best fighter of the group. However, I would say he is the most bland in the original series but I liked him coming to terms with his phobia of snakes in Season 6.

[myconius]

I love me some Leo. He's really dedicated to his team and always struck me as the best fighter of the group. However, I would say he is the most bland in the original series but I liked him coming to terms with his phobia of snakes in Season 6.

yeah me too!! always my fave since the beginning

and it's completely night and day between Brian Tochi's Leo in the 1990 movie.

[Andrew NDB]

80's Leo is my favorite Turtle. :)

[Original TMNT Cartoon Fan]

Always liked "Take Me to Your Leader"

[myconius]

Always liked "Take Me to Your Leader"

now you've got me wanting to go dig through my DVDs :D

[pferreira]

Always liked "Take Me to Your Leader"Love that episode, it has some genius moments of comedy and irony. The bit where after Leo leaves the other three not wanting to be leader because they know what hassle it'll be I always found really funny. I always liked the bit where the three Turtles are in the school, Don slips on the stairs and you get this hilarious shot of him falling towards camera showing how not capable they are without Leo. I do wish the 80's cartoon had more scenes that were this funny.