Michelangelo having a "surfer voice" in all media
 

In the original cartoon, new cartoon, the original 3 movies, and new movie, Michelangelo has that same type of "surfer voice" in all media, although its to different extremes depending on which one you're talking about.

Did this idea really all spawn from the original toon's Mike voice? It seems like they stuck with that for how Mike should sound in everything that followed, just with each actors different take on it.

I'd actually say that Mikey's accent went from "surfer" in the original series all the way up to "skater" in the 2k3 series and beyond.

And yes, it all started from the original series. TMNT only existed on paper and miniatures before then.

Although Mikey didn't seem to have such accents in the crap that was "The Next Mutation".

I would think it all spawned from the OT. And I can't say enough how flat out stupid it is that he talks like that. He lives and was raised in the sewers of New York City. I have family and friends who live there. None of them sound our say anything like a surfer.

If i remember correctly back in the mid 80's there was this surfer-dude craze going on. I'm pretty sure that's where it came from.

Well, Mikey's surfer dialect is a classic, one of the most known events from the old toon, so the creators wouldn't just let that die.

What is the difference between a surfer accent and a skater accent?

You have family and friends that live in the sewers?:o

Hard to explain, but there is a notable difference.

I've heard that Mikey sounds like a pot-head too. What does a pot-head sound like? Well, pretty much like Seth Rogan and the "Dude" in The Big Lebowski.

The original movies kinda went overboard and made all 4 turtles talk with surfer slang, even though Mikey was the only one with the actual surfer accent.

I don't notice the diffrence either:ohwell:

oh God almighty here we go again! :evil: I'm getting so sick of these "Michaelangelo surfer dialect" topics because eventually it always leads to the same thing every f**king time.

Michaelangelo's a pot head! Boy, oh boy, Michaelangelo eats alot of pizza and says he has the munchies, he's a pot head. I am just so sick of this negative attachment Michaelangelo has due to how he talked in the orginal series because it looms over his character as a permanent stain.

I still say it's modeled after Sean Penn's Spicolli.

ahah i love spicoli

In my head Michelangelo has a slightly timid (but not weak) voice. Him having a surfer voice is pretty apocryphal, but I can appreciate the cartoons drumming that idea into our heads collectively for a couple of decades now.

jajaj yeah I know...it sounds the same 2 me:lol:

jajajaajaj it relly sounds like mickey

Who's Mickey?

Thanks for that vid LeoNerdo, and I agree with Jester, Michelangelo does sound influenced by Spicoli.

thats interesting. Care to expand on that reasoning? I've always pictured him with a exuberate voice.

I always thought that NT Mike had a more natural way of talking. It's only been kind of recently that he's adopted a "skater" way of talking. He talks like...a teenager. 80's Michaelangelo talked like a teenager of the 80/90's. Skating and surfering and it's culture seemed to be "in" at the time so I don't think it's unreasonable that he would taljk like that even if he's never been to Malibu.

He's a writer, a thinker, but with a loving heart when the opportunity is there. Nothing in Mirage volume 1, 2, 4, or especially 3 ever gave me a "WHOAAA DUDESSSS PARTY COWAAABUNNGAAAA!!!!" vibe for even a split second. That's just the children's cartoons... but again, I can appreciate that they have pretty well droned it into the public psyche that he sounds like some kind of quasi-surfer dude... I just don't have to like it.

Because of the OT, when I read the comics I usually imagine the Turtles and some other characters having the voices they had in the early seasons of the OT. The only variations are Splinter being Mako Splinter, Raph sometimes coming off as 2k3 Raph, and Casey always sounds like Elias Koteas in my head. Oh, and Shredder sounds like movie Shredder.

I don't really have a problem with it. Realistically I would imagine Mikey sounding more "average" compared to the other Turtles (Leo being serious, Raph having a Brooklyn accent, and Don sounding like a nerd). But, it doesn't bother me that Mikey sounds like a surfer. I mean, they did learn a lot of what they knew about humans at the time from television. Maybe he really got into movies about surfers and skaters and took up that accent from watching so much of it on TV.

Heh, when I read the Archie comics they all have their OT voices. Now when I read Mirage they have their movie voices. As they both fit one another best IMO.

I agree with this. :thumbsup:

Seconded. Everyone talked like that back then. Even Bart Simpson... but mostly on T-shirts.

But the thing that bugs me is whenever people parody or reference the Turtles, they all make them all speak like Mikey. I don't recall Leo, Raph, or Donny ever saying "dude," or at least on a regular basis.

Exacto mundo! Since Mikey loves surfing/skating so much even if it involves dirty sewer water and pipes, he might have rented so many movies and watched so many shows regarding the sports and copied the accent. Makes sense.

to bad Michaelangelo isn't shown this way more often. :(

who cares why Mikey talks like that. All that matters is it would probably be mad fun to smoke with him =)

I like his surfer voice, and yeah it sounds like a stoner who cares its not like him smoking a little MJ would be the end of the world or like its THAT important.

I'm sure it was chosen to make him the most "hip" turtle. If they all had Brooklyn accents it'd be boring.

Its not that hard to tell the difference between Surfer/Skater dialects. Which I find odd in NT Mikey is that his "skater" personality would not be a comic book geek like he is.

I like Mikey's accent & voice, especially in the new movie. I am playing through the TMNT game at the moment and love hearing them all talking to each other in the background, you get a bit more dimension to him than just the one liners from the movie (Mike and Don def needed more screen time!).

I liked the line-

Mike- Don... when I get my hands on you..
Don- I got the pizza ready!
Mike- I'm gonna give you a great big hug cause you're my brother!

and also

Mike- I think one of these balloons has sprung a leak! (in a high-pitched helium voice)

I love his surfer voice! Michelangelo without a surfer voice isn't Michelangelo.
What are the first things people think when they hear the name Ninja Turtles? Pizza and Cowabunga.

The surfer dialect never made much sense to me. Shouldn't they all talk the same since they grew up in New York. Splinter is the only one in the family who has any business talking in a different accent because he heard japanese for the first years of his life.