Is there a version you are completely or mostly happy with
 

So, I was thinking of all the different incarnations and what people want from TMNT. I know there are versions which people just don't like or don't like much for various reasons but I was wondering if you guys have a version that is exactly what you want or there's a version or versions that don't completely satisfy what you want but at least for a good part. (over all story, character portrayal, designs)

My thought spurred form another thread where there was reflection on the last show, this show so far for me is my version, while I don't find it perfect, because it is a kids show I accept it has those restraints, but these issues were small and few for me so for the majority part it I am happy with it

Do you guys have a version or a few versions that mostly meet what you want? I mean yeah I know you wouldn't be fans if there wasn't a version you liked, LOL, I just meant is there one that it spot on or mostly for you. :) Or if you like a lot of the franchise, appreciating that some versions are just different to others or just one or 2 versions.

Well, IDW has just about everything I'd consider good storytelling. Rarely any filler, character motivation makes sense, decent pacing, etc. It's not flawless but it does have the best writing of any incarnation yet.

I've really enjoyed Mirage too. There's a lot of ups and downs in quality, I'm not gonna lie about it, but the fact that it's basically always a creative vision behind it all makes it fascinating. A weirdly melancholy mix of Japanese romanticism, vigilante fiction, low urban fantasy, space opera and a whole bunch of American comic book conventions. It's odd and unorthodox but that's the way I like it.

After that it's two close calls to being "Mostly Happy With", the 2003 cartoon and the 2007 movie.

The 4Kids cartoon is far from perfect but it is the most consistantly good TMNT cartoon. The fact that it actually bothered to work with it's source material and used it to rethink TMNT as children's cartoon, rather than just ape the previous cartoon that chose to ignore the comics, is weirdly praiseworthy here. "Mirage for Kids with a few new twists" might not be everyone's cup of tea, but the approach does make more sense from a creative standpoint than the "Let's watch four idiots in a wrecked golfball fail 120 times against pizza addicts" garbage David Wise pretends to have come up with.

The 2007 movie isn't exactly good but then again, none of the TMNT movies are actually good. It does however get the tone right, something the other movies (especially III and OotS) fail at. It's the only one of the movies I can get through without feeling annoyed at any point.

Version I am most happy with is the Original Cartoon for sure, closely followed by Nick.

I'm fine with the majority of versions for what they are. There's just those certain ones that put me off for various reasons. (i.e. Next Mutation for being so hokey, 2007 for making Leo out to be an asshat -- yeah I gotta disagree on getting a tone right -- ...and thanks "Rise" for trying to bring that back; a fear has become reality. :roll:)



In terms of series of today and in the future, I'd rather they lean more toward a tone and look somewhat like the 2003 series. I'd prefer they stop trying to emulate the original 1987 cartoon. I still love it for what it is and without it the Turtles may well have never made it to hitting 34 years, but leave what it did there with it. It's very much an 80s show, please stop trying to bring back the 80s in the 21st century; it just looks purposely foolish (thus insulting) which is a big difference from the authentic goofiness of the 80s.

And as much as I enjoyed 2012 and it was fun seeing them actually seem younger, I'm ready to have my older feeling Turtles back. (Or how about legit older for once? Gee there's a change that could be made that has "never been done before" for a series... but no, no one has the guts to try that angle and try an older audience.)


As far as films go... Take the mocap, maybe similar character design in terms of realism SANS steroids (and at least keep them under 6') and big city feel of PD and mash that together with the deep, more emotional, more complex level of writing the original had back in 1990. That 2014/16 got handed to Bay & Co., an empty calorie studio - aka it's just "froth" and no substance - is such a big part of its problem overall. People could have gotten used to those Turtles had they gotten to be in films with writing that gave people more reason to actually care about them.

I am mostly happy with the 4Kids cartoon, given that it's my favorite. I think the mood in that series is pretty balanced between action and humor, the character and location designs are awesome, and the music is great. The 90s movies are a close second and I really wish that world was explored more because it has so much potential.

I suppose with it being owned by a kids network they aren't going to produce a show for the older audience, though they could do a another animated DVD movie or short series of them with the turtles being a tad older if they wanted, would have to drop the 'teenage' though, less they are 17 or something :)

Not all the versions will be everyone's thing although some like a lot of franchise, I guess they can just take the variations for what they are meant to be and find something in them they like.

From what I have seen so far I can like a chunk of the franchise, still got to some more to get through yet.... hopefully fill some of that little gap I have now.

I haven’t read the comics, but my favourite version is the 2003 series. It’s the definitive tmnt cartoon, imo, even though it has flaws.

Filmwise, 1990 and 2007 are my favourites with their tone being similar to the 2003 cartoon.

Yeah, and I don't expect Nick to go producing a series aimed at adults.

However... they don't just belong to Nick, they belong to Viacom as a whole, and they certainly have other channels they could produce an more mature series for.



On the other hand, Nick itself isn't a stranger to airing old shows (Nick at Night was/is a thing after all) or producing content for an older audience that aired at later hours. Even if they brought back the Snick concept and made a series aimed for mid/older teens on up that would be on weekend nights.

Yeah, this is true, maybe movies would get the better chance of scratching that itch?

For me, it's hard to choose. I LOVE the 80's toon, as it was practically the only thing I had growing up, and the 1990 movie was what got me hooked and has a special place in my heart, but I have grown to love the '03 series and even Nick as well. Even the PD movies have some good in them. Overall, if I HAD to pick a "best" version, I would give it to IDW. It has just about the best of everything- characterization, story, world-building, tone, and occasional humor.

The original cartoon. Can watch it all day.

IDW. Sure, I've had my share of complaints on everyone but April having daddy issues and no mother in sight to some capacity and having some areas that I would probably have strengthened a little bit or removed entirely (Triceratons actually coming from Cretaceous Earth instead of being aliens that could be surmised as divergent evolution having a good laugh), it's the series that locked me in and the one that I'm most excited to follow, and it does have a lot that I think is brilliant, even making stepping stones for future concepts.

I'm not sure what you mean by this. That she's following in his foot steps by working on the ooze? That she gave her mother an alien compound to cure his paralysis? And I'm pretty sure both parents have been shown in roughly equal capicity.

Most everyone except April has daddy issues to some capacity. She's probably the only one that has both parents alive and has a good, healthy relationship with them.

Mirage TMNT. Large parts of the original movie. A couple of scenes from the 2007 movie. Chunks of Archie because I was a little kid and nostalgia. Very early IDW and the reincarnation stuff -- that was clever.

Yeah. That seems about right.

I like pretty much every iteration, some with more asterisks than others, but these two are my top contenders as well. While I'd probably say Mirage is my favorite overall, I think the first film might be the most "perfect" as a standalone work of art. It's a masterpiece.

The only ones that would take a lot of re-tooling for me to appreciate are the PD movies. The rest, while I may have qualms, are easy to enjoy for what they are.

That first movie is such a brilliant mix of Mirage with OT, just enough of each incarnation for it to work. It'd be my perfect interpretation if it weren't for the lackluster final fight.

But we need to count the sequels II and III as part of the interpretation, or else we could judge the OT based only on the first season etc. II is still good enough to not taint the legacy much but III does stink it up a bit. :lol:

I like different things for different reasons, so I am completely satisfied with almost all versions of TMNT.
Notable mentions go to OT, 2k3 series, TMNT'07, Turtles Forever, First movie and second movie.

Versions I am not satisfied with are Bay-turtles and 2k12 / Nick series.

For my money's worth, IDW is the closest to being the perfect realization of the TMNT mythos

I consider myself a trashy casual Turtles fan so my expectations aren't super strict.
I can find enjoyment in most incarnations that had love put into them. So I love the 2003 cartoon, the 2012 Nick cartoon and the '87 cartoon. Roughly in that order. I try to not get bothered at different takes on characters. As long as it stays sort of within a sensible range and doesn't go off the walls for the sake of "originality".

For example, I feel that Leonardo "should act a certain way". But I personally allow secondary characters like April more flexibility. Secondary characters can be whatever is best to service the plot, even more so with minor characters.

My favorite animated series still so far is the 03 cartoon. Why? Because I had no idea the comic books even existed until I started watching this show when I was younger. My dad used to read them, so on Saturday mornings he and I would watch 2k3 and one day he said something like "Oh this show is referencing the comics." and I was like " Comics? Wut chu talkin bout?" So yes, thanks to 2k3 and my dad I found out about the world of TMNT outside of the cartoons and toys. (I never wanted the toys anyway)

I absolutely adore the 2012 cartoon because the teenage protagonists are actually acting like teenagers, among other things. I think it's a real gem in its own right. For one it's intro is catchy and unskippable.

A couple of friends have talked me into reading IDW so I will begin reading them as soon as I'm able, I can tell from here that IDW must be pretty close to lore cohesion and perfection as possible.

As far as the movies are concerned, I liked the 2007 film. The 90's movies, weeelll its been a long time since I have seen those. Last week I saw the Bay movies and they were an utter assault on my mind. So many things were wrong but still I can squeeze a tablespoon of enjoyment out of them at least.

I should mention 2012, too. I dig the first two or three seasons for what it was to me, personally, which was something generally pretty funny with a decent amount of heart that my daughter and I got to enjoy together for a while.

But it's not "TMNT" to me, by any means.

I’d have to go with the 4kids series. Minus Fast Forward (it was ok but really changed the tone, should have been a separate series)

It was serious enough to take seriously. It didn’t go overboard with the “goofy” or fantasy elements. Not to me anyway. The art style fit well too.

I don’t read any of the comics and none of the movies have been absolutely great imo.

TMNT 07 is probably my favorite because it’s like a big 4kids episode but as a stand-alone movie seems a bit out of place if you’re not already invested in the franchise.

No. I don't like any version in particular.

In fact, I'm really not all that invested in the TMNT franchise/lore. The only part I'm actually comfortable with is the first season of the 2k12 series. (And even then, I'm ambivalent on that.)

Don't get me wrong. I don't dislike the franchise. It's just - I'm not all that interested in*most of it.

My "perfect" version of TMNT media is a toss up between the 1990 film and the current IDW comics. I was too young for the original comics and haven't spent a lot of time going back to them. The original show and toys got me into the characters, but the 1990 film cemented their place in my heart. The story, the Turtles' look, their personalities and relationships - the 1990 film is where the bar is set when I'm "judging" new TMNT material. The IDW comics have introduced cool ideas while getting the Turtles "right" in terms of personality and development. Also, Mateus Santolouco's version aesthetically is one of my favorites of all time. I would love to see a show, movie, or toys based on the IDW version.

A close runner up for me personally is the 2007 movie. I didn't need another reason for Leo and Raph to have beef, but besides that I really like the Turtles as individuals and as brothers in that iteration.

I'm going to make an exception on comic reading for TMNT and try a few of them, Mirage obviously because this is where the franchise was created and IDW because as you said people also seem to like this a lot and recommend it .

Re:2012 intro, my son and I would turn the volume up for this :lol:

I didn't really like the 2k12 intro.

I thought it was lazy.

A lazy remake of the original, to be more exact.

Lazy remake of 87?

More like a remix of 87 with better writing and animation and story telling. And I mean that for the whole show including the intro.

The Nick show and original cartoon are absolutely nothing alike. I have no idea why people keep saying it's a "remake" or whatever.

The IDW series is more of a reimagining of every old TMNT universe molded into one than anything.

We're talking about the intro music.

• 4Kids Seasons 1-4
• IDW
• Mirage/Image (Volumes 1-4)

That's it. I'm a picky guy.

The 03 series and the current IDW series are both really good.
The best, though, is still the original Mirage book. It's what I'm happiest with and still go back and read to this day.

Remake is hardly an appropriate term, but to say they are "absolutely nothing alike" is ridiculous. Auman's influence alone made it (at times) equally goofy. & you've got your Krang tech failures, monster of the week episodes, pizza fixations, Bebop & Rocksteady, food fights & other campy kinds of combat, etc. The turtles were even occasionally pigeonholed into behaving in accordance with their stereotyped personalities attributed by David Wise & Co. The Nick series is leagues ahead of Fred Wolf in terms of plot, action, drama, etc. but they share many similarities (& I don't mean to say that's a good or bad thing, it's just objective fact).

HA!!

I definitely will! What's the best collection to buy to get through the OG Mirage material?

DUDE-- the original Mirage comics were literally used as storyboards while Steve Barron and Todd Langen were hammering the screenplay! :D I think you'll love 'em!

I'm not sure which collection is considered best. The old issues were printed in black and white on newsprint paper, so even if you go cheap, the experience will be there. :lol:

The comic adaptation of the 1990 movie is pretty awesome, as well.

Thats why I said "Remix" not "Remake".

The Ultimate Collection from IDW. Maybe not the "best" but it's by far the easiest/cheapest one to get. The missing issue are collected as Classics 1-7, expect for a few that will never be reprinted due to copyright issues.

Thanks, guys! I knew the original run was what inspired the movie and I believe I have the First Publishing TMNT graphic novels in storage somewhere. Those are the original Mirage run, right?

I'll look into the IDW set and read (or re-read) those. Thanks again!

I think IDW turtles are the best at the moment. For once, Mikey is not an idiotic moron.