Am I the only one who is annoyed by the lack of beaks/snouts on the newer turtles?
 

I've never played Out of the Shadows, or watched Nick TMNT, but I have seen the drawings of the characters and they're all flat-faced. To me, it just doesn't *look* right to draw them without their beaks; and, part of me even wants to say that it's simply *not* right, period. As if drawing them without their beaks/snouts/noses should be against some unwritten rule.
I'm also pretty unhappy about the rumors that Liebesman's/Bay's turtles will look more like humans. I think the teenage mutant ninja turtles, in all their forms, should look like the teenage mutant ninja turtles. Not the teenage mutant ninja humans with green skin.

I don't mind the Nick Turtles since they're a cartoon, but I agree with you on the movie Turtles. If it's live action it should look believable, otherwise it easily breaks suspension of belief.

I'll admit I was unimpressed with the Nick turtles look at first, but once I started watching them, the look fit the feel of the show and I couldn't imagine them drawn differently- for this iteration of TMNT. So with my snap-to-judgement lesson learned, I suppose I'll try to hold off on judging the new movie turtles until I watch the movie... Remember I said *try*... Lol!

I can't really think of any incarnation of the show where the turtles actually looked like turtles.

As for the beaks/snouts - are you referring to the 2007 movie look? I wasn't a fan of the squared snout look - it pulled me out of the movie.

I think the best official version by far was from TMNT and other Strangeness.
But probably because that's my first memory of them :)

I agree that it would be refreshing if they looked accurate to their reptilian origin, but on the other hand, I think there is something intrinsic to the design of the head. It's Hard to pinpoint, because at the end of the day, they are little more than green happy-faces wearing a mask, but maybe it's the simplicity of the face that allows anyone to see what they want.

I know one thing for certain - the more "real" they look, the more fans generally start to hate it.

I myself am actually glad they don't have prominent beaks, A lot of the realistic fanart I've seen is often quite disturbing to me. But of course to each his own.

I agree bo staff, they remind me of some horribly drawn archies turtles. Moreover, If the new bay film will portrait the turtles as humans i will consider boycotting it.

Out of the Shadows is probably the first officially released TMNT product released to make the Turtles look more like real Turtles.

I never cared they didn't have beaks.
If they had beaks, I cant imagine how their teeth would work for them, since real Turtles dont have teeth but more like serrated ridges on their beak.

Also, from an animation standpoint: trying to animate realistic beaks would mean difficulty in properly animated or emoting the Turtles. It works sometimes, like Pigeon Pete... But to watch that through 4 Turtles we're supposed to care about? I dunno...

This...

Aside from that and maybe the Soul's Winter arc in Mirage, the Turtles have never really had turtley faces.

Or real watermelons...

Out of the shadows created the worst look so far.
Not a fan.

Your avatar is ten thousand times worse than the OOTS designs.

This argument isn't worth my time.

I have never really cared one way or the other, bth. I like them no matter how they llok, whether it's a more "realistic" look, or something more cartoony. My faves so far have been IDW (the Santoluocco [sp?] issues) and the 2K3 versions. Unlike many, though, I kind of like the OOTS look.