Pizza obsession?
 

So I don't really get the appeal of the pizza obsession introduced in the cartoon. I mean I get the basic idea of the turtles having a favorite dish they're shown eating from time to time, the IDW comics handle this decently.

But then the first cartoon decided that they should obsess over pizza, eat pizza in nearly every episode, talk about pizza in nearly every episode, make pizza jokes in nearly every episode and have multiple episodes use pizza as a plot device.

I don't get it, making it a near constant presence turns it from charming to annoying. Do you see the appeal in pizza obsession?

It's the pizza lobbyists. THE ALUMINADE!

LEL! :lol:

I think, strategically, it was a great move on part of Playmates/Fred Wolf as far as marketing. You had a common food that automatically evoked associations with the mega-franchise the Turtles became during that time period, which was great for cross-promotions, and it just became one of its wacky cornerstones from which plots, merchandise, whatever, could be culled.

As to how or why TPTB arrived at pizza specifically, I have no idea and would love to hear a proper origin for that decision.

It totally worked for the '87 show. I'm glad other versions have since moved away from it though.

Even if they wanted to make the turtles pizza obsessed in the 4Kids and the Nick series, the media would destroy them due to the problems with child obesity in the USA these days. They'd probably get the cookie monster treatment and make them addicted to tofu or something like that.

Right??? :lol:

I actually think the pizza obsession it funny and enjoyable, but yes the OT did go over-board with it from season to season.

But its apart of turtle culture now and it can never go away.

It makes for good Pizza Hut promotions.

As much as I like pizza I did find it annoying when Mikey would bring up pizza nearly every time he spoke.

And helped sell a lot of TMNT 2: The Arcade game copies as well.

I just chalk it up to pizza being a dish they really enjoyed but didnt get as often as theyd like due to living in the sewer. I dont know. Like the bacon craze of late.

Agree it was a bit overboard, but it was just a fun, goofy series, particularly after a while, and guess it made for a signature quirk. Not a bad thing that that series got them hooked on pizza though. Pizza is delicious. ;) And really relateable.

Hope the movie keeps it down to a healthy amount, esp if a lot of its inspiration is the original series... else we could end up with some pudgy Turtles if they're trying to aim for 'realistic.' :lol:

F*** all that noise. That mess and "Cowabunga" need to stay in the past. It's way past tired.

I like how the Nick series handle the pizza thing. They eat other foods aside from pizza. Of course, Mikey's the only one obsessed with. The other three seem pretty normal with, although I question Raph for this incarnation.I find "Cowabunga" more dated than tired.

Yeah, you're right, that too.

I recall an early OT ep where Mikey was trying to come up with another catchphrase, but Donatello cut him off.:lol:

The fact that they love pizza is one of the reasons I like the turtles so much.

I don't mind it, but I don't really like it, either. I think it's become a really lazy shorthand for the whole property, instead of putting the focus on properly building the characters up and portraying them as fully-realized, three-dimensional personalities. You can do both, but it's too easy for some folks to lean on the "COWABUNGA, PIZZA TIME" stuff almost entirely.

Hell, this year's movie totally slashed away at the Turtles' origin and backstory, but was damn sure to include like three scenes that were all about pizza. When a minor detail like someone's favourite food gets more attention than actually making them rounded, fully-developed characters, you've got yourself a problem.

But y'know. It's effective marketing, I guess. But I think it's also a part of why the characters aren't taken as "seriously" as Spider-Man or Batman. It'd be nice if they'd play up the "cycle of vengeance" theme, or the concept of the Turtles as heroic outcasts, as much as Spidey's "with great power comes great responsibility" or the interesting "fear and symbols as weapons against injustice" kind of thing that Batman often uses. Lead with the strong stuff, not the silly marketing ploy.

This is what the world know the turtles for - PIZZA! :tlove: Gotta thank the OT toon for this, it boost the turtle mania to overdrive. :tcool:

Blessed are we to enjoy pizza till this day and remembering the turtles everytime. :tpizza:

I love pizza, they love pizza. It works for me.

Cowabunga is their trademark catchphrase, though. And I'd rather have them say it than "Booyakasha". That one is fairly dated as well. Ali G hasn't been relevant in a decade or so.

That's because he was about to use Fred Flinstone's "Yaba-Daba-Doo". Donatello covered Michelangelo's mouth with his hand and told him "It's just not you." as far as I remember.

It made me love pizza so I like it.