Live Action Turtle Designs: Barron's '90 Turtles v.s. '91 SOTO Turtles

[Commenter 42]

Originally Posted by FellowChucker

The functionality of the suit's improved. Absolutely. But as others have said all the mechanics were held in the head as opposed to the shell like the first. So they slimmed down the body suits, yet the heads got larger. Expressions got bigger, in combo with brighter lighting ... heavy handed coloring, and spots. The SOTO suits ended up looking much more cartoon like.

Not that they didn't look good, however.

But I thought the size, and proportions of the '90 Turtles look better. They had better lighting, obviously, but the aesthetic design of the Turtles themselves was better IMO. Better coloring, nuances like Raph's scar, etc. Plus the eyes were smaller, and the bandanas were dirty. They felt worn, and lived in. It gave them a much more plausible feel.

I agree with everything you've said. Some people don't notice or care about the subtleties and nuances that were sculpted into the faces of the first film, but I was equally let down by SOTO. The Turtles weren't the only aspect to lose their character, the city lost all it's flavor, and yes, the lighting was abysmal. The only saving grace was a new, decidedly more attractive, April.