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

[FellowChucker]

Which designs did you prefer?

How would you classify the differences?

I personally feel to make the movie more kid friendly, less gritty, for the sequel they made the turtles for the second film more cartoony looking. Bigger eyes, much bigger expressions. Even for live action turtles, more cartoony.

I obviously prefer the more nuances, detailed, smaller eyed design og the turtles in the original. The ones that were designed by Henson himself, and not his company.

Does anyone have legit information on why they were even changed? No longer the subtle details like a scar on Raphael's beak for instance. By the third film, the designs fell off a cliff. But I've seen some say they prefer the live action turtle designs from Secret Of The Ooze sequel.

Just wanted to see what fellow hardcore turtle fans feel about the changes made, preferences, etc.

[samxsteal]

Originally Posted by FellowChucker

Which designs did you prefer?

How would you classify the differences?

I personally feel to make the movie more kid friendly, less gritty, for the sequel they made the turtles for the second film more cartoony looking. Bigger eyes, much bigger expressions. Even for live action turtles, more cartoony.

I obviously prefer the more nuances, detailed, smaller eyed design og the turtles in the original. The ones that were designed by Henson himself, and not his company.

Does anyone have legit information on why they were even changed? No longer the subtle details like a scar on Raphael's beak for instance. By the third film, the designs fell off a cliff. But I've seen some say they prefer the live action turtle designs from Secret Of The Ooze sequel.

Just wanted to see what fellow hardcore turtle fans feel about the changes made, preferences, etc.

I wish they could have keep the proportions from the first but use the expressions from the future versions. As a whole i love them both i get the cartoony feel they were going for. I also kind of Like the Third movie suit to an extent i like how the some how slimmed them down. not that it was really necessary, but seemed to add movement which is good.

[Roseangelo]

The main difference between the two is that for the 1990 movie they were doing something brand new. For the 1991 movie they were able to improve the suits based on experience from the first movie. This included being able to slim down parts of the Turtles, which was important for the people inside the suits.

[Candy Kappa]

Although the SotO turtles was a lot more expressive, they did look a bit too cartoony for my taste, personally I prefer the designs of the first movie, they felt a lot more reeal.

[Slade]

I prefer the 90's version myself. I could always tell they looked different, but then again, everything about SOTO and the original look different.






it may be the quality of the pic, but it looks like these actually have nostrils.

[Wildcat]

Ive honestly never noticed there was a difference. I still don't. I like both.

TMNT 3 was extremely obvious though.

[pdizzle]

I defenitly prefer the first movies looks over soto. Then again I think I might be the only turtle fan to be diapointed by soto in general......

[TrickOrTreater]

Originally Posted by pdizzle

I defenitly prefer the first movies looks over soto. Then again I think I might be the only turtle fan to be diapointed by soto in general......

Here's how I look at it.

The first movie was a great combination of both Mirage and the original cartoon.

Secret of the Ooze was a great adaptation of the original cartoon.

Makes it a lot more enjoyable if viewed that way.

[pdizzle]

Originally Posted by TrickOrTreater

Here's how I look at it.

The first movie was a great combination of both Mirage and the original cartoon.

Secret of the Ooze was a great adaptation of the original cartoon.

Makes it a lot more enjoyable if viewed that way.

This is a great point. The movie its self was ok, although very boring. I guess its just a huge dissapointment when a movie sets a standard and then instead of building on its great start they tear down from it instead. Though given the times, its just what movie companys did so I dont hold it against them. Like for example, companys make a hit then quickly capitalize on by slaping together a sequal without any real effort. Dont get me wrong soto did a much better job then other sequals of the 90s but my point still stands. The third one would be a better example of this however. Anyway your point is still a good one and looking at it from this stand point does make it easier to accept and enjoy.....

[turtlefanforever]

i liked them equally, you cant expect things to be so serious or so strict to the comic or you'll never enjoy anything. up at this point we are use to change but theres still people who dont handle it well. given theres examples of too much change with all the new stuff thats out i think the second did the right amount

[Powder]

Originally Posted by FellowChucker

Ok, but I'm talking about the visual aesthetic. They changed distinctly for people with an eye for detail. To me they weren't as gritty, plausible, or nuanced looking.

Given how easily the suits were damaged, how heavy they'd become after absorbing sweat, etc, they needed a LOT of them. The simpler designs of SOTO were muuuuuch easier to produce in bulk, that's why they were changed.

[The Boston Ninja Turtle]

powder i am taking over this thread for a second to say everytime i see your sig i want to cosplay that donnie

[Cipher]

Originally Posted by pdizzle

Then again I think I might be the only turtle fan to be diapointed by soto in general......

No way. Secret of the Ooze doesn't hold up at all. The only thing that keeps me sitting through it on (very infrequent) rewatches is fond memories from my childhood. I think I actually prefer the third one.

Per the thread, the suits are about a toss-up in my mind. I think I slightly prefer the first movie's though, because I think, as someone else stated, they look a little less cartoony. (I think I attribute this to the prominent, slightly cartoony looking spots on the second movie's costumes, in addition to it seeming like their heads are larger in comparison to the slimmed-down suits.)

It's not something I've really thought about before, though.

[CyberCubed]

II holds up fine if you think of it as a live action cartoon.

[Andrew NDB]

The SOTO suits were light years better than the first movie suits in every way. In fact, the SOTO suits are the best Turtle suits we've ever gotten. That said, in the movie the way they were being lit in every scene bathed them in way too much light, giving them a very light-hearted "feel."

[1984TMNT]

Originally Posted by FellowChucker

Ok, but I'm talking about the visual aesthetic. They changed distinctly for people with an eye for detail. To me they weren't as gritty, plausible, or nuanced looking.

I second this. The 90 suits were just so much more believable. Lots of things were over done in SOTO, especially the facial expressions (Leo/Donnie) specifically. Mikey is the only one that is fairly close to his original counterpart.

[CinematicESP]

Originally Posted by Andrew NDB

The SOTO suits were light years better than the first movie suits in every way. In fact, the SOTO suits are the best Turtle suits we've ever gotten. That said, in the movie they way they were being lit in every scene bathed them in way too much light, giving them a very light-hearted "feel."

This.

While I do like the gritty feel of the first movie suits, the SOTO ones moved more fluidly and just looked better overall. Especially Donnie, who looked (and sounded) like a gross, fat stoner frog in the first movie. Between the weird look and the miscasting of Corey Feldman, everything about Donnie's characterization seemed wrong. The second one always felt much more appropriate to me.

SOTO also had the best looking Splinter.

[ProactiveMan]

I remember reading in a book about Jim Henson Creature Shop, that the servos and things for the facial control system in the first movie were housed in the shell, and cables ran up the neck, into the head. In the second move they had access to smaller components, so they could contain it all in the head itself, and as a result, the heads in Secrete of the Ooze are bigger in comparison to the body. I could be wrong about that though.

[Warhorse]

Well, I always liked Leo's and Mikey's suit from the first movie best, but Raph and Don's suit from the second one best.

[Shark_Blade]

Mikey from the first movie is the best one imo.