Cuts in The Epic Begins. - Page 3

**Jester** · 03-30-2011, 02:01 PM

Yes. And I think the "movie" even adds things not in the pilot.

**Jester** · 04-02-2011, 01:12 AM

One cut now makes sense to me:
In the little bit of A Thing About Rats that is intact, Leo's line "Stay with him, April" is removed. I thought it was weird at the time that they'd remove that one line...but then I realized it cuts straight to Hot-rodding Teenagers and April is with the Turtles at that point.

Also...the file I have has 2 audio tracks. In the right player...IT CAN BE PLAYED IN ENGLISH! Gah, I feel like an idiot for not trying it sooner and hearing a subtle Russian voice behind my English track.

EDIT: One cut that they could have made (considering they cut one line to ribbons to remove a mention of Baxter) is also in this general area. Donatello says, "With all that equipment Baxter left up there..." Simply remove "Baxter left" and the line would work and Stockman would be totally exised from the movie...though where do the Turtles get the van? Did April, who is seen driving it more often than not, donate hers to the fight against Shredder?

EDIT 2X: Ok...maybe they couldn't simply edit the line...it'd mess the background music up.

Avatar Yuffie · 04-02-2011, 07:48 AM

Sorry for sounding like a noob... but what's The Epic Begins?

*tone-master21* · 04-02-2011, 09:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Avatar Yuffie

Sorry for sounding like a noob... but what's The Epic Begins?

It's a VHS that edits the 1st 5 episodes of the OT together to make a movie.

**Jester** · 04-02-2011, 03:46 PM

It also got a re-release overseas on DVD. I think that's what my copy was....explains the differences.

mustafa · 04-02-2011, 08:16 PM

I used to own a VHS copy of this "movie". I was young at the time, and had to have every TMNT VHS that existed. I already had all the episodes in unedited form from buying the VHS releases of "Heroes in a Half-Shell", "Hot Rodding Teenagers" and "The Shredder is Splintered". It did seem rather pointless to track down a copy of "The Epic Begins" haveing those three videos, but I wanted it more so as an impulse collector's item.

At the time I got most of these early VHS releases, they were marked down for really cheap at K-Mart (less than $5 each). There were two different covers for each one. There were the originals, and the re-releases that had volume #'s designated to them. I actually bought one of each version.

I spent close to a year trying to locate copies of "The Epic Begins" and "The Incredible Shrinking Turtles" (which had all 4 parts of the Eye of Zarnoth story arc). They were available at Blockbuster and every other video rental outlet as rentals, but never once did I find them for sale at any retailers. I've asked about ordering them a few times at Blockbuster and Suncoast (remember that now-defunct shopping mall retailer that only sold movies?), and each time they checked their computer, these tapes were available to order, but were retailing for $40 each. Since I thought that was too expensive, I waited until these tapes finally showed up in the bargain bins at Best Buy for $4 each.

While both "The Epic Begins" and "The Incredible Shrinking Turtles" seemed to be quite rare for VHS tapes, it turns out there are a couple that are even more rare. Never once have I found anywhere for purchase or rental a copy of "Invasion of the Punk Rock Frogs" or "The Four Musketurtles". Has anyone actually seen either of thse two? From the looks of things, both of these tapes only had the title episode on each.

One other VHS tape I never found was "Funny They Shrunk Michaelangelo", but I found out the reason why I never found it was because it was a promotional video tied in with Hi-C fruit drinks.

*gobo* · 04-02-2011, 08:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mustafa

"Invasion of the Punk Rock Frogs"

Released only in Canada AFAIK... Still playable on any NA VCR...

Quote:

Originally Posted by mustafa

"The Four Musketurtles"

TMNT Cereal mail-in item, later reissued as a TV Teddy title (Teddy Ruxpin's bastard kid brother) as well as "Return of the Turtleoid" w/o the b-side ep.

I might still have these tapes in storage. I'd gladly part with them.

JoeD80 · 04-06-2011, 11:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by oldmanwinters

Funny, looks like they changed around the whole format of the credits between episodes 4 & 5. Even the background picture is slightly different (though it is hard to see here)

Those credits for episode #5 are the wrong version. The video company just grabbed the credits from the second season and used them on Shredder & Splintered since on the FHE release "Return of the Shredder" was also on the same tape. I think it's on the DVD in the same way. There shouldn't actually be any difference in credits on the first five episodes.

*sdp* · 03-10-2021, 08:03 PM

I was curious about The Epic Begins and found this topic as well as this one dealing with the how it all began UK cut. There isn't a lot of information, I'm curious to see it but no new footage and the movie isn't even edited into something that flows well so perhaps it's better lost?

Spoiler:

~~ABrown~~ · 03-11-2021, 08:39 AM

There's no reason to go out and try to watch The Epic Begins. As a kid I saw TEB before I saw the episodes in their entirety. It leaves out the Baxter episode all together. It's kind of like He-Man/She: The Secret of the Sword (another five part mini-series that's chopped up and pasted together), except a lot more is missing.

~~Sumac~~ · 03-11-2021, 10:08 AM

Epic Begins was the first "episode" of the TMNT I've ever watched (well, most of it, since it was interrupted by newscast and wasn't resumed after it), but OG first season is way better and more interesting.

03-30-2011, 02:01 PM	#41
Jester Rat-faced Dude-guy Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Arkansas Posts: 26,297	Yes. And I think the "movie" even adds things not in the pilot. __________________ "Clearly, you're Ninja Turtling incorrectly." - Leo656

04-02-2011, 01:12 AM	#42
Jester Rat-faced Dude-guy Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Arkansas Posts: 26,297	One cut now makes sense to me: In the little bit of A Thing About Rats that is intact, Leo's line "Stay with him, April" is removed. I thought it was weird at the time that they'd remove that one line...but then I realized it cuts straight to Hot-rodding Teenagers and April is with the Turtles at that point. Also...the file I have has 2 audio tracks. In the right player...IT CAN BE PLAYED IN ENGLISH! Gah, I feel like an idiot for not trying it sooner and hearing a subtle Russian voice behind my English track. EDIT: One cut that they could have made (considering they cut one line to ribbons to remove a mention of Baxter) is also in this general area. Donatello says, "With all that equipment Baxter left up there..." Simply remove "Baxter left" and the line would work and Stockman would be totally exised from the movie...though where do the Turtles get the van? Did April, who is seen driving it more often than not, donate hers to the fight against Shredder? EDIT 2X: Ok...maybe they couldn't simply edit the line...it'd mess the background music up. __________________ "Clearly, you're Ninja Turtling incorrectly." - Leo656 Last edited by Jester; 04-02-2011 at 01:40 AM.

04-02-2011, 07:48 AM	#43
Avatar Yuffie Stone Warrior Join Date: Apr 2007 Posts: 805	Sorry for sounding like a noob... but what's The Epic Begins? __________________ We all know that Most Writers Are Male. Something like eighty percent of media aimed at children have male main characters, whereas half the population is female. At best, women will often be minor characters or will not be present at all. Stories about women are for women, stories about men are for general consumption. (TV Tropes Feminist Fantasy)

04-02-2011, 03:46 PM	#45
Jester Rat-faced Dude-guy Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Arkansas Posts: 26,297	It also got a re-release overseas on DVD. I think that's what my copy was....explains the differences. __________________ "Clearly, you're Ninja Turtling incorrectly." - Leo656

03-10-2021, 08:03 PM	#49
sdp Detoxed Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Tokio, Italy Posts: 11,190	I was curious about The Epic Begins and found this topic as well as this one dealing with the how it all began UK cut. There isn't a lot of information, I'm curious to see it but no new footage and the movie isn't even edited into something that flows well so perhaps it's better lost? Spoiler: __________________ *Trapt* *urself Page MiscRave!!!* Click to join The Drome Discord server

04-02-2011, 08:16 PM	#46
mustafa Thug Join Date: Jun 2007 Posts: 60	I used to own a VHS copy of this "movie". I was young at the time, and had to have every TMNT VHS that existed. I already had all the episodes in unedited form from buying the VHS releases of "Heroes in a Half-Shell", "Hot Rodding Teenagers" and "The Shredder is Splintered". It did seem rather pointless to track down a copy of "The Epic Begins" haveing those three videos, but I wanted it more so as an impulse collector's item. At the time I got most of these early VHS releases, they were marked down for really cheap at K-Mart (less than $5 each). There were two different covers for each one. There were the originals, and the re-releases that had volume #'s designated to them. I actually bought one of each version. I spent close to a year trying to locate copies of "The Epic Begins" and "The Incredible Shrinking Turtles" (which had all 4 parts of the Eye of Zarnoth story arc). They were available at Blockbuster and every other video rental outlet as rentals, but never once did I find them for sale at any retailers. I've asked about ordering them a few times at Blockbuster and Suncoast (remember that now-defunct shopping mall retailer that only sold movies?), and each time they checked their computer, these tapes were available to order, but were retailing for $40 each. Since I thought that was too expensive, I waited until these tapes finally showed up in the bargain bins at Best Buy for $4 each. While both "The Epic Begins" and "The Incredible Shrinking Turtles" seemed to be quite rare for VHS tapes, it turns out there are a couple that are even more rare. Never once have I found anywhere for purchase or rental a copy of "Invasion of the Punk Rock Frogs" or "The Four Musketurtles". Has anyone actually seen either of thse two? From the looks of things, both of these tapes only had the title episode on each. One other VHS tape I never found was "Funny They Shrunk Michaelangelo", but I found out the reason why I never found it was because it was a promotional video tied in with Hi-C fruit drinks.

03-11-2021, 08:39 AM	#50
~~ABrown~~ Banned Join Date: Sep 2010 Posts: 1,831	There's no reason to go out and try to watch The Epic Begins. As a kid I saw TEB before I saw the episodes in their entirety. It leaves out the Baxter episode all together. It's kind of like He-Man/She: The Secret of the Sword (another five part mini-series that's chopped up and pasted together), except a lot more is missing.

03-11-2021, 10:08 AM	#51
~~Sumac~~ Banned Join Date: Mar 2012 Posts: 6,129	Epic Begins was the first "episode" of the TMNT I've ever watched (well, most of it, since it was interrupted by newscast and wasn't resumed after it), but OG first season is way better and more interesting.