Why are the Turtles Teenagers?

aliena · 01-17-2016, 08:39 PM

Sometimes I regret that Eastman and Laird decided to label them as Teenagers. I think it immediately branded them as a kids product and therefore keeping them as such, even though most of the time I do not consider them teenagers.

I don't know why they went with them being so young, some of you might know that answer. It's just that the original comics do not feel anything like teens to me. They drink, are very dark and gritty and they kill people. That just doesn't seem youthful to me.

Out of all the incarnations that I'm familiar with, most do not feel teenager like. At least not in my opinion. I'm sure others here will not agree, but these are my general feelings on the subject.

The Eastman/Laird comic they seem almost thirty
Watching FW I think they seem in their mid-twenties
1990 movie they feel almost twentyish
4kids they definitely feel mid-twenties, maybe older
I believe in TNM it is mentioned they are twenty or almost twenty
2007, they definitely feel mid-twenties
Nick, they are definitely teens for sure
IDW they are teens as well
2014 Bay turtles feel like late teens almost twenty at times.

I guess eighteen and nineteen are still teenagers, but just imagine if they could be portrayed as dark and gritty as they were meant to be. I'd love to see someone do that for once. I guess 4kids is the closest we are going to get to that and that's pretty good.

*CyberCubed* · 01-17-2016, 08:44 PM

The X-men were teenage mutants, the TMNT are teenage mutants.

Likewise the Turtles only really act like teens in the Nick cartoon. In the original cartoon, 4kids series, the Mirage comics, movies, etc...they all act like 20 something year olds.

*Powder* · 01-17-2016, 09:45 PM

It's because that's what was hip at the time. TMNT was created to be a parody of popular comic trends in the early/mid eighties; & those trends were groups of teens, mutants, ninja action, & anthropomorphic animals (among other things, of course). Boom. & that's the real deal, not just my guess. Kev & Pete have outright stated this in various interviews.

Age was never actually mentioned in The Next Mutation to my recollection, but you're right, they more often than not feel like 20 or 30 somethings rather than teens. I like how Nick has made them actually act their age, for the most part. It's refreshing.

*CylonsKlingonsDaleksOhMy* · 01-17-2016, 10:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Powder

It's because that's what was hip at the time. TMNT was created to be a parody of popular comic trends in the early/mid eighties; & those trends were groups of teens, mutants, ninja action, & anthropomorphic animals (among other things, of course). Boom. & that's the real deal, not just my guess. Kev & Pete have outright stated this in various interviews.

Age was never actually mentioned in The Next Mutation to my recollection, but you're right, they more often than not feel like 20 or 30 somethings rather than teens. I like how Nick has made them actually act their age, for the most part. It's refreshing.

Yeah, I think only IDW and Nick have the Turtles acting as true teenagers. And Nick was the first to do it. I got my problems with Nick, but that was a pretty clever new take.

~~Leo656~~ · 01-17-2016, 11:26 PM

They're like 11-12 in the Nick show. I consistently hear "Nick made them act like teenagers", but that's not entirely accurate. They're way too juvenile in their behavior, especially Mikey, for them to be teenagers. They regressed TOO much for that version.

*Powder* · 01-17-2016, 11:49 PM

I'll give you Mikey, but not the others. Besides, they're not humans. They aren't going to mature when they've spent their lives in isolation, without the influence of authoritative adults (other than Splinter, who has clearly been lax in some respects). You can't hold them to real world standards when they were brought up by cable TV. Beyond their ninja sh*t, they've not been given a reason to mature, & maturing does not always happen naturally.

*IndigoErth* · 01-18-2016, 12:00 AM

Glanced over some old article on that the other day and agree, as also already been said here, it mostly comes down to the trends they were parodying at the time of their creation. 'Teen in title only.'

Honestly, for those versions that seem grown I tend to just brush off the stated age and think of them as being 20s, or however old they seem per series. Though collectively in concept I tend to regard them as the age of their franchise. Individually, only Nick (haven't seen enough of IDW to be all that familiarly with it) feels like a bunch of kids to me, which is fun as far as this one goes.

Particularly 2003 seems 20s to me, and far as I'm concerned Bay & Co. made them lie about their age.

No way those 2014 boys aren't grown. Only Mikey carried the entire "teen" claim via personality/behavior; though the tweaked look to him for the sequel makes him pass more for upper teens, maybe, but the rest of the guys still seem 20s.

Which honestly is fine by me, because I'd love for a tv series (or series of films) to portray them as young adults anyhow.

*triplexxx* · 01-18-2016, 07:40 PM

I'm guessing "Teenage" was the only good two-syllable word they could find to go with the rest of which in the title; "Adult" must've sounded too stuffy. Possibly they could've just left it as "Mutant Ninja Turtles", made completely different sounding themes for each tv/movie incarnation; don't know if it would've appealed to the same type or size of audience.

Masterpiece · 04-04-2016, 04:33 AM

In the 1990 movie, the turtles do seem like they're 15.

It's just that probably you're comparing them to the children of today.

Good children back then were goofy and lovable in a good way. And they could get serious when need be.

Remember how they danced to Tequila?
Remember their slang competitions? (Bossa Nova!)
How 'bout playing a board game?
Or eating lots junk food and watching cartoons? (Ninja kick the damn rabbit!)

The turtles in the 1990 movie do act like kids, but kids from a different, by-gone era.

With Splinter as their parent and not being able to live a normal life on the surface, of course the turtles would act somewhat... eccentric for their young age of 15.

01-17-2016, 08:39 PM	#1
aliena Hench Mutant Join Date: Oct 2014 Posts: 294	Why are the Turtles Teenagers? Sometimes I regret that Eastman and Laird decided to label them as Teenagers. I think it immediately branded them as a kids product and therefore keeping them as such, even though most of the time I do not consider them teenagers. I don't know why they went with them being so young, some of you might know that answer. It's just that the original comics do not feel anything like teens to me. They drink, are very dark and gritty and they kill people. That just doesn't seem youthful to me. Out of all the incarnations that I'm familiar with, most do not feel teenager like. At least not in my opinion. I'm sure others here will not agree, but these are my general feelings on the subject. The Eastman/Laird comic they seem almost thirty Watching FW I think they seem in their mid-twenties 1990 movie they feel almost twentyish 4kids they definitely feel mid-twenties, maybe older I believe in TNM it is mentioned they are twenty or almost twenty 2007, they definitely feel mid-twenties Nick, they are definitely teens for sure IDW they are teens as well 2014 Bay turtles feel like late teens almost twenty at times. I guess eighteen and nineteen are still teenagers, but just imagine if they could be portrayed as dark and gritty as they were meant to be. I'd love to see someone do that for once. I guess 4kids is the closest we are going to get to that and that's pretty good.

01-18-2016, 07:40 PM	#8
triplexxx Mad Scientist Join Date: Aug 2006 Posts: 1,818	I'm guessing "Teenage" was the only good two-syllable word they could find to go with the rest of which in the title; "Adult" must've sounded too stuffy. Possibly they could've just left it as "Mutant Ninja Turtles", made completely different sounding themes for each tv/movie incarnation; don't know if it would've appealed to the same type or size of audience. __________________ Please don't shoot me Mr. Big Mike. I'm too young and good-looking to die, well too young. I got a father, I got a mother, I got a grandmother, I got a little sister...and a little brother this high (raises hand), and a little brother this high (lowers hand), and little brother this high (lowers hand), and a little brother this high (lowers hand), and a little brother this high (lowers hand) and then I got a great big brother this high (slaps gun and runs). "Fright Night" - Three Stooges

01-17-2016, 08:44 PM	#2
CyberCubed Overlord Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 43,880	The X-men were teenage mutants, the TMNT are teenage mutants. Likewise the Turtles only really act like teens in the Nick cartoon. In the original cartoon, 4kids series, the Mirage comics, movies, etc...they all act like 20 something year olds.

01-17-2016, 09:45 PM	#3
Powder 40 Years of TMNT Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Shell-Ri-La Posts: 26,956	It's because that's what was hip at the time. TMNT was created to be a parody of popular comic trends in the early/mid eighties; & those trends were groups of teens, mutants, ninja action, & anthropomorphic animals (among other things, of course). Boom. & that's the real deal, not just my guess. Kev & Pete have outright stated this in various interviews. Age was never actually mentioned in The Next Mutation to my recollection, but you're right, they more often than not feel like 20 or 30 somethings rather than teens. I like how Nick has made them actually act their age, for the most part. It's refreshing.

01-17-2016, 11:26 PM	#5
~~Leo656~~ Banned Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: nWo Country Posts: 27,703	They're like 11-12 in the Nick show. I consistently hear "Nick made them act like teenagers", but that's not entirely accurate. They're way too juvenile in their behavior, especially Mikey, for them to be teenagers. They regressed TOO much for that version.

01-17-2016, 11:49 PM	#6
Powder 40 Years of TMNT Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Shell-Ri-La Posts: 26,956	I'll give you Mikey, but not the others. Besides, they're not humans. They aren't going to mature when they've spent their lives in isolation, without the influence of authoritative adults (other than Splinter, who has clearly been lax in some respects). You can't hold them to real world standards when they were brought up by cable TV. Beyond their ninja sh*t, they've not been given a reason to mature, & maturing does not always happen naturally.

01-18-2016, 12:00 AM	#7
IndigoErth Team Blue Boy Join Date: Jun 2014 Location: U.S., East Coast Posts: 16,295	Glanced over some old article on that the other day and agree, as also already been said here, it mostly comes down to the trends they were parodying at the time of their creation. 'Teen in title only.' Honestly, for those versions that seem grown I tend to just brush off the stated age and think of them as being 20s, or however old they seem per series. Though collectively in concept I tend to regard them as the age of their franchise. Individually, only Nick (haven't seen enough of IDW to be all that familiarly with it) feels like a bunch of kids to me, which is fun as far as this one goes. Particularly 2003 seems 20s to me, and far as I'm concerned Bay & Co. made them lie about their age. No way those 2014 boys aren't grown. Only Mikey carried the entire "teen" claim via personality/behavior; though the tweaked look to him for the sequel makes him pass more for upper teens, maybe, but the rest of the guys still seem 20s. Which honestly is fine by me, because I'd love for a tv series (or series of films) to portray them as young adults anyhow.

04-04-2016, 04:33 AM	#9
Masterpiece Random Punk Join Date: Jan 2016 Location: New Zealand Posts: 36	In the 1990 movie, the turtles do seem like they're 15. It's just that probably you're comparing them to the children of today. Good children back then were goofy and lovable in a good way. And they could get serious when need be. Remember how they danced to Tequila? Remember their slang competitions? (Bossa Nova!) How 'bout playing a board game? Or eating lots junk food and watching cartoons? (Ninja kick the damn rabbit!) The turtles in the 1990 movie do act like kids, but kids from a different, by-gone era. With Splinter as their parent and not being able to live a normal life on the surface, of course the turtles would act somewhat... eccentric for their young age of 15.