Old Or New Setting?

[Powder]

Simple & to the point- for the next inevitable film series, would you prefer it to take place in the modern/current world, or be a period piece in the 80's/90's?

The TMNT are very much a product of their era. They stand the test of the time, & have been proven to work in any setting (from feudal Japan to technological utopias of the future), but I think they're at their best amidst the grit & funkyness of their original glory days in the late 80's/early 90's. Heavy metal/punk/hip-hop were integral to the aesthetics of their most notable iterations (Mirage, Fred Wolf, Henson), & the initial boom of those genres are also time capsule-like. They capture a very specific vibe that is unique to their peak, & the coolness the turtles exuded is in part owed to their respective cultures. + back then, NY was a lot different. Filthy, crass, crime-ridden. Adult shops all over, way more drugs/sex/gang violence/etc. It was a city that very much welcomed Purple Dragon types, warranted the creation of a Casey Jones, & needed the help of mutant turtles. It was bursting with personality, graffiti, youth/alternative culture. Nowadays you don't have to worry about that stuff nearly as much, at least not in a post-9/11 Manhattan. There's little more than corporate crap-peddling.

I have no intentions of making this a Platinum Dunes film bashing thread, but a big part of what took me out of that film was applying the "TMNT spew pop culture references" thing to the 2010's. I cringed at the references to newer stuff, it just didn't feel right at all. Did anyone really wanna see the TMNT dancing to Gwen Stefani? I wanted to kill myself in the theater. The Nick series on the other hand kept only 80's/90's stuff in their homage jar, & it worked soooo much better. + I'd rather not see the TMNT or their peers have too many technological advancements, smart phones & all that. Makes things too easy.

[CyberCubed]

Yeah, I've always seen TMNT as being in the mid/late 80's and early 90's era myself.

Even in the cartoons when the 2k3 series took place in the early 2000's, or the Nick show in...well...2012...it feels weird. Like in the Spiderbitez episode as a human he took a picture of Raph with his iphone. Like man, I was expecting him to take out one of those old cameras from the 80's and say, "I have to develop the film" and so forth. Instead Raph had to destroy his phone rather than taking out the film.

Feels very strange. I love in the first movie you see payphones and the characters walking around 80's Manhattan like it's the current year. And Danny takes out his Sony Walkman from the 80's rather than some ipod "new age" millennial stuff he'd use today.

One of the reasons I also like Casey Jones in the first movie is he literally looks like an 80's guy. Just sitting around in his sweatpants and shirt, no computers or tech stuff, just...sitting around. Because that's all they did in the 80's....sit around. Maybe watch a little TV on your old beat-up 80's television. And you had other 80's references like April saying she wanted to dream of Harrison Ford (obviously the 74 year old version today isn't hot stuff, lol), or Raph asking if Oprah was on in the second movie...her show ended years ago. I'm pretty sure we also see the Twin Towers in the first movie.

[PApagreg]

To me it doesn't matter, I personally don't really see any part of TMNT that says it should've stayed in the 80/90s I mean sure the characters change with each new franchise/iteration but their archetypes are still the same. Look at the IDW version despite being set in the new 10s the story is still pretty good and has the basics of what TMNT is and despite me crapping on the Nick version it does integrate TMNT into the New tens rather well.

Also with Stranger things, Blade Runner, and the new IT movie I'm kinda getting tired of 80s/90s nostalgia.

[Sabacooza]

I'd like to have it take place in the 80s. I grew up during that time so looking back on that is rather nostalgic. Besides, movies during that time had a certain amount of quality to them you don't really see today. Don't get me wrong. You still have some great modern movies but they lack heart with an end product that feels mass produced with a lack of a well thought out story. It's all about the effects and the spectacle. There's also a serious lack of originality and risk taking these days with countless reboots.

I just wish they could capture what they did with the 1990 movie and ramp it up a bit with mild cg effects here and there to enhance things.

[ProphetofGanja]

I would like seeing stories featuring the TMNT in modern day, but older, no longer teenagers, and then flashback stories to their origins, their fight with the Shredder, when they were teenagers in the early 90s.

[CyberCubed]

Yeah, and I never want to see the Turtles use DVDs or blu-rays. I LOVE it when the Turtles put VHS tapes into VCR's to watch shows. They did it in the Nick show too, almost every show they watched was an old series in VHS form from the 80's or earlier.

I love the original cartoon episodes where the Turtles take a trip to the video store to rent a VHS tape. They sure don't have those anymore. Blockbuster is long gone.

There's just something nostalgic about the Turtles putting in a VHS tape. It just feel "just right."

[Wildcat]

Is this basically just another 80s/90s were the golden age of everything topic? I’m 33 and all for nostalgia but this really is a back-in-the-day discussion.

The turtles deserve to move with the rest of the world. Why should smartphones, Blu-rays etc be frowned upon when Donatello is already able to unrealistically craft such devices from other things?

I don’t live in NY but I’m sure it’s still very much filled with crime and filth. When and how would such things be “fixed”? Impossible.

[CyberCubed]

Originally Posted by Wildcat

I don’t live in NY but I’m sure it’s still very much filled with crime and filth. When and how would such things be “fixed”? Impossible.

LOL, what? Most of New York is very safe. You can even look up the crime statistics very easily. The police also have the fastest response time in NYC than in most cities in the U.S.

I don't get it, do non-New Yorkers really think NY is filled with criminals, gangsters and drug dealers on every corner? Get your head out of the movies and TV.

[Original TMNT Cartoon Fan]

Originally Posted by CyberCubed

I love the original cartoon episodes where the Turtles take a trip to the video store to rent a VHS tape. They sure don't have those anymore. Blockbuster is long gone. "

It happened a lot during season 4.

[Donnie]

80s/90s setting all the way. The grit, the tone, the music, everything about the late 80s screams TMNT to me. Sure, it's about nostalgia a bit, but to me this would make for a very true-to-form new TMNT film.

[Original TMNT Cartoon Fan]

Can't it be set during the 1970's or something?

[thebrownranger]

I’ve always stood by New York in the 80’s/90’s being the definitive time setting of TMNT. No other era has proven to work better for the turtles than this. Steve Barron’s 1990 portrayal continues to solidify this point to this day. In that film we got to see the turtles live and breathe in an era of New York that most people will unfortunately never fully understand/know about anymore. Just thinking about it reminds me of all the old New York hardcore/punk rock and old school hip hop scenes that were so indicative of that age. I miss it a lot because it’s something I grew up on. Watch all those old NYHC/hip hop documentaries; you’ll know what I’m talking about. It’s really sad to see all that history/culture swept away due to things like gentrification and systemic political issues. It’s even a lot more sad to see rich out of towners and hipsters moving into NY, gentrifying the whole damn block/culture and moving people who were born and raised there that have called it HOME their whole lives out to other places. It’s hard to think of TMNT in a modern gentrified New York without making me sick to my stomach. It just doesn’t feel genuine. I don’t care much for this forum anymore, but this thread was worth finding and posting to.

[Andrew NDB]

The reasons to ground the Turtles in the 80s or even 90s aren't compelling enough to do so and would only come at the risk of alienating today's youths. Fun though it might be to see various bits of 80s/90s pop culture stuff for you or I in it.

[Coola Yagami]

Originally Posted by Andrew NDB

The reasons to ground the Turtles in the 80s or even 90s aren't compelling enough to do so and would only come at the risk of alienating today's youths. Fun though it might be to see various bits of 80s/90s pop culture stuff for you or I in it.

I'd say **** em. We need at least one more movie that's for the fans, a product of love for the characters like the 90's movies. Maybe some new independent company should step up, if they read the comics as kids or whatever. I don't trust any of these big Hollywood corporate companies anymore for something like this.

I'd so love to see a movie made for US, that would somehow surprise the public at large and end up being the sleeper hit of that year.

[Andrew NDB]

Originally Posted by Coola Yagami

I'd say **** em. We need at least one more movie that's for the fans, a product of love for the characters like the 90's movies.

But there is nothing intrinsically 80s or 90s about the TMNT, even in Mirage. What is the benefit of making a new movie in either era vs. now? Do we just really not want to see April whip out a cell phone? Or the Turtles having a tube TV in the lair instead of an LED screen? What's the real benefit, beyond "I'm a super old fan and those are the years most important to me"? If anything, the Turtles and Splinter having internet access helps address things that otherwise didn't make sense before. I mean, they're just a few YouTube videos away from learning how to forge their own weapons... but before? Ehh....

[Slap-Happy]

Totally unnecessary. If anything, the themes and characters become more relevant, and the conflict deepens as society advances. Taking them back to the 80s serves no purpose other than to pander to fans.

[AquaParade]

Originally Posted by Andrew NDB

But there is nothing intrinsically 80s or 90s about the TMNT, even in Mirage. What is the benefit of making a new movie in either era vs. now? Do we just really not want to see April whip out a cell phone? Or the Turtles having a tube TV in the lair instead of an LED screen? What's the real benefit, beyond "I'm a super old fan and those are the years most important to me"? If anything, the Turtles and Splinter having internet access helps address things that otherwise didn't make sense before. I mean, they're just a few YouTube videos away from learning how to forge their own weapons... but before? Ehh....

I came here to post about how much I'd love a period piece, but you make some great points about current technology and how it can smooth over a lot of plot holes. I love the idea of the turtles using youtube to learn and acclimate themselves.

I think what attracts me to a period piece is the general aesthetic, the culture and for me, an added element of escapism. Sometimes it's just nice to leave the modern world for a bit, and sometimes you just like the idea of seeing turtles sneak around a 1980's New York City. Since movies are a visual medium, I don't see much else reason needed.

[Galactus]

So y'know how there's a few arguments that people throw at TMNT as a property whenever it's reported that a movie is in a production. One of them being that it's purely a nostalgia property and doesn't work outside the 80s and early 90s. Making a movie set in that period would just feed into that mindset.

There's nothing about the TMNT story or characters (any version) that belongs exclusively to that time period.

[AquaParade]

I think you could even set the film in the year 2035, without losing sight of what makes the franchise special.

[d_osborn]

Originally Posted by Galactus

So y'know how there's a few arguments that people throw at TMNT as a property whenever it's reported that a movie is in a production. One of them being that it's purely a nostalgia property and doesn't work outside the 80s and early 90s. Making a movie set in that period would just feed into that mindset.

I'm not exactly privy to the meetings at Paramount, but I highly doubt fan arguments play into creative decisions, such as period setting. Not one bit. Not one single iota.

Originally Posted by Galactus

There's nothing about the TMNT story or characters (any version) that belongs exclusively to that time period.

True. There's also nothing that belongs exclusively in the present, either. Hell, it even works in the 1800s-- bummer the TMNT 3 production team dropped the ball.

At the end of the day, it's all in the creativity and storytelling skills of the production team (and how much freedom Paramount gives them). I'm sure there's a director or show runner that could make a kickass TMNT adaptation set in modern day. I'm sure there's a director or show runner that could make a kickass TMNT adaptation set in 1984.

If a creative is hitting a brick wall on something as imaginative and vivid as TMNT due to period setting-- they're creatively bankrupt. Of course, that seems par for course.

From a producer's perspective, the last three TMNT films were set in modern day and did horribly.