Turtle Costume Evolution

[Shreddhead]

Ok, so its no secret that as the Turtle films progressed the quality of the suits decreased, especially in the 3rd movie and tv series. Ive always wondered why that was. You would think that at least for the 2nd movie that the budget for the suits would have been larger due to the success of the first film. I can understand that as the turtles’ popularity decreased they made budget cuts, but if that’s the case why couldn’t they use previous suits? Was the Henson company no longer involved with the latter films?
Anyway, please post any ideas or thoughts on the subject. I made this comparison for a quick reference:

[rufus]

The reason I believe for the suits going somewhat backwords for was that for TMNT 2,they wanted the suits to look brighter and more cheerful.TMNT 3 i chalk up to the fact that the company they hired had never done anything at that level before.
Should have added that I like the look of the turtles from film 1. The film 2 ones while better in the movement IMO seemed a bit not as releastic compared to film 1. The heads to me seemed a little more cute and the paint job a bit more brighter.

[Roseangelo]

How do you come to the conclusion that the suits for Movie 2 were worse than those for Movie 1? Maybe you prefer the design for Movie 1 over Movie 2, but from a costume stand point, the Movie 2 costumes are wayway better.

Really, everyone after Henson has been trying to copy what they achieved. And copies are never as good as the original. Hopefully we'll see some real innovation in whatever direction they decide to take with the next movie.

[sdp]

I remember someone making a comparison picture as well a few years ago here, it was missing TNM though. Anyways, you have to also remember that with each new suit the turtles seemed to be able to move more. The third movie turtles seemed to have a lot more movement because of the suits. As far as TNM well it wasn't a movie but a TV show so the budget is much smaller, it was also a "cheap" show when compared to other tv shows. So I think counting those factors the costumes are very well done, I also think TNM costumes allowed even more movement than any of the previous live action suits.

My main problem with the Movie III suits is actually the "spots" on their skins, they seem there to be more "realistic" and lizard like however they just look odd.

[Roseangelo]

Originally Posted by sdp

My main problem with the Movie III suits is actually the "spots" on their skins, they seem there to be more "realistic" and lizard like however they just look odd.

I think the bigger problem is the glossy finish to the costumes. But the spots are excessive, too. Really, both problems are poor paint application.

[Shreddhead]

I actually do like the suits from 2, but the faces always just seemed a bit less realistic to me compared to the first movie- not sure if i can actually say why tho.



And i agree about the spots, ive never liked them. I always found them kind of distracting

[Spitfire]

Originally Posted by Shreddhead

I actually do like the suits from 2, but the faces always just seemed a bit less realistic to me compared to the first movie- not sure if i can actually say why tho.

The irony there being that the animatronics were way better. Which made for better lip syncing and more realistic facial expressions.

The movie 1 suits are typically liked because they look rougher and more like the comics. I agree that the movie 2 suits look less threatening and more friendly but I think they work better overall and the film as a whole had less costume errors in it.

It's hilarious that 3 looks so poor because the budget wasn't much less then 2 and 2 had 6 mutant costumes to make, 7 if you count Super Shredder. 3 was the turtles and a bunch of samurai.

[Jester]

Horses...I think alot of the expense might be chalked up to horses. Westerns tend to be expensive to make. Why? Horses! Why did they use coconuts in Monty Python's Holy Grail. Well,m yeah it's a great visual gag, but horses are pricey.

[oldmanwinters]

Originally Posted by Jester

Horses...I think alot of the expense might be chalked up to horses. Westerns tend to be expensive to make. Why? Horses! Why did they use coconuts in Monty Python's Holy Grail. Well,m yeah it's a great visual gag, but horses are pricey.

I always thought the 3rd movie had impressive set designs. I'll give the film that much.

And you might be right about how much budget the horses ate up (even literally!).
I think the budget on the 3rd movie was the highest of the original trilogy, and yet it made far less money than the others.

Nevertheless, the bottom line is that the costume company didn't have the talent of the Jim Henson shop. I also have a feeling they gave them strangely shaped heads in order to allow them to fit within the Shogun helmets/face-masks.

[Spitfire]

2 cost 25 mil, 3 cost 21 mil.

[oldmanwinters]

Originally Posted by Spitfire

2 cost 25 mil, 3 cost 21 mil.

Ah, well that's good to know they didn't break the bank on the 3rd movie.

I guess Tokka and Rahzar ate a lot on the SotO set which bumped that budget up a few more million.

[Shreddhead]

hmmm, you know ive never thought about the horses before.

[Powder]

Originally Posted by Shreddhead

hmmm, you know ive never thought about the horses before.

Your sig made this quote ten times better.

[Venom]

Originally Posted by Powder

Your sig made this quote ten times better.

*Venom has liked this post*

[discordiatookie]

Originally Posted by Powder

Your sig made this quote ten times better.

I've noticed that it doesn't matter what that guy Shreddhead says, his sig makes me chuckle

Oh, and I dig both first and second movie costumes the same. My biggest hate for the third is the very noticeable eye holes, and you can't really compare a TV show costume to that of a movie...

[Shreddhead]

Originally Posted by discordiatookie

I've noticed that it doesn't matter what that guy Shreddhead says, his sig makes me chuckle

Haha thanks.

its the combination of eyes and teeth that bug me about the third costumes. I feel like im watching a bunch of jerry louis turtles

[Bauer536]

Okay. The designs for the first and second movie are great, but the third film and TNM look terrible, like they're de-evolving.

And I disagree about the 2nd film designs. Their heads almost look similar to the the first film designs, but lighter. They're supposed to look unrealistic. They're mutant turtles.

[Powder]

Terrible is hardly fair, especially in the case of TNM.