Why isn't the original toon also seen as a 90's cartoon?

[CyberCubed]

The show started in 1987 but continued to air till 1996. That means it was only on the air for 3 years in the 80's but 6 years in the 90's.

So the majority of the Fred Wolf shows run was in the 90's. Also remember it didn't debut till December 1987...so it was really only two full years in the 80's.

[Jester]

This thread is pointless. It should be locked....

[Prowler]

I guess because it started in the 80s, thus it's still viewed as an 80s phenomenon.

Also, don't forget that a lot of people didn't watch the last 3 seasons, the Red Sky episodes, so I guess most people think it ended more or less at the same time the 3rd movie came out.

Just my 2 cents.

[Leo656]

Originally Posted by Jester

This thread is pointless. It should be locked....

[IMJ]

Originally Posted by CyberCubed

The show started in 1987 but continued to air till 1996. That means it was only on the air for 3 years in the 80's but 6 years in the 90's.

So the majority of the Fred Wolf shows run was in the 90's. Also remember it didn't debut till December 1987...so it was really only two full years in the 80's.

Because the 80's are earmarked by the kind of excess, marketing and pop culture that the Turtles represent in their animated form. The show went into the 90's, but the TMNT are clearly a product of the 80's me-generation monster. I hate to say this, but if you weren't there you wouldn't understand the zeitgeist of that era for kids.

TMNT had enough staying power to run into the 90's, which were marked by a diminishing presence of things like this, and instead a more watered down sensibility for kids, and a new movement towards fear of entertainment violence.

[pannoni1]

While I originally thought of the OT as an early '90s show since that was when its popularity peaked and when I watched it the most, it still retains that '80s-feel. Although April in a Season 5 episode says "I'm just a '90s kind of guy", that Season still retains its cheesy '80s elements. That said, there weren't any REAL '90s cartoons until B:TAS and X-Men in 1992. The new TV cartoons of 1990 and 1991 (Captain Planet, Tiny Toons, James Bond: Jr, Back to the Future) seem to be either a continuation of '80s franchises, still have '80s-esque action elements, and were still made to sell toys. It wasn't really until Season 7, when some viewers were already starting to move on thanks to the third movie that the show started to get that more serious '90s-feel with its more plot-driven action.

You could say the same for Married... With Children, Roseanne, and Full House. They aired around the same time as TMNT yet feel quaint compared to real '90s sitcoms like Home Improvement, Seinfeld (not the Seinfeld Chronicles), and Friends.

[Whatswiththeheadbands?]

Because it's more like a 80's cartoon than a 90s toon.

90s cartoons were mostly about story archs and also starting to get into the mature storytelling.

TMNT 1987 very rarely, if any, did those.

[Garfield]

Originally Posted by whatswiththeheadbands?

Because it's more like a 80's cartoon than a 90s toon.

90s cartoons were mostly about story archs and also starting to get into the mature storytelling.

TMNT 1987 very rarely, if any, did those.

the later seasons of TMNT felt very much 90's.

Not all 90's cartoons story arcs and mature story telling, some were but many of them weren't

I consider OT TMNT both an 80's and 90's cartoon as it encapsulates a feeling and a vibe of both eras. It was around enough in both decades to be able to do that kind of thing.

But lets be honest. I think a lot of people prefer to consider it an 80's cartoon instead of a 90's cartoon because its kind of trendy to be into older things. People like to brag about the things they liked as a kid so making OT TMNT more 80's than 90's makes them feel less "wet behind the ears" or something.

[ABrown]

For whatever it's worth, despite being a child of the 80's, I wasn't a TMNT fan in the 80's. It wasn't until the first movie came out in 1990 that I became a fan.

[Mzx10484]

Originally Posted by IMJ

I hate to say this, but if you weren't there you wouldn't understand the zeitgeist of that era for kids.

Zeitgeist is the right and matching word ... regards from Germany !!

[DonatelloNinja82]

I agree with a lot of that was also said. Also, many cartoons are marked by the year they began. Just look at TMNT shows. 2k3, 2k12...so the '87 show is marked by the 80's just by the year it began.

[Michelangelo]

I know they started in the '80s but for me and everyone else in Australia they are from the '90s, as they started about 1990 over here. During the time the US was watching TMNT we were watching transformers, astro boy, Monkey, the mysterious cities of gold and others. Ultimately TMNT originated in the '80s but hit it's popularity peak in the '90s. If people are so hung up on nailing it to a decade then perhaps the '90s would be best. Besides there are several eras now of the TMNT and just because the shows were aired when they were doesn't mean that's when people watched them. At anyrate, for me at least the OT were from the '90s.

[MsMarvelDuckie]

I can kind of agree to that, and I'm from the US. I didn't even really know about it until after seeing the 1990 movie, and it was at that time that the OT hit its peak, along with Turtle-mania in general. I have to say that even though it "feels" like an 80's toon by its tone, and animation, it really should be considered more of a 90's cartoon due to its popularity then. It would not have lasted as long as it did if not for the worldwide exposure due to the movies. and those were DEFINITELY a product of the 90's!

[sdp]

Because it came out at the end of the decade what in 88? (sure technically Dec 87?) but all the kids who grew up in the 80s also had this final fad of TMNT, and it was the last cartoon they saw as "kids" even if most were probably becoming teenagers at the time. Not too dissimilar to how Pokemon is considered a 90s cartoon even though the fad lasted well into the early 2000's.

But yeah it's always felt weird to share TMNT with kids who grew up in the 80s because we share little in common in what we liked and they always shove TMNT with all those 80s cartoons I don't care for.

Personally I'm really glad I was born when I was, I got to experience both the TMNT and Pokemon fads as a kid. One when I was very young and one when I was about to become a teenager. If I'd been born a little bit earlier I would've missed Pokemon "through a kids eye" and same if I had been born a little bit later only I would've missed TMNT.

I many respects I personally view the fred wolf series as a 90s cartoon with a 80s theme, don't know maybe 'cus i grew up in the 90s. When was the big turtles wave exactly? 88-94?

[DVD]

That's a point.
I consider it an 80s toon, but it is true it spent most of its air time in the 80s.
I'm watch season 8 right now, and after reading this thread, I am seeing a 90s vibe running through this episode (cry HAVOC !).
My favorite 90s toon is still Batman ( I never watched the Superman show till this year ).

[ABrown]

Originally Posted by shreddinghead

When was the big turtles wave exactly? 88-94?

I'd say 1989-1993 was really when TMNT popularity was at its peak.

[Mr.Green]

Originally Posted by sdp

Personally I'm really glad I was born when I was, I got to experience both the TMNT and Pokemon fads as a kid. One when I was very young and one when I was about to become a teenager. If I'd been born a little bit earlier I would've missed Pokemon "through a kids eye" and same if I had been born a little bit later only I would've missed TMNT.

So am I

That means you're a late 80's kid

[beavercartoon]

I think TMNT was pegged as an 80's toon for a couple of reasons.

1. It did debut in the 80's, and people tend to associate fads with the decade they begin, not the decade when they end. Pokemon was already brought up as an excellent example. The anime began in late 98 (Japan) and 99 (international dub), but still maintains a strong fanbase (and Ash Ketchum is still 10 years old.) Pokemon was more popular and better known in the early 2000s than in the late 90's, plus there was a ton more merchandise available. I was a kid then, and nerdy enough to get hooked into Pokemon early. But some of my friends didn't get interested until Gold/Silver/Crystal came out (gen II, fall 2000 and summer 2001 releases in America.)

2. The character designs are very 80's. The theme song, the use of "Cowabunga!", April's yellow jumpsuit, Bebop and Rocksteady's names and appearance: it all screams 80's.

3. There are other version of the franchise which are associated with the 90's, like the Next Mutation, which was trying a little too hard to be extreme. (I tend to describe alot of 80's shows as 'totally radical' whereas the 90's stuff is 'extreme'.)

But I really don't think it matters too much whether people classify the original toon as an 80's show or a 90's show. As long as you can understand which show they are talking about, it shouldn't be that big of an issue.