They have three toes, the end is nigh!
Posted: Mon Oct 22, 2012 12:25 pm
So there's a new Ninja Turtles cartoon out, and apparently I'm watching it. Is anyone else? Let's talk Turtles.
My interest in the turtles is certainly not what it was, I used to be completely obsessed with them until Sonic came along (probably not hyperbole) completely changed the course of my life, but it's still kind of interesting to see what they're doing with it, especially since this version is totally Eastman and Laird-free, if I understand correctly. I really didn't give the other recent cartoon a fair shot, mainly on account of it appeared to be trying way too hard to be taken seriously (I loved the "Turtles Forever" crossover movie, though). I almost completely shut this one out because of the horrible 2D anime-style emotion effects (it's as bad as you might think) but somehow I am watching the show anyway. It's streaming on Nickelodeon.com, why not?
Anyway, what I find most interesting about the new series is that they seem to be trying to make each turtle as individual and utterly adorable as possible. Don (now, oddly, voiced by a former Raphael!) has a gap tooth, Mike has freckles, Leonardo idolizes their universe's version of Captain Kirk, and Raph has a pet turtle that he talks to. In the old cartoon (and in general) they seemed pretty well-defined enough by the song ("Does Machines" etc) but it seems to me that they are really pushing for a kind of on-going redefinition of the characters, even if they still have the same "jobs." Character development and Ninja Turtles just isn't something I associate together unless it's Raphael being all pouty in the corner.
I like their new Splinter, but find it completely implausible that he is actually content living in the sewer with the turtles. In this version, the origin story takes the surprising twist that Hamato Yoshi is the one who bought the four turtles as babies. I guess they weren't comfortable with the Daredevil reference? Seriously though, the dude's well-dressed and doing fine in New York, and then suddenly he gets lonely(?), buys some turtles, walks down the wrong alley, and now he has to live in the sewer. What a day! At least in the old cartoon we were given the impression that he was already living in the sewer because, I dunno, he liked it there? The new Splinter is like a totally cool martial arts dad, but I just don't buy it. The Shredder is introduced more like the serious villain from the comics, but you don't get the impression Splinter actually harbors any deep-seated need for revenge towards him, and yet when he explains that he as given the turtles "all the skills they'll need to survive on the surface" he is referring to ninjitsu pretty much exclusively. I can't tell if I'm just getting older or if the new show actually IS more ridiculous. I mean, obviously it ISN'T, but it's like uncanny valley--the more believable the characters, the more unbelievable they are.
The new role for April is really strange to me, and makes me realize how strange the old cartoon's April is, and I don't just mean in that her clothes made no sense, and also, how much the times have changed, apparently. New April is also a teenager, and according to her bio on the back of the action figure (yes I looked ok) she "doesn't fit in at school." Are us outcast nerds actually supposed to... identify with her?! Before, she was like this unattainable kind of hot-mom damsel role. Despite the outfit, she was nobody's love interest--it seemed natural to me at the time (I was nine) but maybe that was more by design than I thought? And Casey Jones was there in other shows to keep the Turtles at a romantic distance. Now, newly-attainable teenage April hasn't been on screen for 5 seconds before Donatello says (I may be paraphrasing here) "I want a piece of that." Is.. is that ok? Remember how everyone freaked out when a human girl seemingly-innocently re-enacted the wake-up scene from Snow White in Sonic 2006?
How times have changed! It used to be that even though none of the turtles were allowed to actually even use their weapons, the nunchucks had to be replaced with a ridiculous "turtle line" in later seasons due to parental outrage and now Mike's nunchucks have a secret button that turns them into bladed sickles. Really? (Leo and Raph still hit guys with the butts of their weapons a lot, though.)
Despite these sorts of observations (or perhaps because of them) I think I'm kind of digging the new cartoon.
My interest in the turtles is certainly not what it was, I used to be completely obsessed with them until Sonic came along (probably not hyperbole) completely changed the course of my life, but it's still kind of interesting to see what they're doing with it, especially since this version is totally Eastman and Laird-free, if I understand correctly. I really didn't give the other recent cartoon a fair shot, mainly on account of it appeared to be trying way too hard to be taken seriously (I loved the "Turtles Forever" crossover movie, though). I almost completely shut this one out because of the horrible 2D anime-style emotion effects (it's as bad as you might think) but somehow I am watching the show anyway. It's streaming on Nickelodeon.com, why not?
Anyway, what I find most interesting about the new series is that they seem to be trying to make each turtle as individual and utterly adorable as possible. Don (now, oddly, voiced by a former Raphael!) has a gap tooth, Mike has freckles, Leonardo idolizes their universe's version of Captain Kirk, and Raph has a pet turtle that he talks to. In the old cartoon (and in general) they seemed pretty well-defined enough by the song ("Does Machines" etc) but it seems to me that they are really pushing for a kind of on-going redefinition of the characters, even if they still have the same "jobs." Character development and Ninja Turtles just isn't something I associate together unless it's Raphael being all pouty in the corner.
I like their new Splinter, but find it completely implausible that he is actually content living in the sewer with the turtles. In this version, the origin story takes the surprising twist that Hamato Yoshi is the one who bought the four turtles as babies. I guess they weren't comfortable with the Daredevil reference? Seriously though, the dude's well-dressed and doing fine in New York, and then suddenly he gets lonely(?), buys some turtles, walks down the wrong alley, and now he has to live in the sewer. What a day! At least in the old cartoon we were given the impression that he was already living in the sewer because, I dunno, he liked it there? The new Splinter is like a totally cool martial arts dad, but I just don't buy it. The Shredder is introduced more like the serious villain from the comics, but you don't get the impression Splinter actually harbors any deep-seated need for revenge towards him, and yet when he explains that he as given the turtles "all the skills they'll need to survive on the surface" he is referring to ninjitsu pretty much exclusively. I can't tell if I'm just getting older or if the new show actually IS more ridiculous. I mean, obviously it ISN'T, but it's like uncanny valley--the more believable the characters, the more unbelievable they are.
The new role for April is really strange to me, and makes me realize how strange the old cartoon's April is, and I don't just mean in that her clothes made no sense, and also, how much the times have changed, apparently. New April is also a teenager, and according to her bio on the back of the action figure (yes I looked ok) she "doesn't fit in at school." Are us outcast nerds actually supposed to... identify with her?! Before, she was like this unattainable kind of hot-mom damsel role. Despite the outfit, she was nobody's love interest--it seemed natural to me at the time (I was nine) but maybe that was more by design than I thought? And Casey Jones was there in other shows to keep the Turtles at a romantic distance. Now, newly-attainable teenage April hasn't been on screen for 5 seconds before Donatello says (I may be paraphrasing here) "I want a piece of that." Is.. is that ok? Remember how everyone freaked out when a human girl seemingly-innocently re-enacted the wake-up scene from Snow White in Sonic 2006?
How times have changed! It used to be that even though none of the turtles were allowed to actually even use their weapons, the nunchucks had to be replaced with a ridiculous "turtle line" in later seasons due to parental outrage and now Mike's nunchucks have a secret button that turns them into bladed sickles. Really? (Leo and Raph still hit guys with the butts of their weapons a lot, though.)
Despite these sorts of observations (or perhaps because of them) I think I'm kind of digging the new cartoon.