So…
…
The Premise: Just like the title says, four TURTLES who also happen to be TEENAGERS, MUTANTS, and NINJAS protect New York City from the forces of the evil Shredder and his “Foot Clan.”
This is definitely the most popular show I’ve talked about so far in this thing, so it’s going to be difficult to say anything that hasn’t already been said by someone else. Then again, what am I, Hot Take Harry over here, certifying every single utterance as 100% FRESH?!? Not at all!
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was created by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. These were just two guys who, as I understand it, were just goofing around drawing one day and sketched up a little masked turtle wielding nunchucks. This very quickly turned into a comic book, which turned into a toy line, then a cartoon show, movie, video game, reboot, remake, reboot, and so on and so on until the very end of time itself. But that original Saturday morning cartoon? That’s where I was hooked.
Playtime as a kid was never the same after that. Before, if we were playing Batman, then every kid wanted to be Batman. If we were playing Peanuts, every kid wanted to be Snoopy. (Yeah. I played Peanuts. What of it?) Compromises had to be made, but then Eastman and Laird’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comes along and suddenly there were options! We didn’t all want to be the main character, because there wasn’t just one main character. This was a team of four different characters each equally matched in awesomeness. Although to say the Ninja Turtles were equals is NOT the same as saying they were all the same. In fact, anybody who did make the mistake of saying that was cancelled faster than a dissenting celebrity on Twitter. No! These were four individuals who, although practically identical in appearance, had distinct personalities… or rather… temperaments.
There’s Leonardo - Analytical, sensitive, the ideal leader.
Michelangelo - Enthusiastic, talkative, a party dude.
Donatello - Pensive, cautious, good with machines.
And Raphael - Passionate, aggressive, cool… but rude.
Get a load of me nersdsplaining all of this as if it wasn't a universal phenomenon that literally everyone knows about! Of course, as with all phenomenon, there were several attempts to mimic the success of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, seemingly throwing random words together and cranking out a masculine-charged cartoon based on the result: Street Sharks, Biker Mice From Mars, Wild West COW-Boys of Moo Mesa… the list keeps going and keeps getting more absurd, all the while NEVER matching the appeal of the Ninja Turtles. I could be wrong though, but I don’t personally remember any kids on the playground discussing which Biker Mouse they most closely identified with.
And what I think is so great is that it’s all the product of two people just goofing around. They stopped “trying” for a second, and came up with one of the most successful franchises of all time! It’s kind of inspiring, if you think about it.
Oh! And it’s Donatello.
My favorite turtle is Donatello.
Kablama Slam! Fun Fact: The term “cowabunga” originated on The Howdy Doody Show as the nonsensical greeting of Chief Thunderthud, a character who wasn’t… by today’s standards… in the best of taste.
No comments:
Post a Comment