Toon Zone Talkback - Nick Acquires Rights for "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles"

New TMNT series huh? I love both the 80s and the 2000s versions so I'll so check out this version when it appears. I am a bit worried though. I really don't like CG shows because sometimes, the CG just doesn't look good (except The Penguins of Madagascar. The CG on that is good).

I'm just going to hope that they don't screw it up or anything.
 
I still think the total sale price was a steal on Nick's part. TMNT may not be as huge as it was in the '80s, but 60 million is still a very small price for such a property.

I don't know how the money will be split between Mirage and 4kids, but I doubt it'll help either of them out of their financial problems.
 
Yeah, which means the Turtles really would be officially "shell-shocked" if the Nick series bombed. Very scary.



And that is sad. The Mirage comics are officially over. TMNT no longer has anything to fall back on. If the Nick cartoon isn't popular, the series will be swept into the wilderness.



The only reason the 4kids series turned out good is Peter Laird was always there making sure they did the right thing. I wonder what a new cartoon without Laird over their shoulder means.

On the bright side, old toon characters like Krang, Bebop and Rocksteady are no longer off-limits. We could see the return of many original series characters with this new series.
 
As long as they don't pass the production duties onto Larry Schwarz and his company Animation Collective like they did with Speed Racer, I have no problem with this. Because if they did....*shudder*.

The likely scenario, if it is 3D CGI, is probably O Entertainment, as they've had an extensive history with Nick that dates back a decade. I suppose it could possibly also be Dreamworks Animation (Penguins of Madagascar), but that seems highly unlikely.

Too bad for Laird, though: I'm sure he's probably sick of TMNT, but what about his most beloved creation, the Fugitoid? Has Laird even gotten sick of him too?
 
I swear, if they air both TMNT cartoons weekday afternoons on regular Nick by this time next year, this deal will be one of the best things to happen to the franchise television-wise in years. Just the thought of the original series alone airing on TV again makes the fan in me squee with excitement, but the thought of 2K3 getting a proper consistent run is amazing too.

The more I think about it, the more I wish Mirage had sold off everything except the rights to the comic. There's no guarantee Viacom'll be as loving to those as they seem to be towards the two cartoons.
 
Yeah, because Nickelodeon brought the property just to kiddify it all up and make it completely unrecognizable to audiences.

Please.

Nickelodeon knows perfectly well what they're picking up, a popular, valuable action-adventure property known throughout the world. If anything, they're picking up insurance when Disney does take away the Marvel-owned properties from the network around 2011 or so. And considering they own the property outright, including the rights the 4Kids-produced series, the series might actually air on the Nick outlets, especially Nicktoons. They're also the ones producing and distributing the live-action film that's about to be in production as well as a new series coming to Nickelodeon a little after the new film is released. This is the same company that gave us Avatar, in case you forgot. They also own TeenNick as well.

Then you hear comments like this: "I hope Nick doesn't turn TMNT into a kiddie franchise." Well, guess what? TMNT is largely seen as a kiddie franchise in this country and around the world, which is why the series doesn't air on FX or Syfy, but rather 4Kids. It's a bellwether brand, something that has spread across three decades in some form or another, and it's a property Nickelodeon can and will manage successfully.

The Turtles will be alright.
 
Do you think Rob Paulsen will return? He has had a working relationship with both Nick and O Entertainment this past decade. And since Nick wants to be more like the `80s series...it makes sense. Plus, it'll be interesting to see him return to the franchise after, what, 13 years? Maybe even longer.
 
Yeah, I just hope we hear news about it soon. I wonder if it'll be more like the 2k3 or the original cartoon. I wouldn't mind it falling somewhere in the middle but I'd hate for them to go completely campy for nastalgia's sake. As much as I like the original cartoon, I think 2k3 was better overall.
 
But not completely. Even the original sketch Laird and Eastman came up with was just them screwing around to create the most ridiculous premise they could think of.
 
Nick is already selling merchandise. I saw some at FYE today and it had the Nickelodeon label. And, guess what, it was the `80s cartoon design.
 
What I find interesting is that Disney has made multi-billion dollar deals at least twice this decade (Fox Family Worldwide in 2001 and Marvel in 2009). If they really wanted to, I believe Disney could have purchased the rights to TMNT. The TMNT deal is worth $60 million. It makes me believe that if Disney didn't show interest in getting TMNT rights, it was either because they are already getting a bunch of comic book properties (Marvel), or have already acquired rights to the next wildly successful action television series that followed TMNT (Mighty Morphin Power Rangers).
 
Originally Posted by Blackstar
the 2K3 series has never reached Batman:TAS levels of dark


First, that was just an alternate reality. Second, they were already dead by the time we the audience got there. It's not like we got to see them meet their grisly demise or anything. The Mayor of Townsville was depicted as being dead in the future in "Speed Demons", but that doesn't instantly put The Powerpuff Girls on the same level as B:TAS either.



It's the story of 4 bipedal talking turtles who wear headbands and know ninjitsu. How seriously is it supposed to take itself?

Point is: anyone expecting a 'Batman Dark' take on TMNT on Nickelodeon of all channels is only setting themselves up for disappointment. Anyway, Nick has already said that this series is going to be closer in style to the 80's series.
 
:^: Exactly. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles has been widely regarded as a childrens' franchise for 20 years now, and now its' been acquired by Nickelodeon, the #1 kids network, so I wouldn't expect TMNT to take a dark turn anytime soon, which is just fine by me. Dark doesn't automatically mean better.



No, it wasn't for all the reasons Silverstar said. A single semi-dark episode that only happened in an alternate reality doesn't put the entire series on par with Batman:TAS.
 
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