Which TMNT series had the better voice acting?

I can't believe 2k3 is winning, yeah it had good voice acting but you know I could see most of the voices easily replaceable besides a few like Splinter that sound really iconic. But with the OT all their voices are iconic and not replaceable.
 
Y'know, I loved the old cartoon. I grew up on Turtles in the 90's. But the old cartoon is almost painful to watch now, voice acting included. Fresh Prince has been on so much lately that I can't unhear Uncle Phil whenever I hear the '87 Shredder. :p
 
Me neither. Just...wow.

Then again, for most of the people on TZ the 2003 show truly is their TMNT and they obviously aren't going to vote against it.
 




I can say this because no other subsequent TMNT project has tried to emulate the jokester version of Raphael. Next Mutation, the 2003 cartoon and all of the subsequent movies went with the tough hothead version of Raphael, I shouldn't have to say it because the evidence speaks for itself. Both versions of Raphael were my favorite character among the Turtles, but the hardcore version is the version of the character from the comics, which came before any of the TV shows, so to many, the hothead version of Raph is considered the definitive version of the character. Was the old toon Raph loved? Yes. No question. Loved by many, including me. But the definitive version of the character? Hardly.

FTR, I'm not putting down Paulsen's voicing of Raphael; I'm just saying that you can't unequivocally say that Paulsen's Raph is innately superior to Frank Frankson's just because of who Rob Paulsen is. You have to look past the actors and focus on the characters themselves. No single Raph voice is better or worse because they are 2 completely different takes on the character which aren't interchangeable. Paulsen's Raph voice wouldn't work on 2K3 Raph any more than Frankson's Raph voice would work on the '87 version.

But of course you're going to say that the '87 version is unquestionably the best one, since you came into this thread with an obvious bias; your opinion is always, "the older show is the best, no matter what." While I do prefer the 2003 TMNT series overall, I can at least appreciate the merits of both.
 
I enjoy both shows, 2k3 is superior but its really hard to judge since they are totally different, like 60s Batman and Burtons Batman.

I think people are judging the shows not the voice acting. No one in the 2k3 has a voice that makes me say its the definite voice of that character. Only Splinters voice IMO is iconic. I'm not knocking the VA, I think its great they all sound good and are easily recognizable. I'm also not saying the 2k3 show should have used the 87 voices or tried to imitate them, they were two different interpretations that needed different voice acting. But for a new serious interpretation I'd be more than ok with a new voice cast but with a show more lighthearted I'd want them to be exact replicas of the 87 toon because they are more iconic.
 
I'll be honest. I've extensively seen both shows but I do like the VAs in the new show better. This isn't to say the old voices are bad, but I do believe the new voices fit the characters a LITTLE better. I can pinpoint the exact reason, I just do.

Really, is it THAT hard to believe that people might like the new voices better?
 
I find it difficult to believe that most TMNT fans, including the ones who were born after 1991, prefer the syndicated series overall. We're mostly adults here at Toon Zone, but I kind of doubt that younger fans are on forums proudly declaring that the 1987 syndicated TMNT was THE definitive Ninja Turtles series. If you're truly going to make that claim, I'd like to see some official proof.

Again, none of us knows what's going to be remembered fondly 10 years from now, because we don't all have time machines parked in our garages. Suppose that some studio produces a new TMNT series within that time, and said series becomes popular and is a commercial and critical success. Are you honestly suggesting that even under those circumstances, that the syndicated series would still be the one that fans remember as being the best one? Heck, there are adults here now who grew up with the syndicated series who still prefer the 2K3 series.

Please, please, please don't start that "Batman: TAS>>>any and every other version of Batman" debate again, please. I'm begging you.

Anyways, regarding the voices, I'd say that 1987 voices work best for that more cartoony series, while the 4Kids voices work best for that series. I don't really have a preference.
 
For me I guess I'll go with the 1987 series voices - mostly for nostalgic reasons. One complaint though is when they occasionally had to find a substitute actor if the regular voice actor was unavailable. This was mostly done for Raphael and The Shredder and the results were very jarring.


It took me awhile to get used to the 2k3 voices; but they really did fit with the more darker feel of the show while still retaining a bit of humor.
 
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