Nerding Out Over Ninja Turtles; Cowabunga Dude!

There are just certain things in life that I gravitate towards, whether it be for nostalgia, knowledge, or a deep-rooted interest. This new information would deffinately be in the first category, as it's officially been announced (trailer and all) that there will be a new iteration of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

When I heard this, I was immediately taken back to Saturday morning cartoons, a bowl of cereal, and the epic that is 4 teenaged-turtles, one master rat, and a plucky news reporter, taking on a life sized can-opener in Shredder, along with his alien buddy Krang. Was there a better 80's cartoon intro, I think not.

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Which brings me to the latest news from Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon Movies. A brand new animated full-length turtles feature. This one put together by a man who definitely knows his way around teenage comedy, Seth Rogen. Check out the new teaser trailer for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem. Which will debut in theatres August 4 of this year.

According to the YouTube video synopsis;

"In Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem, after years of being sheltered from the human world, the Turtle brothers set out to win the hearts of New Yorkers and be accepted as normal teenagers through heroic acts. Their new friend April O’Neil helps them take on a mysterious crime syndicate, but they soon get in over their heads when an army of mutants is unleashed upon them."

Check out these killer screen shots from the trailer and you'll see classic villains Bebop and Rocksteady (to be voiced by Seth Rogen and John Cena), The Turtles themselves, and up-and-coming reporter April O'Neil.

Originally created in 1984, TMNT started out as an indie comic book series that parodied superhero tropes of that era. It quickly exploded, becoming a massive franchise with hundreds of comics, shows, movies, toys, books, games, and more. I still go back to my old NES and SNES (Nintendo/Super Nintendo) to play "Turtles in Time" or the "Manhattan Project". In addition, they just brought out a load of the classic arcade style TMNT games for Xbox and you know I 've got that rolling already.

The series has also had several popular animated outings, the last fully-animated film TMNT was released over 15 years ago in 2007, and of course I have that one as well.

According to the trailer TMNT: Mutant Mayhem features an ensemble cast, including big names like Rogen, Jackie Chan, John Cena, Paul Rudd, Maya Rudolph, and Ice Cube. However, all four of the turtles are played by younger, lesser-known actors. So far, I'm all in, as they sound great together in the new trailer.

And man, the animation style is pretty killer. It's very Into the Spiderverse-y, which according to reports is exactly the direction Jeff Rowe (Film Director) was hoping to go; with animations that match more of a "doodled in a high school notebook" feel. The animation is provided by Mikros Animation and Cinesite.

Well kids, looks like we'll be heading to the theaters on August 4th. I've seen enough to want more, and besides, who could ever get enough of the 80's greatest animated teenage action heroes? Certainly not I.