This post is going to be a bit of a stream of consciousness
With the announcement that Michael Bay has gotten the rights to destroy another one of my childhood favorites, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, I thought I would contemplate a bit about that particular franchise and how I got involved with it.
In the beginning I remember only hearing rumblings and seeing toy commercials. The buzz in the first or second grade was that these four teenage mutants were the next big thing in the toy aisle. I was still pretty happy with my Masters of the Universe stuff and all of the other toy lines that had dropped and intrigued me, but even I could feel a change in the wind.
One Friday night my Aunt and Uncle took me and my cousin to a movie, and before hand took us to a toy store at the mall that the Movie theater was at. This is when I took the plunge. They got me Leonardo. and since that night he has been my favorite of the Turtles.
The turtles toys or the franchise in general has always took a back burner to Masters and some other lines, but it was always special eventually I did see the cartoon and it captures my imagination. The Technodrome, Baxter Stockman and Krang were just so different to my young mind that I loved it and soaked it all in. Like every other preteen boy I couldn't get enough.
My affiliation with the turtles is very linear, in that I remember events along the way, the next event was going to Pizza Hut and playing the Arcade game. It was amazing! I had never experienced anything quite like it. It was like playing the cartoon! It was so much better than the ill-conceived Nintendo game.
The Movie was the next big event I remember. Before the internet you heard about movies by going to other movies and watching trailers. I think it was the little Mermaid that my mom took me and my cousins to. The trailer for the Ninja Turtles movie was on at the beginning. I glassed over. I was useless for the rest of the movie. I officially could not wait for the movie.
I saw that movie a couple of times in the theater. It was a fun movie. A little later there was the "Coming out of their shell" tour that came out from Pizza hut. I didn't see the show, but I did manage to get a hold of the Cassette, It was horrifically bad, but I thought it was awesome.
The other movies came and left and the Cartoon began to drag on and on, and eventually even I lost the enthusiasm. But it was a fun time while it lasted. The Ninja Turtles will always be special to me and very real to me for their time!
Do you have memories of The turtles! share them!
I never had a single TMNT toy but I DID have 2 of the NES Games. I must say that the second one (that came with a free pizza) was my favorite. I was a Donatello fan - something about the quiet intellectual appealed to me. AND I had a crush on April. I remember loving that arcade game so much that I would easily drop $5 into it trying to get to Shredder. The movies were just plain fun! I like them all - (except Vanilla Ice kind of ruins 2 a little).
ReplyDeleteJosh,
DeleteThose games were great. the Turtles franchise has always been kind of magical no matter what the medium.
Yes the movies were all a lot of fun as well!
The TMNT were another of those toys that I just dabbled with, though I had atleast a dozen or more. Other then the 4 turtles, Splinter and Shredder I'm having a hard time recalling which others I owned. Krang & Rat King maybe? Couple of the samurai animals, I know after the first couple lines I lost interest.
ReplyDeleteAs for the original movie, it was the first time I ever got in a line stretching around the theater to see it. After I was able to talk my mom into buying me the TMNT cereal, which was rare to have anything that "sugary" in our house.
And yes, I too have fond memories of playing the arcade game at Wal-Mart and the roller rink then finaly saving my own money to buy the NES version.
I think every one who grew up at that time has memories of the that Ninja Turtles arcade game!
DeleteAm still shaking my head in pain at the thought of what Mister Bay is going to do with the Turtles.
ReplyDelete