Turtle Fever Will Be Back in Action This Summer

443

The past few years have been a pretty amazing time to be a Ninja Turtles fan. Thanks to the popularity of the animated series on Nickelodeon, Paramount decided to make a new movie for the turtles that proved to be quite successful. As if that weren’t awesome enough, we’ve also seen a lot of new toys hitting store shelves over the course of that period. However, it wasn’t until now what we have really begun to see the return of Turtle Fever as it once was back in the late 80’s and early 90’s.

Don’t believe me? Well, let’s take a look at what was going on back then and compare it to recent events.

After the comic debuted and became a run away hit in 1984, the concept was eventually developed into an animated series in 1987. It wasn’t until 1989 that they began developing video games for the property, and then in 1990 the first film was released. At that point, the market had been saturated with tons of TMNT merchandise and entertainment including comic books, video games, films, toys and an animated series. Most of these entertainment products were of a high quality, and they sold well to fans of all ages. We’re about to reach that level of popularity once again.

Okay, so there’s an argument to be made that we’ve already been experiencing this level of popularity for several years now, but I don’t necessarily agree. Yes, we’ve seen a lot of younger fans (and some older fans) enjoying the new animated series from Nickelodeon; yes, we’ve seen a few mediocre TMNT video games; yes, we got one new movie that some fans enjoyed; yes, the toys are back on store shelves and selling like hotcakes. All of this is true, but we’re still not seeing the same level of popularity as we saw back when it all began.

For one thing, a lot of fans didn’t like the new movie. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was critically panned and many fans have decried its lack of focus on developing the characteristics of each turtle. In addition to this, many fans haven’t really found much of anything to love about the video games that Activision has been pumping out. Combine these issues with some reluctance from retro fans to watch what has truly become one of the greatest TMNT animated series of all time, and it’s easy to see that we haven’t exactly been experiencing the same kind of hype as we once did when Turtle Fever was in full swing.

I believe that could all change this summer.

With a new film and video game coming out in just a month, it’s very likely that the Ninja Turtles are about to take center stage once again and make a resurgence in the market. The reception to both Out of the Shadows and Mutants in Manhattan has been generally favorable, suggesting that many formerly reluctant shellheads are ready to take another chance on the franchise. The movie sequel appears to have many of the elements that fans were requesting after the release of the first film, and the filmmakers themselves have talked about how they spent more time focusing on the turtles this time around. Meanwhile, the latest TMNT game from Platinum Games looks like it could be one of the best Ninja Turtles titles in decades.

If the movie and the game both live up to the hype surrounding them, chances are that a lot more people are going to be enjoying some time with our heroes in a half shell this summer. It seems like we’re learning about new promotions and TMNT products just about every day, and the excitement just continues to build as we get closer to June. With all of this excitement surrounding the Ninja Turtles, it’s hard to see how we wouldn’t be in for another awesome return of Turtle Fever!

Will this summer bring back the joy of Turtle Fever, or are we in for another let down? Let us know your thoughts in the comments or via facebook/twitter.