An interesting discussion seems to have started up on the TMNT subreddit. This argument isn’t actually new, but it does seem to pop up from time to time. Every now and then, a fan will make a point of correcting other fans when it comes to the lyrics for the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles animated series. Most of these lines have been well worn into our memory banks, but there is one particular lyric which appears to be a subject of contention between shellheads. While some maintain that Raphael is “cool, but rude,” others are convinced that he is “cool, but crude.”
This appears to be another case of the Mandela Effect. The noted social oddity is named after a group of people who were convinced that Nelson Mandela died in prison despite the fact that he did not. Other notable examples of this effect include the instance where fans of the Berenstain Bears were convinced that the actual spelling of these beloved children’s books was “Berenstein Bears.” In much the same fashion, it would appear that there are a lot of TMNT fans who believe that the original lyric from the theme song described Raphael as crude instead of rude.
As a point of fact, one reddit user revealed that the subtitles on the DVD sets reveal the line to be “cool, but rude.” Of course, this isn’t going to be enough evidence for everyone, so it probably shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise that one fan even went so far as to ask Rob Paulsen about it on Twitter. Surely Paulsen, who originally voiced the character, would know whether or not Raph was rude or crude? Well, it would appear that Paulsen has decided to stay out of this debate, as his response was simply “Sure.”
Sure. 😉 RT @CrackMacCool: @yakkopinky Hello Sir! Is Raphael 'cool but crude' or 'cool but rude?'
— Rob Paulsen (@yakkopinky) May 9, 2017
To be honest, if we really want to know the answer, perhaps we should ask Chuck Lorre? After all, he wrote the theme song and even performed the spoken parts! Unfortunately, he doesn’t have a confirmed presence on Twitter, so it’s not exactly easy to contact him and ask about this somewhat interesting example of the Mandela Effect. Personally, I’m of the opinion that Raphael is and has always been “cool, but rude.” Something tells me that at least a few readers here will tell me about how wrong I am.