Whether intentionally or not, Playmates Toys made some rather interesting revelations during an interview with Pixel Dan. This wouldn’t be the first time that they have shared some important information with him, but some of the details he discovered hadn’t actually been fully explained by either Nickelodeon or Playmates until now. Considering just how enlightening this short interview actually was, let’s take a look at some of the most significant announcements that were recently made during Toy Fair 2017.
Tales of the TMNT is more than just a promotional name
According to the interviewer, the new “Tales of the TMNT” phrase being used by Nickelodeon is actually meant to denote a series of several episodes which have a common theme. These “tales” will be split into four different story arcs across the fifth season, starting with the conclusion of the Super Shredder plot. Anyone who remembers what they did with the later seasons of the 4Kids series may find this oddly familiar, and it definitely seems like they’re trying to take this cartoon in that direction.
For all we know, this is what they meant when they said that the series was going to end after the fifth season; perhaps they’re just going to re-name the show Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles! Sadly, Nickelodeon doesn’t do a great job of making these distinctions perfectly clear, so we’ll just have to wait and see what actually happens. One thing is for sure: it would be foolish for them to stop producing one of their most popular cartoons. Needless to say, Playmates Toys will be releasing a product line related to each individual story arc.
One of the Story Arcs will include Usagi Yojimbo
We’ve known about Usagi Yojimbo’s return to the TMNT lore for several months now. That being said, we didn’t know how he would end up meeting with the turtles, and now we at least know that he will have his own story arc with our heroes in a half shell. The toy line that Playmates has designed for this arc includes Leo, Raph, Donnie and Mikey dressed up as samurai warriors, which means we can probably expect them to don this armor at some point during the fifth season.
Mikey is looking pretty darn good in Samurai form! How good will Usagi Yojimbo look? Image Source: Pixel Dan, Playmates Toys.
Whatever they actually end up looking like in the series, it’s hard to deny that these toys look really nice. Unfortunately, they didn’t have the Usagi Yojimbo toy yet, but we probably won’t have to wait much longer to see what he looks like. Say what you will about the Tales of the TMNT re-branding, but it’s clear that this idea is resulting in some pretty awesome action figures! Something tells me that collectors and kids alike are going to have a lot of fun getting their hands on all of these variants.
Another Story Arc Will Apparently Reference the Universal Classic Monsters
Although the official from Playmates didn’t specifically state that this toy line will be based on one of the four story arcs in season five, the language he used definitely seems to indicate that this might be the case. This line of toys will be entitled “Monsters + Mutants,” featuring each of the turtles as both monsters and monster hunters. Being that they are apparently going to be hunting monsters, it makes sense that we might eventually see them turn into monsters as well.
Leo looks pretty good as The Mummy, but can we just take a moment to appreciate the majesty that is Frankenstein Donny? Image Source: Pixel Dan, Playmates Toys.
Fans of Playmates Toys will immediately recognize this line as a reference to their old Universal Classic Monsters toy line from the 90’s. This has always been a fan favorite, so it’s definitely nice to see them returning to form with Mikey as the Wolfman, Raph as Dracula, Leo as The Mummy and Donnie as Frankenstein. The molds for these particular action figures look absolutely wonderful, which leads me to believe that this will also be a popular line of toys for both younger fans and collectors alike.
Bebop and Rocksteady will Feature in their own Story Arc
This was positively confirmed, as the Playmates representative definitively stated that there would be three episodes for that particular plot. Although they are only featured in three episodes, it would appear that the company still has plans to release a special variant of the Bebop and Rocksteady figures. These toys will feature both baddies in their original clothing from the ’87 animated series, which is sure to please both young and old fans. You’ve gotta give both Nickelodeon and Playmates Toys a lot of credit – they know how to appease their audience.
Unfortunately, the next revelation proves that they aren’t always going to please all of the fans.
Bebop and Rocksteady are looking pretty good back in their original clothes! Image Source: Pixel Dan, Playmates Toys.
It looks like we won’t be getting Ice Cream Kitty after all
During a similar interview a few years ago, a Playmates representative gave fans their first look at an Ice Cream Kitty action figure. The feline was to be packaged along with two other small figures, but it was never released. According to this latest interview, it would appear that they no longer have plans to release an Ice Cream Kitty toy. Thankfully, this character has been released in TMNT toy sets from other companies, so it’s not impossible to get a little plastic figurine of Mikey’s favorite pet.
However, we will finally get a Muckman figure
I’m pretty sure that the Muckman figure has actually been in development for an even longer period of time than Ice Cream Kitty. With that in mind, it’s definitely nice to see that they have at least made good on their promises to bring this action figure to market. A lot of fans have been clamoring for a Muckman toy ever since the series originally began to air in 2012, and I’m sure they’ll all be happy to see that this toy is very close to becoming a reality. Playmates Toys might not get everything right, but their sales would indicate that they still manage to keep most TMNT fans quite pleased.
Surprisingly, this Muckman figure looks about as awesome today as it did when they first announced it! Image Source: Pixel Dan, Playmates Toys.
Several Reasons to Be Excited
Regardless how you feel about all of these revelations from Toy Fair 2017, there’s definitely more good news than bad. I’m not sure how I feel about Nickelodeon potentially splitting up season five into a bunch of random story arcs, but I do like all of the different plot concepts they will be exploring. I’m especially excited about the Monsters + Mutants and Samurai Turtles toy lines, which promise a lot of great action figures for fans of all ages. It’s disappointing to see that they won’t be giving us an Ice Cream Kitty figure, but at least we’re finally getting Muckman! I don’t know about you, but I will definitely take the positives with the negatives in this case.