Imagine my surprise when I’m looking around at the latest Ninja Turtles news and discover that Playmates has created a crazy new line of TMNT toys called “T-Sprints.” It wasn’t difficult to see the appeal behind their T-Machines line, as Nickelodeon had recently released an episode with a mutant hot rod. However, there’s something genuinely odd about a Ninja Turtles toy that is designed primarily to run. I could understand a concept like this working for a property such as The Flash, but why are the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles running around like this? Playmates is usually a brand you can trust to craft unique and creative toys, but this just seems like a blatant attempt to cash in on the franchise.
To be fair, it would appear that Playmates is very well aware of how crazy these T-Sprints toys are. Karl Aaronian, the Senior Vice President of Marketing, had the following to say about the new toy line:
“As the company behind the popular Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles toy line for decades, Playmates Toys continually strives to develop innovative new play patterns which allow fans to experience their favorite characters in unique and entertaining ways. The T-Sprints collection offers fans a humorous, unique new experience, bringing the personalities of each Turtle to life in whole new way.”
It’s nice to know that even the head honchos understand how silly these TMNT toys look. I suppose that Karl has a point about T-Sprints offering a unique experience that has the potential to be entertaining, but something about this line just seems goofy. The advertisement even touts the fact that you can have them run in their vehicles like Fred Flintstone. I guess if you want something small and simple that looks like your favorite heroes in a half shell and performs a basic action of some sort, this would do the trick. That being said, something about this toy line feels more like a Happy Meal toy than something you would put on store shelves.
What do you think? Is the T-Sprints line just crazy enough to get your attention, or are you going to avoid these TMNT toys like the plague? Let us know in the comments below!