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Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle

NASCAR’s Jeff Gordon and TMNT Team Up

by Zach Gasior September 24, 2012

written by Zach Gasior

The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are headed to NASCAR. According to CBSSports.com, Jeff Gordon will drive the TMNT car Oct. 13 race at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

The famous No. 24 car will feature a TMNT paint design featuring Leonardo.

Gordon is no stranger when it comes to his family life. His DVR is full of Nickelodeon shows. Gordon’s kids love Nick and he believes that the new show will be a big hit. It was because of his kids that he decided to drive the TMNT car. Gordon liked the new look of the Turtles and is excited about driving it.

Gordon promised that if he wins with the TMNT car, he will break dance with his 2-year-old son, Leo. Gordon is no stranger to odd promises. Earlier in the year he promised to bring back his famous mustache if he qualified for the Chase race.

Even Gordon’s crew chief made a promise to shave his head if he qualified for the race.

The Turtles will be in attendance at the race. They will be presenting the Bank of America 500 pre-race show. There will be special Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles activities. Nickelodeon will also be putting on a music show featuring Victoria Justice, and Big & Rich. Nick has also booked world-famous tightrope walker Nik Wallenda to do some stunts.

NASCAR’s ratings have been improving over the years. Forbes reported that 75 million people are NASCAR fans, and many fans are kids. TMNT will not be promoting the new show, but they will be reaching a larger audience then before because of NASCAR.

NASCAR itself has countless sponsors and for good reason. It is shown in over 150 countries and is the second most watched sport in the United States next to the NFL. NASCAR has become the No. 1 spectator sport, and has the highest attendance in the U.S.

The NASCAR exposure is good not only for the sport, it is good for TMNT. Other major sporting events may follow suit. Who knows what Nick has in store for NASCAR. They might even bring the TMNT van. If nothing else, TMNT will get exposure on an international level.

September 24, 2012 0 comment

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles | TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles.com

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Turtle Bits: Bay Says Leaked Script is Old, TMNT Legos a possibility and more!

by Zach Gasior September 19, 2012

written by Zach Gasior

This week we’re going to try something a little different. Turtle Bits will be a collection of TMNT news that wasn’t quite enough on its own to make the front page, but is still more than worthy. So often we run into bits of news that aren’t really enough to fill the page, but are still pretty interesting. Now we have a place to tell you about all those little tidbits of news that you might have otherwise missed out on. Let’s start out with some news about the movie, shall we?

While many have continually suggested that this film will never see the light of day, Michael Bay seems to disagree with them. After part of a script for the new movie was recently leaked onto the internet, Bay was quick to speak up and tell the fans his side of the story. According to him, the leaked script had content that was produced before he had anything to do with it. In other words, apparently it wasn’t the final script and they’ve since done some work on it. There’s still no telling whether or not it will be any good, but Bay assures fans that the leaked script “is tired, old news – wait for the movie!” Well, there’s simply no telling whether or not this is the truth, but even if it is, the script in question featured quite a few unpopular changes to the TMNT. It probably would have taken some serious work to turn that into a serviceable film. I guess we’ll just have to hope for the best with a wait and see attitude on this one.

That last bit of news might not have pleased some fans, but perhaps this next bit will. Word has it that we may see a new line of TMNT Legos in the near future. Hothbricks.com recently released information from a supposedly reliable source that said the official launch date would be announced in January of 2013. Given the time frame, we can assume that it’s probably going to be based off of the Nickelodeon series. Considering that they were happy to release the new toy line for their latest series before said series even aired, it’s a good possibility that this could actually happen. I’m sure Nickelodeon would have no problem with making even more money off of their new license. That being said, this isn’t official news from LEGO or Nickelodeon, so we’ll just have to hold our breaths on this one and hope for that official announcement sometime in January.

Last but not least, what’s the strangest TMNT Cosplay you’ve ever seen? Well, it might not beat what artist Eli Nick did for her friend. That’s right, she painted Krang’s squishy brain on her friend’s pregnant belly. It’s probably pretty hard to find the appropriate costume when you’re pregnant, so kudos to these two for coming up with something this interesting! Now, all her friend needs to do is show up as Krang’s body and she’ll steal the show. What do you guys think? Is this just plain weird, or is it downright awesome? Let us know your thoughts on this and all the other Turtle Bits in the comments below. Stay tuned for more in the near future!

Utrom Confirmed, but Not Really – Expanding Content on Nick’s TMNT Site
First Look at Nickelodeon’s TMNT Intro Theme
The Best Worst Turtle Movie You’ll See This Year

September 19, 2012 0 comment

TMNT, TMNT Nickelodeon, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

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TMNT | Nickelodeon Rewards TMNT Fans for Promoting New Show

by Zach Gasior September 18, 2012

written by Zach Gasior

The new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series premiers in less then two weeks. Nickelodeon has been using social media not only to get information out, but they are communicating with Turtles fans.

Comic-con was the start of a massive advertising campaign. Nickelodeon set up street teams in both downtown San Diego and San Diego International Airport who handed out information about what side to choose.

Fans can still sign up at http://www.turtlesvsfoot.com/.

You can choose to join the Foot Clan or the Turtles. Upon joining you will automatically get 50 points that you can use toward prizes. The only way you can additional points for prizes is to: add a network, recruit friends, tweet, like a status, comment, retweet or link clicks.

The more you help out, the better your chances are to win prizes.

For every week that you earn 50 points, you will automatically be entered for weekly prize packages from co-creator of the original TMNT series, Kevin Eastman. Every fan who earns 300 points will be able to download a mp3 of the new TMNT theme song.

Fans who rank in the top 50 will get a free signed cast poster. If you earn at least 1,000 points by September 28, 2012, you will be entered for a trip for two to meet the cast and creatures of the show at Nickelodeon Animation Studios.

The point leaders are posted each day, so fans can keep track of who is in the lead.

Fans can also expect to see their e-mail packed with TMNT news including: never-before-seen videos, artwork and character sketches.

In addition to their contest, Nick has a TMNT website up, http://www.nick.com/shows/ninja-turtles/about/, which includes bios, games and a few videos. The site also includes a sneak peek on what is to come.

Each character has an interactive bio. Nick has set up each character’s bio in an interview style. The website includes a basic introduction for new fans as well as pictures and weapons info. Nick has changed a few things from the original show and the website shows it. TMNT will be introducing April O’Neil as a 16-year-old who looks to Splinter as a father figure.
The new show will keep Shredder the same, but information on the Kraang have been shrouded in mystery. Nick has posted this info for the Kraang:

“The Kraang could not be reached for comment. So far, all we know is that they are a race of multi- tentacled brain-creatures, who are very far from home and up to no good. Stay tuned!”

The TMNT marketing team is utilizing social sites to its full potential. TMNT fans are doing most of the advertising and it is working. The top leaders on the Turtlesvsfoot.com have over 20,000 points. Two ways to get the most points (other then joining, 50 points) are to add a network for 75 points, or to recruit a friend for 50 points.

September 18, 2012 0 comment

April O'Neil, TMNT, TMNT nickelodeon, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

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Nickelodeon’s TMNT to Feature April O’Neil as a Teenager

by Zach Gasior September 12, 2012

written by Zach Gasior

In the weeks leading up to the release of Nickelodeon’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles reboot, news has been breaking of certain changes that have been made to the formula. Thankfully, most of the changes are small and probably insignificant, but one of the things that caught my eye was the fact that April O’Neil will be a teenager. It’s not like they’ve turned the turtles into aliens or anything crazy like that (I mean really, who would do something so foolish?), but this is a rather significant change to the original story of the TMNT. To be fair, they have a legitimate excuse for doing this, as Executive Producer Ciro Nieli explains further in recent comments about the show:

“When I remember April, there was a lot of ‘I’m going to work now, don’t mess up the house.’ We’re really playing on the idea of the turtles being teenagers, so it just felt appropriate that if April is going to be a fully functioning member of the crew, she should be a peer.”

While Nieli brings up some interesting points about April’s function in the original series, long time fans may still be disappointed. After all, it’s not like she never had time for the turtles, and for many of us she was our first example in film or television of a somewhat strong, independent woman. Making her character a teenager doesn’t necessarily make her more weak or less independent, but it does change certain dynamics about her character that have always held true. That being said, this wouldn’t be the first time that we’ve ever seen her character change a bit. After all, in the original comics April O’Neil wasn’t a reporter, she was a computer programmer. However, she was still an adult, and she was still a pretty powerful female role model.

We’re not quite sure yet how this change will affect her character in the new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series, but I’m still pretty hopeful that Nickelodeon’s reboot will remain mostly faithful. Certain aspects of the story may be different this time around, but we’re not talking about Michael Bay level modifications or anything. Still worried? Check out this short clip from the show to ease your concerns, and prepare for its release on September 29^th. We’re almost there, TMNT fans! Let’s get pumped!

September 12, 2012 0 comment

IDW Fugitoid, TMNT, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

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TMNT | IDW Gets to Fugitoid – what’s the upshot?

by Zach Gasior September 10, 2012

written by Zach Gasior

IDW, which has been steadily releasing new TMNT comics for some time, is following its April O’Neill Micro-Series with a character sketch of Professor Honeycutt, aka, Fugitoid.

Previous IDW micros have focused on the Turtles, Splinter, Casey Jones, and April, and are thematically similar to the Eastman and Laird Mirage mini series’ from the 1980s. Thus far, these short runs have succeeded in added interesting new depth to the characters they depict: April is closer to her Mirage roots (you may recall that in the early 80s, she was Baxter Stockman’s assistant: now she’s a full-fledged researcher), while Casey has a compelling and conflicted relationship with his father.

Although only an eight-page preview is available over at Comicosity.com, we’re getting some interesting complexity that’s been missing from other versions: Professor Honeycutt is, in this version, definitely an alien (he was very human-looking in the original Mirage comics), and instead of being coerced and bullied into creating military monstrosities for the evil human empire to use against the triceratons, he’s now been drafted to create metal soldiers for Krang in his quest for world domination.

Honeycutt is a family man, with a sympathetic wife and a young son – what’s compelling is watching the scientist battle with his conscience as he tries to muster up the courage to defy Krang. As the preview notes, Honeycutt unsurprisingly throws off his shackles and deserts, but only gets away by melding his consciousness with his latest prototype: the titanium-shelled helper robot who will become Fugitoid.

Knowing that the Doctor is a family man, and actually seeing his family, gives the character a substantial richness, which hasn’t always been the case – in the 1980s comics he was a sympathetic enough figure, but also a bit of a dues ex machina, conveniently helping the turtles when they needed it, and then politely disappearing when he was done. The 2003 version is practically a word-for-word reading of the original origin story. This version will find Fugitoid on earth, and is meant to overlap with the running TMNT comic line.

In any event, it’s very likely that this new IDW Comic version will be worth checking out, and it should be on your local newsstand today.