SDCC: The New TMNT Cartoon Is Goofy as @#$% (Although That’s Not the Worst Thing Ever)
It looks like Nickelodeon’s upcoming CG Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cartoon is going down that Teen Titans/Ultimate Spider-Man path of extreme wackiness, exaggerated facial expressions, and just general goofiness. However, unlike Ultimate Spider-Man, I’m fine with this for several reasons: 1) We just had a long-running, more serious take on the Turtles. 2) The Turtles — being, you know, teenage mutant ninja turtles — are more conducive to wackiness than Spider-Man, who needs a modicum of genuine drama to work most effectively as a character. 3) As this clip shows, the show does appear to have the capacity to get serious and show some solid action when it wants to, which, again, is something Teen Titans did very effectively, Ultimate Spider-Man has not managed to do. So I’m fine with this. Look, I just can’t look at an anthropomorphic turtle wielding ninja weapons and say, “They’re not taking this seriously enough!” I just can’t. A man with spider-powers dressed like a stuntman from the ’70s had sex with a luchadore? THAT’S SERIOUS BUSINESS, MY FRIENDS.