New TMNT DVD/Blu Ray set announced!

[The Borgified Corpse]

http://www.movieweb.com/news/NEp1spqtxvMCsw

Warner Bros. is coming out with a new 4-disc DVD set, also on Blu Ray, with all 4 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movies-- the 3 live action movies from the early 1990s and the CGI movie that came out in 2007. The set will be released on June 4.

While I'm a huge Turtles fan, I'm not too jazzed about this announcement yet. First, I want to hear if there are going to be any new bonus features on these DVDs. The previous releases of the 1st 3 films didn't even have any commentary tracks. And while TMNT (2007) got some decent bonus features, I was disappointed that they didn't have any interviews with the 4 voice actors who played the Turtles. (Also, you can't turn off the commentary track on the deleted scenes.)

Also, there are rumors that Mirage Studios & Legendary pictures are working on a new live action Turtles movie set for release in 2011. I'm all for more theatrical Turtles. (I saw the last movie 7 times in the theater.) But I'm now wondering about the wisdom of doing a new live action movie. I felt that TMNT did an amazing job of broadening the scope of what a Turtles story could be. The facial articulation on the Turtles was much better than any animatronics could ever be. The action was much more credible and more exciting. The movement was much more fluid and ninja-like. And they were able to do a movie with tons of large sets, action scenes, monsters, and a prologue to rival The Lord of the Rings, and did it all on a $30 million budget. I just can't see them turning out a quality live action movie with that kind of budget.

What do you folks think?

http://www.movieweb.com/news/NE8Et9cdhzXXbf

 

[James Bond]

Oh hells yeah!

 

[Dick Whitman]

No wonder the older DVDs are marked down everywhere. They want to get rid of them before these come out. I am glad I waited!

I have mixed feelings about a new movie. While the animated movie had many advantages the human characters were a weakness. They can have the best of both in live action now. CGI enhancements for the turtles and human actors. I also think its a box office issue. While TMNT did ok it was not a huge hit it they were hoping for. It being a "cartoon" limited its audience. Hopefully they can keep the voices of the Turtles even if they change to live action. I thought they had a good voice cast.

 

[bigdaddy]

From what I understand the new movie will be live action with CGI turtles, so it will suck already. I can't think of a single movie where CGI and live action worked together.

 

[The Borgified Corpse]

For the most part, I think all of the Turtles films have had good voice casts. Although, I never really thought Corey Feldman fit Donatello. And the Raphael that they had in the 3rd movie wasn't my favorite. But generally, they've had some really good voice actors. Kevin Clash & the late Mako were both especially good as Splinter.

The problem with doing a live action movie with CGI Turtles is that it requires the Turtles to meet a certain standard of photorealism that I'm not sure could be delivered. It's a completely different story if they're doing a stylized all-CGI movie. If they're going to do live action, I'd recommend they just get Jim Henson's Creature Shop on the job; maybe just use some CGI stunt doubles or something.

But I don't think that the 2007 movie made less money than the 1990 movie because the former was a cartoon. I seriously doubt that there was a substantial adult audience for the original 1990 movie. By then, it was already firmly entrenched as a kids movie. I think the 2007 movie just struggled because there's such a glut of CGI kids movies out there now. And unfortunately, I don't think the Turtles have the same crossover appeal as something like Shrek or Wall-E.

 

[Piper]

This set sounds pretty radical if you ask me.

 

[The Borgified Corpse]

"I have always liked... Cowabunga."