Nickelodeon buys Teenage Mutant Ninja Turltes!

[JJandJanice]

Wow first Disney buys out Marvel, now this.

Viacom/Nickelodeon buys the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles from Mirage studios. 4Kids entertainment is set to end their current TMNT cartoon and Nick will have a new TMNT cartoon set to debut in 2012 (assuming the world doesn't end, )

Here is Peter Laird's blog on why he sold his TMNT property. From what I understand, Nick doesn't own the rights to the past films and cartoons, but all future TMNT films and TV series will be though the Nick banner.

Just like Marvel being bought out by Disney, many fanboys are upset over this. Now as for myself, I grew up with TMNT, but I think this could work.

 

[Drtooth]

Great! Just absolutely great. Really. This has been a terrible month... really it has. Now this. I was never the kind that openly hated Peter Laird, but now I'm not a fan of him in the slightest for this. Really. You couldn't have picked a WORSE company to handle it. This company kills every new show without giving it a chance.

 

[JJandJanice]

Great! Just absolutely great. Really. This has been a terrible month... really it has. Now this. I was never the kind that openly hated Peter Laird, but now I'm not a fan of him in the slightest for this. Really. You couldn't have picked a WORSE company to handle it. This company kills every new show without giving it a chance.

I'm not excatly disagreeing with you here, but could you please give a few examples. If you're counting MTV shows (which is owned by Viacom as well) than I couldn't agree more. Two really funny cartoons debut on that network only to be totally forgetton, I'm talking about Clone High and 3 South.

But yeah I have to admit, out of all the companies that would of been interested in the TMNT line Nickeldoen is a surpise. I mean maybe I'm wrong here, but I can't help but think that Warner Bros and Disney would of been interested. Since both companies have worked with TMNT at some point. I guess they didn't give a good enough offer (maybe since Mr. Laird did mention, in his blog, some other companies that made offers but he and his than partner Kevin Eastmen didn't like them).

Don't get me wrong from my last post, I thought this was kind of sad. But I'm willing to give Nick a chance. They must of really wanted TMNT to spend 60 million on the rights to it.

Is times really that tough nowadays that every property is being sold? I mean first Marvel gets sold to Disney (which I'm totally more ok with than this, might I add) and then TMNT to Nick? It just seems a bit odd to me.

 

[Drtooth]

I'm not excatly disagreeing with you here, but could you please give a few examples. If you're counting MTV shows (which is owned by Viacom as well) than I couldn't agree more. Two really funny cartoons debut on that network only to be totally forgetton, I'm talking about Clone High and 3 South.

Nick has a long and infamous history of HATING creators. Angry Beavers, Invaider Zim, and ESPECIALLY Ren and Stimpy. Of course, Nick learned its lesson and canned Zim and Beavers... but after they fired John K from his own show (for multiple reasons), they kept producing the episodes, wiping his creator's credit from the show, and making the worst possible episodes... episodes that weren't funny, didn't make sense, and were borderline scary. Every other episode featured Ren having a nervous breakdown, when only 2 or 3 episodes written by the Spumco team had them... (even then, I only know of In the Army, Space Madness and Stimpy's Fan Club).

Not to mention the network is lousy at promoting new shows. It hadn't had a hit outside of Spongebob since. Sure, Fairly Oddparents, Danny Phantom and Avatar did sort of well... but they didn't give shows like El Tigre and Catcratch a real chance, shoving them on Nicktoons' ghetto, and canning them before they took a time to set in. While Spongebob wasn't even measurably popular until about late 2000 at the earliest. it celebrated it's 10th anniversary this year, and I'm guessing no one even realized it came out 1999. Had Spongebob came out today, we would see it canceled at the end of the year.

 

[JJandJanice]

Yeah you're right, I don't know why those didn't pop into my head right off the back, . It's too bad too cause all those shows were great.

 

[frogboy4]

I believe myself to be a champion of artistic integrity, but don't think John K or Jhonen Vasquez are the best examples to cite when referencing Nickelodeon. John K shouldn't have inked anything with Nick if he wanted to maintain the adult levels in Ren & Stimpy's crude humor. Vasquez should have known that linear storytelling was part of his deal with Nick. Both Zim and R&S kept amazing levels of their respective avant garde roots. Let's face it, they were and still are ground-breaking programs that changed the face of animation. I believe that both died due to artistic ego.

Sure, as creators they are entitled to helm their shows, but they chose to go with a studio instead of independent production. There are many episodes of both programs I enjoy that the creators might not necessarily agree. Mainstream art is compromise. It's a fact of life. Jim Henson knew it. Heck, he relocated to England in order to get the Muppet Show made.

Spongebob has the magic IT factor. I believe that program sells itself no matter where it is or who releases it. And much of it is avante garde. I doubt that Stephen Hillenburg had to dumb down his idea. He made it work. There's a terrible thing happening to all of television and cable today. The blame can't be placed with Nick. Of course they're not saints. WB is far worse.

I would have preferred a 20th Century Fox match for the Turtles. They're not perfect, but probably the best fit due to the fact that they are involved in animation and have a respect for their catalog of titles. No cheapy best-ofs.

Still, I hope Viacom treats them well.

 

[Drtooth]

I believe myself to be a champion of artistic integrity, but don't think John K or Jhonen Vasquez are the best examples to cite when referencing Nickelodeon. John K shouldn't have inked anything with Nick if he wanted to maintain the adult levels in Ren & Stimpy's crude humor. Vasquez should have known that linear storytelling was part of his deal with Nick. Both Zim and R&S kept amazing levels of their respective avant garde roots. Let's face it, they were and still are ground-breaking programs that changed the face of animation. I believe that both died due to artistic ego.

Wellllllllllll........ to tell you the truth, John K wasn't fired for the "crudeness" of his show. He was fired for going over budget and over time. And frankly, the show was a LOT cruder with lousy writers trying to emulate John K. Vasquez was basically just naiive. half the stuff he wanted wouldn't even be in an adult show. But the show was canceled mainly because it had more adults watching than children. And no matter how popular a show is with adults, if it's targeted to kids and doesn't click with them, it gets canceled. Look at Freakazoid.

Spongebob has the magic IT factor. I believe that program sells itself no matter where it is or who releases it. And much of it is avante garde. I doubt that Stephen Hillenburg had to dumb down his idea. He made it work. There's a terrible thing happening to all of television and cable today. The blame can't be placed with Nick. Of course they're not saints. WB is far worse.

And honestly, it worked because they waited. Spongebob, no matter how great the idea is, no matter how wacky and wonderful it is... these days it would be shoved on a 6 am slot on Nicktoons and disappear quickly. With all the crap going down with TV, there's no room and no time to wait for something to be a hit. And usually, if something's a hit right away, it will peter out quickly.

I would have preferred a 20th Century Fox match for the Turtles. They're not perfect, but probably the best fit due to the fact that they are involved in animation and have a respect for their catalog of titles. No cheapy best-ofs.

no-o-o-o-ot really. What they did when they bought up the Inspector Gadget DVD license was a total shame. While they promised to leave off exactly where Shout left off, they planned a lame 3 episode themed set, pulled it, and gave us a lame 10 episode "Go Go Gadget" collection.

 

[D'Snowth]

And no matter how popular a show is with adults, if it's targeted to kids and doesn't click with them, it gets canceled. Look at Freakazoid.

Hey, when I was a kid, we all LOVED Freakazoid!

 

[frogboy4]

Wellllllllllll........ to tell you the truth, John K wasn't fired for the "crudeness" of his show. He was fired for going over budget and over time. And frankly, the show was a LOT cruder with lousy writers trying to emulate John K. Vasquez was basically just naiive. half the stuff he wanted wouldn't even be in an adult show. But the show was canceled mainly because it had more adults watching than children. And no matter how popular a show is with adults, if it's targeted to kids and doesn't click with them, it gets canceled. Look at Freakazoid.

I always thought it was the sexual nature of the program that got John K fired and that the other info was the legal excuse. Was it really a budget issue? Vasquez was naive. Fantastically creative, but unreasonable when it came to marketing the program. I love all the Zim seasons and don't understand his problem with how they turned out.

And honestly, it worked because they waited. Spongebob, no matter how great the idea is, no matter how wacky and wonderful it is... these days it would be shoved on a 6 am slot on Nicktoons and disappear quickly. With all the crap going down with TV, there's no room and no time to wait for something to be a hit. And usually, if something's a hit right away, it will peter out quickly.

I remember Spongebob rising to insane popularity right out of the gate in 99. It was here in SF, but this is a small "alpha-consumer" city with a lot of creative types.

no-o-o-o-ot really. What they did when they bought up the Inspector Gadget DVD license was a total shame. While they promised to leave off exactly where Shout left off, they planned a lame 3 episode themed set, pulled it, and gave us a lame 10 episode "Go Go Gadget" collection.

I still think of (all the studios out there) that Fox is the lesser of the evils. WB, Sony and Paramount are among the worst. What studio would you prefer the Turtles to reside? Maybe Disney could do them justice?

 

[D'Snowth]

I love all the Zim seasons and don't understand his problem with how they turned out.

I've found that quite a few artists and creative people can be notoriously hard to be pleased with their own work.

Sometimes even I find myself not completely 100% proud of something I've accomplished... heck, it's been several months now, but I've actually grown to despise one of my own fanfics that I was initially very proud of when I finished it.