Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Art Tries To Round Out The Heroes In A Halfshell
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Like it or not, Jonathan Liebesman’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles reboot is on its way, and judging from the public response, most of you aren’t prepared for this, mentally or emotionally. There’s still time for those rumored delays and reshoots to come to fruition and derail this, but as we approach the August 8 release date, that seems more and more unlikely. Especially considering that we’re still seeing a steady flow of marketing material come through. The appearance of the Turtles has been a point of great contention among fans, and while this new promo art gives you a new, different look, it isn’t one that will necessarily provide any comfort.
If you’re anti the new Turtle design, these pictures that appeared in Entertainment Weekly aren’t going to change your mind. Since these are drawings, not actual photos from the film, it does seem like they’re ever so slightly more traditional looking than what we’ve seen in the teasers and trailers, but that’s probably more the medium than anything else. Their faces do seem a little more rounded out and less humanoid, however, but not by much.
While many long-time enthusiasts have felt personally attacked by the altered appearances of the Heroes in a Halfshell, I’ve generally been less offended than most. I don’t like the way they look, but I’m not terribly put off by it. As long as they capture the spirit and humor of the Turtles, I’ll probably be okay, but the more we see, the less convinced I am that Liebesman and producer Michael Bay will be able to actually accomplish that feat. At this point, I guess the fact that they’re not aliens, like they were in one early draft of the script, is as much as we can ask for. It’s bad enough that Shredder (William Fichtner) and April O’Neil’s (Megan Fox) father are responsible for creating them in a lab, but that’s better than them being from space, right?
One thing that does worry me, quite a bit actually, is the appearance of the purple-masked Donatello. And I’m not even talking about his stupid face. The bo staff-wielding amphibian has always been the smart one, the scientist, the inventor, but all that tech crap hanging off of him gives you the distinct impression that he’s going to be more interested in gadgets and gizmos than with his actual ninja skills.
I’m sure we’ll see much more from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles the closer we get to August, but what they’ve delivered so far hasn’t exactly built up a lot of confidence.
