’90s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Star Says TMNT Reboots Aren’t As Charming
Francois Chau, who played The Shredder in The Secret of the Ooze, says the new live-action movies aren’t as charming as the ’90s versions.
The secret of the mud the villainous François Chau says that the live-action Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle reboots aren’t as charming as the originals. Crime Fighting Turtles first appeared in the comic pages of TMNT in 1984 and quickly became a national sensation. The successful transition to an animated TV show and the production of highly marketed action figures ultimately led to the release of three Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movies in the 90s.
It took over twenty years before Michael Bay attempted to reboot the franchise with his own live-action movie. The 2014 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles The film received mixed reactions from fans of previous releases. The most notable outcry came at the expense of the turtles’ new appearance. Unlike the originals, Bay used CGI to create the turtles and modified them to match his own artistic vision. The new heroes in a half-shell were huge compared to previous versions. Along with their enlarged size came increased strength and new outfits. The film performed well at the box office but generally received negative reviews from critics and audiences alike.
Due to its financial success, Hollywood attempted to give it a sequel, Out of the shadows. Sadly, it wasn’t as successful and brought in less than half the revenue of what its predecessor did. Once again, the film received its fair share of criticism. In an interview with ILiveInDallas, François Chau, who played The Shredder in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II, explained why he thought reboots weren’t “as charming” as the original live-action movies. Read below to see why the nemesis of turtles thinks advancements in technology have diminished the TMNT movies.
… I enjoyed them both, but things are changing with new technology and stuff. I missed guys in suits a bit. It was a little more authentic. Maybe it was just my bias because I’m from that period. The CGI stuff in new movies changes a lot. They look good, but I don’t know. Turtles look a little different. When I looked at the first one, I was like, “Wow, these turtles are huge! In the first scene, you see them throwing those metal containers and you’re like, “Wow, they’re not like the little turtles hiding in the sewers.” So with the technological changes and the different style of the film, I didn’t think it was as charming as the originals.
Jim Henson helped design the costumes for the 90s movies. For the production, the actors wore heavy costumes and did the body movements while a panel of puppeteers controlled the facial movements. The combinations would have been difficult to do stunts, but they also provided a more realistic look to the movie that CGI has yet to match. However, the new TMNT films took advantage of the turtles’ newfound freedom of movement and created films largely focused on intense action sequences.
The graphics and action scenes are visually appealing, but they also seem to detract from the realism and nostalgia of the originals. Watching new movies is more like watching a Transformers imitation rather than a TMNT movie. They are entertaining and fun to watch, but they don’t elicit the same reactions as the ’90s versions. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles the originals have their own flaws, but they also prove that newer doesn’t necessarily mean better.
Source: ILiveInDallas
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