I've been asking myself why I prefer 2003 TMNT's writing to 2012 TMNT's writing, and I think I've finally hit upon a reason.

It boils down to how the two iterations write about families.

I'm a complete sucker for stories about familial, especially sibling, relationships. In TMNT 2003, in nearly every scene, you can tell that even when they're angry with each other, the Turtles care deeply and fiercely for each other. Whenever they've been separated, their first thought is to find each other. If they think a Turtle is injured/under the weather/suffering somehow, they show great concern and distress. And as much as Raph bullies Mikey, there are a couple of scenes where they work together and fistbump afterwards; as angry as Raph gets generally, he is usually the first to leap to his brothers' aid. Leo's greatest fear is failure--not because he's a perfectionist, but because he shoulders the full responsibility for keeping his brothers safe, and it kills him if he thinks he put his family's lives in jeopardy. The list goes on and on, really. The show might be about mutant turtle heroes who defeat bad guys, but it's also about family and friendship, and the lengths to which the Turtles will go to save one of their own.

The 2012 TMNT, by contrast, doesn't feel the same. The Turtles snark, bully, and make fun of each other a lot more, which is funny, but it comes at the expense of establishing substantial brotherly relationships. There are a few scenes that show the brothers' concern for each other (ep. 14 when Raph panics when Snakeweed knocks Mikey out; ep. 15 when Raph gives Leo a pep talk about Karai while sparring), but those are relatively infrequent, and oftentimes the "humor" crosses into "dude not really funny"/"do they actually care for each other?" territory.

So...yeah.

Before I get started, I want to make it clear that I generally prefer the 2003 series to the 2012 series. Which is not to say that I hate the 2012 series, as I find that it has a lot of genuinely funny moments (and I actually love the art style and hybrid of Western cartoon/anime conventions in the show), but I believe the 2003 series has overall better writing.


"Things Change" (2003) & "Rise of the Turtles" (2012): The Turtles

The goal of every first episode is to introduce the setting, the story, and most importantly, the protagonist(s). So the question is, how well do the first episodes of TMNT introduce the titular Turtles?

"Rise of the Turtles" (RotT) starts off with a sparring session among the four. I thought it was a strange way to begin, because there is no context for the sparring session. Also, the episode clearly establishes a hierarchy among the four in terms of combat ability (that is later reinforced in the episode "Attack of the Mousers"): Leo and Raph are better than Mikey and Donnie. Donnie in particular gets beaten by Raph in a rather pathetic way. But it's problematic to introduce the Turtles hierarchically like this, especially when much of the tradition of the franchise is to emphasize that each of them is skilled in a different way. Instead, the first episode predisposes the audience (especially those who are new to TMNT) to favor Raph and Leo over Donnie and Mikey.

What do we get in terms of personalities? The first few minutes create the impression that Mikey is a bit silly, hyperactive and overconfident, without the skills to back it up; Donnie (again) is pathetic; Raph is the best fighter but also a little arrogant, and Leo is somewhat stoic and serious.

Contrast this to the beginning of "Things Change." First off, the 2003 series uses a short, voice-narrated teaser at the beginning of each episode, which I particularly love because it does a great job of previewing the episode with some action and hooking the viewer's attention. When the episode starts, Splinter is giving the Turtles a test, which only Leo manages successfully. This establishes him as the most skilled turtle, setting up for his position as leader. Note, though, that this has nothing to do with combat ability, but focuses more on Leo's ability to think strategically; the other turtles are no worse off for having failed.

The first few minutes of the episode does a lot to reveal the personalities of the Turtles and also their dynamics as a group. Raph is established as impulsive, straightforward, and confrontational; Mikey is somewhat laid-back, silly, and not as serious as the others about ninja training; and Donnie is the most knowledgeable one. The Mouser attack also shows off the Turtles' combat skills with more of a context for why they're fighting, as well as generally more action in the episode. In the aftermath of the attack, Leo is shown as the leader by default when he takes charge of the situation, while Don again is the one supplying all the tech and knowledge. The Turtles are then forced to go to the surface in order to meet up with Splinter.

In comparison, "Rise of the Turtles" has a slow beginning that features a lot of exposition about the Turtles' background (something that isn't explained in the 2003 series until episode 3) and the Turtles begging Splinter to allow them to go to the surface for their 15th Mutation Day. Leo is shown to be a sci-fi geek, which (in my opinion) is an interesting and rather adorkable touch to his character, but there is generally too much exposition that isn't tied to the narrative. Once they reach the surface, there's a lot of oohing and aahing and eating pizza; again, nothing much happening until they see April being kidnapped by Kraang.

In contrast, in "Things Change," the Turtles get into trouble when they go topside because Raph's impulsiveness gets him locked into an armored van. Again, this is more action tied to narrative and revealing of the Turtles' personalities through the unfolding of the plot. In the process of rescuing him, Mikey is shown to be a wisecracking but effective jokester, Don rescues Raph by hijacking a numbered lock, and Raph's quick temper and belligerence is shown. The episode also introduces the Foot Clan, who become the Turtles' main enemy later on.

I did appreciate the scene in "Rise of the Turtles" where the Turtles keep getting in each others' way during their first fight. But the scene in which the Turtles wait for the van, while establishing Leo as a capable leader, was again incredibly slow-moving. Oddly, the episode almost seems to make out Raph as the protagonist; he's the one who wins the initial sparring match, and he's the one who's the focus of the Turtles' first fight against the Kraang.

Overall, "Things Change" does a better job than "Rise of the Turtles" at both conveying the Turtles' personalities and presenting a narratively coherent and action-packed plot.



"Meet Casey Jones" (2003) & "Turtle Temper" (2012)

These episodes are interesting to compare because both of them deal with the same subject: Raphael's temper.

To be honest, "Turtle Temper" is one of the few episodes of TMNT 2012 that I enjoy as a whole (instead of just for the funny moments). I think it does do a good job at exploring Raph's coming to grips with his temper. It's interesting to note, though, that "Meet Casey Jones" and "Turtle Temper" explore Raph's anger from different angles, which have different implications for Raph's character as a whole.

"Turtle Temper" shows the downside of Raph's anger as interfering with the Turtles' missions and ability to work as a team. However, "Meet Casey Jones" has a much darker take: Raph's anger isn't just an obstruction, it's deadly. In his anger, Raph almost seriously injures Mikey, his brother. These two different premises also result in different reactions of Raph to his temper: 2012 Raph fails to see why his quick temper is a bad thing, while 2003 Raph is genuinely upset about his anger (as evidenced when he ran to the surface and yelled, "What is wrong with me?!"). 2003's take is more intriguing in the sense that in a later episode (3x16 "Darkness Within"), in which each Turtle is confronted by his worst fear, it's shown that Raph's worst fear is himself. Ultimately, this isn't explored further, but it's certainly a very nuanced take on Raph's character. Raph is not afraid of risking his own life or of facing powerful enemies; however, he is afraid of going out of control and hurting others as a result.

"Turtle Temper"'s overarching plot is Raph's realization that his temper can be a bad thing, although he realizes it in a fairly passive way: by listening to a story Splinter tells about himself. "Meet Casey Jones" has a more interesting structure, as Raph comes to grip with his anger by seeing it reflected in Casey Jones. He also apologizes to his brothers afterward and shows genuine regret—something that 2012 Raph doesn't do. It's a small touch, but small touches can make a big difference where characters are concerned.

Wow, I really did not like this episode.

- The idea of the Turtles switching their weapons was an awesome one, especially in light of the time they did it in the 2003 series (2x12 "What a Croc"), which was majorly awesome. This time, though, seemed more like a Broken Aesop. The Turtles don't learn how to use different weapons, they only learn how to use environmental objects that are similar to their weapons (which also happened in the 2003 series, episode 2x03 "The big House," but was much funnier there). Sure, that's resourcefulness, but that's different from being forced to step outside of one's comfort zone by using a completely different weapon.

Also, I found it unrealistic in the sense that the Turtles showed a complete lack of common sense when using a different weapon. Generally you aren't going to pick up a weapon and try to use it the same way as another weapon you're more familiar with unless the weapons function similarly. It makes no sense that Leo would try to use the bo staff like a sword (or...baseball bat?), or that Donnie would try to use sais like a staff (I don't even...Donnie, you might not be able to master the subtleties of the sai, but THEY'RE NOT HARD TO USE IF YOU JUST TRY TO STAB PEOPLE WITH THEM). The only character who had a legitimate excuse was Raph, and that's because nunchucks are genuinely difficult to use, but then again Raph's fighting style seems to generally rely on hand-to-hand as much as weapon use, so there's not that much excuse for him there either.

Finally, for crying out loud, the Turtles have SEEN each other use their weapons; even if their execution isn't stellar, they should at least be able to try to imitate what they vaguely know.

- The Pulverizer, man.

Considering all the characters have been aged down in this series, it's more and more questionable that KIDS can walk around and get into trouble with the Foot/the Kraang without their parents becoming worried about them. I mean, sure, media aimed at teens tend to have problems with Disappearing Parents, but that still doesn't make it any excuse.

Also, why is it that people hate the superhero-wannabe character? Let's be honest, how many kids are watching this show and thinking that they want to be just like the Turtles? Poor Timothy's fate isn't going to convince people that trying to be a superhero is bad, it just gets across the message that superhero wannabes are bumbling and ineffectual and will get themselves hurt. Even though they have good intentions, and the tendency to idolize someone you think is cool is pretty much universal. Timothy might have been in over his head, but he's done nothing wrong in the show to merit such a karmically horrific fate. [Even if some people are suggesting that later on he turns into some sort of Teenage Mutant Ninja Frog.]

Plus, there's not much background given on Tim's character, but consider the fact that he's kinda geeky and chubby. In other words, the kind of kid who probably gets bullied at school. In fact, it's possible that his wanting to be like the Turtles might be the only bright spot in his life.

Given all this, the way the Turtles other than Donnie treat him is downright callous. If it's Timothy's fault for getting in over his head and thinking that mutation is a good thing, it's significantly also the Turtles' fault for encouraging him to be a spy for them. Even after seeing him turned into a blob with organs, something straight out of a nightmare, Splinter (SPLINTER) sarcastically asks if he's happier now, and Leo (LEO) says he should be, because he got what he wanted.

Way to encourage empathy, TMNT 2012.

Recently I've been on a cartoon-watching spree (procrastination yay, work what work), and I'd like to jot down some random thoughts on Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

I hadn't realized that a new CGI TMNT was now airing on Nickelodeon, and I have mixed feelings about it. On the one hand, it has a very interesting art style (and, intriguingly enough, takes a lot of visual if not artistic cues from manga), and it has plenty of hilarious snarking. On the other hand, there seems to be a bit of Flanderization going on. Mikey has surpassed laid-back surfer dude/prankster to become super immature and annoying; Raph isn't just angry and rude but is downright mean; Donatello has gone from cool, kind-hearted tech genius to major dork and butt monkey, and Leo...well, I sort of like the way he's a bit more conflicted, naive, and occasionally immature, but he's also quite bloodthirsty and combat-happy compared to earlier incarnations, and sometimes he also mistreats Mikey and Don.

Donatello's characterization bothers me the most because he gets so much less respect from his brothers/the show itself than before, even though he's the one coming up with genius inventions. He's portrayed as weak in combat compared to his brothers (see especially the running gag of his staff breaking, at least in the beginning of the season), even though in the 2k3 series he's both a scientific genius and a solid fighter. His constant preoccupation with science is taken to a level such that the audience isn't meant to look up to him, but rather to laugh at him for spouting incomprehensible technobabble at inconvenient moments. Both his physique (gangly & lanky) and his social skills (awkward) further play into the geek stereotype, which frankly tires me, because I immensely dislike the geek stereotype and the way it's often constructed on TV to invite the audience's laughter, not sympathy or admiration.

While a lot of the humor is snarky, sometimes I feel like it veers into Dude Not Funny territory, especially with the treatment of Don and Mikey. There's a certain amount of comedic abuse...and then there's abuse that comes off as outright bullying.

(I also have to admit that I miss Mikey's surfer-dude speak and Raph's Brooklyn Rage accent from the 2k3 series...they were really endearing.)