Viacom Acquires Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

There was talk that a new live action Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie was on its way and then everything on the half-shell front got quiet.

Well it seems now that the rights to the Turtles has been sold off and entertainment giant Viacom has picked up the prize.

Row Three shares:

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles have been acquired by Viacom for $60 million and they’ll be airing a brand new CG-animated Turtles show on Nickelodeon, slated to premiere in 2012 – and of course, they will also acquire all merchandising rights. They also have a new theatrical movie in the works by Viacom’s sister company Paramount, although it is not clear if this will also be a CG venture, a live action film like the originals, or a blend of the two, nor is it clear if it will be directly related to the developing television show.

I really liked the animation style of the Imagi Studio CG flick that had just the right blend of the hokey Cowabunga style Turtles and a dash of the dark gritty Turtles the franchise is based on. Granted there was more Cowabunga than Eastman and Laird’s black and white, but it was still a step in the right direction.

That they proposed animated series will be on Nickelodeon makes me think the surfer dude style turtles will be back and there will be little maturity to it, however if the planned feature film keeps the same feel as the recent animated feature, it could appeal to the half of the audience that the Nickelodeon one loses.

I will be watching our noble Turtles with great interest!

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8 thoughts on “Viacom Acquires Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

  1. I for some reason used to be a huge Donatello fan?!?!?.. and o my I loved April O’Neill in the second live action Ooze something.. Paige Turco best April.(side note she is in damages now)

    Anything involving the pizza boys im in.

  2. Psh. Come on people. It’s getting released in 2012. We ain’t gon’ be aroundddddd.

    :-p

    I miss the original cartoons..my dad used to order pizza when we watched it.

  3. Hmm….

    I’m going to think that after a year or two on the good ol’ Nick, that it will be a CG animated movie that springeth from the good ol’ Nick….

    Like any animated spinoff movie they put out be it Rugrats, Spongebob, Jimmy Neutron etc. That’s not a slam on them by any means. Just an observation. The Turtles will be back in some form for sure, dude, and like you, I suspect that form will be the “family friendly” version.

  4. I can say with no ego that I am epic with Nunchucks

    And the reason why I was inspired into doing Tae Kwon Do and obsessing over doing tricks with nunchucks was the Ninja Turtles…

    Not so much the TNMT as much as the best member of their group:

    Michelangelo.

    Ever since i saw them for the first time when I was a baby I stood up for the first time, and spoke my first words:

    “I must possess Michelangelo’s skills”

  5. I heard Peter Laird was given 60 million for the TMNT franchise a nice bit of change.

    Now we’ll most likely see more Bebop, Rocksteady, and Krang, since it was Peter Laird keeping those characters out of current TMNT projects.

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