The history of the turtle-ninja. Comics, games, movies, cartoons and toys of the ninja turtle

The history of turtles-ninjas that conquered more than one generation of television viewers, counts more than 30 years. During this period, brave heroes engaged in battle with evil aliens, fought against the invasion of werewolves and vampires, saved the world from disasters, and even died and reborn. In this material you will learn how these superheroes were created, and what happened to them during their existence.

How did the characters

The history of creation of turtles-ninjas has begun in far 1983. In one November evening, unemployed friends illustrators Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird had fun amusing themselves with funny pictures. At that moment, none of them could have imagined that this fun would bring them world fame and make millionaires.

In one of the sketches, Eastman portrayed a funny erect bug with nunchuck. Laird liked this idea, and he drew another similar character. But Eastman decided not to dwell on what was achieved, and he immediately depicted four turtles frozen in a fighting posture. Friends liked the drawing so much that they decided to try to make money on these characters, and they did not lose it. By the way, this first illustration of the history of turtles-ninja was sold in 2012 for 71 thousand dollars.

Awesome success

To give screen life to their characters, Laird and Eastmain open their studio and give it the name Mirage. Friends had no money, and originally the creative workshop was a regular table, standing in the middle of an empty room. Laird and Eastmain had to get into debt to release the first comic "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles". The starting circulation of 3 thousand copies was scattered all over the country and sold for just a few days. Success inspired friends, and they released another 6,000 additional copies, which also did not stale on the bookshelves.

What did the ninja turtles remember?

Rafael, Leonardo, Donatello, Michelangelo differed from the usual superheroes. They ruthlessly killed the enemies, they were indecently expressed, and they looked special. In the history of the young mutants, a parody was clearly discerned of comic books popular at the time: Daredevil, Ronin, Cerebus. And, most likely, it made the ninja turtles so popular.

As a result, after the sale of the first edition, Eastman and Laird were able to pay off their debts and even earn a little. Although the revenue from the comics issue was only $ 200, which is the amount that remained with friends after paying bills, the author of Turtle Ninja Turtles, Eastman realized that they had attacked the "gold mine".

Continuation of a story

The second edition of the comics, which tells a new story of the ninja turtles, was released in January 1985. The starting circulation amounted to 15 thousand copies, not counting 30 thousand reprints of the first edition. The third issue was published in the 50 thousandth edition. And every new comic book raised this bar.

Of course, the authors could no longer cope with the work independently and hired a team. The eighth edition of the comics was released already in 135 thousand copies, and this is quite a large scale for such literature. The success of superheroes did not go unnoticed, so it was clear that soon the ninja turtles would move to another level.

The appearance of the animated series

In 1987, the company Mirage appealed to the company Playmates Toys Inc with the proposal to produce toys "Turtles-ninja". And to promote this product, you need to create the same animated series. But the plot and atmosphere of the original comics is more a terrible fairy tale, and not entertainment for schoolchildren. Therefore, it was decided to slightly "soften" the characters' characters, as well as "correct" the plot. As a result, the turtles became kind, but stupid, stopped loving beer and became ardent fans of pizza, stopped swearing and got different color bandages, which was an excellent solution for the renewal of the Turtle-Ninja Turtles.

The main characters of the cartoon

Eastman and Laird were fans of the history of art, so it was a great idea for them to name their characters in honor of the great masters of the Renaissance. And now the names of artists and sculptors are associated with us and with turtles. In the animated series, each of the mutants has its own character, and performs a certain role:

• Leonardo is an informal leader of mutants. This holder of a blue bandage, takes responsible decisions and is armed with two swords - katanas.
• Donatello is the intellect of the group. He wears a purple bandage. He tries to peacefully resolve any conflict. In battle, he uses a pole.
• Rafael is the main force of the detachment. He takes part in all battles, and wears a red bandage. In combat, he uses two dagger sai.
• Michelangelo is a merry fellow and a good-natured man with an orange bandage. This character loves pizza, extreme and comics. In combat uses nunchak.
• Splinter - mentor mutants. In the past, sensei turtle was a man, but as a result of an accident he mutated into a rat.
• April O'Neil is a turtle girlfriend who works as a reporter. This girl constantly gets into unpleasant situations, of which she is rescued by superheroes.
• Shredder is the main opponent of turtles. This evil ninja teacher is at the head of the clan of Foot. Is the culprit of the mutation of turtles and Splinter.

In addition, the animated series "Turtle-Ninja" has acquired new characters, such as Rocksteady and Bebop, Krung and many others.

World brand

Cartoon from the very first series has won a multimillion-dollar children's audience. In a short time turtles have become not only a national, but also a world brand. Toys «Turtle-ninja» swept away from the store shelves almost instantly. During the four years of the animated series, Playmates was able to earn over a billion dollars. Figures of mutants were inferior in popularity only to "Star Wars" and GI Joe.

Based on the cartoon, a new series of comic books was released, but Laird and Eastman no longer had anything to do with it. Mutants were involved in almost all large advertising campaigns. During its existence, turtles have become the "face" of many firms. They were used in campaigns against drugs, as well as in materials on the protection of the environment. The history of the ninja turtles formed the basis of several movies. The first of them, released in 1990, became a hit and brought to its creators about $ 200 million, despite the fact that the budget of the film was not that great - only 13 million. The next two parts of the film were not so successful.

Virtual heroes

Computer games "Turtle-Ninja" began to appear already in 1989. Of course, not all virtual adventures of mutants can be called successful. For example, the project studio Konami Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, despite the rather advanced at the time graphics, has not won the love of gamers. The fact is that the game was attended by some particularly difficult levels, which could pass only real experts. Gamers were not pleased with strange labyrinths and crowds of incomprehensible enemies. In general, the project was unprofitable and quickly turned off. And there are many such examples, because many developers wanted to develop on behalf of the mutants. But at the same time, several great games were released, "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles." These include such action games as The Hyperstone Heist, The Manhattan Project, Turtles in Time.

Anime "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles"

During its existence, the animated series about the adventures of mutants has undergone many changes. For example, in the European version, episodes were cut out, in which the characters used weapons. Michelangelo made special changes. This mutant used nunchak, and in those days they were shown only in adult films.

But most of all in the transformation of the plot went to Japan. Originally broadcast the usual version of the animated series, but from the mid-nineties, Takara Corporation decided to launch its line of toys. And to promote this product was painted a new show in the style of "Sentai". Anime "Teenage Mutant Ninja" was not very successful, so only two episodes were seen.

Success in Russia

On the screens of our TVs, the series appeared in 1993, and from the very first releases the mutants won nationwide love. In turtle-ninja played almost in every yard, and any self-respecting boy created nunchakas to resemble his favorite heroes. The image of the mutants appeared on a huge number of products: from chewing gum to dishes and clothes.

Moreover, some far-sighted people immediately realized the benefits that love can bring to turtles. After a while on the shelves of books appeared in hard bindings about the adventures of your favorite superheroes. And let them have had little to do with the franchise scenario, but to have at least one copy of such stories was a matter of honor for every fan.

Sunset era of superheroes

By the mid-90s, the popularity of turtles began to fall. At the top was a new animated series Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. And to overcome the competitor, the creators decided to change the format of the show. The new TV series "Turtle-Ninja" did not become a breakthrough, although it differed from the previous version. Despite all the efforts of the multipliers, the project did not enjoy the love of the audience and it was closed immediately after the first season.

Another failure was the television series, released in 1997. Here the turtles were portrayed by actors dressed in costumes. In the adventures there were practically no fights. They were replaced by some unconvincing jumps and rumblings. The script itself was boring and stupid, and the project was canceled a few months after the release.

Continuing to go out and new comics about turtle-ninja. In 1998, the company bought the rights to history Image Comics and changed the characters even more than in any cartoon. Now Donatello became a cyborg, Splinter a bat, Leonardo lost his hand, and Raphael took the place of the main villain.

Restarting

In 2003, the studio Mirage decided to revive the favorite heroes. For the Fox company, the new animated series was released. This screen version was very close to the original: Splinter again became a mutated rat, and April - a laboratory assistant at Stockman. And, despite the complaints of fans that the turtles can not see the eye, the cartoon was a success. Characters became more mature and thought out, silly jokes disappeared, sounding every five seconds in earlier versions. The visual style acquired a certain gloominess, which gave the image solidity.

"New Adventures of Ninja Turtles" came out for 6 years. The last series was the apotheosis of history. It lasted an hour and a half and told about a meeting of heroes from the 80's and 2000's. Moreover, at the end of the film, the turtles were joined by their comic black-and-white prototypes. It would seem that this will end the story of the young mutants, but in 2009 the world famous Nickelodeon channel redeemed the rights to the franchise and immediately announced the release of a new animated series.

Modern superheroes

Now the ninja turtles were modeled on a computer. In addition, the plot and style of adventure again changed and began to remind little of the comics or the original series. Critics to this cartoon was no less than to the nightmare TV project of 1997. But the problem is more that the adult generation of fans who grew up on one cartoon can not perceive the other. There is nothing critical in that the turtles look and act differently. After all, new times make their demands on superheroes. And if you consider that the animated series enjoys a lot of popularity and Nickelodeon launches the third season, it can be said - the turtles will be fine.

Mutants on the big screen

In 2014, the franchise turned 30 years old. By this significant date, a new story of the ninja turtles in 3D format was filmed. The film was quite successful, despite the complaints of the fans. Many did not like how the main characters began to look. And on the one hand, they can be understood, because the faces and bodies of the new ninja turtles are not at all like the lovely faces that are familiar on the animated series. The superheroes were more like the pumped-up bodybuilders than the mutant teenagers who liked the audience. In the rest the film turned out pretty good - a lot of action, fights and jokes. The picture has collected a decent amount at the box office - about $ 500 million. At the same time, the film budget was just over 100 million.

The reboot was considered successful and decided to release the second part of the adventure. The new film was shot in a year, and it was played by all the same actors. Despite the fact that many critics have recognized the sequel as more successful than the original, this film has collected much less money. The film budget left 135 million, and the rental - 245. To date, there is no guesses whether the light will see the next part of the adventures of mutants. Although it is known that all the actors signed a contract for three films.