‘Ninja Turtles’ Movie: Odd Faces Have Original TMNT Creator Peter Laird Upset

The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie has been receiving a lot of flack from fans because of the “odd” appearance of the ninja turtles as conceived by Michael Bay. But it turns out that even the original TMNT creator Peter Laird would agree that the changes are just plain wrong.

In a related report by The Inquisitr, last month the Ninja Turtle creators Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird celebrated the 30th anniversary of the famous franchise by releasing new art. Fans were also given some solace since the new TMNT movie posters prove that at least the iconic weapons of each ninja turtle have not been changed, although other news gave more reason to complain:

“A bit of controversy swirled around the movie’s casting announcements last year when it was revealed that actor William Fitchner had been brought on board to play the Asian villain Shredder. In addition, all four ninja turtles and their Master Splinter are being played by Caucasian actors.”

But if you look on social media, the biggest complaint has been the faces of the ninja turtles, which have been molded to appear more human at the cost of giving them a freakish appearance. Laird has publicly stated this design change was not necessary:

“The changes to the basic design of the Turtles seemed to me to fall into the “fixing what is not broken” category. It’s altogether possible that, in the context of this new movie, these designs will work well and not seem so odd, but I still point to what Jim Henson’s “Creature Shop” team did with their rendering of the Turtles in rubber and paint as the best translation (in live action, anyway) of the Turtles as Kevin Eastman and I created them…. One of the big problems (for me, anyway) with the new look created for the upcoming movie — with those noses and very expressive lips, their faces look too human. Perhaps it is just my own personal preference, but the “noseless beak” look for the Turtles which Kevin and I used in all of our comics, and in pretty much all of the licensed material during the Mirage days (and which was really there from the very beginning, when Kevin drew that first “ninja turtle”) is, in my opinion, a great way to immediately show that these guys are not human — they’re mutated reptiles. Creatures.”

Laird also gave his opinion on the rumored Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles plot, which has the Shredder as being part of the origin story. The original version has the ninja turtles’ origin being the result of an accident, where Splinter and the turtles are exposed to a mutagenic ooze as the result of an accident. Laird says the accidental origin has always “been part of the charm of the story” and that “retconning it to make their origin the result of deliberate action [by Shredder] seems like a mistake.” Still, he admits the screenplay writers may have found a way to make this decision “more palatable” and says we’ll have to watch the movie to find out.

What do you think about the appearance of the ninja turtles in the new Michael Bay movie? I think at least everyone can agree that Megan Fox is hot no matter what film she’s in…