How To Write The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

You may be thinking to yourselves how stupid it is to try and analyse the Ninja Turtles. Superman and Spider-Man make sense, they're superheroes that have been around for decades with multiple adaptations analysing the characters and making them staples in pop-culture...well the Ninja Turtles have done all those things as well, they've been comics, tv shows, blockbuster movies, they've become the next instalment in a long line of silly comic book to money making and beloved franchise that has spanned several generations. Even more surprising, there is actually some depth to these characters that is worth discussing, and there's four of them this time. Yeah, go figure. So let's actually take a look at the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and see what kind of analysis we can come up with.

Throughout their 31 year history, the ninja turtles have had a lot of different interpretations, they started out as a dark & gritty satire of comic book characters, then got turned into the iconic and silly cartoon of the late 1980s, then they received a few live action stints, they only good one being the 1990's film. Then they went back to been serious and badass, then silly again, top it all off with a live-action/cgi blockbuster hit that actually does still have something to offer to their legacy. Starting with the comic book series, like i said, it was intended as a satire of dark & gritty comic books of the time, Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird came up with the silliest idea they could think of and wrote and drew it to be as serious as possible. Though this is the origin of the Ninja Turtles legacy and is a good story in it's own right, very little of it has carried over to our modern day ideas of the franchise. A lot of characters and stories have been carried over, but the details, tones, characterisations and even designs have all been changed and accepted since then. That's where the 1987 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cartoon comes in, granted it was a complete 180 from the comics and became a goofy and child friendly cartoon, this is where the ninja turtles really soared in popularity and was the catapult for their success, it also have a lot of staples to the characters including the colour of their masks, their catchphrases and the best theme song for the series. Though in terms of characterisation, it set the ground work for future instalments, but others would find better success in defining our heroes in a half-shell.

The 90's was all about the live action films, the 1990's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie tried to act as a mixture between the comic book and the cartoon and for the most part succeeded, at the time it was the best at defining the personalities of the turtles and their relationships, including Raph's temper, his relationship with Leo and the theme of brotherhood. But the follow-up sequels were less than impressive both in terms of stand-alone films and adaptations. But the biggest flops was the live action television series Ninja Turtles: The Next Mutation and the Coming Out of Our Shells Tour...both are beyond awful in so many ways, never watch them. Thankfully in 2003 the series was given a new life with a new cartoon series which mostly took after the original comic book, but also tried the hardest to give the characters more complexity and new dimensions to them, as well as expanding on their existing relationships. This was then carried over in the 2007 TMNT film, though not a direct sequel, carries over the tone and development the 2003 show had started. Then in 2012 a fully CGI cartoon decided to take the best elements from all of the other adaptations and throw them together, giving us arguably the best and most defined versions of the characters so far and giving us plenty of comedy and drama. By this point in the franchise, the turtles had clearly defined personality traits but also hidden layers that given to the right people were able to show these characters do have thematic dignity...then the 2014 movie came out. By no means a bad adaptation (well, maybe a few means) the turtles themselves were very bare boned, it tries to carry over some of the themes, but acted as if it didn't know why those themes were there to begin with. But i'll come back to that later, now that i've set up how so many different adaptations can bring their own ideas, it's time to see how this amalgamation of creators and writers were able to fully define the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and how each one does have a basic layer to them, but also a hidden layer.

Where better to start than with the leader himself, Leonardo. His basic layer is that he's the leader...and that's kind of it. I hear a lot of people who were fans of the original cartoon say that he was they're least favourite because all he was, the leader, there wasn't much of a personality to him except that he was in charge, everyone else had a schtick, he was the blank slate that a lot of kids could project themselves into. In future adaptations he would become more interesting but mostly because of his relationships with other characters, his loyalty to Splinter, him budding heads with Raph, his contrast with Shredder. He was given some more character traits, he's the most hard working, he's the most secretive and the best strategist in the team, but does still have the least defined personality, but that's not to say there isn't more too him. His hidden layer is that he's afraid, he's afraid he'll fail his team. Leo's nickname (and sometimes insult) is fearless leader, but in reality, he is incredibly insecure in his own abilities, he doesn't believe he's fit to be the leader, he's not ready or he could make a mistake that could cost the lives of his team. This is mostly explored in the 2003 cartoon and the 2007 movie, where he goes on a spiritual quest to learn more about himself and prepare for his duties. That is what makes Leo interesting, that's what makes him complex, his insecurity in himself.

Then there is the hot head of the group, Raphael, even though it took him the longest to define, he's also the one who has been the most consistent, his personality of being the tough guy with anger issues was first introduced in the 1990's movie, since then it's maintained relatively the same because they nailed it the first time round. One of the big conflicts with the character is the relationship between him and Leo, they are constantly at arms with each other, always disagreeing, never getting along and always fighting. This is handled best in the 2007 film where to two of them finally fight without holding back and we see them at their ugliest. But then this is all brought back in to his hidden layer, he's cares the most. Raph may get angry at his brothers, there are times where it may seem like he hates his brothers, but the truth is, he cares more than any other, he will fight for his brothers until his dying breath, he will always be there to protect them, but of course he's too macho to ever admit it. This is one of the things that I was referring too when i said the 2014 film didn't understand why the characters behave this way. In the film, Raph says the reason why he's so hard on his brothers is because he's scared he wasn't good enough to stand by them, when that's just not true. He's hard on them because he's scared what could happen to them if they aren't their best, he knows he can protect them, or at the very least will try the hardest, but he would feel better if they could protect themselves, otherwise if they were to die in battle, he would feel guilty, he would feel like there was more he could have done to improve himself and his brothers.

Next there is Michelangelo, the party dude, the cool one of the team, of course over the decades the definition of "cool" has changed a lot, he started as the surfer guy and these days he's more of the fanboy, pop-culture referencing type of cool. He's still the pizza loving, catchphrase shouting goofy turtle we've always known, just the details around his personality have changed with time, but the basics have remained relatively similar. And yes, surprisingly, Mikey also has a hidden layer to him, he has the most raw potential out of all the turtles. In both the 2003 and 2012 cartoon, we see that when he does focus and try, he's actually the most powerful ninja, and also a great strategist, in the 2003 cartoon, there's a fight between him and Raph where he wins just by taunting him, exploiting Raph's weakness, getting him angry and sloppy, giving Michelangelo the upper hand. The problem is, he has very little focus, maybe a case of ADD, but when he tries, he's a great fighter, after all, he uses the least practical weapon out of the team and is still able to hold his own.

Finally there is Donatello, and there's a reason why I saved him for last, because i disagree with elements of his characterisation. On the outside he's the smart one of the group, he does machines, even if it makes no logical sense how a mutant raised in the sewers was able to become the smartest man on the planet...it's a freakin' Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle, i'm hardly going to argue with their logic. He's also the most compassionate and level headed of the group, more hopefully to solve issues democratically than physically, because of this it also makes him the physically weakest of the group, and that leads me to his hidden layer. Donatello being the weakest member and also having the most basic weapon has lead to him being unsure of himself as a fighter on multiple occasions, my problem with this is it's the exact same layer of Leonardo, his insecurity in himself and his role, the specifics might be different, but it's the same character arc. In my opinion, a much more unique and engaging arc for him would be not insecurity, but ignorance. You often hear the phrase "brain over brawn" and while this is relevant in a lot of scenarios in both life and the franchise, there are also plenty of occasions where brawn is better than brain, especially when you're getting into life or death fights every week. Donnie has suffered because of this before, in the current run of the comics *spoilers* Donatello had to fight against Bebop and Rocksteady all on his own and they killed him, if it were any of the Turtles, they probably would have lost, but would put up enough of a fight to either get away or beat Bebop and Rocksteady enough to scare them off. Donnie's ignorance to the importance of physical strength lead to his death and I would like this to be explored a lot more.

Finally, there is the major theme with the Turtles, the one that every good adaptation remembered to feature as a prominent part, they are brothers. They argue, they fight, there are even times when they don't like each other, but they will always love each other, they will always fight for each other, they never stand alone and never turn their back. It's because of their brotherhood that they've beaten so many foes and live to fight another day. Alone, they're tough, together, they're unbeatable. You may say that this is a story point that has been done so many times that it's redundant, that is a sentiment i disagree with entirely. The theme of brotherhood is the defining element of the Turtles, taking away that is like taking away the idea of them being turtles, it's part of their identity, it's what makes them, them. That is why it's the most important element in writing a story about the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

Recommended Stories: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Movie (1990) Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Cartoons (2003-2009/2012+), TMNT (2007), Turtles Forever (2009), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Comic Book (2011+)