#tmnt 2003 the lesson

[familyofpaladins]

@tmaynt Day 16: Favorite Episode

It was hard to pick just one episode to do. But TMNT (2003) Season 3 Episode 11: The Lesson is one I love because I love stories where we find out that the characters actually met each other as kids. And the fact that the turtles tried to teach Casey how to fight (someone who is older than them) while switching turns of who is doing the teaching without actually talking to each other about what they've taught so far is very funny to me.

I thought about also doing the Battle Nexus Arc from 2003 because I really like those episodes too, also 1987's "Pizza by the Shred" (Michelangelo accidentally ends up working for Shredder as a delivery boy who is trying to catch the turtles with pizza) and "Cowabunga Shredder" (Thanks to plans gone awry, Shredder ends up with Michelangelo's personality) because they're absolutely hilarious to me lol

[scatterbrainedbot]

Hello :D

You're so cool

Anyway have you thought that in your rat sons au Splinter might outlive the boys?

You're very cool :D love your stuff dude

(tw for some blood, light gore, implied overdose (kinda??))

hi copper!!! this is a fantastic question!

so obviously typical irl rats have far shorter lifespans than the average irl tortoise. according to google (yes, be awed by my spectacularly in-depth wealth of research) the average pet rat lives between 2-4 years ish, and the oldest on record lived to be about 7. meanwhile, an African spurred tortoise (Splinter's species) averages more around a 50ish year lifespan in captivity, tho is suspected to possibly exceed 75 or more in the wild.

Now, the mutation does give us a lot of wiggle room for playing with these numbers. For the rat sons boys, id say their natural lifespan probably clocks in at about 45-55 years old? definitely not old by human standards, but not young young either. (though, its also important to note that the boys were exposed to the mutagen just days after being born.)

For Splinter, meanwhile, aging is slightly more complicated. He lived the vast majority of his life as a regular normal African spurred tortoise (well, non-mutated at least. there were perhaps some shenanigans of a more mystical variety going on before he was mutated, but thats a separate matter) He was about 70ish i think? when the boys were born and they were all exposed to the mutagen. so he is already distinctly an old man turtle papa. id guess he'd probably still have another eh lets say 25-30 years after his mutation. he could probably push it a little farther even with some mystic nonsense, but when push comes to shove id say his 'natural' post-mutation lifespan would put his death like a solid decade or two before his sons.

of course, the tricky part of the matter is that theres no way for Splinter to know any of this. theres no way for him to know how the mutation affected them all, or if it even affected them all in the same way. especially since the boys dont show many physical signs of mutation for the first few years, and just kinda look like normal rats, (albeit with a more human sort of intelligence) — what sort of health standard do you hold them to? what if they simply dont show external signs of sickness or old age anymore? how do you actually know if something is wrong?

for a while there Splinter is very worried that one of his babies will just essentially reach the end of their normal rat lifespan, fall and not get up again.

so mostly, he just tries to live in the moment, enjoying whatever time he does have with his little ones, taking each day as a gift <3

still,

that fear

never

really

goes

away.....

[tmntkiseki]

Underrated Splinter moments

[ilovebeingaturtle]

Rank tmnt characters by who you would call to hide a body with you <--- joking (unless)

I want the court to know that the reason this appears so in-depth is because…uh, well-um. Hm.

[tmnt-tychou]

Part 2 of The Way of the Househusband. Leo needs a little deprogramming from the yakuza.

[purplepixel]

Since you are a fan of rise and you do like that Raph. What’s your opinion on 03 Raph and 12 Raph?

Oh ho ho!! I'm actually glad you asked this bc I've been thinking about it a lot lately.

2003 raph is prob one of my favorite turtles in 03. I've only watched the first two seasons of the show, but I love his snark. He has some of the best comeback lines and his dynamic with Mikey is one of my favorite aspects of the show. His "yo mama" line is something I think about a lot haha.

Now 2012 raph. Ohhhh boy him. Having gotten through the first three seasons of 2012, my perception of him has changed drastically. If you showed me just the first two episodes of 2012 (and like...first half of season 1) I would've told you raph is a horrible brother who is nothing more than a bully. But I've watched three seasons of 2012 now and SOMEHOW he's become one of my favorites. Maybe it's bc they soften him a bit in later seasons. Maybe it's bc sometimes I'd sit there and be like...damn he has a right to be angry (I will actually never forgive splinter's "lesson" in s1ep3). Maybe I like really flawed characters? Idk. But as someone whos first introduction of the character was rise/2012 fics, I've now since grown an appreciation for him. 2012 had an extremely rough start with his character, since ya. He was a bully and oftentimes extremely out of pocket with insults. (but honestly all the 2012 turtles were. Raph was just the biggest offender). But like all raphs he's secretly a big softie that's masked by a rough exterior. 2012 raph is what happens if that softness is made fun of and seen as a weakness instead of strength. (Also if the writers don't understand the difference between banter and bullying until like season 2 coughcough) So ya, he's one of my favs now. I have way too much to say about him

[temunitu]

I have nothing cool and interesting to say right now except I rewatched S5 episode "Fathers and Sons" of TMNT 2003 and I once again am screaming about HOW CUTE THE BABY TURTLES ARE OH MY GOD. I don't even know what I love more—Donnie and Leo living their best lives in that hay crate, Mikey CONSTANTLY attaching himself to Splinter and even staying by his side as his bros go play tag, or Donnie mustering up all his strength to throw that big rock at the Bone Demon. THERE ARE TOO MANY CUTE SCENES!!

YOU’RE WRONG ANON, THAT IS A VERY COOL AND INTERESTING THING TO SAY

here’s some papa rat hugs <3

[volcanicsleep]

Oooh, if you watched 2k3, thoughts on Bishop?

That man is a fucking riot. He is so insufferable, he captivates me. He's the most annoying immortal to grace that show. You see how that man fights??? Immaculate. Batshit insane. He's such a fucking asshole lmao

(The face when I accidentally characterized his look-a-like to be similar to him without ever seeing him in the first place. I was shocked. Shocked, I tell you!)

[erasedvoice]

pride month pieces!!

also posted on my instagram (same user) :D

[kstarlitchaotics]

Lol

✨Get shit on Casey✨

I forgot to post this on my other platforms, but here it issss. Gotta lovingly bully 03’ Casey💖💖💖

[lunalikesalotofstuff]

so the mutant mayhem series...

look im happy to get another show and im open to watching it and i will give it a chance.

but some stuff in the trailers really rubs me the wrong way.

april saying "isnt your whole thing a costume" in reference to ...just their bodies is icky and im dissapointed her kinda being mean to them is gonna continue. like- its not an initial shock thing like with 2003 and 2012 april its just "sure we're friends but im gonna call out how different you are even though your WHOLE goal is to fit in and be accepted.". i like her design and her story seems interesting and i hope she gets a real arc unlike a lot of aprils but like- the comments are un-necessary and it feels like shes making fun of them instead of being a supportive friend. [if theres an episode where the guys get fed up and talk to her, possibly having a lesson about expressing to your friends when youre uncomfortable with what they do then ill be overjoyed because that message NEEDS to be in kids shows and it would clarify april just didnt know it bothered them and would tone it down because she doesnt wanna hurt her friends]

in a trailer the others got praise and when it was mikeys turn someone was like "oh what do you do?" and mikey doesnt have a real answer. as a mikey fan i just cannot stand the constant dismissal he gets. if the series is gonna expand on that and take it seriously im totally in though.

i didnt mind the movie artstyle. its not something i enjoy and it kinda gave me a headache in theaters but objectivly there is nothing weong with it and a lot of work and talent was put into it. the show style is...ehhh? i dont like it. i dont hate it. i dont really enjoy the color palette. its not appealing to me and an art style can really change how much i enjoy a show.

and why does leo sound so much older. i cant be the only one hearing that right? like i know thats fairly standard for the shows but the movie had all this hype about the guys sounding and acting their age so???

and structure wise i feel like this is going to feel more like kim possible and spiderman instead of tmnt? cause like ...a HUGE part has always been theyre a secret and they work in the shadows cause theyre ninjas and now theyre just in the open. im ok with change- all franchizes NEED to change and adapt but im not gonna get hopeful till i see it done well int he actual show

speaking of that this is a reminder i by no means think the show will be bad. i want it to be awesome and fun and make its mark like other tmnt shows and films have! i just had to get this off my chest cause it was bothering me. im sure the show WILL be good cause i havent watched a tmnt show i outright disliked yet. the trailers just rubbed me the wrong way.

[indieyuugure]

Aside from the space arc what would you say are the worst episodes of TMNT 2012

Oof, uh, well I think I actually have a few controversial opinions on some of these, but there are definitely a few that really stand out.

Alright top 5 LEAST fav TMNT 2012 episodes:

Mazes & Mutants, I get that it’s just supposed to be silly but I really don’t really think the jokes landed on me or something cause I skip this one every time. It’s just a really weird episode.

Mutant Apocalypse Arc, you all saw this one coming. This episode is angsty in the cringiest way and the plot/backstory doesn’t makes sense if you think about it too long. I might have forgiven this episode/arc if they had done a better job on the character designs, but I think we all know how that went.

The Usagi Arc, yes okay, yes. I will just say it now, I don’t like Usagi. 2003 is the closest I’ve been to actually liking this character but 2012 Usagi is…ugh for some reason I find him extremely annoying and it’s only made worse by the fact that everyone fawns over him. There’s nothing wrong with liking him, but I just don’t. Also the pug kid is some how even MORE obnoxious than Usagi. This was on of the arcs that I was checking how many more episodes I had to watch.

A China Town Ghost Story, basically the same reasoning for Mazes & Mutants. Like, why does this episode even exist?

A Foot Too Big, idk this episode always makes me so uncomfortable. It also always kinda pissed me off that even though they try to make it plot relevant but throwing in the “oh, is Donnie gonna learn his lesson about respecting April?” Like if he had actually learned the lesson I would see the value in this episode, but he doesn’t which makes me wonder why I just suffered through 20 mins of bad fur rendering and psychotic Sasquatch hunters. I know the Donnie x April shippers out there will be giving me crap for this one but i feel like from either side of the shipping war, this episode is completely redundant, you can skip it and nothing happens.

Well anyway, there’s my rants on my top least favorite episodes. I still like 2012, but I usually just try to pretend these episodes don’t exist. I will say this, there are a few more(like maybe 2 or something) that I dislike, but I felt like I didn’t hate them enough to put them on here.

Good question! :]

[lotus-sunn]

the way it SHOULD BE (my poor man leo got taken. god bless raph)

Raph is the only one weaving the April shipping charts god bless

[niqosblog]

Why Do People Distrust Reboots of Cartoons?

An Analysis

Root of The Trust Issues

I feel like ever since Teen Titans Go, people have lost faith in reboots of classic shows. Especially since their only basis is "this is a show for little kids", and they expect it to be immature and plotless.

You can't just announce that you're making a TV show reboot of a classic with a more simplistic art style without expecting backlash.

Just saying "I like the [insert media] reboot!" Everyone is gonna be on your back and say that it's a bad lifeless reboot. But I believe that some are actually good. They have kept up similar themes and still progress with the modern world.

The Exception

If we're really getting into this topic, may I say that Voltron: Legendary Defender is a reboot that people loved to pieces. Even with its awful ending, people still loved it. Yet no one asked for it.

No one looked at the old Voltron and said "I wish there was a reboot".

Was the show good? YES!

It performed amazing during its run. It had a strong fan following to it as well.

Was it bar for bar, character for character accurate? NO!

Keith was supposed to end up with Allura, going so far as to marry her. Pidge was actually a clumsy dwarf boy that had a crush on Allura. Hunk was some buff white guy rather than a chubby Samoan dude.

Yet, did people complain? ALSO NO. And the only reason why, was the art style.

Simplistic Art Style

Then we get to things like the My Little Pony and Strawberry Shortcake Reboot. These are objectively good reboots as a stand alone, without a nostalgia bias.

They have representation, life lessons, friendship themes, basically everything that the original was. But the fact it's a 'reboot' is what throws people into hysteria.

Strawberry Shortcake was always a spunky girl who would always problem solve in a kind and caring way. Always true to her friends, loved making friends.

She is such a stereotypical good girl that the show even pokes fun at it. Making jokes that she's too trustworthy and friendly. And they keep this trend in the reboot. Yet people didn't watch it.

And you want to know why?

"it looks lifeless" "it lost its spark" "the designs are ugly"

Why This Argument Sucks

This isn't a real argument. Exhibit A would be Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TMNT).

We can agree that TMNT has kept a consistent art style. Mostly consisting of the big eyes, similar body shapes, wide mouths... The only two thing differentiating them being the eye covers and weapons.

Now in the reboot, there are several differences.

Raphael - Stocky, beefy, wider, taller, snaggle tooth

Leonardo - skinner waist, broad shoulders, long head, slightly muscular arms, eye markings

Donatello - basically the same as Leo but he has skinner arms, and goggles

Michaelangelo - rounder, shorter, bigger eyes, more colors

Unlike the other adaptations, where they look like the same copy and paste character with a slight hue shift, they actually look different. But before it came out, there was a lot of backlash of the characters looking ugly.

That soon changed when clips started circling around that people gave it a shot. And guess what. They liked it! They called the characters charming and unique, and even got a huge fandom from shares on Tiktok and advertisements from the program airing the show.

Sure, people did complain about the simplicity. But they eventually came to enjoy it. So why can't people keep the same energy for other reboots?

Nostalgia

The biggest factor of all is nostalgia. I loved Strawberry Shortcake: Berry Bitty Adventures. And I dabbled in watching the 2003 version because I loved it when I was a kid. Yet, I still love the reboot.

Berry in the Big City isn't a bad reboot, people just don't want to give it a chance because of the nostalgia factor. They grew up with the 2003-2009 version and expect no changes, and when things did change they threw a fit.

I don't know how to tell you this, but this show was made for KIDS. Not teenagers looking for a fun watch, not adults looking for a taste of classic TV, but children.

Sure, there are some teens and adults who love this show because they might be a babysitter or an older sibling. Or maybe just someone who heard it was good and wanted to give it a watch.

But if your only reason for disliking a show is that "it's not my [insert character]" is showing that you're just scared of change. If I'm really being honest, BITBC shows more personality in their characters.

Back in Berry Bitty Adventures, they all felt like the same girl just with a different goal. Here, Strawberry is more hyperactive and passionate, Blueberry is going with the flow and airhead-ish, Orange is a competitive athlete, Lemon is an emotionally closed off inventor, Lime is a nerdy fashionista.

And they all look different.

I have confused Raspberry Torte and Strawberry in 2009 more times than I can count. Even characters like Cherry Jam and Blueberry who have a different color scheme, look similar when desaturated.

And if you feel hurt by the fact that I'm saying cons about a series you loved as a kid, then you're part of the problem.

I don't expect you to say that "oh, yeah, I can see that." but instead, admit that not everything you grew up with was perfect.

And if Strawberry Shortcake isn't enough proof that people glorify the original too much, may I remind you people continuously hate the Monster High reboot.

The original had racial stereotypes, outdated jokes, sexist characters, toxic relationships (that for some reason stayed together), misrepresentation of disorders, and way more.

The reboot actually tries to be sensitive to who might be watching their show. They made Asian coded characters not yellow, they properly represent disabilities, they don't make Abbey's foreign accent a joke, they have body diversity. And g1 is apparently still superior.

Another reminder is that when g1 tried to make progress with their first gay character, they back tracked it and made it subtext. There will always be a problem with g1 Monster High, the only people who ignore it are people who are scared of change.

Conclusion

Are you supposed to watch all reboots from now and forever into eternity. No. This is just a thing I noticed when goons glaze on a cartoon that they (probably) didn't even watch getting a reboot.

There are bad reboots out there, (I'm looking at you Velma..), but I feel like if you just watched a couple episodes you'd find them more enjoyable. The original doesn't disappear when you watch a reboot. In fact, most of the examples I've mentioned are free on YouTube.

[mysteryideasgroup]

MSA X TMNT 2003: Ninja Tribunal Chapter 20: TMNT Team and Mystery Teams Celebration about Tengu Shredder, Lord Sombra and Crimson are finally defeated/Maisy saw the spirit of her unknown parents/Maisy Pepper/Minnie's unknown parents are proud of their daughter, Maisy/Maisy Pepper/Minnie was now part of the Pepper/Minnie Family

----

They both smile and then Yoshi puts a hand on Splinter’s shoulder. A tear rolls down Splinter’s cheek and he closes his eyes for a moment. Splinter then looks up just before Yoshi vanishes. The turtles hit the ground.

Mikey: Wow. That was beyond amazing! We totally kicked shell bro’s!

They all begin talking excitedly at once. Back at the smoldering remains of the Foot headquarters building, a government helicopter lands to pick up Bishop. He walks to the helicopter and two soldiers, carrying Stockman’s robotic remains, follow.

Bishop: Come along, Dr. Stockman. That brain of yours is still intact and I’m not finished with you yet.

Stockman: It seems the pain will never end.

The turtles, Splinter, Karai and Chaplin watch the helicopter fly away. Michelangelo gasps as overhead shadows fall on them and he looks up to see Chrysalis and Silver Sentry.

Silver Sentry: Well, looks like you did it. You turtles saved the world. And I thought that was our job.

Leo: We all did it… together.

Lewis: Better, good teams.

Sarah: We have successfully defeated Lord Sombra and Crimson

Silver Sentry salutes them and flies away. The THNT team arrive, with Chelsea.

Raph: Man, am I glad you guys made it.

Bart: You better be. You owe us.

Kon: You have all done well. [Startled, the acolytes all turn around to see the Ninja Tribunal walking towards them.] We are very proud of our acolytes. You have done great things.

Mikey: Hello! Where’d you guys come from?

Donnie: Didn’t we see you get destroyed?

Sarah: We’re thinking that they are killed by destroyed?

Juto: Have you so soon forgotten your first lesson?

Kon: Perception is not always truth. All you think you know…

Chikara: About this world, about yourselves, even about reality itself…

Leo: All this and more will be challenged.

Kon: Indeed.

He sweeps a hand at the ground and there’s a explosion of smoke. It clears to reveal the Ancient One.

Ancient One: My back is killing me. [He looks up to see the Tribunal standing over him.] Huh? [He grins.] Ah, honored ones. I felt you were near.

Raph: If you were so near, why didn’t you jump in when we were getting our shells kicked?

Marie: Hehe, better.

Kon: We knew that the karmic wheel of fate had to turn unhindered by our interference. We were forced to let events unfold as they should.

Chikara: Yoshi’s demise was a part of that.

Kon: As was his coming here to New York as a guardian of the Utroms. For without that, you, Splinter, would not exist.

Juto: Nor would your sons.

THNT with Mistress Chelsea are arriving with TMNT and Mystery Teams

Splinter: What will the Tribunal do now?

The four Tribunal members rise into the air.

Chikara: It is time for us to move on.

Kon: We would be honored, young one, if you would join us on the tribunal.

Ancient One: The honor would be all mine. [He turns.] Splinter, you are family. [He wipes away a tear.] I will miss you.

Splinter walks over, drops to one knee and bows.

Splinter: And I you, old friend.

Chelsea: Right. My friend.

Ancient One: And I trust you four will stay out of trouble?

Mikey: Hey, it’s us. We hate trouble.

Ancient One: Of course, you do. Heh!

He rises into the air to join the waiting tribunal and then all five vanish into the sky.

Chaplin: What now, Mistress?

Karai takes his hand.

Karai: It is a new day, Dr. Chaplin. [They stroll off hand-in-hand.] Let us see what it brings.

Everyone else starts walking back towards the city.

Maisy's Dad: I wanted to take care of Maisy, please.

Maisy's Mom: Right, I agree.

Maisy's Dead Parents are dead in the afterlife.

Cera: I have got adopted sister, Maisy

Maisy: Good, I got adopted by my parents and siblings of Pepper/Minnie Family

Maisy's Older Siblings, her 2nd/Second Older Brother had removed Demon to return back to Normal Human. He has not used Bamboo Muzzle

Mikey: So, who’s hungry?

Gary: Yea

Splinter: Michelangelo, my sons, whatever you would like, it is on me. All of you come, let us celebrate – together.

Chelsea: Right, sure, we're going on.

Pan out to the city and a golden sunrise.

The End

----

For @laurasanchez36

All my msa x tmnt ocs and all my new msa x tmnt ocs belongs to Me

All her msa x tmnt ocs and all her new msa x tmnt ocs belongs to @laurasanchez36

Mystery Skulls Animated MSA belongs to Ben and MysteryBen27 of YouTube YT Series

TMNT 2003 belongs to Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird 

[barikinbear]

You wanna know something I find ✨ weird?✨

I find it so weird that Bayverse Donnie rolled over so easily when Leo made a hard and fast decision about the whole ‘maybe turn human’ situation.

Where did his backbone go?! He literally just went ‘yeah fine it’s fine I’m fine 😢🥴’ and let it be?!?

Would any other version of Donnie have done that? I think the flip flop flapjack not.

2k12 Donnie definitely has his own opinions and would never have stood for his Leo doing something so unfair and stupid.

Rise Donnie especially would’ve been like ‘nope, absolutely not I do what I want fight me’ if his Leo did something like that.

‘07 Donnie probably would have argued back, too. He followed Raph and Mikey into a fight even though Leo was insisting Splinter didn’t want them fighting. My boy would not take behavior like that from his Leo. No way.

Not that I think any version of Leo besides Bayverse would do something like that. They value their family members’ opinions and want what’s best for them.

And maybe that’s where Bayverse Leo was coming from. He was scared of change and didn’t want such an extreme change for his family. He did learn his lesson by the end, which is good.

I haven’t seen 2003 tmnt, so I’m not sure what that Donnie would’ve done, but I like to think some level of unhinged feralness runs through all the Donnies and it would kick in for him too.

I’ve seen it in Bayverse Donnie before. I wish he would’ve stood up for what he wanted, but at least there’s some hints that he’s just as much of a menace as his counterparts.