New TMNT Video Games Officially on the Way from Activision

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At last year's Toy Fair we saw the first hint that Activision had been tapped by Nickelodeon to develop new TMNT video games. Now, on the eve of this year's Toy Fair, we have confirmation of that deal and the first hints of what we can expect.

From a press release dated yesterday:

Nickelodeon and Activision Publishing, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Activision Blizzard, Inc., today announced a worldwide, multi-year deal to develop and publish video games inspired by the new CG-animated series Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Under the new agreement, Activision has the global rights to produce interactive games based on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles property.

Multiple sites are claiming that the first of three titles is due to come out this summer, although no supporting information or sources are cited. Watch here for more details as they're made available!

New TMNT Episodes Begin Jan. 25; New Voice Cast Members Announced

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An exclusive article on TVGuide.com has announced that new episodes of Nickelodeon's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series will begin again on January 25. This special Friday night episode will air at 7pm Easter / 6pm Central (check your local listings to be sure) and introduces the Rat King.

Also revealed in the article is the news that Roseanne Barr has been cast as the voice of Kraang Prime, who will appear in the season finale. Additionally, Kelly Hu has been announced as the voice of Karai, and Cassandra Peterson (aka Elvira) will be a research scientist named Mrs. Campbell.

The character design for Karai, who is presumably shown facing Leo in the picture above, has created a bit of a stir. She is said to be a rebellious teenager, which is a bit of a departure from previous incarnations of the character.

Nickelodeon TMNT Series Nominated for 3 Annie Awards

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Nominations for the 40th Annual Annie Awards, which celebrate excellence in the field of animation, have been announced with Nickelodeon's new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series receiving three nominations.

Directing in an Animated Television/Broadcast Production
Michael Chang, ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Never Say Xever’ – Nickelodeon Animation Studios

Storyboarding in an Animated  Television/Broadcast Production
Irineo Marramba, Ciro Nieli, ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: I Think His Name is Baxter Stockman’’ – Nickelodeon Animation Studios 

Voice Acting in an Animated Television/Broadcast Production
Mae Whitman as April O'Neil – ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Rise of the Turtles’ – Nickelodeon Animation Studios

Congratulations to the nominees! The Annie Awards will be announced and presented during a ceremony scheduled for February 2, 2013, in Los Angeles, CA.

Video of TMNT Float in Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade

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Hopefully everyone has recovered from the turkey comas! If you missed it, here are some videos of the TMNT float from the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.

TMNT Float Ready for Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade

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Tomorrow is Thanksgiving in the good ol' U.S. of A., and with it comes the tradition of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. As first announced last month, the TMNT will be riding in style down the parade route on a brand new float! The finished float is pictured above, and some in-progress pics are below.

The parade airs tomorrow morning on NBC at 9am in all time zones.

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone! And I'll try to have a video clip of the float available before the end of tomorrow.

TMNT Float to Debut in 2012 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade

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Nickelodeon has released the above concept art for their planned Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade float.

From the press release:

"Millions of families around the country will come together for the annual tradition of watching Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and we couldn't be more thrilled to once again partner with Macy's to bring the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles to life," said Pam Kaufman, chief marketing officer, Nickelodeon Group. "Our new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series has really struck a chord with fans and this spectacular float will offer them an exciting Nickelodeon entertainment experience."

This is the first time ever the TMNT will have a dedicated float in the parade. They have, however, appeared in the parade before, though it was no where near as elaborate.

The TMNT last appeared in the parade in either 2008 or 2009, when the 4Kids Turtles costumes walked the route. However, these Turtles did not make it to the TV broadcast.

The 86th annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade airs nationwide on NBC, Thursday, Nov. 22, 2012, from 9am-12pm in all time zones.

TMNT-Styled Race Cars Set to Invade NASCAR

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Next weekend, the TMNT will be styling on a couple of NASCAR cars, driven by Jeff Gordon and Ryan Newman.

Jeff Gordon will be racing the below car, featuring Leonardo, at Charlotte Motor Speedway on October 13.

From CBSSports.com:

The paint scheme is being done as a partnership between Gordon, AARP, AARP Foundation and Nickelodeon's Helping and Leading Others program on Drive to End Hunger. As part of the program, national PSA have been airing on Nickelodeon channels to reach kids, parents and grandparents.

Also on October 13 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Ryan Newman will be driving a car featuring Raphael.

According to CharlotteMotorSpeedway.com, there will be a series of events with the TMNT for the whole family the weekend of the race, including concerts, a Fun Zone, a lunch party, and more. Get complete details.

Jeff Gordon and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles introduce their new
race car at a press conference on September 20, 2012.

TMNT Season Pass Now Available in iTunes

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For those who don't have cable (or even those who do), you can now order a season pass for the new TMNT cartoon series through iTunes. You'll get all 26 episodes of the first season for $29.99 in HD, or $24.99 in SD.  Episodes should be made available on the same day they air on Nickelodeon, starting September 29.

Even if you don't want to buy the episodes, there are some free videos available for download right now. Click the button below to get 'em!

GetGlue Sticker Available for New TMNT Series

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Yesterday, Nickelodeon released a "Coming Soon" GetGlue sticker for the new TMNT cartoon series. Check in now to earn this sticker, and watch for more to come!

About GetGlue:
GetGlue is a social network for entertainment. Users check-in and share what they are watching, listening to and reading with friends; get fresh recommendations, exclusive stickers, discounts and other rewards from their favorite shows and movies.

Exclusive! Interview with the 2012 TMNT Voice Cast

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One of my highlights not just of this year's Comic-Con, but of all the 14 years I've attended Comic-Con, occurred this July 13, the day Nickelodeon was most heavily promoting the new TMNT CGI cartoon series. After spending a day full of talking to the press, including the TMNT panel in the morning and a lunchtime autograph signing, that Friday afternoon the brotherhood of Sean Astin, Greg Cipes, Jason Biggs, and Rob Paulsen were on the other side of a table talking to little ol' me.

It had been meant to be a shared roundtable experience, with other interviewers, but the way circumstances worked out I found myself going solo with them. I wasn't quite prepared for that! But luckily they bounced thoughts off of each other quite naturally, which brought out some fun conversation and interesting information.

I had to miss the IDW panel in order to make this appointment, but it was obviously well worth that sacrifice. I took the audio I recorded and produced it into the video below. Enjoy!


A huge hand of thanks to everyone at Nickelodeon, especially the entire voice cast!

TMNT Panel at San Diego Comic-Con 2012

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At this year's San Diego Comic-Con, Nickelodeon hosted a panel that gave fans a sneak preview of the new series, as well as a chance to see and hear the new voice actors. After all the panelists were brought out, Executive Producer Ciro Nieli showed us "The Pitch" he had presented to Nickelodeon, which ended up getting him the job. We were also shown an early test clip of animation.

After Ciro's time was up, the new voice cast for the show answered questions from moderator Rich Magallanes, Senior Vice President of Nickelodeon Animation. As we've known, the cast includes Jason Biggs (Leonardo), Sean Astin (Raphael), Greg Cipes (Michelangelo), Rob Paulsen (Donatello), Hoon Lee (Master Splinter), Mae Whitman (April O'Neil), and Kevin Michael Richardson (Shredder).

Below is a collection of all the video clips I personally recorded during this panel. I've also inserted some of the animation clips we were shown during the panel. Convention rules didn't allow the recording of these clips during the panel, but Nickelodeon released them online later that day.


Nickelodeon also released online their own recording of the panel, although it's in the wrong aspect ratio and doesn't feature the same awesome handheld qualities as the above video. ;)

IDW Announces Two New TMNT Titles

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Last Friday at Comic-Con in San Diego, IDW announced two new TMNT titles that will be out later this year. First up, "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Annual 2012" by Kevin Eastman and Tom Waltz.

Releasing in October this year, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Annual 2012 follows the adventure of Raphael and Casey as they find themselves in the middle of a criminal escapade gone wrong. Rival clans jockey for power in the NYC criminal underworld, and the Ninja Turtles are drawn into the chaos. Expect the unexpected in this exciting, all-new tale that sets up a crucial future TMNT storyline.

The Annual will be 48 pages and in full color, with a retail price of $7.99.

Up next is "Secret History of the Foot Clan," a four issue mini-series due to start in December. The series is written and drawn by Mateus Santolouco, with Erik Bunham co-scripting.

And an unofficial announcement: I was able to confirm with Tom Waltz that IDW will be publishing a TMNT series to tie-in with the new Nickelodeon cartoon, although there is no projected time table for when we can expect to see that.

Turtles Defeat Foot in Comic-Con Battle

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At Comic-Con last weekend, Nickelodeon hosted a "Turtles vs. Foot" battle that challenged Convention goers to choose a side in the battle of good against evil. To participate, you had to find and visit a truck parked in a parking lot next to Petco Park in downtown San Diego. At the truck, you chose your side and claimed a trucker hat that displayed your allegiance. To earn the hat you had to visit http://www.turtlesvsfoot.com and accomplish a series a tasks, the key one being sharing the promotion on Twitter and/or Facebook. (If you didn't have a smartphone to do this on, the staff at the truck was very accommodating and accepted generic sharing of the link to Twitter or Facebook, or a "promise" to do so.)

People who were spotted by the prize crew wearing their trucker hat could win a bag of TMNT goodies. Where the prize crew lurked was a bit of a mystery, but I finally spotted them running through the line to get into the TMNT panel on Friday morning, which was when I got my prize bag. I spotted them again circling the Nickelodeon booth on Saturday morning, where there was a constantly long line for the merchandise booth.

The prize bags were really neat tote bags (first seen at Toy Fair this past February) that were for sale at the merchandise booth for $20. Inside the bag the contents varied, but generally included a couple of posters (one a recreation of the first TMNT comic book cover with the new Nickelodeon CGI Turtles, one a Turtle dressed as the Mona Lisa), a T-shirt or two (the TMNT shell shirts or designer shirts available from the merchandise booth), and an autographed toy from the personal collection of Kevin Eastman.

One of the tasks on the Turtles Vs. Foot website allowed you to receive a call from either Splinter or Shredder (depending on the side you had chosen). You can hear these two pre-recorded messages below.

Splinter Incoming Message: (download)


Shredder Incoming Message: (download)


If you called back the number you received these two calls from, you heard another message inviting you to leave a message.

Splinter Outgoing Message: (download)


Shredder Outgoing Message: (download)


In the end, to no surprise, the Turtles won the battle against the Foot! Turtle Power!

Shellraising Showdown Contest

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Target and Nickelodeon have launched the "Shellraising Showdown Contest" to celebrate the new TMNT toys from Playmates. The contest requires you to create a stop-motion ending to a comic book with your new Turtles toys.

You can read the comic book, written by Tom Waltz from IDW, on the official contest website, or download it directly. Physical copies of this comic were given away in mass quantities at San Diego Comic-Con this past weekend. I have a stack of them that I will be distributing to Ninja Pizza readers in the near future!

The website also features a sample stop motion video ending to the comic. (Of course, this video features figures with much better paint than the ones being sold in stores. :p)

Rules and prize information are also available on the contest website. Good luck to all who enter!

2012 TMNT Guide to San Diego Comic-Con

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Comic-Con starts tomorrow! If you're lucky enough to be attending, there's a lot of exciting points of interest for TMNT fans. I've pulled out the biggest highlights and listed them below. It sounds like Nickelodeon has one or two other surprises in store, so be sure to keep following Ninja Pizza on Facebook and Twitter for all the latest news!

EXCLUSIVES

Night Shadow Leonardo
Details on the availability of this figure haven't been released, but pictures of it appeared on Playmates' website last week. The current guess is that it will be available for sale at the Nickelodeon booth (#4113) for around $20.

IDW Comics, TMNT #11 Exclusive Cover
As previously reported, IDW will have a special Convention-exclusive variant of TMNT #11 at their booth (#2643) for $5. The 40 people who pre-ordered the special Convention bundle of the Ultimate Collection hardcovers will be able to pick up their purchases at the booth, as well. This item is not available for walk-up purchase.

PANELS

FRIDAY, JULY 13
10:15-11:15, Room 6BCF - Go Green! With the Lean, Mean, Ninja Team: Nickelodeon's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles! Experience Nickelodeon's very first Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Comic-Con panel, as executive producer Ciro Nieli sets up the new series and unveils never-before-seen footage. Meet the incredible Ninja cast: Jason Biggs (Leonardo), Sean Astin (Raphael), Greg Cipes (Michelangelo), Rob Paulsen (Donatello), Kevin Michael Richardson (Shredder), Hoon Lee (Splinter), and Mae Whitman (April O'Neil). Hear and see the radical undertaking of this 25-year-old property and some of the creative insights that have taken it to new and reinvigorating heights. Prepare to be shell-shocked! Moderated by Rich Magallanes, senior VP of current series for Nickelodeon.

FRIDAY, JULY 13
4:00-5:00, Room 4 - The IDW Show (55 min, TV-MA): Hosts Chris Ryall and Dirk Wood welcome guests Duane Swierczynski, Brea and Zane Grant, John Layman, Zach Howard, Conor McCreary, and Anthony Del Col. Plus special announcements by Bobby Curnow, Stupid Audience Tricks, and musical guest Alan Robert and The Grants. NEW (CC)

AUTOGRAPHS

THURSDAY, JULY 12
6:00–7:00pm, IDW Booth (#2643)
TMNT Comic Crew – Kevin Eastman, Tom Waltz, Dan Duncan

FRIDAY, JULY 13
12:30pm, Nickelodeon Booth (#4113)
Nickelodeon Voice Cast & Crew - Ciro Nieli (Executive Producer), Jason Biggs (Leonardo), Sean Astin (Raphael), Greg Cipes (Michelangelo), Rob Paulsen (Donatello), and more. (I think this signing may also include Kevin Michael Richardson, Hoon Lee, and Mae Whitman, but I don't have confirmation that they'll be there.)

SATURDAY, JULY 14
11:00am–12:00pm, IDW Booth (#2643)
TMNT Comic Crew – Kevin Eastman, Tom Waltz, Dan Duncan

PEOPLE TO SEE

Kevin Eastman - Expect to find TMNT co-creator Kevin Eastman throughout the weekend at the Heavy Metal booth, #1529.

Ernie Reyes Jr. - Ernie, known to TMNT fans as Donatello's stunt double in the first TMNT movie and Keno the Pizza Delivery Boy in TMNT 2, will be at booth #5112-5118 with his new comic book, Sonny's Dragons. This comic book is of particular interest to TMNT fans, as it was drawn by the one and only Jim Lawson!

Michael Dooney - This TMNT artist extrodinare will be at Artists' Alley booth #DD-22 throughout the weekend.

Dave Garcia - Mr. Garcia did work on the old TMNT Adventures comic book series. He and his wife Monica also created the character Panda Khan, who TMNT fans should know as an old Playmates action figure. He will be at Artists' Alley booth #FF-11.

Erik Larsen - Find Erik Larsen of Image Comics fame, who was also a key player in the publishing of TMNT VOl. 3, at Artists' Alley booth #II-16.

David Petersen - David Petersen is well-known for his Mouse Guard comic books, and has recently become a recognizable name to TMNT fans for his recent cover art work on the TMNT Micro-Series books from IDW. He will be at Artists' Alley booth #GG-09

James Silvani - James Silvani has done some TMNT licensing art in recent years. You can find him at Artists' Alley booth #DD-11.

New TMNT Series to Premiere Sept. 29

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Nickelodeon has announced that the new TMNT CGI series will debut on September 29, 2012 at 11am. The one hour premiere event will launch the 26-episode season. Nickelodeon also officially announced for the first time three additional members of the voice cast: Mae Whitman as April O’Neil, Hoon Lee as Master Splinter, and Kevin Michael Richardson as Shredder. All three, together with the voices of the Turtles (Jason Biggs, Sean Astin, Greg Cipes, and Rob Paulsen) will be appearing at Comic-Con in San Diego on Friday.

Stay tuned to Ninja Pizza all week for full Comic-Con coverage!!

First Trailer For New TMNT TV Series Now Online

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The first trailer for the new TMNT series is online! Check it out above, over on EW.com, or share it with your friends over on Facebook.

In the trailer we can hear the voices of the four Turtles and can get a better feel for what the animation style is going to be. You can also hear a hint at what might be the theme song, which sounds like a remix of the infamous theme song from the original TMNT cartoon. At the end, the URL www.nick.com/turtles is shown on screen, although that site doesn't seem to be live at the moment.

This is likely the beginning of a publicity force that will be launched in full at Comic-Con in a couple weeks. There should be a lot more goodies in the upcoming months!

TMNT Panel Planned for Comic-Con

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It's been assumed that Nickelodeon would have a strong TMNT presence at San Diego Comic-Con to advertise the upcoming new TV series, and now we've seen a first glimpse at exactly what it is they have planned.

As reported by Variety, a panel for the show will be held on Friday of the convention. Panelists will include the four Turtles voice actors from the show - Jason Biggs (Leonardo), Sean Astin (Raphael), Rob Paulsen (Donatello), and Greg Cipes (Michelangelo) - as well as executive producer Ciro Nieli.

Additionally, the Nickelodeon booth in the exhibitor hall will have visits from TMNT costumed characters, and possibly autograph signings.

Be sure to stay tuned to Ninja Pizza for more Comic-Con details as the show draws near! And, if you can't make it to the Con, Ninja Pizza will have full coverage of everything TMNT throughout Comic-Con weekend, July 11-15.

TMNT Panel Report from MCM Expo London

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From @TinaMcCannMD on Twitter.

Attendees of MCM Expo London this past weekend were treated to a series of TMNT exclusives and reveals for the upcoming CGI animated cartoon series from Nickelodeon. There are several in-depth reports of the event available online, including Toonzone, What the Shell! Podcast, and some members of The Technodrome.

The panel was hosted by Nick Roche, Rich Magallanes, and Kevin Eastman. Unfortunately, photography and video were not allowed inside. A lot of the information covered at the panel seems to have been stuff we already knew. Here are some bullet points of new and old information:

• The visual style of the series is meant to be a sort of mash-up of CGI and anime.
• A short preview was shown of the Turtles using Mikey as bait for a "killer robot." Mikey ends up running back toward the other three Turtles as he's being followed by head-seeking missiles. Mikey ends up dangling from a beam across from a pizza parlor.
• The Kraang are only able to talk through their robot bodies, and their agenda is to colonize Earth.
• Leatherhead, Baxter Stockman, and Karai will all appear in the series.
• The panel seemed to avoid answering the question if Casey Jones will appear in the series, but we know from previous Mutation in Progress events that they are planning to bring him in for season 2 (but watch the backgrounds for graffiti tags from Casey during season 1).
• Bebop and Rocksteady will not appear in this series.
• In place of "Cowabunga!", Mikey's new catch phrase will be "Booyakasha!" (Ok...)
• While the toys will hit the States in August this year, they won't be out in the UK until January 2013. The show itself should start around October in the UK this year, which should only slightly delayed from its start here in the US.

A trailer for the series was also premiered. Here is how Toonzone.net described it:

Things start with the brothers darting across rooftops of NYC at night before settling in an alley. Mikey is goofing off playing kick the can, which causes his three brothers to angrily shush him in a Teen Titans-reminiscent sight gag. A group of Foot soldiers emerge from the shadows, and Leo's cocky quip is met by several more. The Turtles still emerge triumphant and their demand for a better challenge is met with the sinister mocking laughter of the Shredder. Focus then switched to an encounter with a Kraang, visibly freaking the brothers out before Mikey starts beating it unconscious in another comedy sight gag. Waving his trophy around, he berates the other three for not believing him such a creature existed before it wakes up and latches onto his face, leading Raph to quip, “How can you be proven right and still look stupid?”

And finally, Playmates had some of the new toys on display, including this lineup of Leonardo action figures through the years.

TMNT Costumed Characters Debut at Nick Hotel Memorial Day Weekend

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TMNT costumed characters will begin appearing at Nick Hotel for meet and greets starting this upcoming Memorial Day weekend. No details about the meet and greets are available, but expect the costumes to be the same as the ones seen at Nickelodeon Universe back in March for the grand opening of the TMNT: Shell Shock ride (which, as an aside, has been closed for unknown maintenance reasons for the last few weeks). You can expect the Turtles to be an on-going attraction at the resort as the premiere of the new CGI series this fall comes ever closer.

If you're like me and you've never heard of Nick Hotel, here's how Nickelodeon describes it:

Located in the heart of Orlando’s tourism district, Nickelodeon Suites Resort, otherwise known as the Nick Hotel, is much more than a place for guests to lay their heads at night. From two over-the-top pool complexes with slides and flumes, to live entertainment and Character Breakfast featuring Nickelodeon’s beloved characters, to a multimillion dollar 4-D Theater, to the colorfully themed KidSuites and gallons upon gallons of slime, Nick Hotel offers nonstop activity from dawn to dusk for the entire family any time of the year.

Sounds neat!