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Thursday, February 25, 2010

TMNT Flashback: Movie Storybooks With Read-along Cassette



Back in the '90s, Random House released a series of TMNT books and read-along cassette tapes. Three of these sets included a cassette that narrated and performed an included comic book (reprints from the Archie series). The set pictured at left here included two brand new mini storybooks based on the first movie.

The interesting thing about these books is that while they are most obviously based on the movie, all of the artwork reflects the cartoon Turtles of the time. But the thing I love most here is the included cassette.

I remember listening to the cassette using my awesomely hip Sony Walkman while riding in the back seat of my parents' car on a family vacation... and realizing that the same guy who was narrating the story was also doing all of the voices of the different character. Oh, how I LOLed.

Now, it's not unusual for one person to read an audiobook and also do all of the voices, but I do think it is a bit more unusual for a children's tape. But really, in this case it just sounds ridiculous and silly. However, I shall leave it to you to judge for yourself.

For a limited time, I'm making both audio stories available for download here.

I'll also note that each side of the cassette features one of the two stories, read twice. Once without page turn signals and once with page turn signals. I never understood that much, either. Why not put both stories on each side of the cassette and only put the page turn signals on one side? The way it's set up you're stuck either listening to the same story twice in a row or playing the fast-forward game to find the version you want to listen to (ah, the joy of cassette players).

Monday, February 22, 2010

Special Features Update on German TMNT 1 DVD



German TMNT fan hudemx has reported in again with some new details on the upcoming German DVD release of the first TMNT movie, which will be including special features not yet released anywhere else.

He states that a friend of his has received an advance copy of the DVD, and has this to say about the special features:





  • Commentary: Director Steve Barron greets the audience in German, but then continues in English for the rest of the duration.
  • Deleted Scenes: There are two scenes included, both of which are alternate cuts from two scenes in the movie. The first is of Michaelangelo ordering pizza in the sewers, and the second is of the Turtles fighting the Foot in April's apartment.

And here are some screen shots from the alternate ending:





The DVD is available for pre-order over at Amazon.de, but make sure you're able to play Region 2, PAL-coded DVDs before you do so.

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Sideshow's Donatello Comiquettes Shipping Soon



Sideshow Collectibles has started sending e-mail notices that their Donatello comiquette, both the exclusive edition and the regular edition, is expected to be in their warehouse in approximately 20 days. These e-mails request that you verify your payment information by February 27, as the cards will be charged soon after as the statues start shipping out to their awaiting homes.

If you have an order placed, make sure those credit cards are in order! If you don't have an order placed, it's not too late to get on the wait list. Right now is when cancellations are most likely as people decide whether or not they can actually afford what they pre-ordered several months ago.

Regular Edition Wait List
Exclusive Edition Wait List


Saturday, February 6, 2010

Original TMNT Movie to be Released in Germany ... With Bonus Features!



TMNT fans have been crying out for a better DVD release of the original TMNT movie ever since it first appeared on DVD in 1997. Although it and its sequels have been rereleased several times over the last 13 years, the content on the disc has always been the same, and simple requests like including deleted scenes and director commentary have fallen on deaf ears.

For German fans (and region-savvy fans elsewhere) that is now changing!! TMNT fan hudemx at The Technodrome forums has brought to attention the upcoming German DVD release of the 1990 film.

If you visit the website for the DVD distributor, you can find the list of included bonus features, which are:
  • Trailer
  • Deleted scenes
  • Alternate ending
  • Audio commentary from Director Steve Barron
If you've been reading this site for awhile, you may recall posts that detailed the alternate ending as well as one of the deleted scenes.

So, obviously, this is great news!! Although the bad news is that this seems to be restricted to Germans (for now?). While that may seem like a catch-22 for American fans and other non-Europeans, there are work-arounds to bypass region-locking and PAL coding if you look hard enough.

This DVD will be released on March 12, 2010. If you're ready to order, you can go ahead and do so over at Amazon.de.

Thursday, January 28, 2010

Michelangelo Sideshow Comiquettes Now Available For Pre-order



The Michelangelo comiquettes from Sideshow Collectibles are now available for pre-sale. Unlike the previous two pre-sale events, both the exclusive edition and the regular edition are concurrently available to order. The exclusive edition features Mike in his trademark orange bandanna, while the regular edition has him in classic red. You can click your preferred flavor (or both!) below to place your order.


Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Kevin Munroe to Direct Upcoming Lucasfilm Feature



This isn't TMNT news per se, but since real TMNT news is far and few between, I'm gonna run with it.

It was announced today that Kevin Munroe, writer-director of the 2007 "TMNT" CGI film, will direct a not-yet-named animated film to be produced by George Lucas's Lucasfilm of Star Wars fame. Plot details are scant, but the film is said to be a musical involving fairies.

This should be a very interesting project to see develop - Congrats and good luck to Kevin with it!

You can read the full story over at Yahoo! News.

Friday, January 22, 2010

Sideshow Michelangelo Comiquette Preview




Hey there, folks! It's been awhile since we visited. Truth is, there hasn't been much in terms of TMNT news to report (specifically, none). Further truth is that this will probably be the case for the foreseeable future, as things are still in flux with the whole Nickelodeon thing. Also, I've been a little lazy, but I do have some TMNT Flashback features planned that I hope to use to supplement all this down time.

However! Tonight we do have the first preview image of Sideshow Collectibles' upcoming Michelangelo comiquette, the third in a series of four. YAY! (If you live under a rock, you may not have figured out that Mike is my favorite.)

Mike will go on sale with the launch of the January 28 Sideshow Collectibles newsletter. Be alert, as that exclusive edition is likely to sell out within an hour or two!