THE OPINION OF THE “WORLD” – TO SEE
In 2024, they will celebrate their 40th anniversary. In other words, concerning them, four decades of glory that have taken them from television to cinema, from the shelves of derivative products to those of video games. Declined in all forms, these four turtles climbed the steps of fame without stumbling, growing the ranks of their admirers. And this, despite a physique, it must be admitted, not very advantageous. Big heads with wide mouths, shelled backs, green skin and thick features: when it comes to seduction, they had every right to hope for better. Only here, we do not choose our parents, nor their state of mind when they decide to give birth.
For our famous ninjas, everything happened on a corner table, in the apartment shared by the two comic book authors, Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. On this evening of November 1983, the mood was joyful, the atmosphere schoolboy, the time for boasting. The duo have fun, try to make each other laugh, invent jokes. For example, find the most ridiculous animal likely to represent Bruce Lee. First to take up the challenge, Kevin Eastman draws a turtle, standing on two legs, a mask in front of his eyes, nunchucks around his arms. The result makes Peter Laird laugh. Bank. Three other turtles are sketched, armed with different weapons. The two fathers fall in love with their offspring, baptizing each member with a first name inspired by the artists of the Italian Renaissance.
Leonardo, Michelangelo, Raphael and Donatello have just been born, whose story and adventures will soon nourish dozens of comic books, several television series and now seven feature films. The latest is released in theaters on Wednesday August 9th. It sweeps away those who preceded it. Directed by Jeff Rowe, distributed by Paramount, produced by the American chain Nickelodeon, Ninja Turtles Teenage Years is to date the best film adaptation of the universe created by the Eastman-Laird duo.
A happy bazaar
This new version indeed shows the turtles as we had never seen them. Namely heroic figures firmly anchored in their time, suddenly seeming to cross the threshold of the XXIe century, without denying anything of their past. Fighters who wet and dirty their shells in the New York slums, move to the rhythms of hip-hop, battle against enemies a hundred times more hideous than themselves.
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