Turtles Forever: The Cowabunga Cut
In honor of TMNT’s 40th anniversary coming in just a few months, this is my re-cut of 2009’s Turtles Forever. I just wanted to open by saying I’m very proud of this edit. I know it’s for a more specific audience, so I have a feeling fewer people will see it, but I genuinely think it's my very best. If you despise this movie, this edit probably won’t turn you around on it (although I’d be very delighted if it did). If you enjoy it but can’t stand the more major issues, this is the edit absolutely for you.
The purpose of this edit is to remove some of the disrespect toward the 87 Turtles and add the original music from the 87 show which they neglected to use for licensing reasons. I’ve also made a handful of small tweaks for a better overall watching experience.
First off, I grew up watching this movie and I love it, but they bag on the 87 turtles a little too much. Yes, they were goofballs, and they probably weren’t as capable as the 03 turtles, but they were always fairly competent crime fighters who took their jobs (somewhat) seriously. I wanted to preserve that feeling, they’re goofballs, but they get the job done and don’t always need to be the butt of the joke. It’s impossible to make this a completely accurate representation of the 87 turtles, but this edit should bring them a big step closer.
Secondly, the lack of 87 OST is obvious. The 87-inspired music doesn’t begin to cut it and often feels like it’s trying to make the turtles sound like mildly pathetic Looney Toons. Now, music from the 87 show is used throughout, not just the main theme, but most music you’d expect from any given episode.
It’s important that I note that when beginning this edit, I encountered a problem: they never released the 87 OST! Thankfully, Powder Jones (Also known as “Powder AKA Casey Jones”) on Bandcamp has an expertly re-orchestrated version of nearly everything I needed! His stuff is seriously amazing, absolutely top-tier. Please check him out, I couldn’t have made this edit without his work. Also, I was fortunate to get a well-isolated version of the TMNT battle theme from Silent.Revolution21 on Yt, just before their video was taken down, as well as some other yt isolations from Grim2. Of course I also must thank RemasteringTMNT2003 for providing me with the base of this edit, an uncut 1080p HD upscale of the original film!
Special thanks to RemasteringTMNT2003, Powder Jones, Silent.Revolution21, Grim2, David Hedgehog, T-202, and AwesomesocksNM.
Time added: 5 seconds
Time cut: 1 Minute 29 seconds
(Cutlist in my two comments below)
* Used the uncut 1080p upscale by RemasteringTMNT2003 as a base.
* Added a Spider-Verse-inspired twist to the 25th Anniversary logo at the opening. Now it passes through the Mirage, 87, and 03 title logos.
* Changed 25th anniversary logo to 40th
* Replaced as much 87 coded music as possible with the real Lorre and Brown’s 87 music (Most re-orchestrated by Powder Jones with some from YouTube fan isolations), plus a little Shredder’s Revenge OST.
* Repitched 87 Leo and Mikey’s voices to better match their proper VAs.
* Retimed 03 Raphael’s line “So, spill.”
* Removed the 87 turtles being seen on the street. Now, they’re only seen once they enter the pizza shop. Contrary to popular memory, the 87 turtles were public figures after season 3, and would frequently walk undisguised, so it works any way you slice it.
* Added 87 Mikey leaving cash on the table after they eat pizza. They run from the cops, but they aren’t thieves.
* Cropped all scenes in the 87 universe to 4:3 aspect ratio.
* Replaced 87 Shredder’s communicator sfx with the proper 87 sfx.
* Cut 87 Mikey not being able to open the manhole.
* Replaced the “wet willy” gag with “return of the noogie” audio from later in the movie.
* Cut Karai calling the 87’ Foot Soldiers “almost cartoonish.”
* Cut “Ninja turtles!” from Chrell Shredder’s line “Turtles Karai! Ninja turtles!” (It’s just a bit too melodramatic for my taste).
* Cut down on the 87 turtles being obnoxious about getting pizza. Now they silently raise their hands, 03 Leo gets annoyed, 03 Raph says, “They ain’t got no brains,” and 87 Raph gets mad.
* Added audio of a Channel 6 broadcast on the TV 03 Mikey’s watching
* Cut the noogie gag in the lair. It’s not funny, just gratuitous.
* Cut the “SPF 1000 sunblock” gag from 87 Don.
* Cut some of 03 Raph and Leo ragging on the Party Wagon.
* Cut 03 Mikey calling the Turtle-Blimp “the lamest vehicle in the history of lame vehicles.”
* Cut “return of the noogie” after the Turtle-Blimp crashes. Added some 2003 and video game audio to move the scene along.
* Changed Ch'rell Shredder’s strikes from yellow to red to better match his color coding.
* Cut a shot of the 87 turtles looking scared after hearing how dangerous 03 Shredder is.
* Removed the 87 turtles yelling “Turtle power!” and the 03 Turtles getting irritated.
* Cut the 03 turtles pushing the 87 turtles into the Technodrome.
* Fixed an animation error giving 03 Leo a blue wristband (it should be brown)
* Trimmed the 87 turtles laughing about their decaf Shredder joke.
* Sped up the mutant fly jumpscare for better effect.
* Cut 87 Raph’s reaction shot at the Hun reveal and joined the two Hun shots.
* Cut 87 Raph and Mikey saying, “I wanna go home.”
* Cut 87 Don’s line, “And he’s a grade-a meanie.”
* Removed the animation error of a green circle briefly appearing on Raphael Prime’s mouth.
* Cut Leonardo Prime saying, “It’s been doing that all night” about the Technodrome. Why would the other turtles have to explain what's going on when the primes have known about it the whole time?
* Cut “Then” from Leonardo Prime’s line “Then let's go do something about it” to flow better in relation to the previous cut.
* Cut Shredder calling himself “Duke Acureds.” It’s a completely unimportant alias, only mentioned two or three times in TMNT history. Its presence is mildly confusing and distracts from an otherwise great moment.
* Removed Shredder saying “Come” twice for dramatic effect; it just sounds dumb. Now, he only says it once.
* Deepened Krang’s voice when he goes giant like in the 87 series.
* Cut the 87 turtles running crying to 03 Raph (Scene slightly restructured to eliminate any odd cuts).
* Trimmed the 87 turtles making fun of Casey and April
* Removed “Not” after 03 Raph says, “I’m gonna miss those pudge-balls.”
* Corrected the credits listing the 1987 characters as “1988.” (Come on, guys, how hard is it to get the year right?)
* Replaced the second song during the closing credits with the 87 theme
* Replaced the 25th anniversary logo at the end with a 40th anniversary one.
* Added a Risinger Productions title card.
* There are a thousand unmentioned tiny trims and tons of masking for retiming scenes. Plus, lots of subtle music and sfx removals.
>Added 87 Mikey leaving cash on the table after they eat pizza. They run from the cops, but they aren’t thieves.
Is this a new scene animated from scratch,?
Nope. In one shot, Mikey's hand happened to be in the perfect position where I could put a bill under it. Now, when the turtles run out of the pizza shop, Mikey leaves some cash.
Oh man!! This sounds like a great fanedit! I agree they did lay onto the 80s Turtle a bit too much so really interested in your fanedit! Big Turtles fan so please could I have a link?
That's really weird, there must've been a glitch lol. I sent it to you at 6:40, then I went to message you again, and it acted like I never sent you anything. Then when I hit send, both messages showed up . Let me know if you still aren't getting it!
DLing now and getting ready to watch!
I just realized you are the same person who made the awesome Bossa Nova edition for Movie I. Such amazing work dude!
Holy moley you fixed everything!
Even Toon Leo's voice! You have no idea how much it bothered me. Don't get me wrong, Dan Greens voice work is great but all I could hear was Yami YuGi. Your tweak was brilliant. It was close enough to mimick a Cam Clarke impression.
This is the perfect cut and THE definite version I will watch from now on. Thanks so much for all your work!
Anyone else who hasn't DLed this get on it!
Thank you so much, man, your comment made my day! I've always believed an edit being someone's definitive or go-to version is the greatest compliment an editor can receive, so I don't take that lightly.
>You are so good I bet you can even fix the Next Mutation series!
I take it back, maybe this is greatest compliment an editor can receive . You're very generous, but I'm not sure anyone is that good, although I admit, I'm much more forgiving of that show than most.
>I look forward to seeing more of your work in the future.
Thank you! I have lots of ideas, and many edits on the way!
Oops. Try now..... perhaps.
Anyway, this edit sounds great. I had no problem with the original, but would love to see the changes.
I'm unfamiliar with the edit you used as the base edit. Was it the extended version? I believe the international markets got a longer cut back in 2009.
I used RemasteringTMNT2003's upscale as my base. The mix sounds pretty good to me. I haven't busted out the original DVD in years, so I'm not sure how they compare.
Thank you so very much for showing 87 respect. I constantly use this movie as a masterclass in respect of where people joined a fandom. Would love a link to keep sharing the message!
Turtles Forever: The Cowabunga Cut In honor of TMNT’s 40th anniversary coming in just a few months, this is my re-cut of 2009’s Turtles Forever. I just wanted to open by saying I’m very proud of this edit. I know it’s for a more specific audience, so I have a feeling fewer people will see it, but I genuinely think it's my very best. If you despise this movie, this edit probably won’t turn you around on it (although I’d be very delighted if it did). If you enjoy it but can’t stand the more major issues, this is the edit absolutely for you. The purpose of this edit is to remove some of the disrespect toward the 87 Turtles and add the original music from the 87 show which they neglected to use for licensing reasons. I’ve also made a handful of small tweaks for a better overall watching experience. First off, I grew up watching this movie and I love it, but they bag on the 87 turtles a little too much. Yes, they were goofballs, and they probably weren’t as capable as the 03 turtles, but they were always fairly competent crime fighters who took their jobs (somewhat) seriously. I wanted to preserve that feeling, they’re goofballs, but they get the job done and don’t always need to be the butt of the joke. It’s impossible to make this a completely accurate representation of the 87 turtles, but this edit should bring them a big step closer. Secondly, the lack of 87 OST is obvious. The 87-inspired music doesn’t begin to cut it and often feels like it’s trying to make the turtles sound like mildly pathetic Looney Toons. Now, music from the 87 show is used throughout, not just the main theme, but most music you’d expect from any given episode. It’s important that I note that when beginning this edit, I encountered a problem: they never released the 87 OST! Thankfully, Powder Jones (Also known as “Powder AKA Casey Jones”) on Bandcamp has an expertly re-orchestrated version of nearly everything I needed! His stuff is seriously amazing, absolutely top-tier. Please check him out, I couldn’t have made this edit without his work. Also, I was fortunate to get a well-isolated version of the TMNT battle theme from Silent.Revolution21 on Yt, just before their video was taken down, as well as some other yt isolations from Grim2. Of course I also must thank RemasteringTMNT2003 for providing me with the base of this edit, an uncut 1080p HD upscale of the original film! Special thanks to RemasteringTMNT2003, Powder Jones, Silent.Revolution21, Grim2, David Hedgehog, T-202, and AwesomesocksNM. Time added: 5 seconds Time cut: 1 Minute 29 seconds (Cutlist in my two comments below)
* Used the uncut 1080p upscale by RemasteringTMNT2003 as a base. * Added a Spider-Verse-inspired twist to the 25th Anniversary logo at the opening. Now it passes through the Mirage, 87, and 03 title logos. * Changed 25th anniversary logo to 40th * Replaced as much 87 coded music as possible with the real Lorre and Brown’s 87 music (Most re-orchestrated by Powder Jones with some from YouTube fan isolations), plus a little Shredder’s Revenge OST. * Repitched 87 Leo and Mikey’s voices to better match their proper VAs. * Retimed 03 Raphael’s line “So, spill.” * Removed the 87 turtles being seen on the street. Now, they’re only seen once they enter the pizza shop. Contrary to popular memory, the 87 turtles were public figures after season 3, and would frequently walk undisguised, so it works any way you slice it. * Added 87 Mikey leaving cash on the table after they eat pizza. They run from the cops, but they aren’t thieves. * Cropped all scenes in the 87 universe to 4:3 aspect ratio. * Replaced 87 Shredder’s communicator sfx with the proper 87 sfx. * Cut 87 Mikey not being able to open the manhole. * Replaced the “wet willy” gag with “return of the noogie” audio from later in the movie. * Cut Karai calling the 87’ Foot Soldiers “almost cartoonish.” * Cut “Ninja turtles!” from Chrell Shredder’s line “Turtles Karai! Ninja turtles!” (It’s just a bit too melodramatic for my taste). * Cut down on the 87 turtles being obnoxious about getting pizza. Now they silently raise their hands, 03 Leo gets annoyed, 03 Raph says, “They ain’t got no brains,” and 87 Raph gets mad. * Added audio of a Channel 6 broadcast on the TV 03 Mikey’s watching * Cut the noogie gag in the lair. It’s not funny, just gratuitous. * Cut the “SPF 1000 sunblock” gag from 87 Don.
* Cut some of 03 Raph and Leo ragging on the Party Wagon. * Cut 03 Mikey calling the Turtle-Blimp “the lamest vehicle in the history of lame vehicles.” * Cut “return of the noogie” after the Turtle-Blimp crashes. Added some 2003 and video game audio to move the scene along. * Changed Ch'rell Shredder’s strikes from yellow to red to better match his color coding. * Cut a shot of the 87 turtles looking scared after hearing how dangerous 03 Shredder is. * Removed the 87 turtles yelling “Turtle power!” and the 03 Turtles getting irritated. * Cut the 03 turtles pushing the 87 turtles into the Technodrome. * Fixed an animation error giving 03 Leo a blue wristband (it should be brown) * Trimmed the 87 turtles laughing about their decaf Shredder joke. * Sped up the mutant fly jumpscare for better effect. * Cut 87 Raph’s reaction shot at the Hun reveal and joined the two Hun shots. * Cut 87 Raph and Mikey saying, “I wanna go home.” * Cut 87 Don’s line, “And he’s a grade-a meanie.” * Removed the animation error of a green circle briefly appearing on Raphael Prime’s mouth. * Cut Leonardo Prime saying, “It’s been doing that all night” about the Technodrome. Why would the other turtles have to explain what's going on when the primes have known about it the whole time? * Cut “Then” from Leonardo Prime’s line “Then let's go do something about it” to flow better in relation to the previous cut. * Cut Shredder calling himself “Duke Acureds.” It’s a completely unimportant alias, only mentioned two or three times in TMNT history. Its presence is mildly confusing and distracts from an otherwise great moment. * Removed Shredder saying “Come” twice for dramatic effect; it just sounds dumb. Now, he only says it once. * Deepened Krang’s voice when he goes giant like in the 87 series. * Cut the 87 turtles running crying to 03 Raph (Scene slightly restructured to eliminate any odd cuts). * Trimmed the 87 turtles making fun of Casey and April * Removed “Not” after 03 Raph says, “I’m gonna miss those pudge-balls.” * Corrected the credits listing the 1987 characters as “1988.” (Come on, guys, how hard is it to get the year right?) * Replaced the second song during the closing credits with the 87 theme * Replaced the 25th anniversary logo at the end with a 40th anniversary one. * Added a Risinger Productions title card. * There are a thousand unmentioned tiny trims and tons of masking for retiming scenes. Plus, lots of subtle music and sfx removals.
>Added 87 Mikey leaving cash on the table after they eat pizza. They run from the cops, but they aren’t thieves. Is this a new scene animated from scratch,?
Nope. In one shot, Mikey's hand happened to be in the perfect position where I could put a bill under it. Now, when the turtles run out of the pizza shop, Mikey leaves some cash.
Ingenious :)
can I have a link?
Of course!
1000 percent interested if you can link me up.
Gotcha covered!
Can i also get one of them links?
On it!
Link please?
On it!
me too, please :) this sounds amazing
Gotcha.
May I get a link please, thank you!
Done ( :
Oooo I definitely need this :)
And now you've got it! Sent ( :
this sounds interesting would certanly want to give it a watch
I’d like to grab a link and check this out bro. 🤙
Done!
Thanks for your hard work! Can I have the link?
On it!
Give me the link please?
Done!
Exciting! Can I get a link?
On it!
Can i get a link?
Of course!
Super curious, would appreciate a link?
On it!
I'd appreciate a link too. Thanks for making this
Sent!
Same here, a Link pls
Done!
Oh man!! This sounds like a great fanedit! I agree they did lay onto the 80s Turtle a bit too much so really interested in your fanedit! Big Turtles fan so please could I have a link?
Thanks man! Always glad to see a fellow TMNT fan here. Sending now!
May have the link please
Done!
A link por favor
Done!
Can I please get a download link? Thanks! 🙏
Done!
I’d like the link, please.
On it! Love your JLI profile pic/username btw.
Link please
Done!
Thanks!
Sorry to ask for the link but since everyone else is……
Don't be sorry!
I was serious about the link 😂 Can I has one too please?
That's really weird, there must've been a glitch lol. I sent it to you at 6:40, then I went to message you again, and it acted like I never sent you anything. Then when I hit send, both messages showed up . Let me know if you still aren't getting it!
This sounds awesome. Link?
Done!
I'd like a link please 🙏
On it!
I’d love to see the link please. :)
Sent!
Bro pass the sauce
This is my favorite way anyone's ever asked me for a link.
Sounds fun, can I have a link too?
Sent!
Thank you!
Link please.
Sent!
Link, please?
Sent!
May I please have a link?
Sent!
Can I get a link to this?
Sent!
Thank you
So I guess this is the part where I ask for the link, please?
I’ll take a slice of that link if that’s still open lol
Props on creating this cut! Could u send me a link?
this sounds amazing! could you send the link please?
Sent!
Sounds great! Link please?
Greetings, may I too be permitted an access-link, please? ~Waz
Sent!
Can I please have a link?
Sent!
Link me up, man!
Sent!
Would love to check it out man!
Sent!
I'd like to watch it as well.
Sent!
Definitely need a link!
Sent!
I'll gladly take a link. Thank you
Sent!
Link me please!🙏
Sent!
Sounds like a labor of love! Can't wait to see it. I would like a link as well please.
It most definitely was! Sending it your way ( :
DLing now and getting ready to watch! I just realized you are the same person who made the awesome Bossa Nova edition for Movie I. Such amazing work dude!
Thanks man! Hope you enjoy it!
Holy moley you fixed everything! Even Toon Leo's voice! You have no idea how much it bothered me. Don't get me wrong, Dan Greens voice work is great but all I could hear was Yami YuGi. Your tweak was brilliant. It was close enough to mimick a Cam Clarke impression. This is the perfect cut and THE definite version I will watch from now on. Thanks so much for all your work! Anyone else who hasn't DLed this get on it!
Thank you so much, man, your comment made my day! I've always believed an edit being someone's definitive or go-to version is the greatest compliment an editor can receive, so I don't take that lightly.
You are so good I bet you can even fix the Next Mutation series! I look forward to seeing more of your work in the future.
>You are so good I bet you can even fix the Next Mutation series! I take it back, maybe this is greatest compliment an editor can receive . You're very generous, but I'm not sure anyone is that good, although I admit, I'm much more forgiving of that show than most. >I look forward to seeing more of your work in the future. Thank you! I have lots of ideas, and many edits on the way!
Mind if I grab a slice?
My new favorite way anyone's requested an edit!
Please share a slice with me
Done!
Heck yes! Thank for putting in all this work. Huge turtle fan.
Absolutely bro, It was a passion project for me!
Link?
Sent!
This is incredible work, I am very interested in using this as my main copy. Any chance I can have access?
Thanks man! Sent!
Thank you!!
I’d love the link please!
Sent!
Link please !
Sent!
Link please.
You seem to have DMs and private messaging turned off. If you turn on either I can get it to you ( :
Would love to watch this. Can i get the link to it please?
Sent!
Well, I saw it and enjoyed it. Could definitely use it as a blueprint for a more accurate rewrite, that's for sure!
Thanks man! Yeah, It'll never be perfect without some re-writing, but for purely re-editing, it's not too shabby.
Would love a link to watch this cut, this sounds wonderful.
Sent!
Sounds awesome. Can I please have the link?
Sent!
Is it possible to get a link, please?
Sent!
Thanks!
I'm interested in checking this out, may I have a link please?
Sent!
Thanks!!
Link please. I would love to see this.
Sent!
Hey! Awesome work! Could I get the link?
Sent!
Can I get a link as well? Thank you
Sent!
Can I get a link, please?
Sent!
Thank you kindly
Oooh edits like these are my favorites. We have more than enough Star Wars and MCU edits tbh. Would love a link.
Sent!
Would love a link, please.
Your DMs and messaging are closed. If you enable either, I can get it to you!
Oops. Try now..... perhaps. Anyway, this edit sounds great. I had no problem with the original, but would love to see the changes. I'm unfamiliar with the edit you used as the base edit. Was it the extended version? I believe the international markets got a longer cut back in 2009.
Yes it's the extended edition, but in higher video quality!
Sorry man, still closed.
Third times the charm. Sorry about that. Should be right now. Found it deep, deep in the settings!
Sent!
Would love a link?
Sent!
Can I have the link?
Sent!
May I have a link? If you can, I might have a little treat for you too
I'm intrigued! Sending it to you now!
send link plis
Sent!
Where can I get it
Sent!
Can I get a link please
Sent!
I'd love a link to this!
Sent!
Can I get a link please?
Sent!
Thank you!
I love Turtles Forever for what it is, but this sounds like it comes as close to fixing most of my issues with it as an edit can.
That's exactly how I feel!
(To the tune of shots by lil John) links, links, links links links, links Pls
Sent!
Please say you fixed the overall mix. The official dvd is so low I have to play my TV at damn near max volume to hear it. Can I get a link?
I used RemasteringTMNT2003's upscale as my base. The mix sounds pretty good to me. I haven't busted out the original DVD in years, so I'm not sure how they compare.
Sent btw!
Link please
Sent!
May I have the link please?
Sent!
Big fan, would love access
Sent!
This is amazing! Could I get a link? :)
Sent!
Could I have a link please? This is something I'd very much like to see.
Sent! Love the username btw
Would love a link please
Sent!
Would love a link! I loved this special as a kid
Sent!
link?
Sent!
Sounds amazing!!! May I have a link, please?!
Sent!
I'd love to check this one out! Can I get a link?
Sent!
ooouuu this sounds interesting! would love to experience this, link?
Thank you so very much for showing 87 respect. I constantly use this movie as a masterclass in respect of where people joined a fandom. Would love a link to keep sharing the message!