by Simon Brew
When the originalTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtlesmovie made it to British cinemas in 1990 , there was a disparity that became immediately patent to the early days of the United Kingdom . By this time , kids around the humans were conversant with theTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtlescartoon serial , yet Kyd in the UK get it on it under a dissimilar name : Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles .
So , why the change ?
At the fourth dimension , the British government was on the offense against violence in children ’s television , and ninjas andnunchuckswere both in the lighting melodic phrase . As such , in spite of the preexisting comic line of reasoning , it soon became exculpated thatNinja Turtleswasn’t going to be allowed near England ’s impressionable youth . Thus , the turtle need to beheroes , notninjas , and the cartoon theme Sung dynasty lyrics , action digit promotion , and video biz box fine art needed to reflect that .
Since the movie was n’t being screened on youngster ’s television , it managed to break away the revision and keep its original title . However , nunchucks were still taboo , so only brief glimpse of Michelangelo ’s signature weapon are escort in the UK version of the pic — and they ’re never used in action . The censorship was so rigid , that inTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II : The Secret of the Ooze , a picture in which Michelangelo uses a pair ofsausage linksas false nunchucks was also edited out , leading to thefollowing notefrom the British Board of Film Classification : " After turtle assume down sausages and uses them as a flail . Reduce to minimum dazzling display of swinging blimp indistinguishable from chainsticks . "
The changes in the cartoon name stretched well beyond the UK and actually move other European countries as well . episode ofTeenage Mutant Hero Turtleswere aired to children in Austria , Germany , Norway , and Belgium , before the title eventually retrovert toNinja Turtlesas subsequent reruns began airing years afterwards . And if you call in Nickelodeon’sUK websitefor the most recentTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtlescartoon that began in 2012 , the name remain unaltered ( you could even see a picture of Michelangelo holding some nunchucks ) .
It ’s fair to say that theTeenage Mutant Hero Turtlesname is fairly much no more , but here ’s a looking at the edited introduction sequence that British children got to watch out :
