Fans React to Splinter from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles TV Spot

Oh, boy. A short TV Spot for the new Michael Bay-produced Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie has surfaced, complete with a handful of new shots. The most noteworthy of course is a glimpse of Master Splinter's back. Chickity check it:

Even with this briefest of brief glimpses, the TMNT fans of the internet have been buzzing. Who would have guessed? Here are a few early reactions from Youtube:

The ever-popular Andre from Black Nerd Comedy, a giant TMNT fan by all accounts, kept it reasonable with his general "there wasn't much shown, so whatever" outlook, but he does try to remain hopeful. Having gone through this before with other franchises, I know the feeling all too well!

Youtube user "the1nonlyjroc" was much more enthusiastic. His TV spot review actually gets quite entertaining as it rolls along. You may want to click away after the first minute if you find ~naughty words~ offensive. This is a man that cannot contain his hype!

Nemesis20 gave us another "hey that's not bad" reaction, while also discussing the rumors regarding Splinter's voice actor, which most agree is Tony Shalhoub.

Tyrone Magnus' video shows him as he watches the TV spot for the first time. There are a few more ~naughty words~ here. I appreciate his enthusiasm. Even if I'm personally feeling that something might not be for me, I'm happy for anyone that can get into it.

There were other video reactions to be found, and you can be sure that the members of various other websites have also had plenty to say. The TMNT subreddit raised some worthy points:

Interestingly, when I went to see what the users of the IMDB forums thought, I actually found some positive reactions. That place is usually a wretched hive of scum and villainy with "OMG WORST EVER" reactions to literally everything. These posts seriously surprised me:

There were at least some moans and groans on IMDB however, and the same could be said of pretty much any site, but it looks like you can chalk up the overall Splinter reactions as mixed, with a slight trend towards the positive side. This is a big change from the negative reaction generated by the bizarre looks of the Turtles when the first teaser footage for the film surfaced in March. Those faces, man. Those freaky, freaky faces.

Hold me.

Of course, any reaction to Splinter might be jumping the gun a bit given how little was shown. It just goes to show you how effective these teasers can be. There was just enough there to pique fan interest (or disdain), and the discussions and over-analysis are already in full swing.

If they've really gone with some "Fu Manchu" vibe, I think it's pretty silly. I do realize I'm saying that in regards to a character whose base concept is a bit silly on its own, but that level of design sensibility strikes me as something the creative team probably did more as a joke than any genuine interest in the character. It's possible I'm simply being overly defensive. Regardless, what we saw was a mere seconds in length, so I'm not going to commit to anything just yet.

It's still early for the new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie, so you can expect much more to come leading up to its release on August 8, 2014.

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