Rob Paulsen to Host Live TMNT-Themed Podcast

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Rob Paulsen's podcast, Talkin Toons, will be recording a laundry list of TMNT special guests. The show will be December 9 at 8pm at the Hollywood Improv.

Headlining the show is TMNT co-creator Kevin Eastman. Also joining the show are Townsend Coleman, Cam Clarke, Barry Gordon, Pat Fraley, Renae Jacobs, Judith Hoag, Ciro Nieli, Brandon Auman, and more!

In addition to recording a live podcast, the event will also be raising money and toys for Toys for Tots. Tickets are a steal at $15/each, and if you bring in two toys to donate to Toys for Tots you'll be able to get autographs from everyone in attendance.

Get tickets now before they sell out! And watch Rob's Facebook page for daily updates to the lineup.

Classic Turtles to Join Nick Turtles in Season 2

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In an exclusive interview with USA Today, Nickelodeon Executive Producer Ciro Nieli has dropped some hints about what TMNT fans can expect with the remaining part of this season, as well as next season.

The big news coming from this interview is that next season there will be a one-hour special unites the Turtles voice actors from the original cartoon with their modern counterparts.

It'll be a story point, too, that brings classic and current Turtles together.

"We all have a nostalgia for these characters in all their incarnations, and any time we can serve it up, we take the chance," Nieli says. "The trick is finding a way to do it where it doesn't feel wedged in, where you don't even see it coming.

Townsend Coleman (Michaelangelo) hinted at the reunion earlier this week on Facebook when he changed his cover photo to a picture of the outside of Nickelodeon Studios in Burbank, CA.

The original TMNT voice actors are Coleman, Cam Clarke (Leonardo), Barry Gordon (Donatello), and Rob Paulsen (Raphael). Paulsen, of course, would be pulling double duty as he the current Donatello. The rest of the current cast is Greg Cipes (Michelangelo), Jason Biggs (Leonardo), and Sean Astin (Raphael).

According to the interview, one other blast from the past fans can expect is the return of Mutagen Man from the original cartoon and toy line.

New episodes of Nickelodeon's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles begin again this Friday, April 5, with Baxter's Gambit.

Nickelodeon TMNT Series Nominated for 3 Annie Awards

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Nominations for the 40th Annual Annie Awards, which celebrate excellence in the field of animation, have been announced with Nickelodeon's new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series receiving three nominations.

Directing in an Animated Television/Broadcast Production
Michael Chang, ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Never Say Xever’ – Nickelodeon Animation Studios

Storyboarding in an Animated  Television/Broadcast Production
Irineo Marramba, Ciro Nieli, ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: I Think His Name is Baxter Stockman’’ – Nickelodeon Animation Studios 

Voice Acting in an Animated Television/Broadcast Production
Mae Whitman as April O'Neil – ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Rise of the Turtles’ – Nickelodeon Animation Studios

Congratulations to the nominees! The Annie Awards will be announced and presented during a ceremony scheduled for February 2, 2013, in Los Angeles, CA.

Rob Paulsen's Talkin' Toons With Ciro Nieli

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In honor of the premiere of the new TMNT cartoon series, this week's episode of Talkin' Toons has Rob Paulsen (Donatello) chatting with Executive Producer Ciro Nieli.

Get it now over at RobPaulsenLive.com!

Exclusive! Interview with the 2012 TMNT Voice Cast

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One of my highlights not just of this year's Comic-Con, but of all the 14 years I've attended Comic-Con, occurred this July 13, the day Nickelodeon was most heavily promoting the new TMNT CGI cartoon series. After spending a day full of talking to the press, including the TMNT panel in the morning and a lunchtime autograph signing, that Friday afternoon the brotherhood of Sean Astin, Greg Cipes, Jason Biggs, and Rob Paulsen were on the other side of a table talking to little ol' me.

It had been meant to be a shared roundtable experience, with other interviewers, but the way circumstances worked out I found myself going solo with them. I wasn't quite prepared for that! But luckily they bounced thoughts off of each other quite naturally, which brought out some fun conversation and interesting information.

I had to miss the IDW panel in order to make this appointment, but it was obviously well worth that sacrifice. I took the audio I recorded and produced it into the video below. Enjoy!


A huge hand of thanks to everyone at Nickelodeon, especially the entire voice cast!

TMNT Panel at San Diego Comic-Con 2012

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At this year's San Diego Comic-Con, Nickelodeon hosted a panel that gave fans a sneak preview of the new series, as well as a chance to see and hear the new voice actors. After all the panelists were brought out, Executive Producer Ciro Nieli showed us "The Pitch" he had presented to Nickelodeon, which ended up getting him the job. We were also shown an early test clip of animation.

After Ciro's time was up, the new voice cast for the show answered questions from moderator Rich Magallanes, Senior Vice President of Nickelodeon Animation. As we've known, the cast includes Jason Biggs (Leonardo), Sean Astin (Raphael), Greg Cipes (Michelangelo), Rob Paulsen (Donatello), Hoon Lee (Master Splinter), Mae Whitman (April O'Neil), and Kevin Michael Richardson (Shredder).

Below is a collection of all the video clips I personally recorded during this panel. I've also inserted some of the animation clips we were shown during the panel. Convention rules didn't allow the recording of these clips during the panel, but Nickelodeon released them online later that day.


Nickelodeon also released online their own recording of the panel, although it's in the wrong aspect ratio and doesn't feature the same awesome handheld qualities as the above video. ;)