This past weekend’s Toronto Comicon celebrated the Heroes in a Half-Shell with the 90s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles film stars Brian Tochi, Kenn Scott, Ernie Reyes Jr. and François Chau, who played Leonardo, Raphael, Donatello and Shredder respectively.
We spoke with Tochi who starred as the voice of Leonardo in all three of the original TMNT films about the franchise’s legacy, Leonardo’s status as the leader of the turtles and the appeal fans feel toward the characters. As well as TMNT, Tochi has also starred in the Revenge of the Nerds films, the Police Academy franchise and provided his voice to several other series and films.
“It is absolutely amazing,” Tochi said on how the franchise is still captivating new generations of fans. “We are meeting the most amazing people who have followed this franchise for 35+ years. It’s an amazing, amazing time for us and we love everybody that comes over. What I love is the impact the Ninja Turtles have left on some of these families and some of these people. We hear their personal stories and are so touched by it. It is such an honour and privilege to be part of this franchise, I can’t even tell you.”
Throughout the films Tochi provided the voice for Leonardo, the most mature and steadfast of the four turtles. He was often the voice of reason when his brothers would act out, but no matter how much he fought with them (particularly his hotheaded brother Raphael) he would always look out for them and help them through their struggles.
Tochi explained his thought process on Leonardo and why he is many people’s favourite turtle. “I think Leonardo is a centered guy. He loves his brothers, he loves Raphael. In the first movie they had a fight and he said ‘we don’t need you, Raph’ and when the Foot Clan beat him he didn’t know if he was going to live or die and he didn’t get a chance to say I’m sorry. He just waited, stood by him, silently hoping he would get better. Its the love these turtles have for each other, I think he showed that. His love for his master Splinter and April. I think a lot of people can relate to that.”
With the TMNT franchise still going strong after 40 years with a sequel to the animated Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem on the way and another live-action film in development, Tochi revealed his thoughts on where the franchise could go next.
“I really think a really great direction that its going is, Kevin Eastman [TMNT co-creator] has been spearheading this thing, The Last Ronin. I think if it’s done right, it can create an entirely new path for the Ninja Turtles. We’ll see what happens with that!”
TMNT: The Last Ronin is a story taking place in the not-far-future where the last surviving turtle returns to a dystopian New York City ruled over by the Foot Clan, engaging in one last battle to avenge his brothers and end the Foot once and for all. An R-rated adaptation was in development, with the original film’s Judith Hoag actually being approached to reprise April O’Neil, but plans for that have been shelved. Eastman though said it could still be adapted in the near future.
You can check out our other interviews with the cast of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles films that include François Chau, Kenn Scott and Ernie Reyes Jr. on the Flickering Myth YouTube channel here…
