Hey all! I suppose I should start off with these two pics I found. This first image is supposedly a variant cover for IDW's #4. The second image is a variant for the Raph micro-series. What do you think? Let us know on Facebook.



MutantOoze's good friend Rutger recently interviewed Greg Cipes who is voicing Mikey in the new Nickelodeon series coming late 2012. Be sure to check it out as this is a good read. Thanks Rutger for sharing! Read Here

Lastly, I have added some new updates to the site. One of the best updates is the integration of Google search on this site. Click here to check out the new search and give it a spin! Some other new additions include the TMNT Home Video index. This includes VHS, DVD, Laserdisc, and BluRay releases. It isn't 100% complete but it is getting there. I have also added a Miscellaneous Merchandise Gallery, which features images from all over the web of the various TMNT branded items. From lunchboxes to keychains, you will see it in the gallery. Got something not in the gallery? Send it over! Be on the lookout for more of the toy section to be completed, an even more updated fan-art section, a new fan-fiction section, as well as a fan-comic section. I also need to mention that coming later this year is the first TMNT voice comic of Mirage Volume 1 Number 1. Check out VoiceComics.MutantOoze.org for more info. Be sure to follow us on Twitter and Tumblr and Like us on Facebook.

Our good buddy Rutger had a chance to catch up with Sam Riegel who voiced Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Donatello from the 2k3 series. The interview is great and worth a click. So check it out!

Read Me!!!

Recently I had the chance to chat online with Rutger. If you do not recall Rutger probably has one of the largest TMNT autograph collections on the planet. He has been collecting TMNT items for a long time now. He is a great guy to talk to and we spent some time chatting more about his collection. Please do not mind the grammatical errors.

MutantOoze.org says
  So Rutger this is our second interview, the first interview we had we were able to cover a couple of things concerning your TMNT autograph collection. This time I would like to get into a little more detail if possible on how you got started and get into some of the specifics of some of the pieces. So if you can, when did this collection begin and what got you started?
  Rutger says
Good to be back here. Well if I go way back to the roots then I started collecting autographs in 1999. Back then I was and still am a big StarWars fan and for the first time some actors came to Holland. A Sci-Fi convention.I was really excited and met about 3 StarWars actors and bought an autograph. I loved it, and a year later there was another one. With different actors.
MutantOoze.org says
  Which Star Wars actors were you able to meet?
  Rutger says
  I started seeying the same collectors and befriended some. A fanclub formed and we started a forums and showed eachother succes. Be it real life or through the mail. After some years we all focussed on something we were a fan of. One of us started collecting everyone from LOST, another focussed on Disney and I started with TMNT. That was on January 20th, 2006. Almost 4 years ago.  The first StarWars actors I met were Gary Kurtz, Michael Carter and Kenny Baker.  Gary was the producer of Empire Strikes Back, and Michael and Kenny played Bib Fortuna and R2D2
  MutantOoze.org says
  so after 4 years how many TMNT autographs would you say you have?
  Rutger says
  I'm nearing the 160 now, including the signed comics
  MutantOoze.org says
  that is extermly impressive
  Rutger says
  It went quite fast indeed, and of all the people who started focussing on a collection, I turned out to be the most succesfull
  MutantOoze.org says
  With the Turtles moving away from Mirage what autographs are you wanting to get/waiting for from the first 25 years of the turtles.
  Rutger says
  Oh there are still some major addition I would die for to get for my collection. The top five would be Elias Koteas, Kevin Clash, Ernie Reyes Jr.,  Brian Toshi and David Forman
  MutantOoze.org says
  What about Non-TMNT what are you really wanting to get?
  Rutger says
  Judith Hoag was on top of that list but I was lucky to finally get in contact with her, after more then 3 years of trying, in March 2009. Judith Hoag is my Harrison Ford among the TMNT autographs
  Rutger says
  Mm for Non TMNT, I'd really like to get Harrison Ford, Seth Green (Big Buffy fan), Michael J. Fox and Robert Downey Jr.  And there are still plenty I want, but as time goes, I might be able to meet them.
  MutantOoze.org says
  That would definitly be cool.
  Are there any plans to show off your non-tmnt collection?
  Rutger says
  Well I did for several years, but it got to big for my webspace that my provider offered me, and since the TMNT section started growing out of proportions, I wanted to make a seperate website for it, showing of not only the autographs, but also the pictures, stories and interviews.
  MutantOoze.org says
  You do have quite a few interviews on your TMNT site. Aside from the Judith interview (which sounds like was a loooong wait) what other interviews were you excited to get to do?
  Rutger says
  Michelan Sisti, that was my first chance to interview a real suit actor and get first hand information about the hard work . The other was Renae Jacobs, the voice actor for April O'Neil from the '87 cartoon, a person that was very hard to reach for several years, since she's not in the voice acting business anymore
  MutantOoze.org says
  How do you usually prepare for your interviews with these artists
  Rutger says
  Most of the time I start making up questions that I really want to know, then I start digging through IMDb for information and I ask on the forums if there is something people are dying to know about the person I'm going to interview.
  MutantOoze.org says
  Has anyone ever expressed animosity toward you because of your collection?
  Rutger says
  No, that still hasn't happen, people envy me or are extremely jealous. But the reactions are always positive, jaw dropping and overwhelming. Also because I manage to get people who are almost impossible to reach (thats why I still hope I can succeed in tracing Elias Koteas and Kevin Clash   )
  MutantOoze.org says
  haha, well that is good.  over the christmas holiday i believe you got some more autographs, who did you all get and are you waiting on some more?
  Rutger says
  Yeah I managed to find a bunch of new 4Kids VA's which was cool. I got in contact with Oliver Wyman (Fugitoid and many others), Carrie Keranen (Ananda), David Wills (Stainless Steel Steve), Tom Wayland (Jammerhead). Also some Next Mutation people. I sent out some classic cartoon characters, and still waiting for some 4Kids ones.
  MutantOoze.org says
  So when you send out your pictures to get signed do you get these professionally printed or do you just print them on a personal photo printer?
  Rutger says
  I do it proffesionally, better lasting quality. Some of my friends use home printed picture, and raindrops are their worst enemy
  MutantOoze.org says
  Have you ever had an autograph become damaged or destroyed for whatever reason?
  Rutger says
  Now that you mention that, I had 2 cases in which a signed photograph was folded in its envelope by the local mailman before it arrived here. But other then that nothing ever truly got damaged. That goes for TMNT and non-TMTN autographs
  MutantOoze.org says
  No other horror stories?
  Rutger says
  Well only from one of my fellow collectors, who had a home printed picture already signed. He was at a red carpet premier and wanted to have it doublesigned. It was raining and every drop created a pink spot on the photo. Eventually there were dozens of them. He could throw the whole damn thing away
  MutantOoze.org says
  that sucks.  So what's next?
  Rutger says
  Well I'm still waiting for more returns and in the meantime I found another Secret of the Ooze actor and a Next Mutation actor, so Im getting photos done and planning to send those out as well.
  MutantOoze.org says
  Out of your Mirage collection which piece is your favorite, and out of the Mirage artists who do you tend to lean more towards? What about the writers?
  Rutger says
  You mean lean towards in terms of drawing style?
  MutantOoze.org says
  yeah
  Rutger says
  Well I really dig the styles of Dario Brizuela and Andres Ponce. Really fresh and original styles I think.
  Those are my favorite original drawings I own. I only have one writers sketch, and that Quinn Johnson. So that one is easy.  Of course I'm extremely happy having a personalized Keving Eastman sketch!
  MutantOoze.org says
  By chance have you seen Alex "Toon" Deligiannis sketch of Krang in the Android body that has the "Fairly Odd Parents" feel to it? If so do you think that is a good direction for Nick to go with TMNT, even though it was just a quick sketch and nothing official?
  Rutger says
  Really dig the style! for cartoon drawing purposed. But I'd rather not see it animated for TMNT
  MutantOoze.org says
  for the next generation how would you like to see TMNT? CGI, animation, live action?
  Rutger says
  If I had any saying about it, I'd like to see a 2D animated series and a live action movie. But as far as I know the series will be 3D. Which hopefully will work out
  MutantOoze.org says
  aside from the comics and autographs do you have any other collectibles like movie props or anything like that?
  Rutger says
  In either way, I will have the chance to find new actors for an autograph!  Yes I happen to have 2 original Ooze cannisters from the second Live action movie. Very happy with those. I should really post pictures of them on my site
  MutantOoze.org says
  oh definitly
  Rutger says
  Futhermore I have tons of carded action figures ('88 and up) almost all the comics, all the videogames, plushy figures, and small merchandise.  Got lobbycards, DVD's posters, real sai, collectable figures...and the list goes on.
  MutantOoze.org says
  Those all should be up on your site
  Rutger says
  You're right
  MutantOoze.org says
  you mention you have 2 original ooze cannisters, that is awesome, are they filled with ooze?
  Rutger says
  One is clear, or empty. The other one is 'filled' that means the inside is painted bright green
  MutantOoze.org says
  how did you come across those?
  Rutger says
  some movie prop auction. They also had the newspaper from the second movie but that got to expensive in the end.
  MutantOoze.org says
  that is a really cool collectible, now to switch gears a little bit i want to go back to your tmnt autograph site.. looking through more of the pages you have a "letters" section and one of the letters is from James Arnold Taylor (Leo from TMNT), it also has a sketch of Obi-Wan from the Clone Wars series, this is a great piece, any story behind it?  Or from any of your letters for that matter?
  Rutger says
  Well the Obi-Wan Kenobi sketch is a print that he often sends out to fans, but the letter that is written around it is personal. Even more surprising was the fact that he send me his original cue sheet from the final day of voice recording. That was an awesome gift!
  MutantOoze.org says
  Looking through the letters there is some really impressive stuff and one thing on your site that is right in front of the visitors face that I don't think I have even asked  you about is the voice clip you have in your intro... You actual got a personalized recording, how did that come about?
  Rutger says
  Well Townsend was one of the last original '80 voiced I was able to get in contact with through email. I tried to get autographs a few times through his agent, but I eventually heard nothing. Only recently I was able to get in contact with Townsend Coleman first hand. After receiving the auto's I simply asked if it would be possible to get a sound file with his Mikey voice, he said it was ok, and ask what I wanted him to say. I gave him the lines, and he sent me a .wav file a week later!
  MutantOoze.org says
  wow that is awesome
  are you going to attempt to get any other voice clips?
  Rutger says
  Yeah and it was recorded in his studio. Never expected such a proffessional file
  I did tried for Pat Fraley, but haven't heard anything about that.
  MutantOoze.org says
  Are there any other stories that you want to share about your collection? What were some of your favorite meet ups?
  Rutger says
  My favorite meet up was with Adam Behr. We already had contact for a while through email and he told me he was coming to Holland to meet up with some agents. So we met up in Amsterdam. That was great. The whole story is on my site of course
  MutantOoze.org says
  Well Rutger I think that finishes up my questions, unless you have any stories to add, I apperciate you taking the time to answer some more questions about your collection. Once you get your new non-tmnt site setup maybe we can talk more.
  Rutger says
  Thats great, thanks for having me. I do have one nice story on an autograph. I was trying to get in contact with Tim Kelleher who was the voice for Rutger in Turtles III. I got in contact with a girl who ran his website and she told me he's not acting anymore but became a priest.  So I could scratch the agency. I stayed in contact with the girl who tried to get in touch with his former agent.
  MutantOoze.org says
  Interesting.
  Rutger says
  Well after months I received some feedback and the girl told me to send the photo I wanted signed. She eventually sent them to agent, who got them to Tim.
  MutantOoze.org says
  Wow
  Rutger says
  I again didn't hear anything for months. Untill one day the girl who I had contact with emailed me, that she had the photo in her hand, signed and that I was very lucky, 'cause he usually doesn't want to sign anymore since his new job.2 weeks after that I had the autograph in my hand, with a letter from Tim, that he is a far better turtle then an adminstrator.I heard from the girl, that the envelope with my photo even got lost and refound in those months. So I was really happy and really lucky with this almost impossible addition to my collection
  MutantOoze.org says
  That's amazing. That is a great story
  Rutger says
  Thought I'd share that
  MutantOoze.org says
  Again i apperciate you taking the time for this interview. I wish you the best and good luck on getting more autographs and adding to that ever growing collection.
  Rutger says
thank you, and for any updates you can always visit my site! Cowabunga!!

Luke and Steve,

Thank you both so much for taking the time to answer some questions about your exciting project "Dawn of The Ninja". I do not want to waste any time and will jump right into the questions.

First off how about you tell me a little about yourselves, the team working on the project, and the projects you are working on?

Steve: Luke and I are both ex Air Force, we were stationed together in Germany for two years. Luke is an artist and has been making movies since he was a kid, and I love watching movies as much as he loves making them. I am also a huge anime fan. After seeing Batman Begins in 2005, we both knew that the superhero genre had just been changed forever. Our favorite comic/superhero story was Ninja Turtles, we immediately started to get excited about "what if somebody made TMNT Batman Begins style?"... and then... "Why not us?". After that, we spent every bit of our spare time after work and weekends developing the storyline, doing research, writing notes, sketching, and generally fleshing out every detail of our vision for the movie.

Luke: My background is in art, I started drawing when I was 2 years old, and as soon as Ninja Turtles came out, I drew nothing but Ninja Turtles for years. I love anything and everything creative oriented. My mother did a lot of acting and was represented by the first agent in Dallas, Peggy Taylor. I was also brought into the agency and did various small time projects, commercials, extra work, etc. I fell in love with film making in general. Over the years I directed and produced over 20 short films and music videos with my friends. I joined the Air Force in 2003 and met Steve in 2004. Once we began working on TMNT, nothing could stop us. Not even when Steve was reassigned to Korea and I was sent to Mississippi. In summer of 2008 Steve moved to Dallas to help me finish Dawn of the Ninja. We completed the vision 6 months later. Dawn of the Ninja has been the only project we have worked on over the last 4 years.

My wife Faith, Jenny (our editor), Ian (editor), and many other friends of mine has been involved at one point or another helping with various aspects of this project, but Steve and I were on our own for the first three years.

I was not aware of the military history you both have together. That is an amazing bond of friendship, not to mention the amount of courage and selflessness it takes to join the Air Force. I am taken back by the friendship that was built during what I can only imagine must have been some hard times. What was it like being thousands of miles apart still working on this project together? Did that just make it that much more important to continue?

Luke: Being in the military and overseas in a country where the legal drinking age is high school age. All our friends spent their nights and weekends partying. We would spend our evenings at the gym brainstorming ideas then go home and write them all down. We would tackle one issue at a time and make sure that we had covered every little detail before we moved on to a new topic. It was difficult to work while Steve was in Korea, but we managed. Once his tour in Korea was up and he had moved to Dallas to help me finish this project, we were naturally able to work much more efficiently.

Steve: The distance played a huge role in our progress on the turtles project. After I left the Air Force, it was a decision I made to move to Dallas. I had to live very stingy and save up for two years so I would have enough money to pursue my dream of turning that vision into reality. It was more than just a hope for me, the vision excited me to no end during our time in Germany and I knew that what we had created was something special. My family is in New York, but I believed in our dream so strongly that I knew it was worth moving to Dallas, far away from everyone and everything I had ever known.

The title of your project is Dawn of the Ninja. This was announced not too long ago right? I remember seeing only Turtles The Movie on your site for a while. Was that originally the title of the movie or was there always a plan to come up with a new title? How did Dawn of the Ninja become the title of the project?

Luke: Well, it's been a long journey to say the least. After working on this project for a little over a year, I talked to a friend of mine who just so happened to be friends with Kevin Eastman. We believe that if our work looked good enough, Kevin Eastman might take it seriously and give us a referral or even help us pitch the idea. This gave us a lot of hope, so we continued to work hard on the project calling it "Turtles the Movie", because we wrote it to become the next TMNT movie. We were not able to get a hold of Kevin until late 2008, and he was unable to help. He did point us in the direction of Mirage, but after a brief conversation with Gary Richardson on the phone, we learned that they were very serious about their "no unsolicited material" rule. This was very discouraging, but we pressed on. Hoping that perhaps if we could rally the fans behind our vision, we could get their attention. So we had to come up with a name for our movie, "Dawn of the Ninja" was the result.

Where there any other titles that were in the running?

Steve: "Dawn of the Ninja" was one of the first titles we came up with and it kind of stuck. We thought of it just as we finished the writing on our synopsis and we were in the perfect mindset for naming our story. We tried naming it when we started the project with things like "Turtles Begins" and "Rise of the Shredder", but it influenced our writing too heavily and made it difficult to think outside the box and let the story just flow. While we were working on developing the story, we decided it was best to proceed without a title and focus on getting the story right, until it was done.

Within the last few days a graphic novel was announced to coincide with the movie project, will the story of the GN be what the film is based on?

Steve: The story is absolutely the foundation for the graphic novel. The graphic novel will be an adaptation of our vision. We are currently in the process of converting our story into graphic novel format, which is vastly different than a screenplay format because there are some things that you can communicate in film that you cannot communicate in writing or a picture. We are doing everything possible to ensure the graphic novel is right in line with our vision.

Can you provide some more details about the graphic novel?

Luke: At this point there isn't much to say other than it's in the works. We recently received the first chapter from Jeremy after several revisions and a lot of tweaking. It is far better than we had even hoped, Jeremy is an amazing writer and we have every confidence that the end product will be excellent as well.

We are developing the novel chapter by chapter, we are funding it's production out of our own back pockets, but not taking any shortcuts for sake of cost. We want this novel to be as excellent as it can be even if we go broke. We have worked too hard for too long to end up with something the fans will be ashamed of. We refuse to do this half-ass! We will see this through no matter what. Our goal is to have three chapters complete by February, and if lady luck is on our side, we would like to be licensed to finish telling our story. If not, we will continue to save money over the next few years and pay for it page by page until it's finished.

Steve: What he said.

Ray Dillon is doing the art for the graphic novel, correct? What was it like bringing him on board?

Luke: It was a breath of fresh air, Ray brings an incredible level of talent to the table. I believe his artwork and Jeremy's writing will be key factors in making Dawn of the Ninja a success. We could not possibly be more excited about working with them!

Your writer for the graphic novel, Jeremy, I am not familiar with him or his work. Who is he and what other works has he done?

Luke: We met Jeremy through Ray Dillon, they have worked together on many projects, mostly comic books and graphic novels, but Jeremy has also done a little bit of work in Hollywood. You can find him on IMDB.

From checking out your Twitter and other online forums there are some Internet users out there who seem hell bent on making sure to discourage everyone behind the movie and graphic novel projects from continuing and/or making sure they know it will never see the light of day. How does this make you feel? Is there anything you would want to say to the naysayers?

Luke: Every time somebody tells me "it can't be done", "stop trying", "You are presenting yourselves wrong", or "you don't have the rights", it only strengthens my resolve to succeed. Whether they like what we are doing or not, we are putting our whole hearts into this project to ensure it is as awesome as we are capable of producing. This is coming out of our pockets, so we are literally putting in everything we have. Until they are willing to make our sacrifice, their opinions have no weight.

Steve: They didn't stop us in the past and they won't stop us in the future. They aren't spending 20-40 hours a week outside their full time jobs and school to pursue their dream. They also aren't spending their hard earned money for it. Working on this project is fun for Luke and I, while other people are out paintballing, dancing, traveling, etc... we like to spend our time on this project.

Although there are the naysayers there are also the supporters. And the numbers are growing every day. Anything you would like to say to them?

Luke: For all the fans out there and the people who have supported us along the way, I just want you to know that we are putting our whole hearts into this project to ensure its awesomeness. It is impossible to know how it will be received, but I personally want you to know that I am not cutting any corners or allowing any shortcuts. We are doing our absolute best to make sure this story is told in the best way possible. Hopefully this will be something you can call your own.

Are there any ideal actors/actresses you would like to see in the roles? Director?

Luke: We are very open minded when it comes to the actors, as long as they fit the role. For example, it was previously rumored that Sarah Michelle Gellar was being considered for the role of April, and Chris Evans was being rumored for the role of Casey Jones.... while I have NOTHING against these actors, they are NOT the people to play these roles. The only actor we had in mind was Johnny Depp to play Baxter Stockman. He is an incredible actor and just crazy enough to pull off a character like Baxter.

Steve: It's easy to start getting excited about who will play which role, but the most important thing is to find people who can really bring these characters to life in a way that fits the vision. We are nowhere near that stage in the project, and we may never make it, so it's difficult to say.

Star Wars Revelations if you haven’t heard was a major fan film project with a budget between $15,000-$20,000 (source). What type of budget do you foresee this entire project having/totaling? Or would that be something left up in the air at this point in time?

Luke: Honestly, we are not really interested in making a "fan film". I have a tremendous amount of respect for the people who have done movies like Star Wars Revelations and Batman Dead End, and while they are awesome within their own right, but if we are involved with making a TMNT movie we would want to put the same level of excellence into the movie as our story and graphic novel. This simply is not possible without studio funding. Our goal would be to make the graphic novel so incredible the studios will bring us on board to help adapt our vision into the next movie.

Steve: I had never heard of that Star Wars project before. However, I can imagine that everyone on their team had the time of their lives bringing Revelations to life. Dressing up, acting, editing, and actively pursuing your dreams... that's exciting stuff!!! Luke and I are both working full time, so our investment in this project is literally everything we have.

I think what you guys have put together so far is great stuff and any studio would be out of their mind not to get you both on board, but I have to play devil’s advocate and ask what will happen if the next movie gets made and there is no contact from the studio? Will the pursuit still continue for a studio backing or will the project shift gears?

Luke: There is no reason to stop loving the turtles. Maybe it will change the nature of our project a little, but Dawn of the Ninja is not going anywhere. We will finish the graphic novel no matter what, and if the next TMNT movie is as mediocre as we are expecting, we will continue to push for a TMNT movie that lives up to our expectations. We are not the sort to give up easily.

Steve: I will always love the turtles no matter what happens to our project. I agree with Luke, I am willing to spend as much time as it takes to make sure the next TMNT movie lives up to our expectations. It may take ten years, but it would be worth it.

Are there any final statements, announcements, shout-outs, or anything else you would like to convey to whoever might read this?

Luke: We hope to have the first few chapters of the graphic novel complete over the course of the next month. Every day brings us something new to be excited about. Hopefully the fans feel the same. This will likely be a multi-volume series because there is just so much story packed into our vision. We spent a lot of time writing background stories, developing characters, and even writing about characters which will never appear in story simply to give us a better understanding of the world the turtles are a part of. Hopefully that comes across in the graphic novel.

I would also like to make a shout-out to my wife. She has been my biggest fan and biggest supporter, cooking me meals while I work late into the night, allowing me to spend our money on this project, telling me that I can do it, and spreading the word to the best of her abilities. My wife is an amazing woman and I owe everything to her.

Steve: This has been a long and tough road. I left the financial security of the military and moved to a place I have never been away from everything I have ever known, but it has been one of the most fun things I have ever done in my life. We cannot wait to show our vision to the world! It may never see the light of day, but getting to know so many people in the TMNT community and spending time making something I love has been incredibly rewarding. It would not have been possible without the fans who have supported us along the way. Thank you!

I appreciate the time you both have given me to get this interview accomplished. I look forward to hearing about any progress that is made on all of your projects, and I will be sure to keep all of the MutantOoze.org readers updated as well. Thank you again, and I hope you both have a great holiday and a blessed new year.

Thanks,
Richie

Check out more information below.
Dawn of The Ninja Website - www.dawnoftheninja.com
Email Luke and Steve - vision@turtlesthemovie.com
Twitter - www.twitter.com/dawnoftheninja
Ray Dillon's Website - www.raydillon.com
Ray Dillon's Twitter - www.twitter.com/RayDillon
Jeremy Fiest's IMDB - www.imdb.com/name/nm1850013/

Check back for more updates and information about the Dawn of the Ninja project!

From Cousin It to Krang and Wildcat to Casey Jones, Pat Fraley is a voice acting power house. I recently had the chance to ask Pat a couple of questions. Check them out a long with his responses below.

How did you prepare for the roles in the TMNT series?
I didn't do any specific preparation for the roles beyond being a trained actor and knowing how to work fast. For example, for Slash, I looked at the design of the character at the session. The character had a mouth full of teeth, so I made a splayed-out "s" pronunciation. Then, reading he was nuts, I did a kind of Kirk Douglas impression when he gets upset, particularly in the movie, "A Lust for Life." That's a way I work when I have no time. Think of the sound (Form) and the psychology (Content), and hope they come together.

How was it working with all of the other actors, actresses, directors, producers, etc on the series?
A joy. Walt Kupiak, the producer was a bit of a challenge, as he came to the show a year after we began, I believe, and we couldn't ad-lib as much as we wanted, but it was a happy cast.

How much different is voice acting for a cartoon versus video games?
Interactive/Video games, with some exceptions, call for a more realistic style of acting than most animated projects. They are drama driven and not comedy driven, and the style is more real.

Any memories that stand out?
No, they all blend together. For years, I sat next to Rob Paulson (Raphael) in the back of the booth, and we egged each other on to ad-lib and push the outside of the envelope. Wonderful having a brilliant actor, like Rob, encouraging me to push, push, push.

Out of the several characters you voiced in the series was there a favorite?
Krang, I'd have to say. I also liked doing Ray Filet, as I got to do my bad Marlon Brando impression.

You mention Kurt Douglas and also Marlin Brando, are there any other actors or celebrities that you are fond of doing impressions of?
I enjoy doing Jack Nicholson, Sean Connery, and Paul Lynde.

Looking at your website and your IMDB resume, you have been in a lot of great shows. Other than the TMNT series are there any roles that really stood out for you? Are there any that you regret?
Wildcat in TaleSpin was a favorite. No regrets. Of course I have done some pretty awful shows in my day, but never something where I took the Lord's name in vain, or dropped, the "F-Bomb." I'm a Christian, and I just don't take that work.

What’s next for Pat Fraley?
I have taught all my life as well as performed, so it's more of the same. Love the combination. Lately, I've been doing some on-camera work on "'til Death," Brad Garrett's TV show, and that's fun. I'm blessed by a wonderful career that is very diverse.

Aside from my TMNT fan site I work in the education system with a lot of great people and I think it is awesome that you teach. One of my favorite questions to ask educators is… What made you want to be a teacher?
God. I had no choice. I was born with the teaching desire and ability.

Thank you again for answering these questions and most of all thank you for bringing joy in so many with your amazing talent.
Everything that I have and do is all from God. My talents, my drive to pursue my passion of performing, even my interest in people, which helped a lot is not about me. I just have been blessed and gifted from Him.
Again thank you for taking the time to answer. I hope my questions weren’t overbearing.
Very good questions, Richie.

Thank you again so much! Have a great holiday!
You, too. PF

Learn more about Pat Fraley at his website www.patfraley.com!

Other voices Pat has done for TMNT...
Krang, Baxter Stockman, Zak the Nutrino, Lt. Granitor,  Slash, Ray Filet, Burne Thompson and Vernon.

If you are a TMNT fan and you don't live under a rock, you have probably heard of Rutger. He is probably the biggest, no wait, is the biggest TMNT fan over across the pond.

Recently, I felt the urge to ask Rutger a few questions about his collection. He happily replied to my email and was delighted I took an interest. I suggest everyone who is a TMNT fan check out his website.

1) On your website you mention Raphael as your favorite turtle. Is there a particular reason for this choice?

When I was 9 and the Turtles were hot here in the Netherland you had to have your favorite Turtles, otherwise you were out. My favorite has always been Raphael, and for a few personal obvious reasons. First I love red (back then I had no idea, that all 4 Turtles were supposed to have red bandana's) then he's name started with an R, like my name and I just love his weapons. they are the most beautifull.I have them stored in file cases. Books with transparant sleeves. Each aquirred autograph photo sits in a sleeve, on the back of the sleeve I  have a white sticker with information on when I got who it is and where I got it. Some autograph I have framed, but made a pre-print of the original, cause I dont want my original photo bleached by sunlight.My other interests are videogames, drawing, playing guitar and I'm a movie freak. Latest movies I saw where: Benjamin Button, Inglourious Basterds and The Hangover, I occasionally read a book (Sci-Fi) and ofcourse my TMNT books and comics ;)My most precious one is from Judith Hoag, April in the first Live-action movie. It took me almost 4 years to find her and get in contact and she has always been nr. 1 on my wanted list for TMNT autographs. So in that case, thats the one I would save!There are many I sent, but never returned. I always try new ways  like with Judith Hoag. At the moment there are some classic cartoon names I'm hoping to receive, like Mona Lisa and Leatherhead. But I'm also have my eyes and ears pinned on any new names that'll be revealed for the new TMNT 2011 movie.

Well there you have it. Not many questions but very thoughtful answers from Rutger. Thanks Rutger for taking the time to answer my questions. It is always great to hear and talk to a fellow turtle fan! Again, be sure to check out his website, he has lots of great stuff over there!