Heroes, Not Ninjas, in a Half-Shell
Kumail told me this a while ago, and I thought it was hilarious. Whereas we grew up with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, he grew up with Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles, because over in Pakistan they had European versions of cartoons, and the Europeans were none too happy with the violence associated with, you know, ninjas.
So everything related to the Turtles had to be renamed before being released over there- comic books, video games, toys, etc. The lyrics were also changed, such as changing “Splinter taught them to be ninja teens” to the “Splinter taught them to be fighting teens.” They also took Michaelangelo’s nunchuks away, and replaced them with a turtle shell shaped grappling hook called the “Turtle Line”.
Check out the German opening credits to Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles!
