I just stumbled across that little piece of trivia. Apparently, Michelangelo, the most talkative turtle was the only one with no lines whatsoever during the turtles' entire time hiding out at the farmhouse. I have no idea how I never noticed that before despite having seen this movie a dozen or so times over the years.
shareMaybe his goofier personality just clashed with the more sombre tone of the farmhouse? Maybe a missed opportunity, since it seems like the silly one being serious would be a big hint that this was momentous.
Is it possible he had lines and they were cut?
I don't think it was about trying to maintain a somber tone as there were still number of jokes and funny scenes. Thinking about it now it did seem like Donatello really picked up the slack as the main wisecracking jokester at the farmhouse. Most notably was the scene where he & Casey Jones are going back & forth trading comical insults while working on a car. A non verbal gag involving turtle wax was Michaelangelo's only real individual moment during the farmhouse sequence. I just happened to stumble across this piece of trivia on IMDB & it didn't specify if there was any particular reason why Michelangelo had no lines during that stretch.
Now that I think about it though, I recall another piece of trivia that I had previously read about which is probably related. Apparently during the farmhouse stretch, the script originally had Michelangelo going through a moody, brooding phase in dealing with the loss of Splinter, more akin to Raphael but that ended up getting entirely cut from the film. The only bits that are left is a quick scene of Michealangelo intensely training with a heavy bag & the scene with Raphael standing on the barn roof yelling Splinter's name was actually Michealangelo but was changed in editing to have Raphael's voice actor dubbing the line. The scene was dark & far enough away that most of us simple couldn't tell.
That makes sense. They wanted to focus on Raphael's character arc, so they cut Michelangelo's brooding. It's been a lot longer for me since I've seen the film, but if memory serves they focused quite a bit on Raph and his anger issues getting in the way of the turtles' goals and teamwork.
shareThe movie for sure was heavy focused on Raphael's character development as a brooding loner who eventually learns the value of teamwork. A character arc that would continue to be revisited in other TMNT adaptations over the years including the 2014 live action reboot. He gets by far the most individual screen time of all the turtles prior to the farmhouse so I guess they ultimately decided that Michelangelo going through a similar arc would be a bit redundant & perhaps a bit too out of character.
shareRedundant for sure.
I think because of his temper and flaws Raphael is the most appealing character for a screenwriter to tackle. Leo's too straight-laced and Mikey is too goofball. Donny's kinda contemplative, so that's not as dynamic as anger management issues. Plus, it's an easy "in" for a storyline involving a team (of siblings, no less) involved in martial arts. So Raph makes the most narrative sense.
That said, the amount of Raphael-focus in previous films means that writers might want to consider other turtles in future films?
I'm not sure how much the turtle audience cares. We've all got our favourites, but I've never watched a TMNT property and thought they were giving too little for any one turtle to do. They all get action moments and good lines (from what I remember, anyway).
Mike got some time in TMNT3, right?
Yeah. I can definitely see why Raphael's personality has often made him a focal point for writers. I can't speak on much of anything other than the films, as I haven't seen any of the various animated series that have popped up over the years. In TMNT2 I recall Raphael again being the only turtle with his own individual story arc involving him helping 'Keno' the pizza boy infiltrate the foot clan.
I barely remember third movie but I vaguely seem to recall things being more evenly balanced out with the turtles in that one.
I remember 3 better than 2. Mike was going to stay in the past, I think was the big arc there.
shareThis is a good point and wondered why this was the case, even now.
It's especially apparent because April is doing drawings and descriptions of the Turtles while at the house but leaves out Mikey. Perhaps it was cut. Either way, it really makes it feel less complete ignoring a segment for Mikey.