Of all the animated franchises to emerge from the doldrums of the 1980s, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was among the biggest, and certainly one of the most profitable. Their success came largely on the back of their Saturday morning cartoon show, which begat feature films, video games, action figures, and an endless barrage of children's merchandise. The franchise thrives to this day but in the late 80s and early 90s one couldn't walk two steps without tripping over Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles-branded stuff.
So of course it made sense to adapt the adventures of Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael, and Michelangelo into a touring musical stage show...right?
Believe it or not this existed. The Coming Out Of Their Shells tour was a multi-city affair which took place in a variety of amphitheaters across North America. Though commercially successful, it was thoroughly mocked and lambasted for being a naked merchandising ploy. One with slipshod costumes and sets, a paper-thin plotline, and a soundtrack that was beyond cheesy.
Fortunately we at Jukebox Zeroes like ourselves some cheese. On this episode Lilz & Patrick join up with Byron McNeal, a writer for Nerd Caliber, and co-host of the Weeb Trash Can podcast. The three of them listen to the soundtrack to Coming Out Of Our Shells and decide whether there's deeper meaning under the surface of this profoundly baffling artifact of the 90s
Local Music Feature: Doomer Juice - "Joybubbles"
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