Seeing their live-action, big screen debuts were beloved villains Bebop (Gary Anthony Williams) and Rocksteady (WWE pro wrestler Stephen "Sheamus" Farrelly). These antagonists have been staples in TMNT lore for decades, despite the character's malignant treatment in the forms of Tokka and Rahzar in the otherwise adored (by fans) '90s live-action adaptation Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze. The creation of these characters on screen, however, was not as simple as placing "digital makeup right on top of the actor's body."
In a behind-the-scenes clip from TMNT: Out of the Shadows, animation and visual effects supervisors – Shawn Kelly, Kevin Martel, and Pablo Helman – discuss the process of transforming two low-level street thugs into the nefarious Bebop and Rocksteady on the big screen. By utilizing both Williams and Sheamus' live-action performances, the team was able to capture the mutation of the two knucklehead villains as they became realized as fully CG characters.
The clip above is taken from the Target-exclusive version of the movie. Target's collector's edition (seen above) of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows comes with a Blu-ray copy of the film as well as the DVD version, a download code for the movie on digital HD, a turtle shell case, Leo and Raph ninja headbands, and even more exclusive, behind-the-scenes content.
As alluded to earlier, Out of the Shadows may not have been the perfect summer blockbuster, but it contained a handful of fun scenes and moments that, at times, felt right out of the '80s animated series. An absolute highlight for any die-hard TMNT fan was seeing Bebop and Rocksteady finally appear on the big screen, and this behind-the-scenes clip illustrates just how it all went down. If moviegoers can take anything positive away from the TMNT sequel, it is that the animation and special effects team truly nailed the aesthetic of both characters.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows is now available for purchase on Blu-ray, DVD, and Digital HD at all major retailers.
Source: CBR