The Good
A strong reworking of a beloved show from the 1980s.
The Bad
Kevin Munroe seems like he’s trying too hard to appeal the Comic-Con audience.
TMNT opens with Leonardo, Michelangelo, Donatello and Raphael split up. The turtles have moved on, they are doing other things in their lives but this all changes when Maximillian J. Winters enters the picture and suddenly the Turtles have to reform so they can defend the world against a band of ancient monsters and the Foot Clan. As you can guess, there’s loads of action and laughs along the way as the Turtles find themselves up against seemingly insurmountable odds. However, they all know that if they can stay together, everything is going to be fine. What ensues is a CGI slight of hand of the highest order as we see the popular show from the 1980s and 1990s re-imagined here. While I think that certain aspects of TMNT played to the more looney or bizarre, all in all I think that fans will not be that upset that Shredder isn’t the turtles venerable foil.
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
If you liked the show back in the day chances are that TMNT will provide a pump your fist in the air viewing experience. The animation that is being put across has been rendered so strongly and so detailed, at times one may have to remind themselves that they are in fact watching an animated film.
Features
Okay, this was painful because TMNT writer/director Kevin Munroe was acting like a child. I refuse to believe that if he had made a tiny, independent film, he would be acting this giddy and excitable. He talks about the making of this movie being a 29 month journey, how the cast all did a great job with their roles, how the actors had different takes on their characters and what they were trying to do, and also how Munroe himself was a big fan of the older show. Ultimately, I think the director would have been better served to let his voice tone show how excited he was as opposed to reminding us every 10 minutes.
Donny’s Digital Data Files
Basically, this featurette examines the CGI that was employed in TMNT. I guess what Munroe and Co. were trying to achieve was so different than what was standard, that his team had to create software in order to pull this movie off. Then we are told about the shading of the turtles, and how the animators also had to draw human characters as well. Munroe even points out details on the turtles that are actually human elements.
Alternative Opening and Ending / Extended Scenes
Monsters Come Alive
Storyboards are juxtaposed with certain scenes so that we can see the origins of the drawings mixed in with the final product. I always like seeing this but it was even more interesting because the storyboards weren’t that detailed. In fact Munroe, who does a commentary track over this piece, mentions that sometimes all they want to do with the boards is simply put across a tone. Definitely check this out if you are into animation or you fancy yourself a wannabe animator.
Roof Top Workout
Still Wanna Fight?
Apparently, this was a scene in the movie that was fully rendered, ready to go and then they cut it from the final film. It features a discussion between April and Casey and how Casey was hiding from April that he was acting as a vigilante. In all honesty, this was my favorite commentary track by Munroe because it seemed to be the least self-conscious. He breaks down why this scene was cut and really seems to offer a nice, microcosm of an insight into the process of putting a film like TMNT together.
Video
They have offered this film in a Standard Version - This film has been modified as follows from its original version. It has been formatted to fit your screen. They also offer the movie in a Widescreen Version - Presented in a “letterbox” widescreen format preserving the “scope” aspect ratio of its original theatrical exhibition. Enhanced for widescreen TVs. I loved the look of this movie. At times, I really had to remind myself that I was watching animation because everything is so clearly rendered. The details that they have provided for most of the characters are nothing short of astonishing. Some of the characters looked at tad too much like a video game, but overall this movie really elevated itself in the animation realm.
Audio
Dolby Digital. English, French and Spanish Dolby Surround 5.1. The audio was solid on this disc, I just felt that too much of it played into the goofy nature of this film. I get it, we are watching a movie that has to appeal to kids, but I think I sort of hoped that that would be tempered a little bit more. Aside from that, the audio really seems to be leveled quite well on this disc. Warner Bros. always serves up some really solid sounds in this department.
Package
The Turtles are shown on this front cover shooting down the street with one of them on a skateboard and the others throwing and kicking their hands and feet in the air. The back showcases all the turtles again, it offers up a benign description of what TMNT is about, a Special Features listing, a cast list and technical specs.
Final Word
The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were something that I was familiar with in the 1980s, even though I didn’t follow the show with any regularity. I think that by the time this thing came on the air in the late 1980s and 1990s, I had sort of moved on to more mature fare like Beverly Hills 90210. (Although, I think it might be debatable just how mature that show really was.) At the same time to say that I was completely out of it would be wrong. I was familiar enough to know the names of the turtles and I also knew them by sight. The truth of the matter was that there wasn’t anything about these superheroes that really grabbed me. I wanted Superman, not green figures moving across the screen at high speeds.
All that said, I enjoyed TMNT. The film was action packed, it played very lightly, and it knew when the keep things moving. My only problem was director Kevin Munroe trying to act like a child in order to pander to the younger crowd. Look man, you’ve got the skills, don’t try and play down to your audience.
TMNT was released March 23, 2007.
